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Cholowski needs to be a home run |
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It’s baseball season, so let’s use a baseball analogy to discuss the newest Detroit Red Wing, defenseman Dennis Cholowski, who signed a contract with the team on Thursday.
It’s simple, really - Cholowski, Detroit’s top pick in the 2016 NHL entry draft draft, has to be a home run.
Not needs to be. Has to be.
Not a single. Not a double. Not even a triple.
Cholowski must be a home run.
You’ve seen the Red Wings defense in action this season, how they treat the puck as if it were a foreign object. It’s pitiful some nights, painful to watch for a team that once suited up the likes of Nicklas Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski and Paul Coffey.
That’s part of the reason why Cholowski has to knock it out of the park.
The six-foot, 170-pound defender was a reach by the Wings last spring, seen by most NHL scouts as a likely second-round pick. Billed as an elite thinker of the game and a smooth as silk puck mover, on paper he’s exactly what the Wings need, though Cholowski’s initial - and as it turns out his only NCAA season at St. Cloud State - didn’t wow anyone.
Cholowski finished with one goal and 13 assists in 36 games.
There’s that worrisome development, and then there’s Detroit’s past history with selecting defensemen in the first round of the draft.
Other than Niklas Kronwall, who is currently putting out on 18 of what’s been a solid NHL career, and you probably don’t want to remember some the rearguards picked by Detroit, many of them guys who immediately went to the rear of their draft class.
Among the better choices, Brendan Smith (2007) was serviceable, but nowhere near the skilled talent he was billed to be. Jiri Fischer (1998) was developing into a stellar NHLer when a rare heart condition ended his career. Anders Eriksson (1993) at least enjoyed an NHL tenure of some length.
The list thins out fast after that. Wings fans are still trying to forget Jakub Kindl (2005). Eriksson’s selection launched a four-year run of forgettable defensemen - Yan Golubovsky (1994), Maxim Kuznetsov (1995) and Jesse Wallin (1996).
Do we even need to mention old-school picks like Yves Racine (1987), Willie Huber (1978), Rick Lapointe (1975) or Serge Lajeunesse (1970)?
OK, stop screaming. We will move on to the other reason why Cholowski must touch ’em all.
That would be Jakob Chychrun. On draft day, the Wings traded down to dump Pavel Datsyuk’s contract on the Arizona Coyotes, leaving Chychrun there for the Coyotes.
In his rookie season, Chychrun already has posted 7-12-19 numbers through 66 games. He’d easily be second among Detroit’s defensemen in scoring this season.
We already know that Chychrun is an NHL defenseman. We don’t know that about Cholowski, and might not know that for some time yet. Since he’s only 19, the Wings could opt to put Cholowski with Prince George of the WHL next season. The Cougars own his CHL rights.
Athanasiou Down
Detroit forward Andreas Athanasiou did not practice Thursday.
“He’s day to day right now, so I can’t tell you whether he’ll be available for Saturday,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. “It’s lingering from the previous injury.”
Athanasiou hurt his ribs when checked by Victor Rask as he scored the overtime winner at Carolina last week.
Matt Lorito was recalled from AHL Grand Rapids as a precaution.
“He’s been out for a little bit, so we were kind of waiting for him to get back to being healthy and give him a chance to seize it,” Blashill said of Lorito. “He’s had two real good years in the American League.
“Our pro scouts really liked him when we signed him this summer. He’s got the potential to be an NHL player. He’s smallish (5-9), but he’s got lots of skill, so it’ll be interesting to see what he does.”
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