The Daily: Ex-Red Wings Player Helps Slovakia Make Olympics; Latvia, Denmark Also In

Slovakia, Denmark and Latvia have earned a place at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics where NHL players, including Red Wings, will again be competing for the first time since 2014.

The Slovaks, coached by former NHL coach Craig Ramsey, downed Kazakhstan 3-1 to win its qualification pool.  A handful of NHL players helped Slovakia. Those include former Detroit Red Wings player Tomas Tatar, plus Patrik Koch (Utah), Martin Pospisil (Calgary) and Samuel Hlavaj (Minnesota).

Latvia was helped by Philadelphia player Rodrigo Abols to take down France 5-2 and earn a spot in another qualification pool. Denmark downed Norway 4-1 to earn the third spot. That was a disappointing result for Detroit prospect Michael Brandsegg-Nygard who was playing for Norway.

Detroit first-round pick Marco Kasper  shared Brandsegg-Nygard’s disappointment. Kasper’s Austria team was in Slovakia’s pool.

Red Wings In Case You Missed It

High expectations for Detroit prospect Dmitri Buchelnikov in the KHL this season.

New Detroit player forward Vladimir Tarasenko received his day with the Stanley Cup. He helped the Florida Panthers win it last June.

Ville Husso‘s offseason training has gone very well, but the Red Wings still have to be concerned. He hasn’t played a full game since December.

Red Wings Offseason

The Red Wings have 10 U.S.-born veterans under contract. Five (Dylan Larkin, Andrew Copp, Alex DeBrincat, Tyler Motte and Jeff Petry) grew up in Michigan. Those totals don’t include Michigan native Austin Watson who will be in training camp on a PTO.

Hockey Now Network

New Jersey: Will the Seth Jarvis contract uniqueness end up as a path to a new deal for Dawson Mercer? New Jersey Devils. 

Philadelphia: Jonathan Bailey writes about why it would make sense for the Flyers to pursue a trade for Nick Robertson. Philadelphia Flyers. 

Washington: Charlie Lindgren has the opportunity to be “The Guy” in net for the Washington Capitals.