HSJ profiles Vladislav Namestnikov

The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a profile of Red Wings free agent signing Vladislav Namestnikov earlier this afternoon. Namestnikov is a 27-year-old forward who’s the nephew of former Red Wing Vyacheslav Kozlov:

According to his agent, Dan Milstein, Namestnikov had other options in free agency but liked the idea of joining the Wings.  For one thing, it means living year-round in the area he has called home most of his life. (Namestnikov lived in metro Detroit from ages 4-9, moved back to his native Russia, then returned at 17). For another, it means being reunited with Yzerman, who as general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning drafted Namestnikov 27th overall in 2011.

Namestnikov (5-foot-11, 181 pounds) was traded to the New York Rangers at the 2018 deadline. He spent one full season with the Rangers before being traded again, at the start of last season, to the Ottawa Senators. They then flipped him to the Colorado Avalanche at the trade deadline, making for a whirlwind season for Namestnikov.

The Wings offered Namestnikov stability, and a chance to enhance his value. He’s adept at playing center or wing, and could be a fit on any of the top three lines as well as helping the power play. An excellent skater, Namestnikov has an eye both for making passes and taking shots.

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Red Wings prospect Jack Adams is transferring from Union

According to the Union College Daily Gazette, Red Wings prospect Jack Adams has responded to his team opting out of ECAC conference play by choosing to transfer to another school:

It didn’t take long for members of the Union and RPI men’s ice hockey programs to start looking for new schools, now that both have canceled their 2020-21 seasons.

Union head coach Rick Bennett confirmed that star senior forward Jack Adams, a Detroit Red Wings draft pick, has entered the NCAA transfer portal.

It was reported last week that RPI’s star goalie, Owen Savory, had already put his name in the portal in anticipation of the lost season, and head coach Dave Smith confirmed that Savory had landed at UMass Lowell.

RPI announced on Monday that it was canceling, and Union followed suit on Tuesday, leaving ECAC Hockey with just four of 12 teams planning to play.

Adams, projected to be Union’s leading goal scorer this season, missed his junior year in 2019-20 after blowing out his knee during the Red Wings’ prospect development camp in the summer of 2019.

Prospect round-up: an unremarkable day in the Finnish Liiga

Of prospect-related note in the Finnish Liiga:

Eemil Viro played 14:22 in TPS Turku’s 3-2 OT loss to KalPa;

Victor Brattstrom had a rough night, stopping 6 of 11 shots in KooKoo’s 6-1 loss to Ilves Tampere (he was pulled);

And Otto Kivenmaki finished at -1 in 14:48 played, and Kasper Kotkansalo took 4 shots, a penalty, and finished even in 24:33 played as Assat Pori lost 5-3 to the Lahti Pelicans.

Worrisome ECHL news from Jeff Marek: North Division to not play this year(?)

Not good news for the ECHL, from Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek:

Sounds like the ECHL will announce a number of teams will not be playing this season.— Jeff Marek (@JeffMarek) November 18, 2020

The Red Wings’ ECHL affiliate, the Toledo Walleye, play in the ECHL’s Central Division, and they’ll open their 2020-2021 season on January 14th.

Update: Per ESPN’s Greg Wyshysnski:

Continue reading Worrisome ECHL news from Jeff Marek: North Division to not play this year(?)

A trio of Tweets of historical note

Of historical Twitter-related note, per the Detroit News’s Gregg Krupa…

And DetroitHockey.net’s Clark Rasmussen:

Wings’ website profiles Troy Stecher

DetroitRedWings.com’s Brett McWethy filed a profile of new Red Wings defenseman Troy Stecher:

A myriad of factors were appealing and led Troy Stecher to signing a two-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings. Perhaps above all, he sees something special being built, and wants to be a part of the young core that brings winning hockey back to Detroit.

Stecher is a 26-year-old defenseman that has four years of solid experience in the NHL, including playing in all 69 games and making his postseason debut for the Vancouver Canucks last season.

There’s no doubt the Red Wings are strengthening their blue line by adding a skater of Stecher’s caliber. But they’re also gaining a player whose age and experience aligns nicely with many of the young pieces already making their mark in Hockeytown. As he told Daniella Bruce and Art Regner on The Word on Woodward on Nov. 5, Stecher is hoping to assimilate quickly to a group that is growing up together on the ice.

“It was a mutual interest between both groups (during free agency). Obviously with the organization, and myself as a player,” Stecher said on The Word on Woodward’s Downtown Hockeytown segment, presented by Labatt Blue Light. “I like the age group of their core, with (Dylan) Larkin and (Anthony) Mantha and (Tyler) Bertuzzi. They’re all kind of the same age as I am. Not overly old. I’m not young, but I have four years of experience in the league now. So, hopefully I can mesh well with the group.”

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FYI: Matias Brome sits down with Orebro Hockey’s website for a video interview…in Swedish

You won’t get much out of this unless you speak Swedish, but Matias Brome spoke with Orebro Hockey’s website regarding his departure date for Detroit (which he doesn’t know, saying, “There are many who know more than me and Detroit”), his chemistry with linemate Robin Kovacs, and more over the course of a 3-minute-and-24-second video interview.

“Det är många som verkar veta mer än mig och Detroit”

Mathias Bromé berättar om samarbetet med Robin Kovács, datum för avresa till Detroit samt uppsnack inför torsdagens bortamatch mot Luleå.

