In Red Wings Land

Detroit Red Wings’ Taro Hirose shows signs of breaking long silence - The Detroit News

Hirose has hit the sophomore slump pretty hard but continues to work hard. I like Jeff Blashill twice using the phrase “unbelievably crafty” in terms of what he wants out of Hirose and I look forward to using that phrase for him many times in the coming games.

With Taro’s size and speed, he has to really learn how to be unbelievably crafty,” Blashill said. “It’s hard for him because he’s getting outmuscled (along the walls). He has to find ways to be unbelievably crafty to make sure he keeps possession of the puck. That’s something that takes time.

Around the League

The NHL’s best and worst this week - How a move to the Lightning rejuvenated Kevin Shattenkirk - ESPN

The story on Shattenkirk is interesting enough if you care about that, but the interesting part here is Kaplan’s discussion of Yzerman and his development philosophy:

During training camp, I asked GM Steve Yzerman about his philosophy on calling up prospects and whether he was worried about impeding their development or confidence if they were playing on a Red Wings team that wasn’t very competitive. “Whether the team is good or not is not as important as, is the player ready to play in the NHL?” Yzerman said. “Meaning, can he contribute in a positive way? Can he keep up? As a defenseman, can he defend? If he’s a scorer, can he score? We want them to be successful, we want them to feel like they’re making progress, not drowning. The more guys that can play positive roles on the team make your team better.

The Story That Won’t Die

Babcock on Marner rookie incident: ‘ended up not being a good idea’ - Sportsnet.ca

I know the Babcock story is reaching critical mass and I understand if you’re tired of it by now, but it’s brought to light a fascinating (and horrifying) glimpse of hockey culture. Babcock brushing this off as “not a good idea” and saying he apologized at the time works in a vacuum, but I’d really like Friedman to have asked him about the rumors that he had already done the same thing in Detroit. Did he apologize at that time too?