Detroit Red Wings

VANCOUVER -- The Detroit Red Wings made people sit up and take notice at the 2019 NHL Draft at Roger Arena in Vancouver.

After the Colorado Avalanche took top-rated defenseman Bowen Byram with the No. 4 pick, most people believed the Wings would look to pick one of the many skilled forwards available.

Instead, general manager Steve Yzerman announced that the Wings were taking German defenseman Moritz Seider.

Seider was stunned when he heard his name so early in the draft.

"I was shocked for sure. I didn't expect that at all," Seider said. "My whole body was shaking. I looked at my mom (Sabine) and she was so excited. It's been an unreal moment for me."

"We think he has excellent hockey sense," Yzerman said after the first round ended. "Obviously, he's a big kid, 6-foot-3, a real good skater. In our opinion, he was one of the top defensemen in the draft and we were picking 6 and 35, we had to make a decision; he wasn't going to be there at 35. We explored options to possibly trade back, we weren't able to do that. We're pretty excited to get him. I know our fans don't know much about him but I think when people come to development camp and see him move, Google him, watch him play a little bit, I think they'll be pleasantly surprised."

Seider, who met with all 31 teams at the combine in Buffalo, said the meeting with Detroit stood out to him.

"That was the longest meeting I had at the combine, about 40 minutes," Seider said. "It was the last meeting, so it kind of stuck in my memory for a long time. In the end, I think there was just a little percentage being drafted by Detroit, but I think in the end it worked out pretty well."

Seider said that Yzerman "wanted to know every single thing about me."

Apparently, the Wings liked what they heard.

"He's very personable," Yzerman said. "If you get a chance … bright, young man. I had a chance to spend some time with him. Very personable, very bright, a lot of energy, excellent athlete, so there's a lot of potential, both in his play and his athleticism, his size."

The Red Line Report had Seider ranked 17th in their final issue, calling him a "Two-way defender with outstanding size and mature beyond his years. Both at the senior and junior levels, plays a calm and collected game, glaring mistakes are as rare as snow in July. Simply does not make any bad decisions. Played huge minutes and nearly all of them as a take-charge-guy. Very good mobility and agility, can skate people out of danger areas. Excellent hockey sense, near perfect positional play and no panic at all.

"Won a DEL championship with Mannheim, then made Germany's senior men's World Championship team afterward. Not used in an offensive role in Mannheim, but showed both at the U-20 and the WC that he excels on the PP too -- distributes the puck well and his wrist shot is hard and accurate. Carries the puck out of his own end or makes great outlets. Only setbacks in a great year were two shoulder injuries, as well as getting driven into the boards at the WC."

Yzerman, who knows something about being a high draft pick, had a little advice for Seider on stage.

"He said just be calm and enjoy the moment because my hands were so shaky and I was so sweaty," Seider said with a laugh. "It's just a fun experience being here."



Although Germany is not known as a hockey hotbed, Seider said he got hooked on the sport at a very young age.

"When I was five, we had the chance in kindergarten to jump on the ice once a week," Seider said. "After a couple of times, I got a paper in my stall from the hockey organization in Zell, my hometown. The next Monday I went there. We skated around with all those pros. It was such a phenomenal feeling. It was a great atmosphere skating around with your idols I would say, your role models. That was the first touch and I fell in love with hockey."

Seider's parents were surprised with their son's love of hockey but ultimately threw their support behind him 100 percent.

In order for Seider to play in Mannheim, his parents quit their jobs and moved with him so he could pursue his dream.

"Honestly, when you play in Germany, it's not that usual that you're drafted some day," Seider said. "It was just a major step going to Mannheim, Mannheim is one of the top organizations in Germany. That was the biggest step for myself at that moment. That was a huge commitment my parents made. I'm just happy to pay a little bit back now."

Seider said he was incredibly appreciative of the sacrifice his parents made for him. "They are in a managing position of an old folks home, so they're taking care of old people," Seider said. "And I think we can we move anywhere in Germany and they will find a new job. But that's not normal, going for the safe jobs, safe money to the unknown and build up a new journey. I think in the end it was the right decision. They made new friends. They have perfect jobs. We have a nice house there."

Seider has never been to Detroit but he said that he thinks he will fit in quite well.

"Mannheim and Detroit have a lot in common, I think," Seider said. "They're both worker cities, so I think going there is going to be easy. I'm really looking forward to being in Detroit."

With Adler Mannheim, Seider had two goals and four assists in 29 games, playing with and against men.

"I would say challenging every single day against pros," Seider said. "It was a huge step for me stepping into pro hockey, matching up with a lot of good guys in Germany. Just learn how to prepare yourselves for important games, especially playoff games, so I think that was a huge step for myself."

Seider also got to play for Team Germany in the recent IIHF men's world championship, including a memorable exhibition game against Team USA.

"It was great to mesh with some of the best guys in the world and I think I did a pretty good job," Seider said. "There was the first exhibition game in Mannheim. I was a little bit nervous. Got toe dragged by (Patrick) Kane. At the moment I realized, 'Okay, just play your game. Play simple hockey.' I finished pretty strong. It was a just a great feeling and even the world championship we had, it was great to be there."

