Hronek, Filip

[Ghost of Ethan Hunt]

That "Ronny" is nice.


BTW:

Dahlin, 0.53
Heiskanen, 0.43
Hronek, 0.43
Cholowski, 0.36
Pilut, 0.36
Jokiharju, 0.32

Rookie defenceman pts/game at this season.

I was looking at those stats last night & liked that Hronek has 7 of 9 EV pts/21gp & 1 SHP+1PPP. Conversely, Cholo has 9 PPP + 7 EVpts/45gp. Nice to have a guy that excels at each. I'd love to see a PP unit with Cholo & Hronek ,Larkin + 2 of: Nyquist/Bert/Mantha...or all 6 in a 6-5 situation with our goalie pulled. Green/Frans/AA/Kronner/Ras could still be deployed on the other unit. Hronek & Cholo give us so many options!

 

[ShelbyZ]

Hronek roll for the Wings this season is to get playing time in the NHL when there is a d-man opening and he is taking advantage of the d-man injuries that the Wings are going through at the moment. When DDK and Daley gets back in the lineup, Hronek will be sent back down to GR to get more minutes there until the Wings move either Jensen or Daley at the TDL. Plus the Wings will not make the playoffs this season and GR chances of making the playoffs are much better, so the Wings would want Hronek to get more playoff experience in the AHL and then the Wings can focus on Hronek on getting a better chance to win a Wings roster spot for 19-20.

Witkowski has cleared waivers 6-7 times already since last season and the Wings have no intentions of sending him down to GR because: (1). If an injury/illness happens to a Wings d-man/forward unexpectedly and for a game or two, Wit can fill in as he is right there with the team. & (2). GR already has 6 veterans in our roster already and they are rotating sitting a vet out for each game. Sending Wit to GR would mean that 2 vets would have to sit out (him being one of them) and his Wings role as an extra d-man/forward would be useless.

The Red Wings have only waived Witkowski once, at the beginning of this season. The guy that got waived a bunch last season was Booth.

Otherwise you're probably pretty spot on.

I'll bet if the Wings have to waive anyone from their roster, it'll be Frk.

My guess is that the Wings sit Ehn and run 11F and 7D until Rasmussen or Daley return.

I would imagine Hronek (and probably Ehn) ends up back in GR somewhere before the deadline so that he's eligible for the AHL playoffs.

 

[GrGriffins]

The Red Wings have only waived Witkowski once, at the beginning of this season. The guy that got waived a bunch last season was Booth.

But Witkowski cleared waivers several times last season as well as Booth but Witkowski was never sent down (physically) to GR.

The Wings will not put Frk through waivers as he was claimed by Carolina in 2016-17 only for the Wings to reclaim him when the Hurricanes placed him back on waivers shortly after. Wings would try to trade him at the TDL rather than put him on waivers and lose him (if claimed) for nothing. If he did clear, you would have 7 vets in GR and the Griffins would have to sit 2 vets out for each game.

 

[ShelbyZ]

But Witkowski cleared waivers several times last season as well as Booth but Witkowski was never sent down (physically) to GR.

The Wings will not put Frk through waivers as he was claimed by Carolina in 2016-17 only for the Wings to reclaim him when the Hurricanes placed him back on waivers shortly after. Wings would try to trade him at the TDL rather than put him on waivers and lose him (if claimed) for nothing. If he did clear, you would have 7 vets in GR and the Griffins would have to sit 2 vets out for each game.

You are mistaken on the bolded. The first and only time Witkowski has gone on waivers as a Red Wing was at the start of this season. He was never waived last season.

As for Frk, 2.5 years makes a big difference. The only reason he ended up back in Detroit was because no one other than them put in a claim when Carolina waived him. The Red Wings were likely already prepared to lose him when they didn't qualify him last summer and he's clearly slipped down the depth chart with the team opting to go with Ehn and even Megan over Frk when they need a warm body on the 4th line. They would obviously try to trade him before they risk losing him on waivers, but who is going to bite? He won't have a regular role on a contender because they probably already have their own Frk or Frk's.

