from Ansar Khan of Mlive,

Zadina has gone 17 games without a goal, dating back to Nov. 30. He has managed only three assists during that stretch and posted a minus-18 rating. His ice time has dwindled – he’s averaged about 10 minutes the past three games.

Gagner said a lot of teammates have offered encouragement and advice to Zadina.

“I’ve been through it myself. I understand the feeling,” Gagner said. “There’s a ton of pressure involved in it. You put pressure on yourself to succeed and there’s outside noise as well. It’s tough to handle as a young player in the best league in the world.

“You try to help with their confidence, little things within the game that might help them have success. At the end of the day, it’s a really tough league to produce in. If you can bring other things, it helps you as your career goes along. Filip, specifically, I feel the offense will come for him. He’s got great talent. He works really hard on his game. We certainly have his back through it.”

Zadina has only four goals and 11 points in 40 games, and coach Jeff Blashill said the team is “going to keep grinding” to get better hockey and more production from the 22-year-old winger.

more

Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 01/24/22 at 06:06 PM ET

Topic today i Todd Bertuzzi..

from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

“He’s all over the puck, he hounds it, and when he gets it, he keeps it,” Gagner said. “We were talking about it the other night. He’s one of those guys that pucks follow him around. You think he loses it and he gets it back, and he strips a guy, and he takes it through somebody.

“He’s just a great hockey player, that’s what it comes down to.”

When a person analyzes this particular Red Wings season, the impact Bertuzzi has had thus far certainly stands out.

Given last season he was limited to only nine games before he needed back surgery, and the uncertainty of any athlete returning from that kind of procedure, it was fair to wonder how much impact Bertuzzi would have.

But in Bertuzzi’s case, with 19 goals and 17 assists (36 points) this season, in only 34 games — as an unvaccinated player,  Bertuzzi has been unable to play games in Canada and he’s also missed four games while in COVID protocol — Bertuzzi is on track to surpass his previous career highs of 21 goals, 27 assists and 48 points.

“He’s come back without any fear, which is important coming back from any surgery,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “He’s been hard on the puck, his practice habits have been real good. It’s just a maturation level. He’s always cared a lot, but he’s gotten better at his attention to detail every day in practice, and that’s carried over to his consistency in his game.

“You never know when someone has back surgery. Even if you’re young, if you’re an athlete or not, it’s a hard thing to do. With that said, he’s come back great.”

read on ($$$)

Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 01/24/22 at 06:12 PM ET

from Kevin Allen of Detroit Hockey Now,

The Jared McIsaac 2021-22 stat line that is most important to the Detroit Red Wings and to the young defenseman is this one:

Games Played: 32.

The Grand Rapids Griffins have played 33 games this season. That means Jared McIsaac stayed healthy for the first season since turning pro in 2020.

“Poor (McIsaac): his first couple of years as a pro have been, not derailed, but delayed,” Griffins coach Ben Simon said. “You take a look back and he played 10 pro games last year. That’s it. The year before he played one. Technically, this is his third year, but he’s only played 43 total pro games.”

Jared McIssac has fought back from two major shoulder injuries to establish himself as one of the Red Wings’ better defensive prospects. He has 10 points in 32 games and is starting to show the smart play associated with top prospects. He’s in the group of desirable defensive prospects that includes Donovan Sebrango,  William Wallinder, Eemil Viro and Shai Buium. Simon Edvinsson is in a class by himself.

continued

Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 01/24/22 at 09:07 PM ET

Topic today i Todd Bertuzzi

Oops!

It’s funny that I had to pause for a moment to remember Tyler……

It happens, Paul….

Lets Go Red Wings!!!!!

Posted by Kate from PA now in SC-made in Detroit on 01/25/22 at 10:58 AM ET