Young Defensemen speculation thread

[Number1RedWingsFan52]

Give me Cholowski, Hronek, AND Sulak. **** the rest

Same here, That's the 3 i'd give it to.

 

[HIFE]

Cholowski
Hronek

Hicketts
Sulak
Saarijarvi

I'm sold on Cholo. He's cool under pressure and I get the feeling will continue to adapt game by game. The raw skill is there to warrant fast-tracking him straight into the show and hopefully someday as a top pairing defender. Yes he's blown a lot of coverage in these PS matches but those are the things you experience and improve upon instantaneously.

Hronek I think also is worth investing the time. The Wings will be losing regardless, this could be an opportunity to develop quicker than our recent prospects, in games and more importantly in practice/living with the top pros. Go all in with commitment to these two and in 3-4 years they might be something special. Again I don't see the harm in testing them for a season to see what we've got for the future.

I was blown away by Sulak's presence in his first game but the lack of finesse is glaring. I'm sure the FO has him lined up because he looks closest to a true NHL'er, but there's no future there. Hicketts at age 22 is a more intriguing prospect and probably has more potential.

Just do it Kenny!

 

[Hinterland]

Cholowski
Hronek

Hicketts
Sulak
Saarijarvi

I'm sold on Cholo. He's cool under pressure and I get the feeling will continue to adapt game by game. The raw skill is there to warrant fast-tracking him straight into the show and hopefully someday as a top pairing defender. Yes he's blown a lot of coverage in these PS matches but those are the things you experience and improve upon instantaneously.

Hronek I think also is worth investing the time. The Wings will be losing regardless, this could be an opportunity to develop quicker than our recent prospects, in games and more importantly in practice/living with the top pros. Go all in with commitment to these two and in 3-4 years they might be something special. Again I don't see the harm in testing them for a season to see what we've got for the future.

I was blown away by Sulak's presence in his first game but the lack of finesse is glaring. I'm sure the FO has him lined up because he looks closest to a true NHL'er, but there's no future there. Hicketts at age 22 is a more intriguing prospect and probably has more potential.

Just do it Kenny!

You don't force a guy to play NHL if he himself admits that he doesn't feel comfortable. I'd love to see Hronek play NHL but I really hope it's not gonna happen all season long. The lack of confidence is blatant...when he has the puck he can't wait to get rid of it. In the AHL you have more time and after another full season he'll feel much better about himself. Like I explained before you gain confidence by winning, scoring, playing lots of minutes and dominating opponents. Hronek wouldn't get anything like it with the Wings this season. Hronik needs to hit the gym, too. No reason why the Wings should rush Hronek this season. Nothing to gain, a lot to lose. They have Hicketts who they know is NHL-ready plus they have Sulak and Cholowski who both had excellent camps.

 

[Henkka]

Scoring chances/60 so far:

For/Against per 60 (+50 total minutes)
---------------------
Hronek, 32.2/22.3 = 59.1%
DeKeyser, 36.4/26.1 = 58.2%
Jensen, 37.6/28.4 = 57.0%
Kronwall, 27.2/21.6 = 55.8%
Cholowski, 37.1/29.7 = 55.6%
-------------------------------
Hicketts 23.1/27.8 = 45.3%
Sulak, 22.6/31.8 = 41.6%

Quite easy to select who are the first 2 to be cut out when the vets return.

 

[HisNoodliness]

You don't force a guy to play NHL if he himself admits that he doesn't feel comfortable. I'd love to see Hronek play NHL but I really hope it's not gonna happen all season long. The lack of confidence is blatant...when he has the puck he can't wait to get rid of it. In the AHL you have more time and after another full season he'll feel much better about himself. Like I explained before you gain confidence by winning, scoring, playing lots of minutes and dominating opponents. Hronek wouldn't get anything like it with the Wings this season. Hronik needs to hit the gym, too. No reason why the Wings should rush Hronek this season. Nothing to gain, a lot to lose. They have Hicketts who they know is NHL-ready plus they have Sulak and Cholowski who both had excellent camps.

I feel like I interpreted that "confidence" article in a completely different way than a lot around here. In fact I don't think Hronek ever even said he was lacking confidence- only lacking comfort like you said at the beginning which is very different.

