Happy Friday, my dear friends. We’ve got a couple items to talk about before we break for the weekend. Who knows, maybe the weekend will bring some headlines for us.
After a breakout season in the NHL, Marco Kasper was named the 2024-2025 Red Wings Rookie of the Year. This award is given by the Detroit sports media, which can certainly be unforgiving. It’s good to see Kasper get the recognition he deserves. What will next season bring for the young Austrian? Who knows, but it’s safe to say that all Red Wings fans are excited to see him take the next step.
Fresh off of a two-year deal with Detroit in free agency, Mason Appleton was interviewed by Detroit Red Wings dot com about his decision to sign with the Wings, and what he’s trying to bring to the team. Here’s a snippet from that conversation:
“I’m going to go about my work and hopefully, it’s noticed, and guys follow suit with that,” the 29-year-old said. “When something needs to be spoken up about, and I feel there’s a time to do it, I’ll chip in my two cents. But I’m not a guy that just talks to talk or a big motivator in that sense. Obviously, there’s guys in the room that do that and have that role. For me, it’s kind of just leading by example.”
Meanwhile on the other side of the state (where I am!), the Grand Rapids Griffins released their 2025-2026 regular season schedule. The Griffins will start the season on the road in Texas on October 18. The home opener at Van Andel Arena is set for Friday, October 17. I encourage everyone to get their butts over to Grand Rapids to catch a game this coming season. There’s going to be a ton of young talent on that team.
Some happenings around the NHL now…
The Dallas Stars have traded defenseman Matt Dumba and a 2028 2nd round pick to Pittsburgh in exchange for D Vladislav Kolyachonok. More moves from the Penguins coming, I imagine? Lots of fans on the r/DetriotRedWings are calling for the Wings to get aggressive and acquire veteran D Erik Karlsson, who I believe is the highest paid defenseman in the NHL in terms of AAV. I have mixed feelings.
The San Jose Sharks have acquired Ryan Reaves from Toronto in exchange for defenseman Henry Thrun.
And some interesting nuggets from the new CBA reported by Frank Seravalli; there’s a new provision in the agreement that will allow each NHL team to place one 19-year-old CHL player in the NHL per season. 18-year-old prospects will not be eligible. It’s not much, honestly, but it’s a step in the right direction. I always thought that NHL clubs should have more control over their CHL prospects, but I understand that the whole point is to help the CHL maintain its status as one of the best shepherds for hockey talent across the globe. At the same time, there are big shifts happening between the NHL, CHL, AHL, and NCAA. I thought this thread on Twitter provided some good perspective on that topic.
Enjoy the day and weekend. Stay cool and hydrated. Seriously.. drink some water, you look dehydrated. <3
