Duff on Henrik Zetterberg’s Saturday golfing adventure, and more

Former Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg spent Saturday at the Ally Challenge in Grand Blanc, Michigan, golfing with Jack Nickalus, Kid Rock and Dierks Bentley as part of the “Celebrity Shootout.” Zetterberg also reflected on his retirement, his recent move back to Sweden and his take on the Wings’ prospect tournament:

“We made a move to Sweden this summer. I’m not really sure how it’s going to be. Obviously, we’re happy to be back with family and friends and start a new chapter in life. I came over here for a week. I’m going to come over in October for a couple of weeks. We will probably come over three or four times during the season and be around.”

After watching some of the NHL Prospects Tournament and the start of Red Wings training camp in Traverse City, Mich., Zetterberg is also of the belief that people are going to pleasantly surprised with what the team has to offer this season.

“I would say it’s a little deeper this year,” Zetterberg said. “I think if you look at the D end, I think we have some young kids that are really going to push for spots. We made some nice additions.

“Health-wise, you have to be healthy. If we’re healthy, the D’s gonna be great. And then the forwards, we all saw what the three kids (Larkin, Anthony Mantha, Tyler Bertuzzi) did last year — they’re not really kids anymore, are they? But they’re gonna be one more year in the league. I just hope they keep going and taking their steps.

“I think getting (center Valtteri) Filppula back is going to be real big for us. If you look at the center position all the way through, it looks real solid. I think we’re going to be better this year, definitely deeper. But we all know the league is tight. It’s a hard division. But we’re going to win more games. I can promise you that.”

Continued

Update: Also, from NHL.com’s Pat Pickens:

Nicklaus’ team won $18,000 for the United Way of Genesee County, and Zetterberg’s side earned $7,000, which he and Bentley donated to the Genesee County Habitat for Humanity. Zetterberg also accepted a $25,000 check for the Clark Park Coalition of Detroit. 

Simply playing nine holes with Nicklaus was a thrill for the 2008 Conn Smythe Trophy winner.

“It’s obviously an opportunity that I could never turn down,” Zetterberg told the Red Wings website. “I was a little nervous, but it was very exciting.

“It’s pretty special. I never thought it would happen, but here we are today, and I’m getting to spend time with him.”

Red Wings make first cuts, releasing 9 players

From the Detroit Red Wings:

RED WINGS TRIM CAMP ROSTER BY NINE
… Fifty-Eight Players Set for Final Day of Training Camp in Traverse City …

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today released forwards Mathieu Bizier, Thomas Casey, Cody Morgan, Owen Robinson and Chad Yetman, defensemen Marc-Olivier Duquette and Owen Lalonde and goaltenders Anthony Popovich and Sean Romeo from their amateur tryouts.

The Red Wings currently have 58 players on their training camp roster: 32 forwards, 20 defensemen and six goaltenders. Detroit will hold one more day of training camp at Centre Ice Arena in Traverse City, Mich., on Monday, Sept. 16 before opening up a nine-game preseason slate against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m. at Little Caesars Arena.

Bultman: He may not be the captain, but Dylan Larkin is still ‘D-Boss’

The Athletic’s Max Bultman posited six questions regarding the Red Wings training camp, and #1 is very accurate:

I don’t think I’m the only person who had that takeaway from Larkin’s Day 1 news conference, when he said he wasn’t disappointed by the team’s decision (for now) to stick with four alternates and no official captain. I’ll echo the obvious in saying Larkin appears, from the outside, deserving of being the team’s next captain, whenever Steve Yzerman feels confident enough in making it official.

What struck me just as much, though, was what Larkin said when talking about what steps forward he can make individually this season. Mind you, he’s coming off a year in which he nearly scored a point per game, played in some of the toughest situations and generally established himself as a top-line center.

He started by talking about how he can grow as a player, teammate and leader, as well as in the community. More captain-ly talk. But then:

“On the ice, I want to be more dominant,” he said. “I think I showed it at times, in stretches, through the season last year. But I believe in myself that I can dominate for long periods of time. I can take over games and win games for our team. And ultimately that’s the next step in my career, is to win games, and be a winner and play like a winner.”

