Archive for the 'Niklas Kronwall' CategoryPage 3 of 4

11/21 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on November 21, 2006
in Chris Osgood, Danny Markov, Injuries, Jason Williams, NHL, Nick Lidstrom, Niklas Kronwall, Notes and Tomas Holmstrom
. 2 Comments

Update (6:50 AM): Ansar Khan reports that Chris Osgood has a fractured left wrist and will be out for 3-4 weeks. Apparently, they’re not calling anyone up at this time.

“My feeling is we’ll go with the two goalies and Dom will be on the bench when he doesn’t start,” Holland said. “But, that could change between now and (today).”

There are back-to-back games this Friday and Saturday, against St. Louis and Nashville. If they don’t call up Liv again, this would force Hasek to back up Joey, probably against St. Louis. It’s possible that they’ll call someone up later in the week, to prevent this. If not…well, let’s hope Joey doesn’t need to be pulled. -Megan

… Helene St. James profiles the Markov-Lidstrom pairing in the Freep today. Among other things, she points out that Markov’s reliability has meant that the Wings have not had to rely so heavily on Lidstrom, who isn’t averaging the near-30 minutes a game he usually plays.

It’s a good piece, but there is one gaffee on her part:

Markov, 30, plays bigger than his slender 6-foot-1 frame; last month, for example, he delivered a crushing open-ice hit on Edmonton’s Ethan Moreau, who is 6-2, 220 pounds. Moreau, who hasn’t played since, coughed up the puck on the hit, and the play led to a goal for the Wings.

It’s the same mistake John Wawrow made a little less than a month ago. I’m not exactly sure why it’s so easy to confuse Moreau and Jarret Stoll.

… Ted Kulfan of the News looks at Jason Williams and his concerns over physical contact in his first game back (Saturday). Apparently, they were unfounded, as there “definitely no shying away from anyone,” on Williams’ part.

Good to hear. So, you’re going to become a hitter now, Jason?

… The Freep’s Steve Schrader looks at the names of the NHL’s trophies and has some suggestions in light of the Cold-FX Mark Messier Award:

But what about the Gordie Howe Trophy, maybe for most Gordie Howe hat tricks?

Or the Wayne Gretzky Award for the top playmaker? The Mario Lemieux Trophy for the top-scoring owner?

Or the Scotty Bowman, for most creative line combinations.

Well, maybe they could rename one award. Instead of the Lady Byng, call it the Claude Lemieux Trophy, just to show a little sense of irony

Don’t forget to tack corporate sponsors to the front, Steve.

… Both papers report that Tomas Holmstrom and Niklas Kronwall are ready to return from groin injuries. “Babcock is confident,” they’ll be back Wednesday for the Canucks game.

As for Chris Osgood’s left wrist:

“I don’t think it’s broken,” he said. “I’ve had broken hands before and it’s not the same thing. It’s something different. It’s just that it’s where I catch the puck all the time, so I have to get it looked at. Hopefully I’ll be back sooner than later.”

Yes, hopefully. There may be more news on Ozzie later today since he was supposed to get his wrist looked at yesterday afternoon.

11/20 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on November 20, 2006
in Henrik Zetterberg, Niklas Kronwall, Notes and Tomas Holmstrom
. 0 Comments

Update (2:17 PM): … Ansar Khan has an injury update for us:

Goaltender Chris Osgood practiced Monday for the first time in eight days but said his sore left wrist didn’t feel good. He will have it looked at by doctors on Tuesday and said he doesn’t know when he’ll return to the lineup.

Osgood said he doesn’t think the wrist is broken, but X-rays in Vancouver were inconclusive because of the swelling. He hurt it in practice last Sunday, getting hit by a shot.

A possible broken wrist? Great. If it does turn out to be broken, our goaltending got kinda thin real fast.

Also, Josh Langfeld and Stefan Liv are back in GR since Holmstrom is returning Wednesday and the team no longer needs someone to back up the temporary backup. - Matt

… Henrik Zetterberg is signing autographs at Hockeytown Authentics tonight beginning at 6:00 ET. It’s only one item per person and I believe you need to have a smoke detector to donate. If Christy, posting at LGW Forums, is right, you also need to have a wristband to get in. Click here for directions, if you need them.