While coaching Team USA, Wings coach Jeff Blashill got a good look at Seider.

"I watched him," Blashill said. "He was hurt by the time we played them. I was really impressed in the tournament. He's big, efficient, smart and he made plays under pressure. For me that's what the best defensemen do. I believe in efficient defensemen. I think that's how you win. Certainly, you need some offensive guys to produce points, and that's something I wouldn't have saw there because as an 18-year-old playing in the men's (league), it's hard to be a guy who's going to produce a whole lot of offense from the blue line, but I thought he handled himself really well. Looks like a guy that can keep growing into his body as well, so happy with that."

The 6-foot-4, 198-pound defenseman already has size on his side but he understands he has things to improve in order to reach the NHL level.

"Probably acceleration is one of the key points. For this summer getting quicker in the first few steps. Getting shots through. It's a little more difficult in North America because the blueline is way further than it is in Europe. That's going to be a big challenge."

 

Red Wings host home opener on Sunday, Oct. 6
Detroit to square off against Dallas Stars for home opener; Full schedule to be unveiled on Tuesday, June 25



DETROIT - The Detroit Red Wings today announced the home opener for the 2019-20 regular season, the franchise's 94th campaign in the National Hockey League, is set for Sunday, Oct. 6 when the Red Wings host the Dallas Stars at 5:00 p.m. at Little Caesars Arena.

The Red Wings have won five of their last six home openers and own a 51-31-9-1 record all-time on opening night. Detroit has opened its home schedule against Dallas on two occasions and split the pair of matchups, with the Stars claiming a 2-1 win in 2013 and the Red Wings earning a 3-1 victory in 1997.

The complete NHL 2019-20 regular season schedule will be revealed on Tuesday, June 25.

 

1) Red Wings stun NHL draft crawd: Moritz Seider with 6th pick

2) Detroit Red Wings — Antti Tuomisto, defender, Finland

3) Detroit Red Wings (from New York Islanders — From Vegas) — Robert Mastrosimone, forward, USHL

4) Detroit Red Wings (from San Jose) — Albert Johansson, defender, Sweden

5) Detroit — Albin Grewe, forward, Djurgårdens IF

6) Detroit Red Wings — Ethan Phillips, forward, Sioux Fall Stampade

7) Detroit — Cooper Moore, defenseman, Brunswick Prep

8) Detroit Red Wings — Elmer Soderblom, forward, Sweden

9) Detroit Red Wings (from Toronto – Detroit) Gustav Berglund, defender, Sweden

10) Detroit — Kirill Tyutyayev, forward, Yekaterinburg 2

11) Detroit (from BUF) — Carter Gylander, forward, Sherwood Park

 

They picked a lot of Euros.

 

The big defenders is a change of pace too.

 

The Wings really haven't adressed their D core for a while. Not sure if Kronwall is coming back next season but this was needed.

 

They did draft Cholowski in 2016 and he did ok last year. I think they have some guns up front and now they're looking to put it together with their D.

 

Yep, I agree. Im certainly glad they drafted nearly as many defenseman as forwards... that's been missing for a while in Detroit and it shows. Kronwall is slow, Ericksson is a 'pylon' and the few remaining are a work in progress. They may still have to pull the trigger on a FA vet, I don't know, but a guy who can run the PP and set things up is vitally needed.

 

They had one of the best core in the league when Lidstrom and Rafalski were there, not easy to replace those players.

 

Kronwall can take time to decide on Red Wings future: report
Defenseman will 'have spot on the team' if he chooses to return for 16th NHL season, GM says



Niklas Kronwall has yet to decide whether to continue his NHL career, but the Detroit Red Wings will wait on the 38-year-old defenseman, even if it takes the entire offseason.

Kronwall can become an unrestricted free agent July 1. He led Red Wings defensemen with 27 points (three goals, 24 assists) in 79 games this season and is 47 games from 1,000 in the NHL.

"We're going to go about our business," Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman told the Detroit Free Press at the 2019 NHL Draft on Saturday. "Nothing really changes. If Nik wants to come back and play, he'll have a spot on the team. I don't anticipate giving you anything really until the end of the summer."

Selected by Detroit in the first round (No. 29) of the 2000 NHL Draft, Kronwall has 432 points (83 goals, 349 assists) in 953 regular-season games and 47 points (five goals, 42 assists) in 109 Stanley Cup Playoff games, winning the Cup in 2008. He is tied with Pavel Datsyuk for ninth on Detroit's games-played list.

The Red Wings could have openings at defenseman entering the 2019-20 season. Danny DeKeyser, Mike Green, Jonathan Ericsson and Trevor Daley are under contract, but Ericsson and Daley each missed significant time because of injury this season. Green played 43 games and his 2018-19 season ended March 7 because of a recurrence of a virus.

