Detroit Red Wings: Filip Hronek is going to be an asset through the rebuild
By Tyler Kotila
The Detroit Red Wings are trudging through a rebuild where the grass is not greener on the other side yet. They have a few pieces that are going to translate over; defenseman Filip Hronek has the makings to be one of them.
The Detroit Red Wings selected Hronek back in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, and after three seasons in the NHL, it seems like he is going to be a real asset for this team’s defensemen. Hronek is an offensive defenseman who is a more than capable second pairing guy who could be slated as a first pairing guy.
He has been the anchor of the team’s defense core for now, but whenever Moritz Seider arrives in the NHL, Hronek will likely lose this status. There’s a lot to like with Hronek, and he is going to look to continue to prove that he is an asset as the seasons continue on.
The 23-year-old Czech native has been the highest-scoring defenseman on the team and has also cleaned up his game defensively. That being said, he is going to continue to anchor the team’s defense core until Seider takes things over and settles in at the NHL level. But do not expect that to mean Hronek is departing.
The Detroit Red Wings have a real asset in defenseman Filip Hronek.
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In a shortened 2020-21 season due to the pandemic, Hronek still managed to put together a great season and show his offensive abilities.
He logged 56 games where he had two goals and 22 assists for 26 total points on the season.
In 2019-20 before the season was put on pause, Hronek had played 65 games where he had 9 goals and 22 assists for the Red Wings.
The hope would be that Hronek could find the back of the net more while being a good setup man from the point.
As evident in the point layouts mentioned above, Hronek’s goal numbers came down drastically from 2019-20 to 2020-21, and the thought would be that he can get back to finding the back of the net and possibly reach that 10-goal milestone in a season.
Hronek is a playmaking defenseman in the offensive zone. He finds the open man and can quarterback a play, not to mention being present on the power-play unit as well. With the team hiring Alex Tanguay as an assistant coach, it will be interesting to see how this affects the power-play units.
All told, Hronek should be able to continue having success and putting up points; the question is if he will be able to tap into the scoring some more in 2021-22. The Red Wings have a great asset who can be the veteran that helps younger defensemen transition into the NHL.
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The Detroit Red Wings would be silly not to capitalize on the asset that is Filip Hronek and keep him around to be a mentoring veteran in the team’s defense core.