Around the Rink – June 26th Edition

Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images

June always seems to be the busiest month of the year for Red Wings fans, especially if the team makes it into the Stanley Cup finals. You have hockey games, the NHL Awards Show, the Hockey Hall of Fame induction announcement, and the NHL Entry Draft before the free agency period kicks off on July 1. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered at DRW.com and the Hockeytown Blog.

Yzerman tabs Babcock for Team Canada

Wings coach Mike Babcock will coach Team Canada in the 2010 Winter Olympics. Detroit’s vice president (and executive director of Team Canada for the Winter Games) selected Babcock after evaluating all of his options, believing Babcock’s focus to win was an important factor in the decision.

“It’s living a dream,” said Babcock. “I was absolutely thrilled.  I’m very excited and humbled. As much as the Stanley Cup is exciting, any time you have a chance to play for your country, it’s a whole new level of exciting.” …

“I was looking for someone who will encourage the team to play the way I envision the Canadian national team to play,” said Yzerman.  “We have a vision of how the Olympic team will play, and I’m certain Mike is the guy to take the reins. “

2009 NHL Entry Draft

Tonight all 30 teams will gather to select prospects from the eligible group of players. You can catch the action to see who the New York Islanders draft first and who Detroit will take with the 29th overall pick by tuning in to Versus at 7 p.m. EDT (Day 2 of the draft kicks off at 10 a.m. on the NHL Network). With the impending draft, the media seems to be having a field day with mock drafts and related articles. Hockeytown Blog has compiled a short list of who has the Wings picking whom with that No. 29 pick.

• Carl Klingberg — Hockey’s Future, TSN (Cullen), Edmonton Journal, USA Today
• Joonas Nattinen — The Hockey News
• Marcus Johansson — Sporting News, NHL.com (Holland)
• Dylan Olsen — Sports Illustrated
• Zach Budish — Ottawa Sun
• Calvin de Haan — NHL.com (Kimelman)
• Kyle Palmieri — NHL.com (Roarke)
• Nick Leddy – TSN (McKenzie)

Bruce MacLeod of The Macomb Daily has a great article on Hakan Andersson — a Detroit scout who is responsible for finding the likes of Tomas Holmstrom, Henrik Zetterberg, and Pavel Datsyuk.

In Other News…

• Chris Chelios threw out the opening pitch for the Detroit Tigers-Chicago Cubs game at Comerica Park on Thursday afternoon. He was accompanied on the field by Kris Draper and Darren McCarty. An announcement was made, asking fans to honor Cheli’s career and the 10 years he spent in Detroit. As the jumbotron read “Thank You, Chris!” the entire crowd (Cubs’ fans included) gave him a standing ovation.
• Former Red Wing Sergei Fedorov will return home to Russia and reunite with his younger brother Fedor, signing a reported two-year deal with Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the KHL.
• A Detroit Free Press columnist makes a valid argument that the Red Wings’ senior vice president Jimmy Devellano deserves to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the builder category.
• Olympia Entertainment, the Red Wings’ parent company, has until June 30th to notify the city of Detroit with it’s plans regarding the lease of Joe Louis Arena.
• Jamie Samuelsson of the Detroit Free Press wonders which current Red Wings players will enter the HHOF down the road. We think Nick Lidstrom is a safe bet, but who else would you like to see in the HHOF of the team’s current lineup?