Red Wings Rumblings
The Wings are off today and are headed out west for a road trip. They’ll play the Edmonton Oilers tomorrow night — puck drop set for 9:00 PM ET. They will then have a back-to-back this weekend between Calgary and Vancouver.
Dominik Shine made his NHL debut with the Red Wings earlier this week at the ripe age of 31 years old. Shine is a Michigan guy through-and-through, and has been a “heart and soul” guy for the Griffins for a long, long time. According to Max Bultman, it sounds like Shine will be joining the Wings for their road trip. I just love this story and I wouldn’t mind Shine getting more looks at the NHL level. I don’t know if he’ll be an impact bottom-six player at this point, but it’s cool to see the organization reward him for his hard work and commitment.
Some unfortunate news for prospect Red Savage — his collegiate career is over now that he has sustained an upper-body injury. Savage had been serving as Michigan State University’s captain (a damn good team, too) after transferring from Miami in the offseason. Detroit needs to make a decision on Savage now — I believe they have until August to sign him before he would become a free agent. Just a guess — Savage will probably get a chance to sign with the Griffins once he has recovered from his injury… That’s if the Wings don’t give him a contract first.
Staying in prospect land — Michael Brandsegg-Nygard missed Skelleftea’s game yesterday due to injury. Axel Sandin-Pellikka played, but seemed like a forgettable performance for him. The real news is that ASP has a chance to play with Tre Kronor. He was captain for Team Sweden at WJC, so its’ clear that Tre Kronor leadership have a lot of stock in this young defensemen and he will be given every chance to represent his country in international play. ASP is expected to join Detroit next season.
Meanwhile in Grand Rapids, the Griffins will kick off a three-game homestand tonight before the AHL All-Star break. The Griffins have won four of their last five and are on a five-game point streak. Here are some encouraging stats via the Griffins:
Shai Buium—Tied for seventh among rookie defensemen in assists (14), tied for 10th among rookie defensemen in points (14), tied for fifth among rookie defensemen in plus-minus rating (+8), tied for ninth among rookie defensemen in power-play assists (4)
Sebastian Cossa—10th in minutes played (1,357:57), tied for 11th in games played (23), seventh in GAA (2.25), tied for sixth in wins (13), ninth in save percentage (.920)
Nate Danielson—Tied for fourth among rookies in assists (18), tied for first in short-handed assists (3), first among rookies in short-handed assists (3), tied for ninth among rookies in power-play assists (7)
