The Daily: Detroit Draftees among top WJC players; Veleno Hot

On By Littum

One of Canada’s favorite holiday traditions is watching the World Junior Championships on TV. Bob McKenzie’s take on the WJC is always a respected element of this coverage.

On TSN’s World Juniors Preview show, McKenzie highlighted four players they could watch at this year’s event, and two of those players are Red Wings draft picks.

Merry Christmas, Red Wings fans! It’s probably a gift this fanbase needs given how poorly the Detroit team is performing.

USA goaltender Trey Augustine (No. 41, 2023) and Swedish defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka (No. 17, 2023) are Red Wings draft picks, joining Washington Capitals pick Ryan Leonard (No. 8, 2023) and the San Jose Sharks prospect. Kasper Halttunnen (no. 23, 2023). Leonard is expected to be an American top scorer, and Halttunnen is a Finnish forward.

The USA plays its first WJC game Thursday against Germany at 2:20 on NHL Network. Detroit 2024 second-round pick Max Plante is also on the U.S. team.

Red Wings in case you missed it

A former NHLer believes he should have won one of the Norris trophies owned by Detroit superstar Nicklas Lidstrom.

Bob Duff believes the Red Wings team is “broken at halftime.” Not much is going right for coach Derek Lalonde’s team.

The line of Joe Veleno, Marco Kasper and Jonatan Berggren is one of the few bright spots for Detroit over the past week. Veleno has three goals in four games.

Red Wings Extra

Detroit, with just three wins in its last 12 games, does not play again until Friday when it plays on the road against Toronto. Detroit’s 4-2 win against Toronto (with Ville Husso in net) 11 days ago is one of the Red Wings’ three wins since Nov. 29.

Hockey Now Network

Boston: Andrew Fantuccio writes that the Bruins passed a massive test by beating the Washington Capitals on Monday. Boston Bruins.

Colorado: Colleen Flynn explains why the holiday break is so important to Colorado avalanche.

Pittsburgh: Dan Kingerski graded the Penguins a “B” for their win against the Philadelphia Flyers. Does that make him Scrooge? Pittsburgh Penguins.