Every NHL draft pick wants to get to skate in the show, to experience the lifestyle of an NHLer. For Detroit Red Wings draft choice Oscar Plandowski, that’s been a reality in his life for as long as he can remember.

His father Darryl is the director of amateur scouting for the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes. Plandowski’s mother Jill works as a power skating coach in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her pupils include Red Wings defensive prospect Jared McIsaac.

The hockey life surrounds Oscar Plandowski.

“It was normal for me,” Oscar said. “I never got to experience anything different. But I think as a little kid it was the coolest being able to go into games for free walking in with my dad, going to see junior games, traveling with him on the road the occasional time.

“It has its perks, it also has its negatives as a kid, when your dad’s not there most of the winter, that can be tough, but I think the positives outweigh the negatives, especially preparing for the draft it was definitely huge.”

Prior to moving to the Coyotes in 2019, Darryl Plandowski spent 12 seasons working as a scout with the Tampa Bay Lightning, 11 of those as Tampa Bay’s head amateur scout. His boss for many of those years was current Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman.

“My dad worked for Steve for a little bit, so I guess there’s a little bit of a connection there,” Oscar said. “I’m also close family friends with Dennis Vial. He played for the Red Wings.

“I have some close friends drafted by Detroit, Ethan Phillips and Jared McIsaac, guys from around here that are in the system. This is definitely a perfect scenario.”

Constructive Criticism

Being the son of an NHL scout, Plandowski never had to wonder what the scouting report was on his abilities. He always got the truth from his dad – even when the truth hurt.

“Believe me, I grew up with some pretty constructive criticism,” Oscar said. “When I get it from coaches, it’s not as bad. I’ve grown up being able to take heat on games.

“When I was a lot younger, I’d get more upset or angry at him when I got criticism. But in the long run it’s pretty helpful having someone who knows the game to be able to critique me.”

.@IslandersHKY d-man Oscar Plandowski joins the @DetroitRedWings organization after being claimed with the 155th pick.#NHLDraft | #MeetTheFuture pic.twitter.com/dJ5RHoDheK

— QMJHL (@QMJHL) July 24, 2021

Exactly what is the scouting report on Plandowski?

“Excellent skating, puck moving defenseman, creative with the puck, skilled hands to control the puck while gaining the zone, uses his hands and feet to open up lanes, solid vision and puck distributor,” noted Dan Stewart of Draft Prospects Hockey. “He can play a little risky and get himself out of position by being too aggressive at times, although his skating helps him recover many times.”

Better Late Than Never

Plandowski is seen as a project in terms of his NHL potential. That explains why his name didn’t come off the board until 155th overall to the Red Wings during the 2021 NHL entry draft. The 6-foot, 190-pound defenseman collected 5-12-17 numbers with the QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders during the 2020-21 season.

Extremely honoured to be selected by the @DetroitRedWings . A huge thank you goes out to my family, and everyone else who has helped me get to this point. Excited for what the future holds! #GoWings pic.twitter.com/QHgdpkldey

— Oscar Plandowski (@OscarPlandowski) July 25, 2021

“That was one of the tougher experiences I’ve had to go through,” Oscar said of the sitting and waiting on draft day. “I hoped to be drafted a little higher. The biggest thing is just being drafted in general.

“When the rounds keep going by and you see your buddies get called it’s kind of painful, but I wouldn’t change how it turned out.  At the end of the day, I’m with a team that wanted me the most, so I wouldn’t change anything for the world.”

The post Wings Pick Plandowski Grew Up In Hockey World appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

Summer hockey is all about evaluation and development. This is exactly the approach that Swedish world junior coach Tomas Monten is taking in assessing the talent pool available to his team.

Sweden’s national junior team just got back home from the World Junior Summer Showcase. Monten will be taking almost an entirely new lineup to the upcoming Four Nations Cup in the Czech Republic.

There are 18 new players on the Swedish roster who weren’t in Plymouth, Mich. for the WJSS. Among the news faces in the selections is Detroit Red Wings draft pick Liam Dower Nilsson.

