The Mitten Weekly: Oct. 5-11

The Red Wings ended their first full week at 1-3-1, last in the Atlantic Division. Off the ice, reports about Simon Edvinsson’s contract standoff and the unsettled front office kept coming, even as two rookies scored their first NHL goals. In college hockey, Michigan, Michigan State, and Western Michigan all swept their weekends, which sets up a No. 2 at No. 1 trip to Denver for the Wolverines.

Red Wings

Week: 1-1-1. Overall: 1-3-1 (3 points), eighth in the Atlantic.

Tue., Oct. 6: Red Wings 5, Senators 3. Dylan Larkin made his season debut and had a goal and an assist, even though some fans booed him in his first game since he asked for a trade. Alex DeBrincat scored twice and added an assist, and Lucas Raymond had three assists. William Wallinder and Carter Mazur each recorded their first NHL points. Before the game, Detroit recalled Sheldon Dries from Grand Rapids under emergency conditions and placed Marco Kasper and Mason Appleton on injured reserve. Both are week-to-week.
Fri., Oct. 9: Kraken 6, Red Wings 3. Detroit outshot Seattle 41-24 but gave up four goals in 9:26 of the second period. John Gibson was pulled after allowing five goals on 15 shots. Wallinder and Michael Brandsegg-Nygård scored their first NHL goals, and DeBrincat, who started the night one point short, reached 600 career points in his 700th game. Todd McLellan called it “a 30-man loss.” J.T. Compher went on injured reserve before the game, and Jacob Bernard-Docker was activated.
Sat., Oct. 10: Canadiens 1, Red Wings 0 (shootout). Daniil Tarasov got the start on the back-to-back and made 30 saves in his first Detroit start. Montreal had three goals waved off, and Detroit killed all four penalties, but Montreal’s Zachary Bolduc scored the only goal of a six-round shootout.

Notable: Governor and CEO Chris Ilitch said he shares fans’ frustration after the winless opening weekend, and Larkin said rebuilding trust will take time. Shawn Horcoff is still the interim general manager. Detroit put Chase Stillman on waivers Thursday. He went unclaimed, and on Friday he was assigned to Grand Rapids with Carter Bear. The Erie Otters announced they will retire DeBrincat’s No. 12 on Feb. 7, 2027.

Rumors (unconfirmed)

Simon Edvinsson: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the unsigned defenseman would prefer a trade. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported that at least 10 teams have called, Boston among them. On Sunday, Friedman added that Detroit is serious about signing him and that the trade price would be very high. David Pagnotta reported that Edvinsson has not made a formal trade demand. The Red Wings have neither confirmed nor denied any of these reports. Edvinsson has to sign by Dec. 1 to play this season.
Patrik Laine: LeBrun reported that Detroit and Calgary have discussed the free agent. As of Sunday, no team had signed him.
Scouting staff: Reports had veteran evaluator Mark Leach returning as a scout, and assistant GM Kris Draper overseeing pro scouting with Jesse Wallin on the amateur side. The team has not announced either change.

Prospect watch

Carter Bear (Grand Rapids Griffins; 2025, first round): made his pro debut in Friday’s home opener, then scored his first pro goal Saturday in Milwaukee. He added an assist on Sunday.
Jesse Kiiskinen (Grand Rapids Griffins; 2023, third round, by Nashville, acquired in 2024): had a hat trick and an assist Sunday against Chicago. He now leads AHL rookies in goals (five) and points (seven).
Max Plante (Minnesota Duluth; 2024, second round): the Hobey Baker winner missed the Augustana series with an upper-body injury. The Hockey News lists him as week-to-week.
Eddie Genborg (Timrå IK, SHL; 2025, second round): scored a between-the-legs goal in Timrå’s 3-2 overtime win over Luleå, his second goal in two games.
Adam Levac (Peterborough Petes, OHL; 2026, fourth round): the OHL suspended him indefinitely pending review of a late hit at Sudbury on Oct. 9. As of Sunday, the league had not announced a length.

