Prospect round-up: Berggren scores, Raymond posts assist in SHL action; Hronek posts a helper in Czech league

Of prospect-related note today:

In Europe, in the Finnish Liiga, Victor Brattstrom served as the back-up in KooKoo’s 4-0 win over Sport. Brattstrom was pulled in KooKoo’s previous game;

In the Czech Extraliga, Filip Hronek had an assist and 2 shots, finishing at +2 in 23:17 as Mountfield HK won 5-2 over HC Dynamo Pardubice:

Here’s Hronek’s secondary assist from today. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/IPMTq0Inel— Jay (@hwcJay) November 19, 2020

In the SHL, Lucas Raymond had an assist and 3 shots on goal, finishing even in 13:49 played, and Theodor Niederbach had 2 shots in 11:20 played as the Frolunda Indians won 4-1 over IK Oskarshamn:

Jonatan Berggren had a goal on two shots, finishing even in 13:13 played as Skelleftea AIK won 3-1 over Djurgarden. Albin Grewe had 2 shots in 11:56 played for Djurgarden.

Matias Brome had an assist and 3 shots, finishing at +1 in 17:42 played as Orebro Hockey lost 4-3 in overtime to Lulea Hockey;

In NCAA Division I hockey, tonight, Sam Stange and the University of Wisconsin will battle the University of Michigan, and that game will air on Fox Sports Detroit at 7 PM EST:

And at the Canadian World Junior Selection Camp, Red Wings prospect and Kitchener Rangers defenseman Donovan Sebrango was listed as the 7th defenseman for “Team White” today:

Nov. 19 | Practice lines for Team White ⚪️ pic.twitter.com/IixzuCSeYT— #WorldJuniors (@HC_WJC) November 19, 2020

Update: Sam Stange finished at -2 in the University of Wisconsin’s 5-2 loss to Michigan on Thursday night.

Update #2: Via Red Wings Prospects on Twitter, Ryan O’Reilly didn’t score in the Arizona State University Sun Devils’ 1-1 tie with Michigan State.

Grand Rapids Griffins cancel 2021 Great Skate

Crap. Per the Grand Rapids Griffins:

GRIFFINS’ GREAT SKATE WINTERFEST CANCELED FOR 2021, WILL RETURN IN 2022

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins on Thursday announced that their 18th annual Great Skate Winterfest, set for Jan. 16-17, 2021 at Rosa Parks Circle in downtown Grand Rapids, has been canceled due to the realities of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The beloved fundraiser for the Griffins Youth Foundation will return in January 2022.

“Given the recent delay of the American Hockey League’s target start date to Feb. 5, the difficulty of rescheduling within a compressed Griffins game schedule before the onset of spring, and most notably the unique up-close-and-personal nature of our event, we’ve had to make the difficult but inevitable decision to cancel this season’s Great Skate Winterfest,” said event founder Bob Kaser, the Griffins’ vice president of community relations and broadcasting who also serves as president of the Griffins Youth Foundation.

“This is extremely disappointing for our team, our fans and our foundation, which receives more than $30,000 from the Great Skate Winterfest each year and will have to do without a crucial funding component for its programming. However, as we look to bring it back better than ever in 2022, we are excited about an alternative online fundraising event that’s on the drawing board of our event co-chairs – Kirk Morgan of the foundation and Randy Cleves of the Griffins – and we look forward to sharing details with all of our supporters in the coming weeks,” added Kaser.

Anyone wishing to support the Griffins Youth Foundation’s mission is invited to make a secure online donation by visiting griffinskids.org.

Established in 1995, the Griffins Youth Foundation promotes academic excellence, community involvement and healthy lifestyles among the youth of West Michigan, enhancing their lives through hockey and ice-related sports. The foundation provides opportunities for nearly 500 deserving boys and girls – many of whom are underprivileged, underserved, at-risk or have special needs – to participate in the great sport of hockey at no cost. Programs currently include co-ed hockey for first through 12th graders, a girls-only division, learn-to-skate and learn-to-play programs, and the Grand Rapids Sled Wings sled hockey team for children and teens with physical disabilities.

Sportsnet’s ‘Greatest: NHL Goal of the 21st Century’ pits Datsyuk vs. Crosby today

Today’s match-up in Sportsnet’s, “The Greatest: NHL Goal of the 21st Century” battle involves Pavel Datsyuk’s Datsyukian Deke vs. Marty Turco vs. Sidney Crosby scoring a skating-through-the-team goal vs. Buffalo in 2017.

You can vote for the best goal here…

‘The Word on Woodward’ to feature appearances from Robby Fabbri, Larry Murphy and Ansar Khan, today at 12 PM EST

Per the Red Wings, here’s a summary of today’s “The Word on Woodward” guests. The show starts at 12 PM EST:

Today’s episode features a surprise visit from Red Wings forward Robby Fabbri, four-time Stanley Cup champion Larry Murphy and Carley and Art are joined by MLive.com’s Ansar Khan.

Roughly translated: Albin Grewe speaks with HockeyNews.se

Red Wings prospect Albin Grewe is playing a part-time role with Djurgardens IF of the SHL, playing mostly “fourth line” minutes, but Grewe will head over to the OHL to play for the Saginaw Spirit in a couple of months, and he managed to score his first goal of the SHL season this week after being promoted to Djurgarden’s third line on an interim basis.

