Red Wings Wrap-Up: Raymond bursts onto scene in 2021-22 – NHL
“Even from Day 1, whether he was playing in Grand Rapids or he was playing on our team, it didn’t really matter to him,” Larkin said on Oct. 26. “He wanted to play in North America. He wanted to play pro hockey. I think he really believed in himself and believed whether it was this year or next year, 10 games, two months, whatever it was, he’s gonna have an impact on this team.”
The Vrana surgery was a blessing in disguise as I’m not sure he makes the team if Vrana had been healthy but I’m extremely glad he got to have the rookie season he did and look forward to seeing how his sophomore campaign plays out.
NHL Combine Notebook: 2022 setting up to be an unpredictable draft – Sportsnet
Austrian Marco Kasper was one of the most impressive interviews we conducted. He learned Swedish in three months, adding to his Austrian and German language repertoire. And, by the way, he’s also learning French in school.
Kasper left Austria at 16 to play for Rogle in Sweden’s SHL. His parents dropped him off in the small Swedish town and stayed with him for two weeks before leaving him on his own.
The whole article is made up of these little stories about the draft class. It’s a fun read.
Wayne Gretzky’s final Edmonton Oilers jersey sells for record $1.452 million – ESPN
In the same auction, Gretzky’s gloves from the same Stanley Cup-clinching game sold for $204,162.
They’re non-fungible!