But I'm just saying Frk would be the most likely to get waived if they had to waive someone from the main roster. Ehn and Hronek probably go back to GR before they have to do that.

 

[Henkka]

Imo, the reason for Frk is there just as a Czech roommate for Hronek to make his adjustment easier. And next year Hronek has adjusted in and can be that helper for Zadina. Sacrifise one bench-warmer for more important player on the future.

They have done this for decades, russians for russians, swedes for swedes. I remember Nicklas Lidström praised Johan Garpenlöv being his mentor and helping on team/community adjustment on the 1st tyear, because Garpenlöv had arrived to Detroit year earlier. He got traded to San Jose on Lidström's rookie season, but did the job. Then afterwards Lidström was the helper for Holmström etc. younger swedes. Larionov and Fedorov were huge help for Datsyuk etc.

Frk has no trade value and will be realeased from his duties after this season. He will be great player at European level.

 

[ShelbyZ]

Imo, the reason for Frk is there just as a Czech roommate for Hronek to make his adjustment easier. And next year Hronek has adjusted in and can be that helper for Zadina. Sacrifise one bench-warmer for more important player on the future.

They have done this for decades, russians for russians, swedes for swedes. I remember Nicklas Lidström praised Johan Garpenlöv being his mentor and helping on team/community adjustment on the 1st tyear, because Garpenlöv had arrived to Detroit year earlier. He got traded to San Jose on Lidström's rookie season, but did the job. Then afterwards Lidström was the helper for Holmström etc. younger swedes. Larionov and Fedorov were huge help for Datsyuk etc.

Frk has no trade value and will be realeased from his duties after this season. He will be great player at European level.

That's honestly what makes the most sense, although I think it was more for Zadina instead of Hronek.

The timeline was:

>"Red Wings not sure where Frk fits, may not extend"
>Frk doesn't get a qualifying offer
>Red Wings draft Zadina
>Frk re-signed to a one year deal with an AAV just over the "bury-able" limit, which might deter teams from putting in a claim if he's waived

If he keeps playing at the rate he is now, he's certainly not going to get a $1.05M QO. They could still extend him, but he likely ends up behind at least Svechnikov and Ehn on the depth chart as well as any other forwards Holland likely signs over the summer.

I'll bet he gets at least one more kick at the can in the NHL before settling on Europe. Maybe Nelson brings him to Dallas, or maybe Bergevin thinks he can strike oil on two Red Wings cast off European wingers and/or Frk finds some chemistry with his Jr linemate Drouin... But that will be if/when he hits the UFA market, not in a trade. I doubt a forward barely being used by a basement team with a stat line of 2G 7A and 4% SH% in his last 46 games pulls in anything more than a conditional 7th...

 

[Henkka]

Frk finds some chemistry with his Jr linemate Drouin... But that will be if/when he hits the UFA market, not in a trade. I doubt a forward barely being used by a basement team with a stat line of 2G 7A and 4% SH% in his last 46 games pulls in anything more than a conditional..

That Drouin - Frk would be nice to see. If they just would have MacKinnon in the middle....

 

[jkutswings]

Imo, the reason for Frk is there just as a Czech roommate for Hronek to make his adjustment easier. And next year Hronek has adjusted in and can be that helper for Zadina. Sacrifise one bench-warmer for more important player on the future.

They have done this for decades, russians for russians, swedes for swedes. I remember Nicklas Lidström praised Johan Garpenlöv being his mentor and helping on team/community adjustment on the 1st tyear, because Garpenlöv had arrived to Detroit year earlier. He got traded to San Jose on Lidström's rookie season, but did the job. Then afterwards Lidström was the helper for Holmström etc. younger swedes. Larionov and Fedorov were huge help for Datsyuk etc.

Frk has no trade value and will be realeased from his duties after this season. He will be great player at European level.

A Garpenlöv reference demands a visual aid for our younger viewers:

Ahh, the days when Swedes were flying up and down the ice in Motown...now I suddenly have a craving for Magik energy drink and coney dogs...

 

[Henkka]

Green/Frans/AA/Kronner/Ras could still be deployed on the other unit. Hronek & Cholo give us so many options!

