Detroit Red Wings lose defenseman Dennis Cholowski to Seattle Kraken
By Tyler Kotila
The Detroit Red Wings are being forced to part ways with one of their defensemen, a holdover from the Ken Holland era here in Hockeytown. In the NHL Expansion Draft that took place, the Seattle Kraken selected defenseman Dennis Cholowski as the player to take from the Red Wings.
The Detroit Red Wings are losing out on a defenseman who never quite got things going here in Detroit. It was a fitting announcement for the Kraken who deployed help from another underwater friend, an octopus who helped announce the new NHL franchise’s selection.
It’s a fresh start and a new home for Cholowski, who is headed out to the Pacific Northwest. He’s a Langley, British Columbia native. It is about a two-hour drive to Seattle, which is even closer than Troy Stecher, who seemed like he was the pick with the most intrigue for Seattle.
Apparently, Ron Francis, the general manager of the Kraken, seems to think that he will be able to inject some new life into Cholowski, who has not been able to break out as the player that most Red Wings fans would have expected.
The Detroit Red Wings have shockingly lost Dennis Cholowski to the Seattle Kraken in the NHL Expansion Draft.
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He’s played in three seasons for the Red Wings since being drafted in the first round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.
In his first season in the NHL back in 2018-19, Cholowski was able to show some offense in his 52 games played. He scored seven goals and added nine assists for 16 total points.
The issue was that Cholowski was a minus-20 on the season, which is less than ideal but speaks to the holes in his defense. An offensive-minded defenseman, Cholowski has had to iron things out in the defensive zone.
It was not that easy for Cholowski, who logged 36 games in 2019-20, where he dropped his offense to two goals and six assists for eight total points while being minus-26 which was even worse than the year before.
He did make quite the improvement in 2020-21, but his sample size was much smaller. Last season, Cholowski played in 16 games where he had one goal and assist while being only a minus-one on the season.
The issue with Cholowski is there have still been holes in his game defensively, and the offense was drying up. The Red Wings should be more than happy with the Kraken’s decision to take Cholowski off their hands. Frankly, Cholowski did not seem like he was going to pan out here in Detroit or last too much longer.
Leaving Stecher is a good thing and leaves the Red Wings to see what Stecher can do in year two of his two-year contract. While Cholowski may still have some upside, being closer to home and the change of scenery might do the trick.
Either way, Red Wings fans should be more than okay with Seattle’s selection during the NHL Expansion Draft. That being said, the attention turns to this Friday when the 2021 NHL Entry Draft kicks off.
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Best of luck to Cholowski in his new home with the Kraken. Red Wings fans, let’s lock-in and enjoy the Yzerplan unfolding in the upcoming draft!