Dower Nilsson is viewed as a strong two-way center whose strength as a player right now is in his defensive game.

Strong Two-Way Centre

“He’s another high character kid,” said Mark Seidel, director of the North American Independent Central Scouting Bureau. “The coaches raved about him. He’s very smart defensively and can shut down the other teams top players. Not a ton of offense but he will get the most out of his talent.”

Dower Nilsson invokes the name of former Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg when assessing his own game.

With the 134th pick in the 2021 #NHLDraft, the #RedWings select center Liam Dower Nilsson.#DRWDraft x #LGRW pic.twitter.com/5W4yDpyjPv

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 24, 2021

“I would say I’m not that level yet but I would say that I’m pretty similar to him as a player, too, as a centerman and a leader,” Dower Nilsson said. “I would say that I’m more of a playmaker than a shooter for sure.

“I would say that I’m a competitive center who loves to win and hates to lose. My strong area of the game is in the offensive zone, around the net, being sneaky with passes and also with my shot.

“I’m a leader on the ice and off the ice, too. I love to (make) my teammates better and win games.”

The Four Nations tournament is slated for August 26-28 in Hodonin. Along with Sweden and the hosts from the Czech Republic, also participating are Russia and Finland.

The post Red Wings Pick Dower Nilsson Getting Shot With Swedish Junior Squad appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

The Red Wings pulled off a trade to move two spots in the second round to draft 6-foot-3 mobile defenseman Shai Buium whose parents moved from Israel to San Diego years ago.

GM Steve Yzerman gave the Vegas Golden Knights the 38th pick and the 128th pick for the 36th pick where he took Buium who plays for Sioux Falls in the United States Hockey League. He will play college hockey at Denver. His younger brother, Zev, is also considered an NHL prospect.

“I think my strength is my hockey IQ –I think I read the game well,” Buium said. “..I think my game has matured.”

The Red Wings had also moved up in the first round, trading with Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill, to draft goalie Sebastian Cossa.

Scouts View Buium as All-Around D Man

Red Line Report, an independent scouting review, compared Buium to Montreal’s Joel Edmundson

“Can fire it from the point — hard and heavy,” Red Line said in its report. “Gets it off quickly and makes good use of a quick snap wrister.”

Dan Stewart of Draft Prospects Hockey calls Buium “a big, two-way defender who moves well for his size.”

“The guy really grew his game when he moved full time to Sioux City from Shattuck St. Mary’s this season,” Stewart said.

Buium’s Mom Played Pro Basketball

His mother, Miri, was a professional basketball player and his father was in the Israeli military. Shai was six when he asked his mother  whether he could play hockey.

“I fell in love with the game, and asked my mom if I could play a couple of times,” Shai said. “Eventually she said ‘yes’ just to try it out. Thankfully, she let me

What was her reservation? “It’s expensive in California,” Shai said. “It was a luxury..she never really told me.”

Buium played for the Los Angeles Junior Kings program for going to Shattuck St. Mary’s. “Growing up Detroit was my favorite team when (Nick) Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk was there,” Buium said.   “This is like a dream come true to be drafted by the Detroit Red Wings.

The post Red Wings Move Up a Second Time to Draft San Diego Defenseman appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

There was a big of symmetry at work as Detroit Red Wings forward spent Friday morning discussing his new contract with the team. While he was moving on from his entry-level deal, hundreds of hungry, young hockey hopefuls will be anxiously waiting over the next two days for the chance to sign their first NHL contract.

The NHL entry draft is slated for July 24-25. By the end of the day Friday, 32 prospects will be able to call themselves NHL first-round draft picks. It was exactly four years ago that Rasmussen was provided the opportunity to do likewise.

O2K client, Michael Rasmussen signs a 3 year x $4.38 million contract extension with the Detroit Red Wings. Congrats, @mrasmussen16! pic.twitter.com/vq4RZCqZ0R

— O2K Sports Management (@o2ksports) July 22, 2021

His evolution as a hockey player and a man has come a long way since that day. Even at the age of 22, the player selected ninth overall by the Wings in 2017 is well-positioned to offer sage advice to the members of the class of ’21.

