Detroit Red Wings: An Opportunity Arises for Two Young Defensemen

The Detroit Red Wings will look for two young defenders to rise up and snatch a pair of open roster spots.  With Mike Green’s unexpected illness, the Wings now have two open spots on the backend.

Libor Sulak was very impressive Thursday night for the Detroit Red Wings.  Sulak was flying around on the ice.  The 6’2, 200 plus pounder can skate.  Sulak was jumping into the play creating scoring chances from the backend.  Sulak also demonstrated some physical ability.

Before Evgeny Svechnikov could bury a game-winning one-timer, Sulak pinched into the half board and knocked Patrick Kane off of the puck.  Sulak disposed of Kane and chipped the puck to Givani Smith who found Svechnikov wide open in front of the goal.  Svechnikov blasted a one-timer into the back of the net for the win.

Sulak was good in the defensive zone as well.  Libor was winning puck battles in the corners; he was making a crisp, clean first pass to exit the zone.  Sulak showed the ability to skate the puck out of his end on numerous occasions.

Thomas Vanek spoke highly of Libor Sulak and his play following the conclusion of the Detroit Red Wings preseason game Thursday against the Chicago Blackhawks.  Courtesy of Ansar Khan of Mlive.com;

"“I like him a lot,” Red Wings forward Thomas Vanek said. “I didn’t know much about him. He’s really good, the way he skates, the way he battles. He’s not afraid to take shots, he’s not afraid to jump up in the play. I thought he was one of our best players.“If you can skate like that, you better join (the rush). I wish I had a quarter of his speed. He was great. Hopefully he can keep this up. It definitely helps our team.”"

Dennis Cholowski played exceptionally well on Wednesday evening for the Detroit Red Wings.  Cholowski played 23 plus minutes and anchored the power play unit.  With the early absence of Mike Green, we may see Cholowski earn a job with the big club.

Mike Green was set to quarterback the Detroit Red Wings first power play unit this season.  The Wings may look to Cholowski to take the reins and ride into that role early on in the regular season.

Cholowski similar to Sulak is a fluid above average skater.  The Detroit Red Wings have struggled offensively as a team over the last couple of seasons.  They have struggled to generate offense from the back end.  Sulak and Cholowski both help create offense with their skating ability.

Filip Hronek is a right-handed shot.  The Wings are in need of right-handed defenders.  Hronek was expected to make the Detroit Red Wings this season.  Cholowski and Sulak both might have passed Hronek in the early going this preseason.

Hronek had a nice outing Thursday against Chicago, but it wasn’t as impactful as Sulak.  The Detroit Red Wings defenders have six more preseason games to settle the battle between each other.

Joe Hicketts plays with the heart of a lion.  The 5’8 Hicketts is not afraid to lay the body; he loves to initiate contact.  I think Hicketts will see some time again with the Wings, but I feel injuries need to occur before we see Hicketts.

Hicketts hasn’t done anything to lower his chances; I just feel the previous three defenders mentioned have a little bit better upside.  With six preseason game remaining things can change.

Each of these four defenders cannot afford to have an off night.  The competition is that tight.  It is a thing to have such a competitive race.  It brings out the best in all of these prospects.  Two jobs are available; four players are trying to prove they deserve them.