Walleye re-sign goaltender Billy Christopoulos

Great news for the Toledo Walleye today, per the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe:

The Toledo Walleye have re-signed goaltender Billy Christopoulos, who returns after starting his pro career with the ECHL organization.

Christopoulos, 26, played in 29 games and produced a stellar 24-3-3 record for the Walleye last season.

In his first pro season, Christopoulos led the ECHL with a .932 save percentage and posted a 2.30 goals-against average, which was the sixth best total in the league. His 24 wins ranked third most in the ECHL.

“We are very fortunate and excited to have, in my opinion, the best young goalie in the ECHL back in Toledo,” Walleye coach Dan Watson said.

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Prospect round-up: A ballsy sort of day for Moritz Seider

Of prospect-related note from a busy Thursday:

In the Belarusian League, Kirill Tyutyayev scored a goal, finishing at +1 with 3 shots in Yunost Minsk’s 5-1 win over Mogolev;

In the SHL, the Albert Johansson-less Farjestads BK won 5-1 over Linkoping;

Albin Grewe (coronavirus) didn’t play in Djurgardens IF’s 5-2 win over Orebro Hockey. Matias Brome had an assist and finished even with 5 shots in 20:13 played for Orebro;

Moritz Seider had an assist and finished at +1 with 1 shot in 20:47 played as Rogle BK defeated Skelleftea AIK 5-2. Jonatan Berggren had an assist but finished at -2 in 15:32 played for Skelleftea…

One of the game’s big stories was Seider getting slashed in the nether regions by Oscar Moller…Moller was ejected and got 25 minutes in penalties for the major offense:

Continue reading Prospect round-up: A ballsy sort of day for Moritz Seider

Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill’s part of The Athletic’s latest ‘Full 60’ podcast

From The Athletic:

You can listen to the podcast here.

The Athletic’s LeBrun Tweets probable division alignment for 20-21 season

Per The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun:

HSJ: Wings’ captaincy one of many unsettled situations as coach Blashill prepares for 20-21 season

The Free Press’s Helene St. James engaged in a Q and A with Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill on Wednesday afternoon, and Blashill addressed an “elephant in the room”:

Dylan Larkin was earmarked to be named captain before the start of the 2019-20 season, but that was when Ken Holland was the general manager. When Steve Yzerman took the job, he decided he wanted to get to know his players before making the decision. In May, Yzerman said he anticipated naming a captain before the 2020-21 season, but that was before it became clear the season would have to start without fans at games. Will that affect the decision?

“Steve and I talked about it at that time,” Blashill said. “We haven’t had that conversation in a little bit, so I would just leave that statement sit as it was.”

The team held news conferences when Yzerman was named captain in 1986, and again when Henrik Zetterberg was named captain in 2013. For Nicklas Lidstrom, he was announced as the new captain on opening night in 2006, drawing a standing ovation.

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Wednesday’s Prospect Round-up: Larsson loses in OT

Of prospect-related note from Wednesday, December 9th:

In the ICE Hockey League, Michael Rasmussen finished at -1 with 3 shots and a penalty taken in the Graz99ers’ 5-2 loss to Red Bulls Salzburg. Jesper Eliasson served as the back-up for RBS;

And in the Swedish Allsvenskan, Gustav Lindstrom finished even with 3 shots and a penalty taken in 24:44 played during Almtuna IS’s 3-2 overtime loss to Vasterviks IK. Filip Larsson stopped 21 of 24 shots for Almtuna.

Possible AHL divisional formats from Inside AHL Hockey’s Androckitis

FYI for AHL fans, per Inside AHL Hockey’s Tony Androckitis:

Not that @frank_seravalli needs my confirmation, but I heard from a source back in mid-November (Nov 14?) that said a probable realignment would have #LVPhantoms in the same division as Utica for 2020-21 season.— Tony Androckitis (@TonyAndrock) December 9, 2020

Here are the proposed AHL divisions (not finalized), per @frank_seravalli:

AHL Eastern Conference

North: Binghamton, Cleveland, Hershey, Lehigh Valley, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica & #WBSPens.

Atlantic: Bridgeport, Charlotte, Hartford, Providence, Springfield.— Tony Androckitis (@TonyAndrock) December 9, 2020

AHL Western Conference

Central: Chicago, Grand Rapids, Iowa, Milwaukee, Rockford, Texas.

Pacific: Bakersfield, Colorado, Henderson, Ontario, San Diego, San Jose, Stockton, Tucson.— Tony Androckitis (@TonyAndrock) December 9, 2020