I wonder how many options Jaccob Chychrun would give for us...

 

[lhsgolf19]

Hronek should not be the odd man out... If he got sent down it's a travesty and Kenny should be let go immediately.

The kid has been really good lately

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

Hronek should not be the odd man out... If he got sent down it's a travesty and Kenny should be let go immediately.

The kid has been really good lately

No, it isn't a travesty and no, he shouldn't be let go immediately.

Hronek shouldn't be sent down, because he's played very well. However, there are still several times and generally at least one a game where he gets caught too far up ice or peeking in where he shouldn't be.

It's not a decision I would make as Holland to send him back down, but I can see a reasoning.

 

[Claypool]

No, it isn't a travesty and no, he shouldn't be let go immediately.

Hronek shouldn't be sent down, because he's played very well. However, there are still several times and generally at least one a game where he gets caught too far up ice or peeking in where he shouldn't be.

It's not a decision I would make as Holland to send him back down, but I can see a reasoning.

There's zero reason to send him down. He's not going to learn anything else at the AHL level and he is a key player on this team going forward.

 

[SCD]

No, it isn't a travesty and no, he shouldn't be let go immediately.

Hronek shouldn't be sent down, because he's played very well. However, there are still several times and generally at least one a game where he gets caught too far up ice or peeking in where he shouldn't be.

It's not a decision I would make as Holland to send him back down, but I can see a reasoning.

It is all about the long term. If there is not a good trading partner for one of the other assets, Hronek and Cholowski are waiver exempt. Not ideal, but may be necessary.

 

[ShelbyZ]

Kahn's Mlive article makes it seem like it'll be Hronek that sits.

I won't get upset unless he sits on the NHL club as a healthy scratch for an extended period.

He's made a case for a full time NHL job next season but he's still got a chance to iron out some wrinkles down in GR.

It's probably going to end up looking like how things shook out for Tatar 5-6 years ago... Got an extended call up where he looked like an NHL player, but still had a few things to work on. Got sent back down, which was met with a not at all surprising reaction from Red Wings fans like Holland ripped a kitten apart with his bare hands and ate its flesh. In the meantime, Tatar went to GR, worked on whatever Babcock pointed out and them absolutely lit it up with 16 goals in 24 playoff games on the way to a Calder Cup, before getting put on the 13-14 NHL roster and quickly finding a regular spot.

 

[lilidk]

Sitting Hronek make no sense. Send him to GR where he can help Zadina

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

There's zero reason to send him down. He's not going to learn anything else at the AHL level and he is a key player on this team going forward.

He would learn, if the coaches actually taught him, to actually play defense. He has so many times where he gets overaggressive and if the team wasn’t in the doldrums so bad, it would really stick out like a sore thumb. And I’d rather him play as the unquestioned #1 in the AHL than either sit in the press box or play 10 minutes a night.

 

[GrGriffins]

There's zero reason to send him down. He's not going to learn anything else at the AHL level and he is a key player on this team going forward.

Hronek can improve on his overall play in GR by playing top minutes and he can improve more by doing this rather than play an occasional game here and there in Detroit and end up being just another below average d-man.

He needs to work more and gain more confidence in the PK part of his game. He made strides in GR before his call-up, but his play in the area was not consistently good. Plus he needs to keep his confidence going and putting him on the PP unit in GR (which would help big time) and playing top minutes in the AHL, will help him in the long run.

I could see if the Wings were in a playoff spot, or a couple points out, to keep him around, but with the Wings as far out as they are and their consistent play recently, I do not see this happening. GR will be in a constant battle to make the playoffs from now until the last game in mid-April. Every game in GR will be like a playoff game and if GR do make the playoffs this season, it will give Hronek confidence, it will give him more playoff experience that he would not get in Detroit, and it will better prepare him to make the Wings roster for 19-20. And he is currently waiver exempt for this season, so it is a no brainer as to where Hronek will end up.

 

[ricky0034]

Hronek can improve on his overall play in GR by playing top minutes and he can improve more by doing this rather than play an occasional game here and there in Detroit and end up being just another below average d-man.

