As I noted this morning, it was hard to listen to Givani Smith retell the tale of the racism he endured during the Kitchener Rangers’ playoff run, in part because it was plain old wrong, and also because Smith is somewhat resigned to the fact that a black hockey player is going to endure what he’s had to endure.

The Free Press’s Helene St. James spoke with Smith about the incidents…

Detroit Red Wings prospect Givani Smith was raised to be aware he’d encounter racism, but the abuse became too much after the April 29 Ontario Hockey League playoff game between his Kitchener Rangers and the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. After his Rangers pulled out a 4-3 overtime victory, Smith, who is black, skated by the Greyhounds’ bench and extended a middle finger. Smith was suspended two games, and wound up finishing his junior career watching his Rangers lose Game 7.

“Definitely it was a tough way to go out my last year of junior,” Smith said Wednesday after Day 2 of development camp. “We had a really good playoff run — to work so hard, and the way I got suspended, it wasn’t ideal.  Throughout the whole year and at the end of the season, it all built up in me. What happened at the end of the game, I wasn’t thinking and my emotions got the best of me.”

Continue reading HSJ, Krupa: Givani Smith addresses racist incidents heads-on

Toledo Walleye GM Neil Neukam was named the co-winner of the ECHL’s Executive of the Year Award yesterday, and today, the Walleye were named the ECHL’s winner of the Award for “Overall Excellence”:

Toledo recognized by ECHL for Overall Excellence

TOLEDO, OH — The Toledo Walleye receive the ECHL Overall Award of Excellence for the fourth consecutive year and the sixth time overall in the past nine seasons.

The award recognizes the ECHL organization that executes a well-rounded business plan including, but not limited to sales, marketing, media relations, and merchandising while also distinguishing themselves in their community, on and off the ice.

GM Neil Neukam: “It’s very humbling for our organization to be recognized for the fourth consecutive season with the ECHL Award of Excellence.  It truly reflects the efforts and dedication given by everyone associated with the team from our front office staff, coaching and support staff and our partners at the Huntington Center.  We have a great team in Toledo and I’m very proud to be associated with their accomplishment!”

The 2017-18 was a special one with the Walleye setting more than 28 records on and off the ice, including most sellouts (28), single-season attendance record (273,613), School Education Day attendance record (12,286), and most home wins (28).

Head Coach Dan Watson reached a milestone in his coaching career with 101 wins in two years as a head coach, and Broadcast Analyst Matt Melzak called his one-thousandth game during the 2017-18 season.

According to Hockeysverige.se’s Uffe Bodin, Niklas Kronwall will be holding his annual charity hockey game for his childhood team, Jarfalla HC, on August 10th. What follows is roughly translated:

Continue reading Niklas Kronwall to hold annual charity game for Jarfalla HC on August 10th

Updated at 1:57 PM: Of Red Wings prospect-related note this afternoon:

1. The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted clips of Givani Smith and Filip Zadina speaking to the media after this morning’s summer development camp session:

[edit/update: The Wings posted a clip of Patrick Holway speaking with the media as well:

Patrick Holway, 6th round pick in 2015, with the media. ? #DRWDC pic.twitter.com/gHkpKsqTZG

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) June 27, 2018

/end edit]

2. The Free Press’s Jamie Samuelssen weighed in regarding the Wings’ draft class and the fact that luck played into the Wings’ selections…

Continue reading Mid-day news: videos from St. James, Samuelssen on the Wings’ luck and Khan on Zadina

Grand Rapids Griffins coach Ben Simon spoke with the media at the Red Wings’ summer development camp this afternoon, addressing the play of Givani Smith, Dennis Cholowski, Michael Rasmussen and a few more players before discussing his own coaching style and the timeline for his assistants to be named (soon):

Update: The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a clip of Simon’s remarks:

 

From the second day of the Red Wings’ summer development camp ’18:

Givani Smith deserves major credit for having to rehash the racist taunts he had to deal with during the Kitchener Rangers’ playoff run during today’s media availability. Smith was forthright and honest regarding the fact that he faces racism on a regular basis, and he spoke bluntly about the challenges he faces at times and the fact that the hockey community reached out to him when he needed them most. Smith is ready to put those issues behind him and head to Grand Rapids to start his professional career, but he was very brave in revisiting a tough chapter of his hockey history today:

Me and MLive’s Ansar Khan spoke with defenseman Gustav Lindstrom, a defenseman who has NHL skills in a still-growing body. Lindstrom spoke about his past season, earning a contract with the SHL’s Frolunda Indians, his already-participating status in terms of dryland training and on-ice fitness with Frolunda, and his goals for his upcoming campaign:

My interview with Jared McIsaac went…okay. I asked McIsaac about his skill set, why he felt he was drafted in the early 2nd round, his attributes as a player and the whirlwind that has been going from the draft to the Wings’ development camp:

Aside from my stupid phone ringing in the middle of the interview, my discussion with Ryan O’Reilly went better. O’Reilly is a Texas-born player who still spent a season playing for Little Caesars hockey, so he discussed his eclectic background, his preparations for attending UMass-Lowell a year from now (he’ll play for the USHL’s Tri-City Storm first) and his take on the Wings’ fantastic facility:

Red Wings prospect Dennis Cholowski appeared on WDFN’s Matt Sheppard’s, “Shep, Shower and Shave Show” this morning, speaking for 10 minutes:

Listen to “Red Wings Prospect Dennis Cholowski 6-27-18” on Spreaker.

Red Wings prospect Christoffer Ehn is notably absent from the Wings’ summer development camp. This morning, DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji reminds us why Ehn’s sitting this one out as she examines the turning-North-American-pro’s 2017-18 season:

Quotable: “Christoffer had an up and down season in Frölunda last year. Didn’t get off to the best start but had a much better second half and was playing his best hockey when he came over to GR to join us for the playoffs. Unfortunately he was diagnosed with mono the day he got here and was unable to play any games. He was extremely frustrated by that and has been working hard this offseason to get his conditioning back up to its normal elite level.” — Shawn Horcoff, Red Wings director of player development

Continued

Of Red Wings-related note this morning, on a source-by-source basis:

A. Fox Sports Detroit:

1. FSD posted a clip of Joe Veleno speaking with Trevor Thompson, and this clip aired on today’s Tigers game:

2. “The 313” wondered whether Filip Zadina is NHL-ready:

B. DetroitRedWings.com:

1. DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji penned an article about Filip Zadina, the media darling of the day, and Zadina’s belief that he can make an immediate jump from the QMJHL to the NHL:

Continue reading The media’s takes from the first day of the Red Wings’ summer development camp ’18

The Red Wings’ top prospects began their 5-day summer development camp on Tuesday, at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center (a.k.a the team’s practice rink).

Teams Lindsay and Howe arrived at the rink early–Team Lindsay arrived at 7 AM, and the players didn’t leave until after 4 PM–and the day started with more goaltending coaches on the ice than goaltenders.

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