… Both papers report that Tomas Holmstrom will return Wednesday* against the Canucks. As for Niklas Kronwall, the situation isn’t so sure:

“He flies around a hundred miles an hour — I don’t know (why he isn’t ready), that’s why we have therapists,” Babcock said.

Kronwall himself believes he’ll be back for the game and is hoping to “skate full-out” today.

… Greg Wyshynski has a piece up covering The Hockey Recap, a site I’ve praised before. Definitely worth a read.

… Not a ton Wings-related out there this morning, which is okay since I’m up early to study anyway. I’ll most likely have an update for this post later.

*I had entered the game incorrectly in my calendar, which is what I’ve been going on, hence my repeatedly saying the next game is tomorrow instead of the next day.

11/16 Injury Update

Published
by
Matt Saler
on November 16, 2006
in Chris Osgood, Injuries, Jason Williams, Niklas Kronwall and Tomas Holmstrom
. 3 Comments

Update (10:45 PM): Helene St. James elaborates on Khan’s information in a blog post of her own.

She says what might keep Williams out is his neck, which is still sore.

Apparently, Kronwall feels fully healthy again, as he went through the whole practice and even stayed after. Sounds like he’ll be back against the Flames.

She confirms that Holmstrom will not play tomorrow night.

She then points out a bit of a dilemma for Mike Babcock: with Chris Osgood unavailable (he hasn’t practiced all week and therefore most likely wouldn’t play even if he suddenly became healthy), he can play Hasek both Friday and Saturday, or he could start MacDonald in Edmonton with Hasek backing up. The second scenario would seem more likely except for the fact that the Wings’ plan is to never put Hasek into a game cold due to a risk for injury if MacDonald were to get shelled and need to be pulled.

Babcock apparently doesn’t know what he’ll do yet, but I’m guessing they may just play Dom two nights in a row and hope Osgood is ready to start on Tuesday against the Canucks so Dom can watch the game from the lockerroom or wherever he goes when not in the lineup. - Matt

Ansar Khan reports that Jason Williams has joined his teammates in Calgary and feels good after practicing today. He won’t know whether or not he’s playing tomorrow night against the Flames until after the morning skate. If Williams does sit again, three of the four team rookies, at least, will be in the lineup.*

Khans goes on to say that Tomas Holmstrom is not ready to return from a groin injury. Apparently, he left practice early today and will not play this weekend. Niklas “Konwall,” however, could return from his groin injury tomorrow night. If not, both Brett Lebda and Andreas Lilja will be in the lineup rather than just one of them.

Chris Osgood will not dress tomorrow night or Saturday since his hand is still bothering him. Joey MacDonald may get some NHL action on Saturday if Babcock decides to give Hasek the night off.

Link

*Langfeld has previous NHL experience and therefore isn’t technically a rookie - hence the term “team rookies.”

ESPN: Facing Off: Q&A with Niklas Kronwall

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 11, 2006
in Links, Niklas Kronwall and Quotes
. 0 Comments

A great interview, via A2Y/Kukla. I like this part:

Q: Some people have dubbed you “Baby Lidstrom.” Do you like that nickname? A: Some people like to call me that and that may be their opinion, but I’m not trying to copy his style of play, I just want to play the way I can. I just want to carve out my own identity.

Good answer, Nik.

Swedish Wings Autograph Signing

Published
by
Christy Hammond
on March 29, 2006
in Autographs, Henrik Zetterberg, Mikael Samuelsson, Nick Lidstrom, Niklas Kronwall and Pictures
. 1 Comment

So I went to the autograph signing last night at the Fan Zone in Westland Mall featuring the five gold medalists (Lidstrom, Zetterberg, Holmstrom, Kronwall, and Samuelsson). I had pre-bought a signed 16×20 photograph of the five. I must say that I am very pleased with my purchase. Not so pleased with Fan Zone. But the photgraph will look great in my shrine (aka my room).

