In Red Wings Land
Detroit Red Wings’ Steve Yzerman was Mike Ilitch’s rookie of the year
That’s it, though. No Wings player has been selected rookie of the year in 55 years. They have had numerous finalists, most notably in 1984, when Steve Yzerman finished second in voting, behind Buffalo Sabres goaltender Tom Barrasso. Yzerman led all rookies with 89 points and while he was rejected nationally he was adored locally: The night of the awards – before the winner was announced – team owner Mike Ilitch handed Yzerman an envelope on which he had written, “You’re my rookie of the year.” Inside was a check for $25,000.
This isn’t officially confirmed, but an anonymous source sent me a picture of the card:
Around the NHL
USA Hockey Will Not Stage 2020 World Junior Summer Showcase
USA Hockey announced today it will not stage the 2020 World Junior Summer Showcase that was set for July 24-31 at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Mich.
The event, which 44 U.S. players were invited to participate in, was slated to be part of the evaluation process in selecting the U.S. National Junior Team that will play in the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship Dec. 26, 2020 – Jan. 5, 2021 in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta.
Not surprising, but still sucks.
Stanley Cup Qualifiers schedule
Here is the day-by-day and series-by-series schedule for the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers. All Eastern Conference games will be played at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto; Western Conference games will be held at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
The top four teams in each conference, based on points percentage, will play a three-game round-robin, and the No. 5-12 seeds will play in eight best-of-5 series. The winners of those series will advance to the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the four teams from the round-robin.
Let’s see how many of these games get played.
Calder Trophy finalists announced
Quinn Hughes, Dominik Kubalik and Cale Makar were named finalists for the Calder Memorial Trophy on Wednesday.
The award, voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, is given annually to the best rookie in the NHL. The winner will be announced during the conference finals.
I’m sure there will be no comments about this.
Adams Award finalists announced
Bruce Cassidy, John Tortorella and Alain Vigneault were named finalists for the Jack Adams Award on Wednesday.
The award, voted on by members of the NHL Broadcasters’ Association, is given annually to the coach voted as best in the NHL. The winner will be announced during the conference finals.