I saw the article more as: Hey, Hronek is our most NHL ready D prospect. Because his game relies on nuance and tight timings, he's struggling adjusting to the NHL pace (like he's done at the beginning of every season in a new league). Once he's had some NHL reps, he'll be way better (also like he's done at every level)." Here's the quote from the article:

“I need to get good timing and gap,” he said. “It’s taken a little bit, I think. … I don’t feel comfortable, you know? If you don’t have a gap, everything (is) harder than (usual). It’s harder to make some good plays or some easy breakout passes.”

I think for Hronek his issues are purely NHL issues and the AHL will do him no good.

 

[RedWingzz]

I never thought I'd say this.....but come back soon Ericsson, Dekeyser, Green and Daley. Those guys are at least NHL calibre players. I can't take 8-2 or 7-3 anymore. With those guys at least we only lose 4-2 or 5-2.

Cholowski: Pleasantly surprised. He can fly out there and his passing ability is impressive. Unfortunate injury.
Hronek: I have liked his game for the most part. Chips in offensively, has a gritty side to his game that I didn't know about. Defensively he has lots of room to improve, as do the majority of rookie D in the NHL.
Sulak: I don't think he's an NHL player. Maybe a 5 on a bad team, or a 6-7 on a good team. He's solid, but looks lost at times out there.
Hicketts: I love his compete level, but he's simply not an NHL defenceman. He can fill in if there are injuries here and there, but he's an AHLer.

When healthy

Dekeyser-Green
Daley-Cholowski
Ericsson-Hronek
Jensen and Kronwall rotating in. Roll with 8 D for the year and 13 forwards. Send Ras to the WHL immediately to get hm out of this environment.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

I never thought I'd say this.....but come back soon Ericsson, Dekeyser, Green and Daley. Those guys are at least NHL calibre players. I can't take 8-2 or 7-3 anymore. With those guys at least we only lose 4-2 or 5-2.

We are going to see a lot of this over the next couple of seasons. This is what a rebuilding hockey team looks like.

I agree with your general point though. Everyone wanted to kick the vets to the curb for the shinny new toys. I think Cholo and Hronek have the potential to be better than most if not all of these vets. But from where we stand today, there is no question that the four you mentioned are a significant upgrade over what we have been sending out.

 

[RedWingzz]

We are going to see a lot of this over the next couple of seasons. This is what a rebuilding hockey team looks like.

I agree with your general point though. Everyone wanted to kick the vets to the curb for the shinny new toys. I think Cholo and Hronek have the potential to be better than most if not all of these vets. But from where we stand today, there is no question that the four you mentioned are a significant upgrade over what we have been sending out.

True, rebuilding teams will see many games where you lose by 3 or 4 goals. I don't care how bad your team is though, you should not have many losses of 5 or more goals. These are still all good hockey players, and should be able to at least show up and have for a competitive game. Buffalo last year were terrible, and rebuilding, and they only lost by more than 4 goals twice all year.

 

[TheMule93]

Losing 8-2 and 7-3 is the exception, not the norm. The kids have had their ups and downs, but theyre not the reason for these two horrible losses. Its a combination of everyone. Getting those old washed up vets back will just make the team less exciting to watch and we'll still lose badly.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

True, rebuilding teams will see many games where you lose by 3 or 4 goals. I don't care how bad your team is though, you should not have many losses of 5 or more goals. These are still all good hockey players, and should be able to at least show up and have for a competitive game. Buffalo last year were terrible, and rebuilding, and they only lost by more than 4 goals twice all year.

I don't recall Buffalo running out four rookie defensemen, a AARP member with no knees and Nick Jensen. How many other rosters would any of those six make today?

 

[RedWingzz]

Losing 8-2 and 7-3 is the exception, not the norm. The kids have had their ups and downs, but theyre not the reason for these two horrible losses. Its a combination of everyone. Getting those old washed up vets back will just make the team less exciting to watch and we'll still lose badly.

Dekeyser, Daley and Green are significant upgrades over Sulak and Hicketts. No they aren't Drew Doughty, but let's not pretend that these guys haven't been serviceable NHL defencemen for years. With a healthy D, we are far more competitive, and the defensive system and structure is miles ahead of where it currently is.

At the end of the day, these losses are only helping the draft odds, so I don't mind the losses. It does sting a bit dropping back to back games 8-2 and 7-3 though. Jack Hughes and draft lottery aside, you never like getting your *** kicked.

On a side note, Dekeyser is definitely not washed up, he's in his prime. Daley can still move around well for his age, and I don't even consider Green to be "washed up". Kronwall and E, yes, the other 3 are not washed up.