Here are some photos from the event. Sorry that they are blurry and not the best, but we weren’t allowed to take photos in the “room” so I shot all but one (which I quickly took inside) outside and people kept walking in front ruining my shots. The first two photos are of my 16×20 photograph & certificate of authenticity. I hope to scan both of them in whenever I can over the next couple weeks, but for now these quick photos will have to work! The guys were lined up with Samuelsson closest to the room’s entrance with Lidstrom farthest away (thus, he’s in maybe one photo).

(click on thumbnail to enlarge and I mean enlarge)


My beautiful 16×20 photograph signed by the Swedish Five


Certificate of Authenticity


All five of them (ok, four of them since you can only see Lidstrom’s hat)


Samuelsson and a kid posing for a photograph


You can see Lidstrom in this photo all the way to the right


Kronwall


Holmstrom


The room


Zetterberg

Update: A girl on the Lets Go Wings forum took some sweet pictures of the signing, which you can view here. My personal favorite includes this photo below:

Image hosting by Photobucket

Detroit Autograph Signings

Published
by
Christy Hammond
on March 22, 2006
in Autographs, Henrik Zetterberg, Igor Larionov, Mikael Samuelsson, Nick Lidstrom and Niklas Kronwall
. 0 Comments

I have two autograph signings that I would like to notify my fellow Detroit area readers: Igor Larionov and the five Swedish Wings who played in the Olympics and won gold.

Igor Larionov Signing
This weekend, Igor Larionov (aka The Professor) will be signing copies of his DVD entitled “Farewell from Moscow: The Igor Larionov Farewell Game.” This Saturday, March 25th, he will be at the Best Buy in Auburn Hills from 2-4pm. The following day, March 26th, Larionov will be at the Best Buy in Novi from 2-4pm. A portion of all his DVD sales will benefit The Igor Larionov Youth Hockey Charitable Foundation. The excerpt below has been sent to me by IMJ Communications, LLC.

After an unparalleled 27-year career, one of the greatest hockey players of all time, Larionov bid farewell to the game on December 13, 2004. An inspiration on-and-off the ice, Larionov continues to give back to the community and to the hockey world through The Igor Larionov Youth Hockey Charitable Foundation. Founded by Igor Larionov in 2004, The Igor Larionov Youth Hockey Charitable Foundation is concerned with improving the condition of youth hockey leagues throughout Russia. During his visits to facilities where young, aspiring hockey players in Russia skate, practice and play the game, Igor was strongly affected by the lack of equipment, use of shoddy and broken gear by the young players, and disrepair of the ice rinks. He also saw first-hand, the poverty that plagues towns in the periphery of Russia’s major cities. The parents of children growing up there can hardly afford used skates and equipment and new gear is wholly unattainable. Larionov was so moved by the dedication of the Russian kids to the game that he decided to create a foundation to provide new equipment, repair locker rooms and rinks and motivate the youth to continue to pursue their passion for the game of hockey.In a short span of a year since his retirement from hockey, Igor has made several trips back to Russia, both to the major cities and to the periphery with new equipment, lots of new skates and funding to commence the process of repairing hockey facilities. Through his foundation, Larionov plans to devote substantial time, efforts and funding to building the future of hockey for many years to come.

Since the January 13, 2006 premiere of the documentary at Michigan’s Royal Oak Music Theatre sales of “Farewell From Moscow: The Igor Larionov Farewell Game” have continued to raise funds for the foundation.

Touted as one of the best moments in sport’s history, Larionov’s farewell game, was masterfully captured by Chrome Bumper Films in its entirety and has been incorporated as part of the recently released, cutting-edge documentary/DVD. The fast-paced signature style of A-list director, John “QUIG” Quigley, known for his creation of music videos and other work for leading music artists, including Eminem, brings a vibrant, youthful energy never before seen in a documentary. Under Quigley’s direction, Chrome Bumper Films has remarkably weaved countless hours of footage, both on and off the ice, into a captivating masterpiece befitting a legend. Working closely with Larionov, Quigley threaded a refined, articulate and intelligent portrait of the man who captivated fans worldwide with his talent for nearly a third of a century.

“A Farewell From Moscow-The Igor Larionov Farewell Game” is a must-have for the sports-lover’s collection. The DVD chronicles all the excitement, energy and passion of Larionov’s powerful and emotionally-charged final game while also giving fans a rare behind-the-scenes look at Larionov with candid interviews from him and former teammates and coaches. The DVD is also loaded with many extras, including game highlights spanning Larionov’s career, more than 150 photos and footage tracing the players’ entire weekend in Moscow.