He needs to work more and gain more confidence in the PK part of his game. He made strides in GR before his call-up, but his play in the area was not consistently good. Plus he needs to keep his confidence going and putting him on the PP unit in GR (which would help big time) and playing top minutes in the AHL, will help him in the long run.

I could see if the Wings were in a playoff spot, or a couple points out, to keep him around, but with the Wings as far out as they are and their consistent play recently, I do not see this happening. GR will be in a constant battle to make the playoffs from now until the last game in mid-April. Every game in GR will be like a playoff game and if GR do make the playoffs this season, it will give Hronek confidence, it will give him more playoff experience that he would not get in Detroit, and it will better prepare him to make the Wings roster for 19-20. And he is currently waiver exempt for this season, so it is a no brainer as to where Hronek will end up.

because that strategy worked so well for the last 20 defensemen the Wings tried to develop

 

[Claypool]

He would learn, if the coaches actually taught him, to actually play defense. He has so many times where he gets overaggressive and if the team wasn’t in the doldrums so bad, it would really stick out like a sore thumb. And I’d rather him play as the unquestioned #1 in the AHL than either sit in the press box or play 10 minutes a night.

Being a defenseman in the NHL versus the AHL is night and day. He needs to play against the best in the world at this point.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

Being a defenseman in the NHL versus the AHL is night and day. He needs to play against the best in the world at this point.

Again, I'd rather he play in all situations and learn how to PK and learn how to play positional defense than be sheltered on the 3rd pairing in the NHL. The things that Hronek needs to burnish in his game are positional things that you can learn at any level.

 

[Claypool]

Again, I'd rather he play in all situations and learn how to PK and learn how to play positional defense than be sheltered on the 3rd pairing in the NHL. The things that Hronek needs to burnish in his game are positional things that you can learn at any level.

He's already proven he's an NHL player. At this point, he needs to refine his game, which he'd do at the NHL level and being around other NHL players.

 

[GrGriffins]

He's already proven he's an NHL player. At this point, he needs to refine his game, which he'd do at the NHL level and being around other NHL players.

If he is a proven NHL player, then why did the Wings sit Hronek out instead of playing him tonight?

How his he going to "refine his game" if DDK is back in the lineup for the Wings and Daley is a game or two away from coming back as well? By doing it in practice and when the Wings have a game, he sits up in the stands and watches them play. Not going to accomplish much doing it that way. Hronek is still with the Wings mainly because the Wings put Rasmussen on short term IR so it buys the Wings a few games time to decide what to do. TDL is about a month away, so unless the Wings trade Jensen and/or Daley in the next couple of games, the only option the Wings have is to send Hronek back to GR (he is the only d-man that is waiver exempt for the Wings) until the Wings make a move or two to free up a d-man spot.

The Wings know what Hronek can do and I figure that he is pretty much penciled in the Wings lineup for 2019-20. Even if the Wings trade Jensen and/or Daley at the TDL, the Wings would want to take a long look at Hicketts or Sulak and a remote possibility at McIlrath (high unlikely) as those three are on expiring contracts and the Wings would have to make a decision on what to do with those 3 for next season.

 

[ShelbyZ]

If he is a proven NHL player, then why did the Wings sit Hronek out instead of playing him tonight?

bEcAuSe Of TrAsHiLl AnD hOlLaNd!1 StEvE YzErMaN wOuLd'Ve WaIvEd ErIcSsOn By NoW!

 

[jkutswings]

Hronek playing high quality minutes in Grand Rapids is definitely better than having him get little to no time in Detroit. But I'd still much much rather trade a defenseman and let him continue to learn in the NHL.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

Hronek playing high quality minutes in Grand Rapids is definitely better than having him get little to no time in Detroit. But I'd still much much rather trade a defenseman and let him continue to learn in the NHL.

Well obviously that is the best method. But you deal a defenseman when the return makes sense. Hronek staying up full time at this point should be a side benefit of whatever deal you make and not the reasoning.

Hronek has been good, yes. But he has not been so good that you simply need to make space for him no ifs, ands, or buts. He also has not been so good that the Wings are all of a sudden going to dump 20+ mins a night on him in the NHL.