A pair of articles from Detroit Hockey Now, discussing goaltending

Of note from Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff and Kevin Allen:

Duff posted a list of three goaltending moves that paid off in spades for the Red Wings, and three that bombed:

Dominink Hasek: There’s a famous story about a highly-sought after UFA forward turning the Wings down to sign elsewhere in 2001, allegedly because he didn’t like their goaltending. The next day, Detroit traded to acquire six-time Vezina Trophy winner and two-time Hart winner Hasek from the Buffalo.

…

Curtis Joseph: Hasek’s initial retirement in 2002 saw the Wings opting to spend $24 million to get UFA Joseph’s name on a three-year contract. On the surface, Joseph’s addition seemed to be an astute choice. Much like Hasek’s arrival in 2001, Joseph was felt to be the best NHL goalie who’d never won a Cup.

Unfortunately, he’d stay that guy. Whether it was the pressure of living with expectations, something just didn’t click for Joseph as a Red Wing. He didn’t play poorly for Detroit but Joseph wasn’t able to deliver the caliber of netminding required to carry the team to glory. Ultimately, he lost his job to journeyman Manny Legace.

Continued (Joseph had a nagging ankle injury that required surgery)…

2. And Kevin Allen listed his top 10 goaltending pairings in the Atlantic Division, in a subscriber-only article:

4. Alex Nedeljkovic/Thomas Greiss, Detroit Red Wings

The fourth, fifth and sixth spots could be considered a toss-up. The Red Wings, Maple Leafs and Bruins have tandems they really like. But there’s some uncertainty layered into all three of these teams. The Red Wings get the nod at No. 4 because Nedeljkovic (15-5-3, 1.90 goals-against average, .932 save percentage) is coming off an exceptional season. But he only played 23 games. Greiss (2.70, .912) was solid in the second half last season.

Continued (paywall)

Two Tweets of note from Kukla’s Korner: Sebrango the All-Star and prospects to watch from Morreale

Of note from Paul Kukla of Kukla’s Korner on Twitter:

Grand Rapids Griffins sign winger Dennis Yan to AHL contract

Per the Grand Rapids Griffins:

GRIFFINS SIGN LEFT WING DENNIS YAN

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday signed left wing Dennis Yan to a one-year contract.

Yan, 24, spent the 2020-21 season in Austria with the Black Wings 1992 of the ICEHL, the country’s top professional hockey league. He logged five points (4-1—5) in 13 games for the club while adding eight penalty minutes.

The 6-foot-2, 197-pound forward has competed in three full AHL seasons with Syracuse. During his last campaign with the Crunch in 2019-20, Yan totaled 18 points (10-8—18) and 31 penalty minutes in 50 outings. He set a career-best goal streak from Nov. 16-23, 2019 when he lit the lamp in three consecutive contests.

In 2018-19, Yan registered career-highs in games (53), assists (11), penalty minutes (46), shots (91) and plus-minus ratings (+12). He also added 11 goals, two shy of his professional best, and reached the Calder Cup Playoffs for the first time, appearing in three games. Yan posted a career-high 23 points (13-10—23) and 13 goals in 43 games during his rookie year with Syracuse in 2017-18. Four of his 13 tallies came in game-winning fashion, which tied for second on the roster.

Yan made his professional debut for the Crunch on April 8, 2017 against Albany following the conclusion of his junior hockey season with Shawinigan in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Portland, Ore., native spent three years with the Cataractes at the junior level and logged 218 games, 236 points (131-105—236) and 255 penalty minutes between the regular season and playoffs. Yan also represented Team USA at the U17 World Hockey Challenge in 2013-14 and brought home a gold medal after contributing three points (1-2—3) in six outings. The left wing was the third pick (64th overall) of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

Morning news: on Swedish forwards, Brattstrom’s goaltending and Tyutyayev’s dashing debut

Of note regarding the Red Wings’ 5-4 win over the Dallas Stars on Thursday night, at the team’s annual prospect tournament in Traverse City:

  1. The Traverse City Record-Eagle’s Andrew Rosenthal took note of the chemistry between Lucas Raymond and Jonatan Berggren. Raymond scored a goal during Thursday night’s win, and Berggren had two assists:

“He’s an extremely skilled player,” Raymond said of Berggren, who also said he’s played one or two games with him before. “He’s a good strong skater who has a great sense of the game and reading the game … He is very unpredictable with the puck and makes plays and could create something out of nothing.”

Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill (who’s parents Jim and Rosemary live in Traverse City) said on the team’s broadcast that both Raymond and Berggen played well. Blashill said Raymond played more physical than he’d have guessed.

“I’ve been impressed with his shot,” Blashill said. “He can really shoot a puck for a guy that’s had a reputation as a passer. He’s a really cerebral player. He plays a thinking kind of game. It’s not just all about speed with him, which a lot of younger players it is.