The “Farewell From Moscow: The Igor Larionov Farewell Game” DVD can be purchased at Best Buy. The Auburn Hills Best Buy is located at 300 Brown Rd. The Novi Best Buy is located at 21051 Haggerty Rd. in the High Point Shopping Center.

Five Swedes Signing
This upcoming Tuesday, March 28th, Fan Zone in the Westland Mall will be hosting an autograph signing with the following Red Wings players: Nick Lidstrom, Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Holmstrom, Mikael Samuelsson, and Nik Kronwall.

The signing will start at 7pm. You can pre-order your tickets today by calling 734-762-9618. Here are the prices:

- 16×20 picture of 5 Swedes & signed by the entire group = $150
- Lidstrom is $40 flat / $50 everything else
- Zetterberg $25 flat / $35 everything else
- Holmstrom $25 flat / $35 everything else
- Sameulsson $15 flat / $20 everything else
- Kronwall $15 flat / $20 everything else

The above information was found at Lets Go Wings forums. I called that number inquiring about the group photo and autographs. When I called right before 7pm, there was less than half of the 300 photos remaining. You can order it over the phone with a credit card (like I did), but do it ASAP!

A shortened bench

Published
by
Matt Saler
on February 27, 2006
in 2005-2006, Brett Lebda, Henrik Zetterberg, Jamie Rivers, Mark Mowers, Mikael Samuelsson, Nick Lidstrom, Niklas Kronwall, Roster Moves, Tomas Holmstrom and Tomas Kopecky
. 0 Comments

The Freep reports that the five Swedish Wings will be participating in celebrations in Stockholm and will not be back in time for tomorrow night’s game in San Jose. They will be back for the Anaheim game the following night, however.

Filling in for Samuelsson, Lidstrom, Kronwall, Zetterberg and Holmstrom will be Jamie Rivers, Mark Mowers, Brett Lebda and Tomas Kopecky, who was called up from Grand Rapids. They’re all capable players but they can’t quite fill the holes left by the Swedes.

According to A2Y, all of the other Olympian Red Wings have returned, except Pavel Datsyuk, who is having some issues relating to travel (and so, I’ve read, is Evgeni Nabokov, the Sharks’ goalie.)

TSN reports that players who have not returned could face loss in pay for the number of days they are gone. The NHL expects all Olympians to return no later than tonight and have not made any allowances for the Swedish players, despite the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation reportedly making a special request for an exception.

I don’t mind our guys going to a celebration in Stockholm; they earned the right to kick back a little bit and bask in their nation’s glory. Still, tomorrow’s game against the Sharks isn’t a blow-off match and the Wings may be hard pressed to pull out a win with such a depleted roster.

I expect the Swedes to be ready to play (they have nothing if they don’t have momentum now) when they get back because this is the most important stretch of the season. Let’s hope the final standings don’t come down to two points. The point will be moot if the Swede-less Wings just win tomorrow night but that remains to be seen.

Maybe we ought to blame the security at the Games for keeping those guys away. Helene St. James reports that the team wanted to hop right on the plane and fly to Stockholm last night but the airport was closed for security reasons and so it didn’t work out.

Also, IwoCPO has a depressing outlook on what may be the results of Sweden’s triumph here.

And, I just noticed mLive.com has a more standard Red Wings blog to complement Ansar Khan’s blog-like thing. Looks like it’s been around for a few months. Welcome anyway, George Malik!

Ohlund out, Kronwall in

Published
by
Matt Saler
on February 23, 2006
in Matthias Ohlund, Niklas Kronwall, Olympics and Sweden
. 0 Comments

Ohlund will miss the rest of the Olympics (and beyond) with a rib injury, TSN says. The Swedish head coach, Ben Gustafsson, says he’ll put Kronwall in and pair him with Lidstrom. The Swedes play the Czechs in the semifinals tomorrow at 10:30 AM on MSNBC here in the US and CBC in Canada.

