Someone posted a picture of Vrana hanging out outside the locker room today. More importantly, he was in warmup gear, so hopefully he’s back by the end of the month. This team is finding its level, but it would be cool if they had two lines worth watching as opposed to one. Competitive losses would be quite awesome to see in January.
I believe I read that some SHL teams were leery about releasing some of its younger players to the Olympics. Could be bullshit, but I am sure they can pressure the Swedish federation to take older guys if that’s true.
That 1st period was one of the most thorough ass beatings I've ever seen in hockey. Ned playing his ass off though.
I am not expecting any movement until the deadline, but something needs to change with this team in the interim. Zadina has been a bust but I would give him one more crack on the top line to see what happens because it can’t be much worse than things are now. I propose: Zadina - Larkin - Raymond Bertuzzi - Suter - Fabbri Rasmussen - Veleno - Namestikov Smith - Gagner - Erne And then when Vrana is back next month, and we presumably trade Vlad and Leddy, I would waive Rowney and give this a shot: Bertuzzi - Larkin - Raymond Zadina - Suter - Vrana Berggren - Veleno - Fabbri Smith - Rasmussen - Gagber Sebrango - Seider Staal - Hronek DeKeyser - Lindstrom
Raymond was awesome tonight. He will need to be that good at a minimum as long as Larkin and Bertuzzi are out since he’s likely going to be player with Fabbri and Suter.
Retire Fedorov’s number GM - Stevie Y VP Hockey Ops - Lidstrom Director of Scouting - Hakan Head Coach - Fedorov Asst Coach - Larionov Director of Player Development - Kronwall
I’m sure I’ve told the story on here somewhere, but my claim to fame was when his oldest daughter told the whole school we hooked up, presumably to try to seem cool for hooking up with an older guy. Unfortunately, it was not true.
Could you imagine the Wings rolling to an away game and the first three people off the plane/bus into the rink are Yzerman, Fedorov and Lidstrom?
The Athletic's (Corey Pronman) best under-23 players.... Today I update my rankings of the best young players affiliated with NHL teams. This ranking comprises the best players currently on an NHL roster or on an NHL team’s reserve list who are under the age of 23 as of Jan. 1, 2022. This analysis is forward-looking, meaning these are the players I would want on my team for the rest of their career, not in a game tomorrow. For the first time in a while, we’ve had data from every major hockey league to provide for a more normal update to this list — though we have no results from the world juniors to incorporate into this ranking as a result of the cancellation of the 2021-22 tournament. The players who I feel are among the upper echelon of young talent in the game are placed in a tier corresponding to their NHL projection. Their skating, puck skills, hockey sense and compete level are also given a grade, with their shot given a grade if it’s notably good or poor. The grading scale for tools consists of six levels, so it could be interpreted as 1-6, but it will be written out as: poor, below NHL average, NHL average, above NHL average, high-end and elite. Previous ranking references are made to the Sept. 2021 list. Keep in mind there are fewer players eligible for this iteration than last time due to the graduation of many late birthdate picks from the 2017 draft. 3. Lucas Raymond, LW, Detroit Mar. 28, 2002 | 5-foot-10 | 170 pounds Drafted: No. 4 in 2020 Sept. 2021 Ranking: 25 Tier: Projected bubble elite NHL player and NHL All-Star Skating: NHL average Puck skills: High-end Hockey sense: Above NHL average Compete: NHL average Shot: Above NHL average Raymond has been as good as even his biggest fans could have hoped he’d be right away as a teenager in the NHL. He’s been a top player for the Wings, being a big part of their offense all season and playing the flank on their top power play. His skill and vision are exceptional and allow him to create a lot of chances despite not being the biggest or fastest small guy you’ve ever seen. In part that’s because he’s a strong competitor who shows good agility in his feet. He looks like a current and future NHL star who will be a big part of turning around the Detroit franchise. 6. Moritz Seider, RHD, Detroit Apr. 6, 2001 | 6-foot-4 | 183 pounds Drafted: No. 6 in 2019 Sept. 2021 Ranking: 17 Tier: Projected NHL All-Star Skating: NHL average Puck skills: NHL average Hockey sense: NHL average Compete: Above NHL average However high the hype could have been on Seider coming into this season, he has met those expectations and arguably exceeded them. He has been a big, mobile, physical defenseman for Detroit who can make stops you expected, but his offensive touch has also been really good. He’s shown more individual skill than I’ve seen from him in previous years to go with the athletic assets, making him a true two-way force as a rookie NHL player. He looks like a potential cornerstone defenseman.
40. Simon Edvinsson 112. Filip Zadina 113. Michael Rasmussen 116. Joe Veleno 124. Sebastian Cossa 126. Jonatan Berggren
I’ve grown to appreciate Givani not holding back over these last few games. I think he’s been so scared of messing up and getting benched that he’s been less aggressive than he’s been in the past. He’s nothing more than a fourth liner, but it’s nice having a guy on this team people have to be worried about. Hopefully he keeps this up.
The last two months have all but erased any good will Blashill earned with our start. This team is back to making the most simple plays incredibly challenging, and don’t get me started on the PP. It doesn’t make sense to fire him now, but this season needs to be it for him.
My hunch is they won’t bring him up until he has a full time spot in the top 9. I imagine it is called up if we trade Vlad, for example.
Perfect post trade deadline call up for 9 games. I believe 26 points in his last 25 games. Seems like you can pencil him into the opening night lineup next year in Detroit.