The Captain Returns - NHL19 - Detroit Red Wings

[SeattleBattleCat]

PRELUDE:

The Headlines That Had The NHL Buzzing:

31st July 2018

Ken Holland Retires as Red Wings GM.

After clocking 21 years as GM of the Detroit Red Wings on the 18th July, Holland announces his retirement effective immediately

31st July 2018,
NHL @NHL / NHL.com

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11th September 2018

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11th September 2018

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12th September 2018

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14th September 2018

15th September 2018

Full Story:

Hello Captain Obvious: Steve Yzerman Signs as Red Wings GM.

The Captain Returns to the Detroit Red Wings
Bob Battley / DetroitRedWings.com


Need we say more?

In what was possibly the most obvious scenario playing out over the last couple of weeks in modern day hockey, Steve Yzerman has fully resigned from the Tampa Bay Lightning to become the new General Manager of the Detroit Red Wings moving forward for the 2018/19 season.

With the pre-season set to start tomorrow, during a press conference along with mother & owner Marian, Ilitch Holdings President & CEO, Christopher Ilitch has ended all speculation by finally appointing Yzerman. All done in the space of 6 weeks since Holland’s bombshell announcement on the 31st July.

Yzerman initially created a 2nd storm, after Holland’s shock retirement announcement, when only 5 days ago on the 12th September, he announced his intention to move down to an advisory role to Julien Brisebois within the Tampa Bay Lightning organisation. 3 days later he would resign from the Bolts altogether. Add to that another 2 days later, he is now officially the Red Wings GM.

After an illustirious 22years as a player & captain of this very well known franchise, Yzerman cut his teeth on front office duties, taking on the VP role at the Wings for 4 years between 2006 – 2010 before taking on the prestigious GM spot at Tampa Bay. In the 8 years at the helm of the Lightning, Yzerman has been the orchestrator of drafting talented stars such as Steven Stamkos & Nikita Kucherov, as well as extending their contracts, plus signing a host of undrafted stars such as Tyler Johnson. In his time the Bolts made 5 Eastern Conference Finals Appearances, as well as one Stanley Cup Final appearance.

In a press conference held at Little Caesar’s Arena earlier today, Christopher Ilitch once again thanked Ken Holland for his legacy & 21 years at the helm, then welcomed Yzerman to the role ahead.

“Steven Yzerman embodies the soul of a Red Wing, having spent nearly half a lifetime in amongst the organisation, both as a player & as part of our management. He knows our system & is the perfect fit for the path moving forward. Steve has no small task in turning this team around, however Ken has laid an ample foundation that can be built upon in the seasons to come.”

Yzerman then took to the floor.

“It is truly a privilege to have been given this role. I’d like to thank Christopher & Marian, their family & organisation, for giving me the opportunity to lead the greatest hockey team in the world. I’d especially like to thank the late great, Mr I (Mike Ilitch Sr), who saw the potential in me after my days playing and giving me my 1st shot in the office. It has moulded me into the man I am today.“

I and on behalf of all of the Red Wings organisation, players & staff wish Ken Holland all the best for his retirement & thank him for the massive success he bought to this organisation over 2 decades. A new era has begun & we must focus on continuing to build a path of success in front of us.”

“We have an astounding group of young and upcoming players who will drive our upward push as we strive to improve and win hockey games. We have our core of veterans who will guide them in this process. I am super excited for this challenge & I would like to categorically give my pledge to the citizens of Detroit & fans everywhere that I will give my heart & soul to making the Red Wings champions once again.

Yzerman is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players. He had 1,755 points (692 goals, 1,063 assists) in 1,514 games over 22 NHL seasons, all with the Detroit Red Wings. The 10-time NHL all-star won the Stanley Cup three times (1997, 1998, 2002) and the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 1998. He was executive director for Canada when it won the gold medal at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

This move is sure to be a hit with Red Wings fans everywhere with plenty of noise being made in the recent past by the public to “bring Stevie back”, to guide the team into the future into a new era.

The Red Wings pre-season kicks off tomorrow with youngsters such as 2018 star recruit, Filip Zadina, Michael Rassmussen, Evgeny Svechnikov & Dennis Cholowski set to feature in order to secure themselves a lucrative position on the team.

Jeff Blashill returns in his 4th season as Head Coach of the Wings, in what has been a tough introduction into the NHL, with the Wings missing the last 2 season’s playoff’s series & only just scraping in on his 1st season (2015/16).



Jeff Blashill maintains the head coaching position at Detroit

Perhaps the biggest adjustment the Red Wings will have to make is on the ice, with the recent retirement of Henrik Zetterberg after succumbing to a degenerative back disorder which has plagued him since surgery in 2014. The biggest question on everyones mind is, who will captain the team moving forward?

Barring Zetterberg's retirement, the pieces on the chess board are now finally set in the front office at the Detroit Red Wings, we will await to see where Yzerman guides the franchise as he forges ahead.

[SeattleBattleCat]

The Captain Returns
The Detroit Red Wings
An NHL19 Franchise Dynasty
BY SeattleBattleCat

After an end to a record 25 years of continuous playoffs appearances, a gripping farewell to Joe Louis Arena & ultimately to long time serving GM, Ken Holland, a new era at Hockeytown has begun.
A bombshell has just dropped. Steve Yzerman has returned to the Detroit Red Wings as the successor GM to Holland. It is now up to "The Captain" & his front office team to drive the Red Wings back to being Stanley Cup contenders.

Personal Introduction
Hi all, I’m back for another crack at a Hockey Dynasty, this time I return to my beloved Detroit Red Wings. Hope you enjoy everything I have put together so far and then I hope you can enjoy reading the progress as we begin & then when the seasons begin to pile on. Each post will be structured very similar to my previous Battle Cats Dynasty.

With NHL19 set to drop into my hands on Friday, I got excited and began to build a back story to my new franchise earlier this week. I had originally created a whole back story with a fictional GM called Steven Crane (you might remember the name from the Seattle Battle Cats, their star Defenseman), however today the massive Steve Yzerman bombshell dropped, causing a light globe moment which has seen me re-write the entire start to my franchise. I hope this works & I hope you enjoy this. Stevie Y IS the reason I developed my love for hockey, PERIOD. Reading todays story had me as excited as my teenage daughter going to her 1st Justin Bieber concert. I’m possibly drawing a terrible comparison here but hopefully you get it haha. Yes this is premature compared to how real life is likely to play out, & heck I wouldn’t be surprised if Stevie Y even became the new GM for the eventual Seattle franchise in 2020ish, but how can I pass this up?

I haven’t fully decided on how many games in the season I will play, it could be as low as 1 game per month or as many as 1 in every 5 just as I did in my Seattle expansion franchise, but after a while, you’ll get the flow.

With a rebuilding list, lined with some up & coming talent, plus some long time serving veterans, the team could be up for some trouble in the beginning. I just hope I can keep Steve in the job long enough to do him justice & to keep the franchise going haha.

Aside from viewing updates on Youtube, I haven’t played any Beta’s or trial copies, but as a long time player of EA Sports Hockey titles, I am pretty excited to give it a shot and learn as I go. Sure, this is a little premature to start a dynasty without even having played the game yet, but I am as keen as mustard to get started. It will take a me a couple of days over the coming weekend to get everything in order, but then hopefully all going well, this franchise will hit top gear from the start.

Lastly, just a disclaimer, nearly all of the artwork used (as well as some of the news story snippets in the prelude) in this upcoming dynasty is not of my own (most notably the registered trademarks of the Detroit Red Wings & the NHL), most of it has been obtained through Google searches, snipping & clipping from NHL.com & various fan sites. All credit must go to the original & hardworking creators of the work.

Thanks, & hope you enjoy
SBC

My Franchise Gameplay Rules & House Rules:

Game Play:
Period Length: 5Min
Difficulty: Pro (with many Slider adjustments to increase difficulty)
Offsides: on
Injuries: on
Icing: on (NHL Rules)

Franchise:
GM Firing: On
Waivers: On
Salary Cap: On
Scouting: Manual Amateur Scouting, Automatic Pro Scouting*
Trade Difficulty: Medium
Simming / Play Games Ratio - Regular Season: Will Manually Play 1 - 2 games per month. Sim the rest. Subject to change.
Playoffs: (changed 19th Feb 2019 - going into season 2023/24) Can only manually play 1 game (of my choice) from games 1-5 in all series - other 4 must be simmed. Game 6 must be simmed. Game 7 I can maunally play.

*Have elected to manually scout amateurs, but let the game handle the Pro scouting. Honestly I am liking this new system, however with so many scouts & no notifications when they have finished, it becomes very laborious to assign every (up to 20) scout to individual tasks& keep an eye on them. I'm still learning though & this might change.
Haven't quite figured out how to mention them in-dynasty yet, will work on that.

[SeattleBattleCat]

FRANCHISE STATISTICS:
Seasons 2018/19 to 2022/23 (5 Seasons)
*Warning - Yearly Team & League Results Inside Spoiler*
(Look away if you don't want to know results before reading this dynasty)

Spoiler

Season History:




Captain & Team Stats Leaders:


Player Achievements:




Retired Numbers:

Red Wings Championships - 13 (Including 2 under GM Steve Yzerman in 21/22 & 22/23)



Franchise Draft History:





Past NHL Stanley Cup Champions:
(From Franchise Start)

[SeattleBattleCat]

Affiliate Franchise Statistics:
Seasons 2018/19 to 2022/23 (5 Seasons)
*Warning - Yearly Team & League Results Inside Spoiler*
(Look away if you don't want to know results before reading this dynasty)

Spoiler

Season Standings:



Team Leaders:



Player Awards:


AHL Calder Cup Champions:
(From Start of Franchise)

[SeattleBattleCat]

Kronwall named Captain for 2018/19 Season. Larkin & Abdelkader Alternates.
Veteran Defenseman named Captain in final year of contract.
15th September 2018


Steve Yzerman's first duty as GM was immediate: Name a Captain.
He revealed today at skating practice that Niklas Kronwall will lead the Red Wings on the ice, wearing the coveted ‘C’ on his jersey, with Justin Abdelkader & Dylan Larkin to be Alternates for the 2018/19 season.
There has been much speculation and there were many tipping Dylan Larkin to move straight into the captain’s role after Henrik Zetterberg's shock retirement only yesterday - 2 days before the start of the pre-season competition. However Larkin’s relatively young age of 22 was a little cause for concern with regards to his own further development. Putting Kronwall in as captain for at least one season lets Larkin continue to develop whilst further learning & earning his role as a leader on & off the ice.
“Kronner is the right guy to lead this team for this season, however just because there is a guy on the ice with a C on his jersey, he like Z (Zetterberg) before him, has carried this team on his back & has provided true leadership over the years. I have all faith he will be able to help motivate, lead & inspire the team.”

When questioned about his own thoughts about being the Red Wings Captain, Kronwall said,
“It’s obviously a huge honor to wear the big C on my jersey, but I can’t let it get to me, I’ll just keep doing what I have done for last few years and be there for my team, more importantly help and mentor the young guys. It will be a tough season, but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

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Veleno Offered Entry Level Contract
Up & Coming Youngster to Play in Pre-Season Before Return to QMJHL

15th September 2018


Joe Veleno

Dreams have come true for rookie Joe Veleno with news coming out of Hockeytown that the 18 year old has just been signed to an entry level contract.
Veleno can expect to get plenty of ice-time during the following 7 game pre-season series which kicks off tomorrow when the Red Wings host the Florida Panthers.
Once the pre-season is finished, it is expected that Veleno will return to his QMJHL team, Drummondville.
Amongst the list of young talent that will see plenty of ice-time to vie for a spot on the full time roster will be this year’s no.6 pick, Filip Zadina who received his entry level contract on the 8th July & Michael Ramussen, Detroits no.9 pick in the 2017 draft , plus defenseman Dennis Cholowski, Detroits no.16 pick in the 2016 draft.

Filip Zadina - tipped to play regularly in the NHL this season

“It’s a pleasure to be signing these young players to our team, I really excited to see them grow along the journey. Zadina’s possibly NHL ready but he will have much to prove this week. Michael & Dennis will probably spend most of their season in the AHL but they will not be far off.” Coach Jeff Blashill said at this morning’s practice session.


Joe Veleno accepts his contract

[Bigwebb48]

the wings are always a fun team to use. so much history, pretty solid pieces, just need some TLC to get them ready to go. Can't wait to see the direction you take the Wings.

[SeattleBattleCat]

Thanks! I hope I do them proud.