▶️ https://t.co/VYkNLQqHsy pic.twitter.com/ImJhf3hDH7— Örebro Hockey (@orebrohockey) November 18, 2020

Roughly Translated: Hockeysverige.se’s Bodin reports that Moritz Seider won’t play at the World Junior Championship

According to Hockeysverige.se’s Uffe Bodin, Red Wings prospect Moritz Seider will remain with Rogle BK of the Swedish Hockey League during the time that the World Junior Championship takes place.

This isn’t great news for Seider, who would have earned oodles of ice time as the Germans’ captain at the World Junior Championship in Edmonton, but this will prevent Seider from missing almost a month’s worth of time with his SHL team, Rogle BK, and that’s probably better for his professional development. One could also suggest that this is a sign that the Wings see Seider as closer to the NHL than previously believed.

What follows is roughly translated from Swedish:

Stopped from World Junior Championship Games–Will Continue in the SHL

Moritz Seider has been successful during his short time with Rögle. And now he will have the chance to continue to do so over the Christmas and New Year holidays. Now comes the news that the Detroit Red Wings will not let him go to the WJC.

Today, Germany’s World Junior Championship team was unveiled. It includes, among others, the super prospect Tim Stützle, who was selected as the third player by the Ottawa Senators in the draft last month, as well as  Lukas Reichel, who was chosen by the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round. 

One who is missing in the team, however, is the Detroit Red Wings to Rögle-loaned defenseman Moritz Seider, 19.

Seider, who was captain of the German Team during last year’s tournament, will not play at the WJC. The German Ice Hockey Association also states this in the press release where they present their team. According to the Germans, it is because the Detroit Red Wings aren’t giving the go-ahead for the defenseman-talent to participate in the tournament.

STAYS IN ÄNGELHOLM

For Rögle, this means that they can keep Moritz Seider on the team during the games before and after Christmas and New Year. So far, the youngster has posted seven points (2 goals + 5 assists) in eight SHL games. [His loan to Rögle] is valid for the rest of the SHL season.

Tim Stützle’s World Junior Championship participation depends on how he manages to heal after an arm fracture which he suffered a little over a month ago. According to German national team captain Tobias Abstreiter, there is good hope that he will be ready to play because the tournament doesn’t start until after Christmas.

“If his healing process continues as it has so far, there are good reasons to be optimistic. There are still five weeks left until the World Championship begins,” he says in the statement.

Down Goes Brown ponders whether the Wings can buck the odds this upcoming season

This morning, The Athletic’s Sean McIndoe, a.k.a. “Down Goes Brown,” reviews the ten “worst teams” from fellow Athletic scribe Dom Luszczyszyn’s 2020-2021 season preview, with McIndoe attempting to discern whether these “bad teams” might be able to escape their respectively-prescripted fates…

And let’s just say that he’s not optimistic about the Red Wings’ chances of finishing somewhere other than last place:

So here’s what needs to happen. First, the goaltending has to be fantastic, and that might not actually be all that far-fetched. Thomas Greiss was a real nice signing, and he’s had two seasons of .925 or better in the last five years. So pencil him in for something like that, and the Wings are already a much better team.

Next, we need to improve an offense that ranked dead last. Maybe this is the year Dylan Larkin breaks through to the 80 or even 90-point tier. Tyler Bertuzzi and Anthony Mantha have shown flashes, and would need to do it over a full season. A comeback year from Bobby Ryan would help. Filip Zadina arrives with a bang. Maybe Lucas Raymond too? Marc Staal rediscovers his game, Troy Stecher takes a step, and let’s even say Moritz Seider arrives ahead of schedule. Hell, while we’re at it, let’s also have it all somehow come together for Robby Fabbri.

If every single one of those things happens, the Wings are up to … what, maybe 85 points?

Yeah, that’s about the best I can do. To get the rest of the way to the playoffs, you need a few crazy things to happen. Maybe Steve Yzerman swings an unexpected deal, or finally pulls the trigger on Jeff Blashill and replaces him with the next Scotty Bowman. I could go on, but at some point it feels like we’re patronizing Wings fans. They know what they’re up against. The odds are overwhelming.

But it’s not completely impossible, because this is still the NHL, and if an expansion team can do it, well, maybe a team like Detroit could too. Do you believe in miracles?

Continued (paywall); now I’m biased, but my answer to DGB’s commentary is, “Yes, it does feel like we Wings fans are being patronized.” I’m not expecting the 2020-2021 Red Wings to make the playoffs, but I am hoping that the team will be much more competitive, regardless of whether that “less bad”-ness adds up to enough wins to earn the privilege of postseason play.

Prospect round-up: Hronek drops the gloves in Czech Extraliga; Rasmussen still inconsistent in Graz

Of prospect-related note:

In the Czech Extraliga, Filip Zadina had 6 shots and finished at +1 in 15:02 played as Ocelari Trinec won 6-3 over Ceske Budejovice;

Filip Hronek got in a fight, taking 10 + 2 + 2 minutes in penalties, but he still managed to play 22:09, finishing at -1 in HK Mountfield lost 4-0 to HC Energie Karlovy Vary. Jan Bednar didn’t play as a back-up for Karlovy Vary.

You can watch Hronek’s fight here (he won) on Hokej.cz;

In the Swedish Allsvenskan, William Wallinder finished at -2 in 10:37 played as MODO Hockey got spanked 7-0 by Vita Hasten;

And in the ICE Hockey League, Michael Rasmussen registered an assist but finished at -2 with a 10-minute misconduct taken over the course of the Graz99ers’ 4-3 shootout win over the Kolner Haie.