Grewe spoke with HockeyNews.se’s Mattias Ek regarding his experiences playing for Djurgarden and his status as the most unusual kind of Swedish prospect–a “shift disturber.”

What follows is roughly translated from Swedish:

Grewe’s battle in Djurgarden will lead to his NHL dream with the Detroit Red Wings

STOCKHOLM. While waiting for his hockey adventure in the USA, Albin Grewe, 19, takes every chance he can to play for Djurgarden in the SHL.

The NHL team Detroit, via Niklas Kronwall and Shawn Horcoff, keeps a close eye on him.

“I talk to them, especially Kronwall, every week,” Grewe says to HockeyNews.se.

Continue reading Roughly translated: Albin Grewe speaks with HockeyNews.se

Gustav Lindstrom extends stay with Almtuna IS (until the Red Wings recall him)

According to both Hockeysverige.se’s Rasmus Kagstrom and Hockeynews.se’s Sebastian Von Eichwald, Red Wings defenseman Gustav Lindstrom has signed an extension with Almtuna IS of the Swedish Allsvenskan after his contract with the team expired on November 15th.

Lindstrom will now stay with the team until the Red Wings recall him, according to Almunta’s website and Lindstrom himself, per Almtuna’s Twitter account:

Canadiens.com posts ’24 Questions With Chris Chelios’

Former Red Wings, Canadiens and Blackhawks defenseman Chris Chelios had a long and storied career, and this afternoon, the Montreal Canadiens’ website posted a video of a Q and A session that Chelios gave to the Canadiens a year ago, while driving to last year’s Captains’ Reunion…

And there’s an accompanying Q and A with Canadiens.com’s Shauna Denis:

You’re probably the most interesting person we’ve ever interviewed… 
I don’t know why I ended up playing hockey. Obviously for a reason, that was my thing, but it was not my intention to be a hockey player. I enjoyed doing everything. Growing up I was never saying, “I can’t wait to play in the NHL” or “I’m going to make it to the NHL.” It wasn’t realistic. I was small, there were no Americans playing at the time. I think not having that burden or pressure on me, like some kids do, it helped me and it got me out doing other things. 

When it finally did come time and it was a reality that I might just make it, I concentrated on hockey a lot more but even then, once I got out of the rink, it was whatever I wanted to do. And I never let anything stop me. 

Khan: Moritz Seider made the decision to skip the World Junior Championship

Much earlier today, Hockeysverige.se’s Uffe Bodin broke the news that Moritz Seider won’t take part in the World Junior Championship with Team Germany as he’s going to stay with Rogle BK of the SHL, and, this evening, MLive’s Ansar Khan reports that Seider made the decision to stay with Rogle of his own accord, per Red Wings assistant GM Ryan Martin:

“We left it up to the player,” Martin said. “He has made the decision that he would like to continue playing with Rogle (in the Swedish Hockey League) as opposed to the World Juniors. We would have been supportive of whatever he wanted to do.”

Seider weighed several factors, including the travel, having to spend time in a bubble and having to miss several games in Sweden.

The 6-4, 207-pound defenseman is on loan to Rogle BK, in Sweden’s top men’s league, and flourishing. He has two goals and five assists in eight games.

“He’s playing very well, getting a lot of opportunities, special teams time,” Martin said. “We’re watching on video. That league isn’t allowing scouts in buildings (due to the coronavirus pandemic). It’s been a great fit for him.”

Martin said Seider will remain with Rogle until its season is complete, which is a requirement for new players entering Sweden’s top league. He will then join either the Red Wings or the Grand Rapids Griffins – if the AHL is playing — after Rogle is done.

NHL Network posts a short interview with Steve Yzerman

The NHL Network posted a quick interview with Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman this evening…

And The Score’s Brandon Maron took note of Yzerman’s remarks:

General manager Steve Yzerman continues to steer the rebuilding Detroit Red Wings in the right direction, but he knows he still has a lot of work to do.

“Yeah, I think so,” Yzerman said Wednesday on NHL Network when asked if he’s happy with the direction of his team after its offseason additions. “Obviously we have a lot of work to do. … Every team feels good about their offseason but the players that we’ve added I think will help us.”

Yzerman has been one of the league’s busiest executives since the opening of the free-agency period. He’s added the likes of Vladislav Namestnikov, Bobby Ryan, Thomas Greiss, Troy Stecher, and Jon Merrill.

He also re-signed two key players in Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi. Mantha secured a four-year contract worth $22.8 million, while Bertuzzi was awarded a one-year, $3.5-million deal in arbitration.

The Red Wings experienced a historically bad season last year, going 17-49-5 and finishing dead-last in the league. Despite the tough campaign, Yzerman feels hopeful about the future thanks to the team’s young stars and recent draft picks.

“Our younger players performed well. You mentioned Tyler and Anthony and Dylan Larkin and Filip Hronek,” Yzerman said. “Robby Fabbri did really well coming over from St. Louis, so if we can slowly add to that group with maybe one or two younger players again this year and keep adding to the group slowly over time, we’re hopeful as some of these younger players that the Red Wings have drafted over the last two-to-three years slowly move into the lineup and continue to try to improve the team slowly each year.”

Update: I had a feeling that the interview was longer, so I did some digging. Here’s the full 10-minute-and-55-second interview: