Dennis Cholowski signs a 3 year EL Contract

[GrGriffins]

Can someone tell me what the current D pairings in GR are?

Has not been like this lately with players coming in from everywhere the past 2 weeks, but the pairings have been the following for most of the season:

Russo-Hronek
McIlrath-Hicketts
Lashoff-Renouf
Saarijarvi (rotates if Griffins plays 7 d-men)

 

[GrGriffins]

When do AHL playoffs start?

Next weekend. Griffins will announce their schedule either after tonight's game (if the Griffins win), or by tomorrow night if the Griffins lose tonight and depending on the Manitoba-Chicago result on Sunday.

 

[GrGriffins]

Doubt he would get a game in with GR, Saarijarvi can’t even get a spot right now

It is possible (although unlikely) that Saarijarvi might get sent down to Toledo for their playoffs to get some playing time. Toledo won last night in 2OT over Indy in their opening playoff series.

 

[GrGriffins]

On D we have no upcoming UFA's, but Renouf is an RFA. I dont know much about him.

Renouf is a stay home type d-man. Can score from time to time. Has scored a goal in his last 2 games he has played (scored none prior to that). With all the d-men they have here and others coming in next season and beyond, I would be very surprised if the Wings offer him a contract for next season.

Russo, McIlrath, Hicketts, Lashoff, & Sulak all have one more season left on their contracts. Hronek, Saarijarvi, and Chholowski all have two more seasons left on their contracts.

 

[Mister Ed]

Doesn't look like he's in tonight, looking at the roster sheet.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

Doesn't look like he's in tonight, looking at the roster sheet.

He isn't supposed to report until mid-week.

 

[newfy]

Ive read in a couple articles that hes going to get a good look in camp to make the team. Would be a fun year to watch even if they suck if he was playing and Rasmussen was as well

 

[Lampedampe]

Has not been like this lately with players coming in from everywhere the past 2 weeks, but the pairings have been the following for most of the season:

Russo-Hronek
McIlrath-Hicketts
Lashoff-Renouf
Saarijarvi (rotates if Griffins plays 7 d-men)

Kind of pisses me off that Lashoff has managed to stick around this long..

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

Kind of pisses me off that Lashoff has managed to stick around this long..

It shouldn't, really. He's a good defenseman at the AHL level. Offensive-oriented kids do better with experienced defense-oriented partners. You just don't need 5 of them.

 

[Lampedampe]

It shouldn't, really. He's a good defenseman at the AHL level. Offensive-oriented kids do better with experienced defense-oriented partners. You just don't need 5 of them.

They have 3 stay at home defensenmen on the roster, Saarijarvi/Cholo would fit nicely next to Renouf. Why would you even say "You just don't need 5 of them" in terms of offensive orioneted kids when what i said implied nothing of the kind.. Actually frustrating that you'd even say that.

I'm sure there are solid arguments as for why Lashoff is still on the team though.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

They have 3 stay at home defensenmen on the roster, Saarijarvi/Cholo would fit nicely next to Renouf. Why would you even say "You just don't need 5 of them" in terms of offensive orioneted kids when what i said implied nothing of the kind.. Actually frustrating that you'd even say that.

I'm sure there are solid arguments as for why Lashoff is still on the team though.

I think we're having a misunderstanding? I said you don't need 5 veteran stay at home defensemen on AHL contracts at a time. I'm saying I wish they didn't have so many AHL guys so Saarijarvi and friends could actually get playing time.

 

[GrGriffins]

Max Bultman‏ @m_bultman

Here's Griffins coach Todd Nelson to @TheAthleticDET on how Dennis Cholowski will factor in when he arrives in GR:

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

Hronek is going to drop the hammer on those Manitoba Meese.

Edit: this was the wrong thread, but it's still true.

 

[newfy]

Max Bultman‏ @m_bultman

Here's Griffins coach Todd Nelson to @TheAthleticDET on how Dennis Cholowski will factor in when he arrives in GR:

You would know better than I would but who does he really have potential to knock out of the line up? Hicketts is a lock to play, I would assume they want Mcilraths toughness in the line up, same with Renouf. Hronek is obviously staying in. Lashoff will play right? He wears a letter. Saarajarvi he could knock out of the line up, but I also read Sulak looked pretty good last night in his debut so he might stay in over Cholowski as well. Without too much knowledge of the situation, the only ones that played last night I could see him playing over are Sulak and Saarajarvi but thats also with Hicketts being rested

Do you see Cholowski playing?

 

[GrGriffins]

You would know better than I would but who does he really have potential to knock out of the line up? Hicketts is a lock to play, I would assume they want Mcilraths toughness in the line up, same with Renouf. Hronek is obviously staying in. Lashoff will play right? He wears a letter. Saarajarvi he could knock out of the line up, but I also read Sulak looked pretty good last night in his debut so he might stay in over Cholowski as well. Without too much knowledge of the situation, the only ones that played last night I could see him playing over are Sulak and Saarajarvi but thats also with Hicketts being rested

Do you see Cholowski playing?

Sulak played OK last night, but not to where he will play in the playoffs. Last season Cholowski played the last regular season game for the Griffins and he did not play in the playoffs. It all depends on what happens in practice when he arrives with the team and what he does that is going to determine if he will play in the playoffs or not.

I see Lashoff, McIlrath, Russo, Hronek, Renouf, & Hicketts as your 6 d-man, with Saarijarvi, Cholowski, Sulak, & Crawford as your extras. Saarijarvi or Cholowski could be inserted as the 7 d-man if the Griffins choose to play 11 forwards & 7 d-man. Nelson could even put Saarijarvi or Cholowski with only 6 d-man and maybe have Hicketts move to a forward position (which he has played a few games during the regular season when we had several injuries in the forward positions.

With Lorito and Turgeon out for the playoffs and Bertuzzi not coming back down to GR, Nelson the last few games is trying to get some connection with the 3rd and 4th line forwards to step up in the scoring department. Good to see our d-man getting more involved in the offense besides Hronek. Rassmussen would have been a big help for the Griffins right now.

 

[Redder Winger]

On the one hand, I'm happy to see Grand Rapids in the playoffs. It's good for their fanbase and good for their financial success.
But I have a real hard time caring much about that team, given how few of the guys in the playoffs have any real shot of being in the NHL.

 

[lhsgolf19]

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

Pretty disappointed he isn't already in the lineup in GR. He is better than some of the guys they are playing already.

Very encouraged to see just how big he is getting. Seems every time I see him I feel like he is getting bigger over the last 12 months.

He is starting to look like a 6'2" 210+ lbs kind of guy. With his skating that should be interesting.

 

[BinCookin]

Pretty disappointed he isn't already in the lineup in GR. He is better than some of the guys they are playing already.

Very encouraged to see just how big he is getting. Seems every time I see him I feel like he is getting bigger over the last 12 months.

He is starting to look like a 6'2" 210+ lbs kind of guy. With his skating that should be interesting.

How big is Cholowski now?

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

I don't really get why they don't give him a chance. Or at least Sulak. The GR D is not really blowing my mind. Russo, for example, is just kinda... there. I mean, they did keep Manitoba to 1 goal, so I guess that was a success. But at least part of that was the Moose just flat out sucking. I watched the latter two periods today and the Moose had very few legit scoring chances.

I don't really think the GR defense moves the puck particularly well outside of Hronek, either. I see Cholowski as a pure upgrade over somebody like Russo. And they would still have 4 stay at home guys in the lineup, so it's not like they would be downgrading their defensive play very much.

 

[Redder Winger]

I don't really get why they don't give him a chance. Or at least Sulak. The GR D is not really blowing my mind. Russo, for example, is just kinda... there. I mean, they did keep Manitoba to 1 goal, so I guess that was a success. But at least part of that was the Moose just flat out sucking. I watched the latter two periods today and the Moose had very few legit scoring chances.

I don't really think the GR defense moves the puck particularly well outside of Hronek, either. I see Cholowski as a pure upgrade over somebody like Russo. And they would still have 4 stay at home guys in the lineup, so it's not like they would be downgrading their defensive play very much.

Russo has been pretty good, statistically.
He was good enough to get into 19 NHL games last year. I don't think he's very special.

But this has been the problem all year.
This "development" team is playing 24-25 and 28 year olds and sitting 19 and 20 year olds.

I get that Grand Rapids needs to make money and sell tickets, but how much Lashoff and Tangradi and Elkins do they want down there?

 

[Pavels Dog]

I don't really get why they don't give him a chance. Or at least Sulak. The GR D is not really blowing my mind. Russo, for example, is just kinda... there. I mean, they did keep Manitoba to 1 goal, so I guess that was a success. But at least part of that was the Moose just flat out sucking. I watched the latter two periods today and the Moose had very few legit scoring chances.

I don't really think the GR defense moves the puck particularly well outside of Hronek, either. I see Cholowski as a pure upgrade over somebody like Russo. And they would still have 4 stay at home guys in the lineup, so it's not like they would be downgrading their defensive play very much.

It’s hard for anyone to step right into a new team, new league and playoffs. Like, you don’t see Tolvanen skating for the Preds. And for D it’s even harder to smoothly step into a situation like that. Hopefully he does get into the lineup and finds a way to stay, but I’m not surprised they’re not throwing him out there right away. Especially with the other guys seemingly doing okay.

 

[newfy]

Russo has been pretty good, statistically.
He was good enough to get into 19 NHL games last year. I don't think he's very special.

But this has been the problem all year.
This "development" team is playing 24-25 and 28 year olds and sitting 19 and 20 year olds.

I get that Grand Rapids needs to make money and sell tickets, but how much Lashoff and Tangradi and Elkins do they want down there?

Theres a rule on the number of vets that can play in a game. Everyone here would love to see a team of all Detroit prospects playing but its never going to happen. Nelson, with mostly this defense, won the calder cup last year. Dont expect him to throw a kid out there who has barely even practised with the team. Especially coming off a 5-1 win.

Throwing a kid out there who doesnt know the system and isnt used to pro hockey and will be playing infront of the biggest crowd of his career isnt necessarily a great thing for his development if his confidence is destroyed after a really good junior season

 

[Frk It]

It’s hard for anyone to step right into a new team, new league and playoffs. Like, you don’t see Tolvanen skating for the Preds.

AHL playoffs and NHL playoffs are not even close to the same thing. I don't think most other teams would have their 1st round pick go to their AHL team and not play.

 

[newfy]

AHL playoffs and NHL playoffs are not even close to the same thing. I don't think most other teams would have their 1st round pick go to their AHL team and not play.

Usually theyre not joining the team mid playoffs though. I dont think theres a single NHL team that sends their first round pick to the AHL with no time to practice and just throws them into the lineup for the first game of playoffs. Maybe some of them leaving the NCAA that are like 23 or 24 years old, but not a later first round pick that is 20. And not when Grand Rapids already has a pretty good blue line and a young player eating all the minutes Cholowski would likely excel in. Whose minutes does he take? Maybe Russo I guess, but hes not taking Hroneks minutes which means hes playing tougher defensive machups and not on the PP/offensive situations