Continued (paywall)

Duff on Nemeth’s turnaround remarks

Hockeybuzz’s Bob Duff penned an article regarding Patrik Nemeth’s training camp comments, in which Nemeth suggested that the Wings aren’t as far removed from a turnaround as some might think:

“It was just trying to build a different mindset,” Nemeth, 27, explained to Detroitredwings.com. “Once you get the feeling that you are actually winning some games, you’ve got some confidence in the group. I think that’s when you’re starting to believe that things can happen.”

In his brief time with the Wings, based on what he’s seen and heard from new GM Steve Yzerman, Nemeth is certain changing the mental make up of the team is a big part of the strategy Yzerman is deploying in Detroit.

“Steve coming in, he’s wanting to switch some things,” Nemeth said. “It’s more the direction of where he wants the team to go. I don’t know how it was here before. When you talk to him, what he tells you that he wants to see from everyone, I think that’s really appealing, what he tries to say.

“With him and (coach) Jeff (Blashill), what they’re trying to do is have that mindset switched, so you’re expecting to win. That’s something that you have to change in order to turn this thing around. That’s what I think is appealing. It’s interesting. It’s a fun thing to be part of. I just think it’s a team that really wants to do the right thing.”

Continued

WXYZ’s Galli notes the Wings’ takes on playoff doubt, watches Yzerman watch the Wings

WXYZ’s Brad Galli posted two videos from Traverse City today. The first involved the Red Wings’ Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi and Luke Glendening discussing their playoff doubters…

And the second is lovely, gratuitous Steve Yzerman viewing:

White team wins ‘Red vs. White Game’; post-game audio from Adam Erne, Filip Zadina and coach Jeff Blashill

A Frans Nielsen shootout goal yielded a 2-1 win for the White Team at the Red vs. White Game in Traverse City on Sunday, and after the game, several players and coach Jeff Blashill spoke with the media (for the record, Dylan Larkin, Mike Green and Darren Helm were sidelined with “tweaks,” and Andreas Athanasiou had to leave the game after the first period with another “tweak”–at this point it sounds like the preventative measures are just that, however).

Erne was well-spoken and thoughtful as he discussed what he needs to do to earn a top-nine role in Detroit. He felt somewhat stagnated in Tampa Bay, and the 24-year-old believes that he’ll work his way into a bigger role here:

Filip Zadina was somewhat demurring during his interview, suggesting that he will find a way to score more goals while playing a more complete game regardless of whether he plays in Grand Rapids or Detroit. He was coy about his confidence level, insisting that it would be shown over the course of the exhibition season:

Coach Blashill addressed his team’s minor injuries, discussed the pace of play in the Red vs. White Game, he spoke about Erne, Zadina, Justin Abdelkader and Michael Rasmussen, among others, and he announced his retirement from playing in alumni games after pitching a shutout last night in the Alumni and Celebrity Game:

HSJ in the morning: Optimism spelled with a ‘Y’

The Free Press’s Helene St. James penned a lengthy article this morning, discussing reasons for Red Wings optimism as elucidated by the Wings’ general manager, Steve Yzerman:

Yzerman sounded excited about the challenge in front of him. It took 14 years for him to win a Cup as a player, and that was expedited when, management headed up by Jimmy Devellano, hit the mother lode in the 1989 draft with Nicklas Lidstrom, Sergei Fedorov and Vladimir Konstantinov. It will take patience, and luck, to restore the Wings, but there’s a buzz at this camp and it’s coming from the young guys.

“We need more, but I’m encouraged,” Yzerman said. “There’s a good group of young players that are prospects that have potential. We’re going to try to add to that group but with that group, we’re trying to create an environment that allows them to go from prospects to good NHL players, and that’s the big step.

“I came in ’83, we went through it to eventually win a Stanley Cup was very gratifying. I’m hoping we can again do that at some point in the future.”

St. James continues…

Here’s Jimmy Howard’s 2019-2020 season mask

I’m a bit late to Instagram tonight, so kudos to Detroit Sports Nation‘s Michael Whitaker for getting it first: here’s Jimmy Howard’s 2019-2020 season mask, as he’s worn during training camp. Flint native Ray Bishop painted it: