Wakiji on Ben Simon’s coaching hat

DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji filed a mid-day notebook in which she discusses the diminutive Otto Kivenmaki, Filip Zadina’s Instagram popularity and new Grand Rapids Griffins coach Ben Simon’s first couple of days “on the job” as the man in charge:

“I got a whistle and everything this year, it’s crazy,” Simon said after the second day of camp. “It’s exciting for me, to get back to running practices and designing practices and helping teach guys. It’s been fun for me, getting the rust off and putting the big boy hat back on.”

Simon said he isn’t the only one getting rid of some offseason rust.

“They’re excited, a lot of them haven’t skated in a while, so just getting used to their equipment and shaking the rust off,” Simon said. “I thought (Wednesday) went a lot better than the first day. Guys are a little bit tired, but I thought overall it’s been pretty good so far.”

Simon said he welcomes the challenge of helping develop some of the next generation of Red Wings, especially on the blue line.

“When they’re with us in Grand Rapids, it’s develop, it’s teach, that’s through video, through on-ice,” Simon said. “There’s no better development tool to teach than playing, so these kids are going to be forced to play a lot of minutes, give them a lot of responsibility and see who can accept that the most. If they’re not playing, we’re going to work them off the ice, we’re going to work them on the ice. The next 3-4 years is something Grand Rapids is going to be judged heavily on, how these young defensemen are developing.”

Wakiji continues…

Audio from the third day of the Red Wings’ summer development camp ’18: Kaden Fulcher, Seth Barton

The Red Wings’ summer development campers had a short interview window after they engaged in skating and agility drills during Thursday’s practice, and as a result, there are only two interviews to share with you this morning.

Goaltender Kaden Fulcher spoke with the media for 5 minutes, discussing his hopes to turn pro this upcoming season, his need to improve his leg strength, the development camp as a learning experience and his impressions as he tries to “be a sponge.” Fulcher said that as a free agent signee, his advice to first-year draftees and free agents is actually to “stay loose” and enjoy themselves instead of letting nerves get to them.

At the other end of the developmental spectrum, 3rd round draft pick Seth Barton, a BCHL graduate defenseman who’s heading to UMass-Lowell, spoke for a couple of minutes, discussing his draft experience as he stayed home, his impressions of the development camp thus far and his decision to head to UMass. Barton stands at 6’3″ and maybe 174 pounds, and he’s just coming out of the Trail Smoke Eaters of the BCHL, so the right-shooting rearguard is going to need to develop significantly over the course of his college career. Nice kid, though:

Update: In the video department, the Free Press’s Helene St. James posted clips of Kasper Kotkansalo and Gustav Lindstrom’s interviews from Wednesday:

Continue reading Audio from the third day of the Red Wings’ summer development camp ’18: Kaden Fulcher, Seth Barton

Did the Red Wings ‘just draft their new top prospect?’

ESPN’s Chris Peters suggests that the Detroit Red Wings picked their new top prospect–as did 8 other teams–during the most recent NHL draft. Here’s Peters’ take on the drafting of Filip Zadina:

Detroit Red Wings: Filip Zadina, RW

How happy was GM Ken Holland when Zadina dropped to the Red Wings at No. 6? There’s no way they could have expected him to be there, but then there he was. Zadina is far and away the top prospect in a system that is improving rather quickly. Detroit’s 2018 draft probably couldn’t have played out much better with the skill players the Wings were able to add with their first three picks, but Zadina is the true difference-maker.

Having seen what he did in the QMJHL and World Junior Championship last year, you’d have to expect Zadina to slot right into Detroit’s lineup with a chance to make a top-six impact very quickly. He has the speed, the skill and the shot to make Detroit better right away, but his ability to combine all of that with unrelenting energy is why I think he’s going to be a fan favorite for years to come. I really believe the Red Wings have a new star on their hands here.

Continued (Insider-only)…

 

Walleye, Storm players give back to community via summer hockey camps

The Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe reports that numerous Northwestern Ohio-area pro players, both past and present, are lending a hand and giving back to their hockey community through summer hockey camps:

Former Toledo Storm forward Nick Parillo has continued his passion for the game by establishing a local program called Hockey Player Development.

Current Toledo Walleye forwards Alden Hirschfeld and A.J. Jenks work in the offseason with Parillo at HPD, which is based at Tam-O-Shanter in Sylvania.

“I wanted to stay with the game when I was done playing and give back,” said Parillo, who retired in 2007. “Being at the rink for 30 years, it was a comforting thing for me. It’s been very rewarding.”

Hirschfeld, a Sylvania native and Northview graduate, said he attended similar camps at Tam-O-Shanter when he was growing up.

“It’s fun. This is where I learned to play hockey starting when I was 3,” Hirschfeld said. “This is where my family is from. To be able to come out here and help teach the young kids and watch them grow and develop from year to year is pretty awesome.”

Continued

 

Custance’s UFA update includes news about the back-up search, Coreau’s future elsewhere

Amongst The Athletic’s Craig Custance’s MANY free agency notes:

— The Red Wings have been aggressive in their pursuit of a backup goalie behind Jimmy Howard, and it appears they’re closing in on a favorite. Jonathan Bernier has moved to the top of the list in Detroit and there has been significant interest on both sides of the equation. Wherever he signs, Hutton is expected to get a three-year deal, and it would be surprising if Bernier got anything less than that. Bernier is still just 29 and has a career save percentage of .914, a shade lower than Howard’s .915. Howard is entering the final year of his contract, and a Bernier signing would give the Red Wings options moving forward if they want to deal Howard at some point or part ways with the longtime Red Wings starter. Detroit has also been told that 6-foot-6 Jared Coreau is moving on to another opportunity.

Continued (paywall)…

Update: Pierre LeBrun confirms:

 

Impressions from the second day of the Red Wings’ summer development camp ’18

The second day of the Red Wings’ summer development camp 2018 built upon the first day’s work.

Teams Lindsay and Howe worked with Grand Rapids Griffins coach Ben Simon, Wings player development director Shawn Horcoff, player development assistant and slightly banged-up instructor Daniel Cleary (Cleary took a puck to the head at the end of the Power Edge Pro skill drills) and the rest of the Wings, Griffins and Toledo Walleye’s coaching staff to layer in extra degrees of difficulty in both the team and skill development drills, and there was a dirty word uttered on the ice, at least if you were raised during the Scotty Bowman era of the Red Wings’ dynasty:

Call it a “chip pass,” call it a “flip play,” give a nun a smooch on the cheek and say a Hail Mary, by dammit, the Wings were “dumping and chasing” the puck off the side boards to isolate defensemen and let puck and player speed do the work for them on Tuesday.

Continue reading Impressions from the second day of the Red Wings’ summer development camp ’18

‘The Zadina run’ and summer hockey programming on Fox Sports Detroit

As the Red Wings show off Dan Mannes’ handiwork via a Filip Zadina “run”…

Fox Sports Detroit has been a steady presence at the Red Wings’ summer development camp as well. Interviews with Joe Veleno and Filip Zadina aired during last night and tonight’s Detroit Tigers telecasts…

And Kris Draper and Shawn Horcoff (special assistant to the GM and director of player development, respectively) spoke with Mickey York regarding the Wings’ draft haul and development camp: