The Malik Report

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff wonders aloud whether the Red Wings might find a left winger for Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond’s line from within the organization, or via a trade. Here are two of Duff’s candidates:

Elmer Soderblom

In his limited NHL exposure, Soderblom has shown he can put the puck in the net. His big body would certainly help to control pucks down low and might free up Raymond to be even more creative.

Is he ready for such a major role on the club at this juncture? Ultimately, that’s the question in need of an answer.

Jonatan Berggren

Given a brief late-season shot on this unit, Berggren displayed some promise. His offensive instincts are an absolute fit. And Red Wings coach Todd McLellan believes he must play Berggren somewhere in his top nine for him to effectively utilize his skill set.

Berggren’s defensive deficiencies could prove a detriment. Remember, the top unit generally is squaring off against one of the top units from the opposition squad.

Continued

Of Brief Red Wings audio-related note this morning:

1. New Red Wings goaltending coach Michael Leighton appeared on AM 800 CKLW’s “Mornings with Mike and Meg” show, discussing his new job over the course of a 4:57 interview:

2. And Red Wings scout Bryce Thoma spoke with Prince Albert, Saskatchewan’s “Harvard Media Sports Cage” about the Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation‘s Celebration of Indigenous Hockey Legends on September 30th.

Thoma mostly discusses the September charity event and Gavin McKenna’s decision to leave the Medicine Hat Tigers for Penn State.

The Ontario Hockey League’s website is in the process of posting articles which spotlight its current and former players who are in the developmental systems of the NHL’s 32 teams. Today’s missive discusses two Red Wings prospects who are in progress in terms of their professional hockey journeys:

Landon Miller (G) – Soo Greyhounds (2022-25)
Selected: 4th Round, 128th Overall (2024)
OHL Career Stats: 72 GP, 4.07 GAA, .877 SV%, 30-24-1-2
Age: 19

Entering his third OHL campaign, Landon Miller took on a bigger role between the pipes for the Soo Greyhounds in 2024-25. The 6-foot-4 netminder appeared in 37 games, finishing with a 30-24-1-2 record, one shutout, and a 4.07 goals-against average along with a .877 save percentage. While his numbers reflect a season of ups and downs, Miller’s workload and continued development remain key points of focus for Detroit’s goaltending depth.

Amadeus Lombardi (C) – Flint Firebirds (2021-23)
Selected: 4th Round, 113th Overall (2022)
OHL Career Stats: 134 GP, 63 G, 98 A, 161 PTS, +32
Age: 22

Now in his sophomore season with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins, Amadeus Lombardi continued to make strides as a pro despite facing midseason adversity. After missing over two months due to an upper-body injury, the dynamic forward rebounded impressively. Lombardi posted AHL career-highs in all offensive categories across just 44 regular-season games, finishing tied for third on the team in goals (19) and fourth in points (40). He then added one goal and one assist in three playoff appearances.

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan posted an article today about Red Wings free agent signing Jacob Bernard-Docker, noting that the 25-year-old defenseman hopes to be a difference-maker on the Wings’ blueline:

“They have a really good, young core of guys [in Detroit], a team that I feel like is just on the bubble,” Bernard-Docker said. “A couple of seasons ago they just missed out on making the playoffs. There’s a lot of potential there, and it’s a team on the right trajectory. I’m super excited to go in there and show what I got and hopefully be a contributor.

“In a way it’s a similar group to where I was in Ottawa, with a real good young core, (just like) Buffalo had a real good core. They’re (the Wings) on that edge of breaking out. There’s a lot of real good players on the team. I’m just pretty pumped about the fit there.”

Not being tendered a qualifying offer by Buffalo surprised Bernard-Docker, who played well with the Sabres after a trade that sent him and Oxford native Josh Norris to Buffalo for Dylan Cozens and Dennis Gilbert. Bernard-Docker had a goal and three assists in 15 games with Buffalo, with a plus-3 rating. In 25 games with Ottawa, Bernard-Docker had a goal and three assists with a plus-2 rating.

Bernard-Docker had four goals and 10 assists, with a minus-7 rating, in 72 games with Ottawa the season before.

With the Wings, Bernard-Docker feels there’s an opportunity to find a role that has thus far been difficult to nail down in the NHL.

“For me, it’s just trying to find a spot where I can come in and carve out a role,” Bernard-Docker said. “I guess Buffalo didn’t quite see that, I guess with the D-men they have there or whatever, so I’m hoping to come in and be someone that can be a guy that is relied upon every night and just be real solid, physical and play my game.”

Continued (paywall)

The Red Wings posted a 6-minute video in which former players Danny DeKeyser and Drew Miller discuss their post-hockey lives and their roles with the Red Wings Alumni Association:

Per the Grand Rapids Griffins:

GRIFFINS SIGN ALEX KANNOK LEIPERT TO ONE-YEAR CONTRACT

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins on Thursday signed defenseman Alex Kannok Leipert (kann-ek lee-pert) to a one-year contract.

Kannok Leipert, a native of Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, appeared in 59 games with the Bakersfield Condors in 2024-25 and registered 11 points (4-7—11), 93 penalty minutes and a minus-one rating. Last season, he posted career-high numbers in games played, goals, assists, points, and penalty minutes. Prior to joining the Condors, the 24-year-old spent three seasons with the Abbotsford Canucks from 2021-24, showing a combined 12 points (1-11—12), 140 penalty minutes and a plus-10 rating in 123 regular-season games. Kannok Leipert also added one assist in two postseason games with the Canucks in the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs. The 161st overall pick by the Washington Capitals in 2018 made his professional debut with Abbotsford on Oct. 16, 2021, at Bakersfield and later bagged his first pro point with an assist on Feb. 9, 2022, against Tucson.

Prior to turning pro, Kannok Leipert spent parts of five seasons in the Western Hockey League with the Vancouver Giants from 2016-21, serving as captain for his final two campaigns. With the Giants, the 6-foot 200-pound defenseman recorded 83 points (21-62—83), 240 penalty minutes and a plus-47 rating in 219 regular-season games, adding 12 points (2-10—12), 14 penalty minutes and a plus-11 rating in 28 playoff outings. During the 2019 WHL playoffs, Kannok Leipert ranked fourth among defensemen with 12 points (2-10—12) in 22 games, falling 4-3 to Prince Albert in the Ed Chynoweth Cup Finals. From 2015-17, he skated with the Regina Pat Canadians U18 AAA team in the SMAAAHL and recorded a combined 48 points (13-35—48) in 88 regular-season games. In 2016-17, Kannok Leipert was named the SMAAHL’s top defenseman when he paced the league’s blueliners with 35 points (10-25—35) in 44 regular-season games en route to claiming the SMAAHL title, adding 11 points (1-10—11) in 11 postseason outings.

From the Detroit Red Wings:

MARCO KASPER NAMED RED WINGS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR BY DETROIT SPORTS MEDIA

  … 2022 First-Round Pick Was Tied for Fourth Among NHL Rookies with 19 Goals in 2024-25 …

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings forward Marco Kasper has been named the 2024-25 Red Wings Rookie of the Year by the Detroit Sports Media (DSM).

Kasper, 21, skated in 77 games with the Red Wings during the 2024-25 season and ranked among the NHL’s rookie leaders with 19 goals (T4th), 18 assists (8th), 37 points (7th), 34 penalty minutes (T10th), three game-winning goals (T5th), one overtime goal (T3rd) and 145 shots (5th). The 6-foot-1, 197-pound forward recorded the most points by a Red Wings rookie in a single season since Lucas Raymond (23-34-57 in 82 GP) and Moritz Seider (7-43-50 in 82 GP) both reached the 50-point mark in 2021-22. Kasper picked up his first career NHL point with an assist in his season debut on Oct. 19 at Nashville and scored his first career NHL goal on Nov. 15 at Anaheim. He also netted his first career overtime goal on April 11 at Tampa Bay. Kasper (21 years, 3 days) became the fourth-youngest player in Red Wings history at the time of his first career overtime goal, behind Steve Yzerman on Oct. 26, 1983 (18 years, 170 days), Raymond on Nov. 27, 2021 (19 years, 244 days) and Seider on Nov. 6, 2021 (20 years, 214 days).

