The news just keeps on getting worse for both Sweden and the Detroit Red Wings. Thursday, it was revealed that Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg, who was to fill the same role for the Swedes at the upcoming World Cup of Hockey, would be forced to pull out of the tournament due to a knee injury suffered earlier this week while training in preparation for the event. “Henrik called to tell me he injured himself training, preparing for the World Cup and the upcoming season,… Detroit general manager Ken Holland said. “He tried skating a couple times and he made the decision he’s not fit to play in the World Cup.… As to how much longer Zetterberg might be on the sideline, well there’s no answer to that question at this point, and that has to be disconcerting news to a team that already knows they will be without Pavel Datsyuk this season. “He told me he’s not sure if he’ll be ready for the start of training camp or not,… Holland said of Zetterberg. “He needs to wait here a couple of weeks to see how his knee heals.… The Wings are in the process of scheduling an MRI on Zetterberg’s damaged knee. Already, Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall pulled himself off the Swedish World Cup team due to lingering issues with his that he underwent surgery on last season. Kronwall’s status for training camp and the ensuing NHL campaign is also uncertain at this point. Numerology The Wings announced uniform numbers for their new additions as well as a couple of number switches made by returning players. Among the team’s three free-agent additions, forward Frans Nielsen will wear No. 51, Thomas Vanek will wear No. 62 and Steve Ott will take No. 29. Meanwhile, defenseman Alexey Marchenko has opted to doff No. 47 in exchange for No. 53 and forward Teemu Pulkkinen is dropping No. 56 to go with No. 4. Prospects Tourney The Red Wings and seven other NHL clubs will contest the team’s annual prospects tournament Sept. 16-20 in Traverse City, Mich. The tournament will divide the participating teams into two four-team divisions. Chicago, Columbus, Detroit and St. Louis will play in the Gordie Howe Division and Carolina, Dallas, Minnesota and the New York Rangers will be grouped in the Ted Lindsay Division. Teams will play each division opponent in a round-robin format before a crossover game on the final day of the tournament, capped off with the first-place finishers in each division meeting for the Matthew Wuest Memorial Cup on Sept. 20. The tournament’s championship trophy was renamed last summer in honor of Wuest (pronounced WEEST), known for his work on the website CapGeek.com as well as his coverage and statistical archiving of the NHL Prospect Tournament on RedWingsCentral.com, spanning back to the inaugural tournament in 1998. Wuest died in March 2015 after succumbing to a two-year battle with colon cancer. Columbus returns to Traverse City looking for a third-straight tournament championship. The Blue Jackets defeated the Red Wings, who captured their first-ever tournament title in 2013, in last year’s first-place game. The Red Wings will release a finalized roster for the event at a later date. Follow me on Twitter @asktheduffer
Loading...
Loading...