Red Wings: Predicting the future of the organization’s defensemen
By Tyler Kotila
Tier 3: Detroit Red Wings defense prospects who are kind of “busts” or “outliers.”
The prospects who are listed as Tier 3 players most likely belong in the bottom of the defense pairings. They are not as exciting as the players above, but still offer the potential to be serviceable on the blue line in the future.
Dennis Cholowski
The experiment with Dennis Cholowski is not over yet, he still has a chance to change the ugly narrative, but things do not look good. Cholowski has seemingly regressed in the opportunities he has had with the organization, which sucks for the former first-round selection.
As things stand now, it seems that Cholowski is going to be a hidden offensive asset on the third pairing. He is going to be someone that uses his offend to keep him afloat on the Red Wings roster. His defense has been a hole in his game, but he showed he could be a third-pairing defenseman.
Gustav Lindstrom
Red Wings fans already got a brief taste of Gustav Lindstrom in 2019-20, but he will most likely be back in 2020-21 for the organization. Lindstrom is not the most talented defender the organization has, but he is certainly someone who could be a viable option for the third pairing.
His talent level in the defensive zone is what could land him on the second pairing. He plays strong defense and also has an excellent shot from the point. Lindstrom does an excellent job of getting the puck up the ice and out of the defensive zone. Could be used off defensive zone draws in need of a quick breakout.