Originally selected by the Red Wings in the first round (8th overall) of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, Kasper logged two points (1-1-2) and seven penalty minutes in two appearances with the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins to begin the 2024-25 campaign. The Innsbruck, Austria, native spent the entire 2023-24 season with the Griffins, recording 35 points (14-21-35), a plus-nine rating and 30 penalty minutes in 71 regular-season games, in addition to seven points (4-3-7) and 14 penalty minutes in nine Calder Cup Playoff matchups. Kasper made his NHL debut as an 18-year-old on April 2, 2023 at Toronto, recording one shot and three hits in 14:59 of ice time.

The DSM Red Wings Rookie of the Year Award dates back to the 1948-49 NHL season. Previous recipients of the award include Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin and four Calder Memorial Trophy winners: Seider, Roger Crozier, Glenn Hall and Terry Sawchuk.

Update: MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a few quips from Kasper, taken earlier this season:

Continue reading Press release: Red Wings’ Marco Kasper named rookie of the year by Detroit Sports Media

From the Grand Rapids Griffins:

GRIFFINS ANNOUNCE 2025-26 SCHEDULE

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins on Thursday announced their schedule for the 2025-26 American Hockey League season. It will mark the franchise’s 30th campaign overall, 25th as a member of the AHL, and 24th as the primary affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings.

Under third-year head coach Dan Watson, the Griffins will begin a 72-game schedule when they travel to the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park to face the Texas Stars on Friday, Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. EDT. Grand Rapids will return to Van Andel Arena for Opening Night presented by Huntington Bank on Friday, Oct. 17 when it welcomes the Manitoba Moose.

This year’s schedule is comprised of 56 contests against Central Division rivals, 12 games against the North Division and four outings against the Atlantic Division. The Griffins will compete against the Charlotte Checkers, who reached the 2025 Calder Cup Finals, for the first time since the 2016-17 season. The Toronto Marlies also return to the schedule after a brief one-year hiatus. Grand Rapids will begin the campaign on the road for the first time since the 2020-21 season. The schedule includes two season-high four-game homestands from Feb. 13-20 and Feb. 25-March 4, and a season-high five-game road trip from March 15-26. The slate also features 16 back-to-backs and two three-in-threes.

Continue reading Press release: Grand Rapids Griffins release 2025-2026 regular season schedule

This is at least an entertaining look at several Red Wings prospects taking part in a “reaction time game” which is used for both fun and education during the course of the team’s Summer Development Camp:

The Athletic’s Max Bultman ponders what the Red Wings’ path to “internal improvement” is, assuming that the roster remains in its current form (i.e. if there are no trades to bolster the top-six forward group or the top-four defensive group).

Bultman spotlights Marco Kasper, Simon Edvinsson, Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond’s developmental curves, but I’m most interested in the following paragraphs:

Yzerman also alluded to a young player coming up from Grand Rapids and helping the Red Wings, and there are two names that really come to mind.

One is Carter Mazur, who was called up last season only to quickly sustain an upper-body injury and be done for the season. Injuries have followed Mazur as a pro, but he’s the kind of gritty forward with offensive touch who could both help build a tougher-to-play against identity and score more goals in the bottom six.

The other, and perhaps the higher-ceiling candidate, is Nate Danielson — the 2023 ninth pick who had very similar numbers to Kasper in their respective AHL rookie seasons. Whether Danielson makes the team out of camp or not, his blend of size, skating, smarts and skill gives him the potential to play in the top six and complement Detroit’s top players.

Red Wings assistant director of player development Dan Cleary praised Danielson’s finish to last season, particularly the Griffins’ final game (a double-overtime playoff loss to Texas), and Detroit will challenge him to pick up where he left off.

There are other names to know for the season. Forward Amadeus Lombardi is one, after a great second season in Grand Rapids. Both Shai Buium and William Wallinder could bring more size on the back end. And of course, recent first-rounders Michael Brandsegg-Nygård and Axel Sandin Pellikka have big potential once they adjust to North American ice.

But Danielson, because of how truly well-rounded he is, has the most potential to move the needle for Detroit in 2025-26 among the prospects, if he can find his top level consistently.

Continued (paywall); the Wings’ desire for internal improvement will definitely involve a rookie or two making the big club’s roster, and, quite possibly, a veteran or two being supplanted by a younger player.

We all know that the Wings’ current-roster young players have to “take a step” forward for the team to improve; for me, the “x-factors” are members of the Red Wings’ youth movement coming up from Grand Rapids.