Rasmussen’s words of wisdom? Be prepared to work and prepare to treat the game as if you were going to work. Soon, hockey won’t merely be something these young players do. It will be their life’s work.

“I think overall, how it’s an every day job,” is how Rasmussen advised this year’s draftees to approach hockey going forward. “Just to sum it up, it’s being a pro every day and working as hard as you can every day and just trying to be the best you can be every single day.”

Learning The Lessons Of Hockey Life

It wasn’t a fact of life that Rasmussen immediately grasped but he’s not alone in being slow on the uptake of such data. For most every wide-eyed rookie, that first taste of NHL life is an eye-opening experience.

“Overall, it’s just the consistency aspect of your hard work and dedication, whether it’s learning through video or being in the gym or practicing,” Rasmussen .

Ottawa Senators coach DJ Smith remembers how harshly the difference became apparent to him. He broke in as a rookie defenseman with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1997.

“It’s things like getting the right rest, eating right,” Smith listed as the traits of a true professional. “In junior, you sort of do what you want and just show up at game time.

“You’ve got to be disciplined up here. You’ve got to come ready to play.”

Rasmussen has come to grasp this reality as well.

“You can’t really take a day off mentally or physically,” Rasmussen said.

Michael Rasmussen: right place, right time for the rebound goal. 3-0 #RedWings over the Lightning, as expected. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/aDQqSt9ZoJ

— Ryan Hana (@RyanHanaWWP) April 4, 2021

He has three years as a pro under his belt. Rasmussen has spent all or part of each season with Detroit’s AHL farm club in Grand Rapids. Prior to the 2021 campaign, he made a decision to consciously alter his mental approach to the game.

“This year I took a mindset that maybe tomorrow I won’t have a job, or maybe today I won’t play as much as last night,” Rasmussen said.

Accepting that nothing will be given to them is often a shock to incoming amateur stars. The majority have basically been the best player on their teams all the way up the development ladder.

“You don’t really know those things until you kind of get thrown into the fire a little bit,” Rasmussen admitted. “That is what I didn’t know.”

The post Red Wings Rasmussen Offers Advice To The Class Of ’21 appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

Traditionally, selecting a goalie in the first round of the draft is similar to a cross-crease pass in the defensive zone, or a turnover at the blueline. The end result is more often than not disaster.

Owners of two first-round picks for just the third time in franchise history, there’s strong speculation that the Detroit Red Wings will use one of those picks to select a netminder. There’s a chance it could be Swedish goalie Jesper Wallstedt at No. 6. That seems unlikely. In the Red Wings’ entire draft history, the club has never spent a top-10 pick on a goalie.

The move that makes more sense, as Kevin Allen wrote on Saturday in his 2021 NHL mock draft, is that the Wings will opt to tab Edmonton Oiler Kings goaltender Sebastian Cossa with the 22nd overall selection.

Tom McCollum in Columbus to back up Howie tonight. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/S3FXLcdXJF

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) April 3, 2018

Even then, it’s a risky proposition. Detroit has selected three goalies in the first round of the draft. While all three would play for the Wings, only one would enjoy even a respectable NHL career. Tom McCollum (30th, 2008) saw action in three NHL games. Terry Richardson (11th, 1973) played 20 NHL games, 19 for Detroit.

The best of the bunch was Jim Rutherford (10th, 1969). Playing 314 of his 457 NHL games for the Red Wings, Rutherford was still a journeyman NHL goalie, stopping pucks for four different teams. His induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame was as a builder for his work as a GM, winning three Stanley Cups – two with Pittsburgh and one with Carolina.

As a goalie, Rutherford was 2-5 in the playoffs with a 3.82 GAA and .883 save percentage. In fact, all three of Detroit’s first-round goaltenders posted career save percentages in the 800s.