[SeattleBattleCat]

Season 2018/19 - Pre-Season Report

Pre-Season Record: 2-5-0

Atlantic Division Standings:


The Pre-Season Calendar


Player Stats:




Goalie Stats:


Game Results & Team Updates::

16th September, Florida @ Detroit

Opening pre-season game and the Red Wings take charge early, only to become overwhelmed, conceding 4 goals in the 3rd period to lose the game 6-3.
Dylan Larkin made good on his new leadership role & scored the 1st goal of the game, with a neat wrap around that beat the glove of Roberto Luongo.
Florida’s Micheal Haley was a serial pest to the Wings defense, notching 2 goals, plus an assist.
In his 1st game, Filip Zadina stood out with 2 assists, a great sign for the future from the young star.
Joe Veleno, Michael Rasmussen & Dennis Cholowski also played their 1st games for the Winged Wheel & made it through unscathed.
In goal, Jimmy Howard’s 1st 2 periods were solid, however the Detroit defensemen would let him down, resulting in 17 shots on goal during the last period.
Tonight was a tough night however the Wings will regroup for their match in 2 days in Boston.






18th September, Detroit @ Boston

Detroit turns their 1st game blues around as they make short work of the Bruins @ the TD Center, coming away with a 6-3 victory.
Detroit had 6 individual goal scorers throughout the game, with Dylan Larkin once again scoring the 1st goal of the game. His goal was followed up by goals from teammates Frk, Athanasiou, Turgeon, Hronek & Svechnikov. Darren Helm was smooth with his passes, tallying 2 assists. Rookies, Joe Veleno & Filip Zadina also tallied an assist each in the big win.
Jimmy Howard had a much better night minding the net making 22 saves from 25 shots.


21st September, Toronto @ Detroit

After another strong start, Detroit capitulates allowing 5 unanswered goals to come away with a 6-2 loss to Toronto.
Darren Helm was the shining light early for the Wings, scoring 2 goals early in the 1st.
However it was all Toronto from there & most notably, it was a great game put in by Leaf's 1st line pair, Mitchell Marner & Nazim Kadri.
Jimmy Howard had a tough night, facing 37 shots on net and stopping 31.


23rd September, Detroit @ Tampa Bay

Big night in Florida for the Red Wings, rounding out as 5-2 winners over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Rookie Givani Smith played in his 1st pre-season game & scored the opening goal with a brilliant deflection.
However the game belonged to 2nd line wingers, Tomas Vanek & Gustav Nyquist. Vanek scored once and Nyquist found the net twice.
Goaltender Jimmy Howard had a much better night with the veteran making 32 saves on his way to earning the game's 3rd star award.
The Red Wings now have a 2-2-0 record in the pre-season.


24th September, Detroit @ Buffalo

Detroit go down in a hard fought 2-1 loss in Buffalo. Johnathan Bernier played well making 35 saves during the loss. The Red Wings offense however could not get started, only making 14 shots on net all game.
Dylan Larkin scored the Wings only goal early in the 1st, whilst Kyle Okposo scored the game winner in the 3rd whilst the Sabres were on the power play.





27th September, Montreal @ Detroit

Another tough loss at home going down in a 1-0 shutout to the Montreal Canadiens. Charlie Lindgren stood tall for Montreal when starting goalie, Carey Price left the game early with a minor injury. Lindgren would make 27 saves in a brilliant performance. Jimmy Howard was also superb for the Wings making 28 saves.


29th September, Ottawa @ Detroit

Detroit close out the pre-season with a 4-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators. The Red Wings trailed all game, however managed to stay within 1 for most of it until Senators forward Chris Tierney scored on the empty net.
Anthony Mantha and Mike Green were the Red Wing's goal scorers tonight.
Jimmy Howard made 29 saves from 32 shots on goal.




Wrap up:
A tough pre-season for what is likely to be a tough season ahead. There were some strong showings against Tampa Bay & Boston, though the team couldn’t find a spark in the other games. It is only preseason and won’t worry too much.
Had some good performances put in. Zadina will definitely start on the Wings roster. The youngster gelled well on the 1st line with Mantha & Larkin so could start him there, or alternately on the 2nd line with Nielsen or Athanasiou & Nyquist.
As expected, defensemen Dennis Cholowski, Joe Hicketts & Filip Hronek will play in the AHL for at least the start of the season. Joe Veleno & Michael Rasmussen, only being 18 will play in the CHL & return next season for another shot.

Injuries:
Nil

Contract Extensions:
15th September - Joe Veleno - Signed Entry Level Contract 3yrs @ $0.925M per year

Projected Lines - Opening Night:
Columbus @ Detroit
4th October 2018

*So Pre-season is done, I've just played the season opener also which will be posted later. Hope you have enjoyed to this point.
Hope the layout is readable & understandable. Because the ingame format is very different this year compared to last years, I need to refine my presentation to make it look better.