Update (6:38 PM): Helene St. James has more here:

Swedish coach Ben Gustafsson had Kronwall practicing with Lidstrom on Thursday, and afterward explained he liked the two together because one would have to be a raving lunatic not to. Or, as he actually explained it: It’s a good pairing because both are very good at reading plays and knowing when it’s time to jump up and join the rush.

Unsurprisingly, Lidstrom agreed. “Yes.” he said.

Lidstrom elaborated: “I think we’re similar in that aspect, that we both can jump up in the play at different times, we just have to read off one another so we both don’t go up there at the same time.” Lidstrom also allayed any thoughts that it would be hard for a player to jump right into an Olympic semifinal by pointing out that Kronwall did quite all right in his first game back with Detroit on Feb. 1, when he had a big hit on his first shift and two assists.

St. James also reports Nik has had trouble getting his equipment to Torino (mirroring the experience of his fellow Swedish Wings last week). He’s confident it’ll get there in time, though.

What a turnaround, eh? One day he’s watching the Games on TV, the next, he’s on a plane to Torino and not long after that, he’s practicing for the semifinal game against the Czechs. He deserves the chance at gold, after the year he’s had coming back from the knee injury. Good luck, Nik!

Also, head over to Abel to Yzerman, where IwoCPO’s got some comments on the Wings’ goaltending future and has posted what I’ll call the Quote of the Day, from our very own Pavel Datsyuk.

Swedes beat Swiss, Mattias Ohlund injured

Published
by
Matt Saler
on February 22, 2006
in Matthias Ohlund, Niklas Kronwall and Sweden
. 0 Comments

Kronwall has a better chance of playing now, if Ohlund can’t make it back for the semis and with Havelid’s knee injury.

Link

Kronwall headed to Torino

Published
by
Matt Saler
on February 20, 2006
in Links, Niklas Kronwall, Olympics and Sweden
. 2 Comments

Kukla: ” Kronwall will be part of the taxi squad and will be able to practice with the team, which will probably be good for him.” (via. A2Y)

Update (2:15 PM): More from the Freep:

Wings general manager Ken Holland confirmed Monday that Kronwall was to head to Torino that night, expected to arrive Tuesday morning. Sweden plays Slovakia at 8 p.m. Torino time.

Kronwall is coming over to join the Swedish taxi squad but might play because Niclas Havelid has suffered a knee injury.

It’ll be great for Nik to get some playing time, if he can, but it’s a big risk to take. The Wings can’t afford to have him get injured again.

However, as the Freep points out, Sweden only has four more games, at best: “The quarterfinals are Wednesday, semifinals Friday and the medal games Saturday and Sunday.” So, he’ll be able to work on getting into better game-shape but because he’s missed so much of the tournament already, there’s less a chance for re-injury while playing the less physical Olympic style.

Update (5:59 PM): Helene St. James has emmended her article on this. The relevant part now reads,

Kronwall is coming over to join the taxi squad, but might play because there is some question as to the status of Niclas Havelid, who has tweaked a knee. Swedish coach Bengt-Ake Gustafsson said that Havelid would play Tuesday, but that Kronwall was the first defenseman substitute.

“Niklas is going to come down here and be ready if we have some injuries,” Gustafsson said. “He was the best defenseman at the World Championships last year; he came in and played really well for us. He has a lot of skill. Unfortunately he got hurt earlier this season, and he had a tough time, but he worked so hard to try to make this team. Now he is catching up. We hope that if we have any injuries, he is here and can help us.”

IwoCPO over at Abel to Yzerman points out that the Swedes are likely to find a way to get Kronwall on the ice. They’ve lost in the quarterfinals in the last two Olympics and will want the best players available to ensure it doesn’t happen again, even if it means screwing over the Detroit Red Wings. Iwo puts it this way:

“Kronwall’s recovery, if necessary, after the Olympics is of zero concern to Gustafsson, the Swedish hockey program or the country itself. In fact the only Swedes who are concerned at all about Kronwall’s ability to play out the NHL season are the four Red Wings who will be playing with him the rest of this tournament.”

I imagine Holland isn’t all that happy about this but Kronwall obviously got the call and he can’t exactly ignore his country, can he?

Maybe it’s time to start cheering for an early Swedish elimination. Slovakia/Finland final, anyone?