Make Your Bets

Speaking of rolling the dice, if you’re looking to bet on the Stanley Cup semifinals, these prop wagers might be your best options.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Despite leading a team ravaged by injury to first place in the rugged East Divison, Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan was again snubbed as a Jack Adams Trophy finalist. Then again, considering that four of the past six winners of the award are no longer in the employment of the team that they won it with, maybe Sullivan doesn’t mind being overlooked.

Colorado Hockey Now: Are the Colorado Avalanche merely the Toronto Maple Leafs with mountain scenery? Both clubs don’t seem to be able to find a way to get over the playoff hump despite their immense talent pool and both also have seen their postseasons derailed by Nazem Kadri’s undisciplined foolishness.

New York Islanders Hockey Now: Is the Islanders unit of Casey Cizikas, Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck the best fourth line the NHL has seen since Detroit’s famed Grind Line?

San Jose Hockey Now: The Red Wings haven’t seen the NHL final four since 2009, but Vegas Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer, who used to coach the Detroit Jr. Wings when they played at Joe Louis Arena is in his third straight conference final round.

Look who’s here for a good time @JustinBieber

[#UFC263 live TONIGHT on E+ PPV] pic.twitter.com/UvtxAJIgvO

— UFC (@ufc) June 13, 2021

Who’s that guy in the blue hoodie with the Biebs? The UFC cameras caught Canadian pop star Justin Bieber strolling in to watch the action at UFC 263 on Saturday at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona. What no one noticed was that the guy walking in with him was Rocket Richard Trophy winner and Hart Trophy finalist Auston Matthews of the Leafs. Just another indication of how little hockey registers on the radar of other sports.

The post Duffer’s Dabbles: First Round Goalies Are Always A Risky Proposition appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

The Detroit Red Wings didn’t lose ground at the NHL draft lottery, staying at No. 6 for July 23-24 draft.

Last season, the Red Wings had worst record. But they fell from No. 1 to No. 4 at the lottery and took Swedish standout Lucas Raymond.  In 2019, the Red Wings dropped from No. 3 to No. 6 and took Moritz Seider. TSN.ca now lists Seider as the NHL’s No. 1 prospect.

The Buffalo Sabres owned the NHL’s worst record this season, and they won the draft lottery to hold the No. 1 pick. They are expected to take University of Michigan defenseman Owen Power. The expansion Seattle Kraken moved from No. 3 to No. 2. The Anaheim Ducks fell from No. 3 to No. 2.

Lottery rules were changed this year

In the past, three teams moved, but rules were changed this season to allow only two teams to move.

The Red Wings are historically drawn to Swedish talent.  They could take dynamic winger William Eklund at No. 6.

“He has outstanding offensive instincts,” said Kyle Woodlief, chief scout for Redline Report, an independent scouting review.  “Constantly in motion; keeps his feet moving and challenges defenders with energy and desire.  Mid-season Covid bout cost him several weeks, but couldn’t keep him down long.”

Mike Sillinger’s son could end up a Detroit pick

Cole Sillinger,  a 6-foot center from Sioux Falls in the United State Hockey League, could also go to Detroit. He netted 24 goals and 46 points in 31 games for Sioux Falls. Cole’s father, Mike Sillinger, was a Red Wings’ first round pick in 1989.

 “(This) dynamic player is a bull on skates, thick and extremely strong on his feet, able to drive through contact and get to the net at will,” Woodlief said. “He loves to initiate physical contact and has the hands and shot to score at any level.  The puck comes off his blade like a missile.”

Red Wings need a goalie

Other possibilities: Center Mason McTavish (Peterborough, Ontario Hockey League) and defenseman Brandt Clarke, a Canadian who played in Slovakia this season.

The Red Wings need a goalie. The best goalie prospect is Swedish star Jesper Wallstedt and he is projected to land around 10th.

GM Steve Yzerman could take a goalie with the Capitals’ first round pick, which he acquired in the Anthony Mantha deal. That pick will be in the 20s. Edmonton 6-foot-6 goalie Sebastian Cossa will go in the 20-25 range.

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