Opinions on some of the team’s top prospects from some of the Detroit Red Wings’ brass who took part in the club’s July 6-10 development camp:
Dennis Cholowski, D, selected 20th overall in 2016 NHL entry draft Detroit’s top pick in last month’s draft, this was Cholowski’s first taste of pro competition and the Wings liked what they saw from the defenseman who is headed to play NCAA hockey at St. Cloud State.
“I absolutely love his demeanor and the mentality he has of no extreme highs and no extreme lows, and the bigger the moment the better he plays,… Detroit director of player development Jiri Fischer said. “The bigger the moment, the harder he tries. That’s a trait that when guys go through the highs and lows, they have a hard time managing that.
“So for Dennis, he’s got that advantage of hopefully the higher level he’s going to be play, he will be able to elevate his game.…
The assessment that Cholowski remains calm, cool and collected was not something the team merely came to determine from watching him play. Medical science offered a second opinion.
“For the first time, we had everybody wired on heart rate monitors through all the fitness activities we’ve had on and off the ice, so we also get a base where guys are, do they recover fast enough?… Fischer explained. “Do they stay calm while they’re exercising vigorously? How do they bounce back from being completely fatigued?
“He was one of the guys who has a natural gift of not being overly hyper, and as he’s getting closer to the pinnacle of hockey and hopefully starts knocking on the door of pro - whenever he decides to turn pro - then I’m excited to watch his game develop.…
Grand Rapids AHL coach Todd Nelson also liked what he saw from Cholowski.
“He impressed me from Day 1 from the first skill sessions, just the way that he moves out there, his skill set,… Nelson said. “He passes the puck like a pro right now. He passes it crisp and firm.
“We got a really good indication from the scrimmages what he’s able to do and see how he can control the play and make simple plays. He makes the game look easy out there.
“That was my first time watching him play and I was pretty impressed.…
Evgeny Svechnikov, LW, selected 19th overall in 2016 NHL entry draft Detroit’s top pick in 2015, this was Svechnikov’s second time through the development camp and that gave the Wings a chance to see how he’s progressed after spending the 2015-16 season with Cape Breton of the QMJHL, where he put up 32-47-79 totals in 50 games.
“I look for unique traits that each player has and I look for significant weaknesses that each player has,… Fischer said of how he assesses players during the camp. “I believe that strengths need to become elite and unique and be better than anyone else on the ice in order to go to the next level and be able to use that strength, and the weaknesses, the player needs to work on to at least be average so people stop picking on him because of that.
“The thing that stands out in a good way, players get cheered for. Anything that stands out in a bad way, it puts more pressure on him because people will hound him about it.
“Evgeny knows what he needs to work on. He’s a fierce competitor. He is as good as anybody we’ve had in camp at retrieving pucks, battling for loose pucks, trying to jump on loose pucks, playing really fast in the offensive zone, moving the puck really well.…
Svechnikov is ticketed for AHL Grand Rapids in 2016-17.
“I think with his competitive nature he will find his niche in pro hockey and evaluating in camp here, it’s unfair to lots of players where we’re playing four-on-four and three-on-three,… Fischer said. “That’s not the full picture of the game and I really like what he brings to the table.…
Dates Set The arbitration hearings for Detroit defenseman and Petr Mrazek have been booked. Mrazek's hearing is slated for July 27, while DeKeyser's would go the following day. The two sides can continue negotiating to come to a contract agreement right up until the date of the hearings.
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