Detroit Red Wings: 4 options for Seattle Kraken in NHL Expansion Draft
By Bob Heyrman
The Detroit Red Wings decided to leave Dennis Cholowski unprotected.
If the Seattle Kraken are looking for more of a prospect they can develop rather than perhaps just one season of Troy Stecher, look no further than Dennis Cholowski.
I believe the final roster decision when conducting the list of players to protect came down to Cholowski, Stecher, and Lindstrom. Lindstrom was Yzerman’s choice after proving he can play at the NHL level at the end of last season. Lindstrom proved the moment was not too big, and he displayed a calm presence on the backend.
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Lindstrom is just 22-years old and appeared in 13 games last season, with the Detroit Red Wings recording three assists averaging just over 16 minutes of work while skating to a plus-one rating. Being a right-handed shot, it seems the Red Wings have that side of the ice secured for years to come with Hronek, Moritz Seider, and Lindstrom.
Stecher is also a right-handed shot, so perhaps that played into the decision along with contract status and age.
Cholowski was a highly-touted defender who was forced into duty prematurely due to a string of injuries suffered on Detroit’s backend to begin the 2018-19 season.
At times Cholowski appeared as he belonged; others, he appeared like a lost puppy, not knowing which way to turn. Cholowski proved to be a liability in his own zone, often struggling to identify defensive zone coverage and, under pressure, became a turnover machine.
There is offensive upside with Cholowski, and he is just 23-years old. There is time to develop the defensive side of Cholowski’s game, and he’s proven able to anchor a power-play unit, although he’s best suited with the second group for the time being.
If Seattle wants to add some youth, Cholowski may be a perfect choice. In 104 career NHL games, he’s totaled 10 goals and 27 points while averaging just over 18 minutes of ice-time per game. The bad, he owns a career minus -47 rating along with a CF% of 47.9.
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Last season over 16 contests with Detroit, Cholowski totaled three points, one goal and provided the club with an awful CF% of 43%.