PWHL

PWHL Detroit: Training camp is still five weeks away. The team named a 28-player camp roster: 16 forwards, nine defenders, and three goalies. The group is led by Hilary Knight, Hannah Bilka, and Cayla Barnes, and Michigan natives Shiann Darkangelo, Mellissa Channell-Watkins, Taylor Girard, and Casey Borgiel are on it. Detroit also unveiled its first jerseys: black home and white away sets with silver accents for the auto industry and red for Hockeytown. Single-game tickets went on sale Friday. No permanent team name has been announced. Camp opens Nov. 18, and the season starts Dec. 6 at Las Vegas.

Minor Pro

Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL): Week 2-1-0-0. Overall 3-1-1-0 (7 points), the most points in the Central Division. The Griffins opened their 30th-anniversary home schedule Friday with a 2-1 win over Manitoba, behind 36 saves from Michal Postava and William Lagesson’s game-winner. In Milwaukee on Saturday, a matchup the site previewed here, they lost 4-1, with Bear’s first pro goal as their only score. They closed the three-in-three weekend with a 5-1 win over winless Chicago. Notable: Kiiskinen became the first Griffins rookie with a regular-season hat trick since 2013. Sunday also brought Dominik Shine’s 100th pro goal, John Leonard’s season debut, and head coach Dan Watson’s 400th pro win.

Toledo Walleye (ECHL): Preseason 2-0. Toledo finished its exhibition schedule with a home-and-home sweep of Kalamazoo. Red Wings-contracted goalie Carter Gylander made 18 saves in a 3-1 home win Friday, and Reilly Funk scored twice in a 4-1 win Saturday in Kalamazoo. The regular season opens Saturday at Fort Wayne.

NCAA

Michigan: Week 2-0-0. Overall 4-0-0. The Wolverines were ranked No. 2 in the Oct. 5 polls, and Jayden Perron and Michael Hage came in as the Big Ten’s first and second stars of the week. Michigan then hosted Alaska Anchorage and won 10-1 Friday, as Cole McKinney and Nick Moldenhauer had four points each. Perron carried a point streak into Saturday and scored a hat trick in a 7-2 win, with Hage adding four assists. Notable: Perron finished the weekend with four goals and two assists, and he and Hage are tied for the national scoring lead (series wrap).

Michigan State: Week 2-0-0. Overall 2-0-0. The No. 3 Spartans opened against Northern Michigan at Munn Ice Arena. They won a penalty-filled opener 6-2 Friday, when Anthony Romani scored twice and Ryker Lee had three assists. After a day off, they won 5-1 Sunday, with Quentin Sigurdson making 29 saves. Notable: Romani and Jack Hextall scored in both games (series wrap).

Western Michigan: Week 2-0-0. Overall 2-0-0. The No. 8 Broncos opened their final season at Lawson Arena with a 6-0 win over Ferris State Thursday, as Quentin Miller made 26 saves for a shutout in his first WMU start. Friday in Big Rapids they won 5-1, with four assists from Adam Benák. Notable: Miller allowed one goal on 48 shots across the weekend (series wrap).

Michigan Tech: Week 1-1-0. Overall 3-1-0. The Huskies came into the week ranked No. 12 by USCHO, and Matthew Van Blaricom was named CCHA Forward of the Week. At St. Cloud State, Teydon Trembecky scored twice, including the overtime winner that stood after video review, in a 3-2 comeback win Friday, Tech’s first win over SCSU since 2013. On Saturday the Huskies lost 5-3. Notable: Tech went 0-for-5 on the power play Friday (series wrap).

Northern Michigan: Week 0-2-0. Overall 1-3-0. The Wildcats lost 6-2 and 5-1 at Michigan State, and Friday’s game included 14 penalties and two game misconducts. Notable: goalie Oliver Auyeung-Ashton made 36 saves Friday and 28 Sunday. Before the weekend he and Coster Dunn had been named CCHA Goalie and Rookie of the Week.