“I think he’s a little different than a number of younger players coming up, not just in our organization but across the league. It’ll be interesting to see him as he continues to get comfortable and he’s able to use that great hockey sense that he has, the impact that he can have on a night-to-night basis.”

2. MLive’s Ansar Khan duly noted that Victor Brattstrom was stellar in the Wings’ net despite giving up 4 goals on 34 shots against:

Continue reading Morning news: on Swedish forwards, Brattstrom’s goaltending and Tyutyayev’s dashing debut →

Bultman on Kirill the Thrill

The Athletic’s Max Bultman posted a superb article discussing the performance of one Kirill Tyutyayev in Thursday’s 5-4 prospect tournament win for the Red Wings over the Dallas Stars’ prospects. Tyutyayev scored two goals for Detroit, and the AHL-contracted prospect from Yekaterinburg dangled and dazzled his way atop the Wings prospect followers’ hearts…for one night, anyway:

Here is the beauty of an NHL prospect tournament: On a night when the Red Wings dressed three recent first-round picks — including the franchise’s highest-drafted player in 30 years — perhaps the biggest talking point from the team’s 5-4 win over the Stars on Thursday was a 5-foot-9 seventh-round pick whom the team roster lists at just 146 pounds.

Kirill Tyutyayev played last season in Belarus. He has a budding cult following on Red Wings Twitter, but he was among the least-known quantities of the drafted prospects on Detroit’s roster entering the tournament. And yet he opened the tournament with a pair of goals in the first two periods. So after the game, there was Lucas Raymond — the team’s fourth pick from 2020 — fielding a question about Tyutyayev and absolutely loving it.

“The Russian?” Raymond said, before breaking into a big smile. “Ahhh, he’s a beauty.”

Continued (paywall)

Impressions from the Red Wings’ 5-4 win over the Dallas Stars at the 2021 prospect tournament

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The Detroit Red Wings’ prospects defeated the Dallas Stars prospect tournament team in a wild and wacky game, building 3-0 and 5-1 leads before ultimately prevailing over the course of a 5-4 victory. The Red Wings’ website posted its broadcast of the game (though you may have to head over to YouTube to watch the highlights)…

And, after the game, Jared McIsaac and Lucas Raymond spoke with the media…

Continue reading Impressions from the Red Wings’ 5-4 win over the Dallas Stars at the 2021 prospect tournament →

Dylan Larkin dangles through the vaccination issue while speaking with The Athletic

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This is quite the dangle, per The Athletic’s Ryan S. Clark, Mark Lazerus and Josh Kloke at the NHL Media Tour in Chicago:

Detroit Red Wings captain and center Dylan Larkin said he got “peace of mind” by getting the shot. But he measured his words carefully on the topic, repeatedly saying “it’s your own beliefs” that matters most regarding the vaccine. But after saying “I don’t mean to be disrespectful,” he added, “but you can read into it how I’m saying it.”

“In our league right now, there’s no mandatory rule,” Larkin said. “To me, I’m very sensitive to who I talk to or how you talk to someone about it. It’s your belief. It’s what you want to do. So yeah, there’s conversation (about) it in the locker room. And if there’s someone that strongly believes that they don’t want to get it, in my opinion, that’s their right.”

Continued; for once, I disagree with the captain, but I got the shot early because I have an aunt who is immune-compromised, and I believe we have a duty to protect everyone for whom the shot is unavailable or ineffective.

Red Wings defeat Stars 5-4 at prospect tournament

The Detroit Red Wings’ prospects won a tight a 5-4 decision vs. the Dallas Stars’ prospects at the 2021 prospect tournament. The box score is coming…

Update: It was a wild game as Detroit built a 5-1 lead but was unable to hold on–almost. Detroit was out-shot 35-23 by Dallas and Victor Brattstrom fought through some cramping to backstop the Wings to a solid-enough start, though the Wings were a little loose throughout the game.

Kirill Tyutyayev had 2 goals, Lucas Raymond had 1 and the Wings played quite well early, but Brattstrom bailed them out on numerous occasions.

Update: Here’s the box score:

SCORING SUMMARY

Period 1
Detroit Red Wings – Kirill Tyutyayev (Cross Hanas) 8:51
Detroit Red Wings – Chase Pearson (Adam Brubacher) 12:04
Period 2
Detroit Red Wings – Lucas Raymond (Jonatan Berggren, Wyatt Newpower) 0:33
Dallas Stars – Wyatt Johnston (Yauheni Aksiantsiuk) 7:50
Detroit Red Wings – Kirill Tyutyayev (Jared McIsaac, Chase Pearson) 17:00
Detroit Red Wings – Joe Veleno (empty net) (Jonatan Berggren) 17:46
Period 3
Dallas Stars – Jacob Peterson (Riley Damiani) 4:24
Dallas Stars – Riley Tufte (Antonio Stranges) 13:09
Dallas Stars – Riley Tufte (Ty Dellandrea) 14:10

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