Red Wings: Could Dennis Cholowski Be On The Outs in Detroit?

When the Red Wings took Dennis Cholowski with the twentieth overall pick in 2016, it was either going to be a home run or a strike out. After the Detroit News’ Ted Kulfan wrote about Michael Rasmussen and Cholowski being sent to Grand Rapids, he dropped this little nugget in there:

"With a long list of defenseman prospects on the way in the Wings’ organization, it appears time might be slipping away for Cholowski to show he’s a long-term building block in the organization.“Ultimately what Dennis needs to do is be an elite power-play guy,” Blashill said.Cholowski’s defensive struggles ultimately sent him back to the minor leagues the past two years, and Blashill said it continues to be important for Cholowski to end plays with the puck, and not let the puck get through him on rushes.“He knows what he has to do and build his confidence,” Blashill said."

We’ve heard that one before. Ryan Sproul or Robbie Russo immediately come to mind.  Guys pushed out who had some time with the team but were replaced because ultimately that potential never materialized. It’s also a huge reason the Red Wings have struggled to build their blue line since the retirement of Nicklas Lidstrom, and Brian Rafalski. Outside of Nik Kronwall, it’s been a rotation of serviceable but not stand out defenseman. Not only is this damning on the personnel and drafting decisions of the previous regime (Tyler Wright and Ken Holland), but it shows exactly why Steve Yzerman drafted Moritz Seider when he had offensive weapons still on the board.

To be fair, they did snag Filip Hronek in the second round during the same draft, but it’s felt like Cholowski has been painted into a corner since his call up in the 2018-19 season. He played 52 games and had seven goals, the most of any defenseman on the team.

A season later, he played 16 games less, and shuttled to and from Grand Rapids. He had two goals  including this one in overtime:

His quick release shows the offensive potential there, the reason Blashill insists on him having to be an elite power play guy so it will justify having him up to compensate for his defensive shortcomings. And yes, t

hey’re well documented

. But to bury a young defenseman with offensive upside, while Trevor Daley, Jonathan Ericsson, and Mike Green got ice time is again,

the same old tired philosophy of the organization

. Why not try to develop this more at the NHL level? Why allow aging, tired defensemen to play while kids sit? And this year especially where they’re struggling to generate offense, why not give him a chance?

I wasn’t keen on the pick when they made it, but he really hasn’t had a chance to carve out a spot The blue line is still crowded now and it’s not going to get any easier with the likes of Seider and co. arriving soon.

Playing on the last year of his contract before he’s a restricted free agent, this seems like it might be the final chance he has to crack the roster.  But if Cholowski doesn’t find his way up this year–even in an emergency situation–it may very well be the writing on the wall and yet another first round pick that failed to materialize in Detroit.