The Red Wings have internal options in addition to the free agent market. Filip Hronek, 21, and Dennis Cholowski, 21, are highly regarded defensemen each entering his second NHL season. Madison Bowey, 24, played 17 games after he was acquired in a trade from the Washington Capitals on Feb. 22. Oliwer Kaski, 23, signed a one-year, entry-level contract May 28 after he was named MVP of SM-Liiga, Finland's top professional league, and had 51 points (13 goals, 32 assists), third most by a defenseman in the league's history.

"Before doing it through trade, I would look at free agency to fill those roster spots," said Yzerman, who was named executive vice president and general manager of the Red Wings on April 19. "We also do want to have some opportunity for our younger players to fill those spots, but we will look at free agency. But the player has to fit what we're trying to do. The value of the contract has to fit."

The NHL free agent interview period started Sunday, with free agency beginning July 1.

"I'm going to make some calls and see," he said. "There are players we're interested in. I'll get a feel for, one, if they have any interest in coming to Detroit, and then what the parameters are of what they're looking for."

 

DETROIT - The Detroit Red Wings today announced the roster for their 2019 Development Camp, which will be held at the BELFOR Training Center inside Little Caesars Arena from Tuesday, June 25 to Saturday, June 29. The camp roster currently consists of 24 forwards, 15 defensemen and eight goaltenders.

Ten of the 11 players the Red Wings selected at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft on June 21 and 22 in Vancouver, British Columbia, will be in attendance for Development Camp: forwards Albin Grewe, Robert Mastrosimone, Ethan Phillips and Elmer Soderblom; defensemen Gustav Berglund, Albert Johansson, Cooper Moore, Moritz Seider and Antti Tuomisto; and goaltender Carter Gylander. All 10 of the team's selections from the 2018 NHL Entry Draft are slated to attend, along with five players from the 2017 Entry Draft class, one from 2016 and two from 2015. Additionally, three signed free agents who all saw time with the Red Wings during the 2018-19 season - forwards Taro Hirose and Ryan Kuffner and goaltender Kaden Fulcher - are slated to attend, in addition to 17 free agent prospects from the major junior, collegiate and European ranks.

Seider is one of three former first-round picks who will be in attendance after the Red Wings selected him with the sixth overall pick at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. The 6-foot-4, 207-pound defenseman spent the 2018-19 campaign in Germany's highest professional league, the Deutsch Eishockey Liga, winning the DEL Rookie of the Year Award and helping Adler Mannheim capture the league championship. He also captained Germany at the IIHF World Junior Championship Division 1 and helped the team advance to the top group for the 2020 tournament and skated for the men's team at the IIHF World Championship, becoming the first defenseman aged 18-or-younger to record a point during the tournament since 1982.

Both of the team's first-round picks from the 2018 NHL Entry Draft will attend Development Camp in Filip Zadina (sixth overall) and Joe Veleno (30th overall). Zadina finished sixth in points for the Griffins as the second-youngest player in the American Hockey League, posting 35 points (16-19-35) in 59 games, while making his NHL debut with Detroit by recording three points (1-2-3) in nine games. Veleno starred in his final season of major-junior hockey, racking up 104 points (42-62-104) in 59 games with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Drummondville Voltigeurs, posting the second-best points-per-game average (1.72) in the league and finishing as a finalist for QMJHL MVP, as well as a spot on the QMJHL First All-Star Team.

Other signed prospects slated to attend include left wing Taro Hirose, who tied for the lead in NCAA scoring (along with Penn State forward Alex Limoges, who is also attending camp as a tryout) with 50 points (15-35-50) in 36 games and went on to record seven points (1-6-7) in his first 10 NHL games with the Red Wings; right wing Ryan Kuffner, who signed with Detroit after finishing his career at Princeton University as the school's all-time leading goal-scorer, with 75 goals in 132 career games; defenseman Gustav Lindstrom, a former second-round pick (38th overall in 2017) who won a Swedish Hockey League championship with Frolunda HC in his first season competing in Sweden's highest league; and goaltender Filip Larsson, who led the University of Denver to the NCAA National Championship game as a freshman and was a NCHC All-Rookie Team member as a former sixth-round pick (167th overall in 2016).

 

Watch that Grand Rapids UDFA, Jarid Lukosevicius. He's kind of small, but he had an outstanding career at the Univ. of Denver. He can pot the puck with alacrity! I think that he has the potential to develop into an NHL bottom-nine winger if he puts in a lot of work.

 

I have to disagree with Dana Wakiji, Elmer Soderblom looks slow and stiff. Still a kid maybe he'll get more fluid. Worth a 6th round flier for sure tho just on the size.

love it, only Dan can describe hockey this way. one of his many great traits.

 

lol, that's what they do in Detroit... human pylons!!!

 

Calvin Pickard has signed a two-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings.
Pickard made 17 appearances last season with Philadelphia and Arizona. He had four wins, which all came with the Flyers, along with a 3.86 goals-against average and .875 save percentage.

 

Patrik Nemeth has signed a two-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings.
Nemeth had 10 points, 53 penalty minutes, 131 blocks and 137 hits in 74 games with Colorado last season.