Ferris State: Week 0-2-0. Overall 0-3-1. The Bulldogs lost 6-0 at Western Michigan and 5-1 in their home opener. Notable: Ferris State’s goalie made 36 saves in Friday’s home opener. Ferris State is off until Oct. 23-24, when it hosts Michigan Tech.

Lake Superior State: Week 1-1-0. Overall 1-1-0. The Lakers opened with a rebuilt roster at Lindenwood. They led 4-3 after two periods Thursday but lost 7-4, despite two goals from Charles Savoie. Friday they won 4-3 as freshman Anders Miller made 49 saves. Notable: Savoie had five points on the weekend (series wrap).

USHL

Muskegon Lumberjacks: Week 0-2-0-0. Overall 3-4-0-1. The Lumberjacks outshot the Chicago Steel 32-21 Friday but lost 5-0. On Saturday they lost 5-4 after Chicago scored four goals in the second period. Notable: Drew Fox, Maxim Šimko, and Gustas Zemaitis all scored Saturday (series wrap).

NTDP U17: Week 1-1. The U17s hosted Tri-City in their first games against USHL opposition. They lost 7-4 Friday and won 8-5 Saturday, with two goals each from Trupiano, Morris, and Evans. Notable: three of Saturday’s eight goals came on the power play.

NTDP U18: Week 0-2 (college exhibitions). The U18s played two exhibitions in Colorado. Eli Winters made 40 saves in a 4-1 loss at No. 15 Colorado College, and Brock Stevenson scored in a 7-1 loss at No. 1 Denver, where Nate Chizik made 35 saves. Neither game counts in the USHL standings.

OHL

Flint Firebirds: Week 2-0-0-0. Overall 5-2-0-0. Cooper Williams and Nick Bogas scored their first OHL goals in a 5-2 win over Kitchener Wednesday, Flint’s first home win of the season. Saturday, Brady Smith scored twice in a 6-4 win over Sarnia. Notable: Mason Courville made a season-high 34 saves against the Sting.

Saginaw Spirit: Week 1-0-0-0. Overall 3-2-2-0. Braidy Wassilyn scored twice in a 4-2 win over Kitchener Saturday. He has now scored in seven straight games, the longest goal streak to start a Spirit career. Notable: Former Spirit scoring leader Nikita Klepov made his NHL debut with Anaheim Wednesday.

Around the hockey world

Spengler Cup: Red Wings prospect Max Plante was named to the U.S. Collegiate Selects for December’s tournament in Davos, Switzerland.
Nicklas Lidström: The Hall of Fame defenseman said the permanent GM decision rests with ownership and that his own role in Europe is expanding.

Looking ahead

Red Wings: home against New Jersey (Tue., Oct. 13), Philadelphia (Thu., Oct. 15), and San Jose (Sat., Oct. 17).
Griffins: at Rockford (Sat., Oct. 17), then home against Rockford (Sun., Oct. 18).
Walleye: season opener at Fort Wayne (Sat., Oct. 17).
NCAA: Michigan at No. 1 Denver (Oct. 16-17). Michigan State at RIT (Oct. 17). Western Michigan and Notre Dame play a home-and-home (Oct. 16-17). Michigan Tech hosts Alaska on Hall of Fame weekend (Oct. 16-17). Northern Michigan hosts Stonehill (Oct. 16-17). Lake Superior State plays at Alaska Anchorage (Oct. 16-17). Ferris State is off.
USHL: Muskegon hosts Youngstown (Oct. 16-17). The U18s host Dubuque (Oct. 16-17), and the U17s host Dubuque (Oct. 18).
OHL: Flint plays at Guelph (Oct. 16) and hosts Owen Sound (Oct. 17). Saginaw plays at Windsor (Mon., Oct. 12), plays a home-and-home with Sarnia (Oct. 16-17), and hosts Owen Sound (Oct. 18).

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