DETROIT – Dennis Cholowski is bigger and stronger, and as Dylan Larkin put it, “seems to be harder to push around, in front of the net and in battles.”
The Detroit Red Wings will see if that newfound strength can translate into better defensive play. Cholowski will be in the lineup Saturday against the Dallas Stars at Little Caesars Arena (7 p.m., Fox Sports Detroit).
Cholowski, the club’s 2016 first-round pick, has demonstrated his offensive ability during partial NHL seasons in 2018-19 and 2019-20. But defensive deficiencies led to midseason demotions to the Grand Rapids Griffins.
He started this season with the Griffins, and coach Jeff Blashill has received positive reports about the 23-year-old defenseman.
“He’s got to play to his strengths, be a great puck-mover, get us out of our zone fast, through the neutral zone fast, be a threat offensively on the rush and on the offensive blue line, a threat on the power play,” Blashill said. “Where he’s needed to improve is on the defensive game. It’s really just about winning the puck and ending plays with the puck, not letting pucks through. On a two-on-one, does the puck go through you or do you make a defensive play? In the D-zone, are you able to create a stall? At the net-front, are you winning those battles?
“Those are things he’s heard a lot about, and he’s went to work. Those are things he’s been consistently good at in GR and that’s what gives me excitement that hopefully it will carry forward here in Detroit.”
Larkin trains with Cholowski in the summer and has been keeping tabs on his progress in Grand Rapids.
“The first thing is the strength and the transformation of his body type by hard work in the gym,” Larkin said. “You see it carry over on the ice into a more explosive first step. He seems to be harder to push around, in front of the net and in battles. He’s strong on his stick. He’s a hard-working guy. He’s done a lot to improve his game.”
The Red Wings are 3-1 in their past four games while dressing seven defensemen. They are likely to continue that Saturday, with Cholowski possibly replacing Christian Djoos, as he did in Friday’s practice at the point on one of the power-play units.
“He’s played with more confidence and moxie down there on (the power play) and he needs to carry that into the NHL,” Blashill said. “Then it becomes, is he a solid power-play guy? Is he a great power-play guy? He’ll get a chance to show that.”
More: Red Wings not sure if Jonathan Bernier out short-term or long-term
The Link LonkMarch 20, 2021 at 05:04PM
https://www.mlive.com/redwings/2021/03/dennis-cholowski-ready-to-show-red-wings-hes-harder-to-push-around.html
Dennis Cholowski ready to show Red Wings he’s ‘harder to push around’ - MLive.com
https://news.google.com/search?q=Red&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
No comments:
Post a Comment