Dennis Cholowski signs 3 year entry level contract

[HockeytownRules19 902]

 

[Datsyukian-Deke 722]

Reporting to GR?

[krsmith17 7,191]

Very surprised by this. I figured he'd spend at least 3 years in the NCAA. Looks like he will be turning pro after one medicre season with St. Cloud State. Regardless, looking forward to see what he's got. I wonder if he'll get in any playoff games this season...

[Dabura 12,228]

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=247137

2016-17

St. Cloud State Univ.

NCAA

36

1

11

12

[HadThomasVokounOnFortSt 878]

I'll tell you this, he wasn't flashy at all. Did get better toward end of year but still a long way away. 

[Echolalia 2,961]

34 minutes ago, Jonas Mahonas said:

Good news.  Cant wait to see what we got.

He's already been set up to be the next whipping boy, simply by virtue of him not being Chychrun.  I'm calling it now.

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

2 hours ago, krsmith17 said:

Very surprised by this. I figured he'd spend at least 3 years in the NCAA. Looks like he will be turning pro after one medicre season with St. Cloud State. Regardless, looking forward to see what he's got. I wonder if he'll get in any playoff games this season...

Yeah. Organization must see something in him we dont because i thought he was going to be more of a long term project. Maybe theyre speeding that up now that we suck?

[Andy Pred 48 337]

Got a great hockey brain , need to put into context that he was one of the youngest players in the NCAA this year. Maybe a couple of years in GR for seasoning then we can make judgement. Hronek is the sleeper we haven't had for a few years. Doesn't look out of place in the A.

[krsmith17 7,191]

6 hours ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

Yeah. Organization must see something in him we dont because i thought he was going to be more of a long term project. Maybe theyre speeding that up now that we suck?

I'll admit, I've never seen the kid play, other than a scattered highlight, so I have nothing really to base an opinion on other than stats (which aren't great). I don't mind them speeding up the development process though. The quicker he gets up playing against tougher competition, the better it will be for him and the Red Wings in the long run.

2 hours ago, Andy Pred 48 said:

Got a great hockey brain , need to put into context that he was one of the youngest players in the NCAA this year. Maybe a couple of years in GR for seasoning then we can make judgement. Hronek is the sleeper we haven't had for a few years. Doesn't look out of place in the A.

Is he definitely turning pro or does he have the option of playing junior? I'm not really sure how that works, but I'd love to see him with the Griffins sooner than later.

This season is the least amount of Griffins hockey I've watched in years, but I've been trying to watch more lately with Hronek and Holmstrom with the team. I've been very impressed with Hronek in the few games that I've watched and Holmstrom looked great (along with Svechnikov) last night as well.

[Andy Pred 48 337]

I think Medicine Hat hold his rights in jnr where he can play one more year or any of the Red Wings affiliate teams.

[krsmith17 7,191]

5 minutes ago, Andy Pred 48 said:

I think Medicine Hat hold his rights in jnr where he can play one more year or any of the Red Wings affiliate teams.

How does that work? He was drafted in the WHL but elected to go the college route instead? To become eligible to turn pro sooner? If this is the thought process, I like it, although I guess he may still play a year or two junior...

[Fedorovfan 25]

I wonder if they were not happy with the program he was in at St. Cloud and think he would be better developed in Grand Rapids? Can't really say I know much about about college hockey, but it seems odd that they would sign him now.

[LeftWinger 5,025]

It's All About The Benjamin's!

[Hairy Lime 234]

12 hours ago, Echolalia said:

He's already been set up to be the next whipping boy, simply by virtue of him not being Chychrun.  I'm calling it now.

So are you saying, "Dennis Not Chychrun-ski" won't work for a nickname? 

[DickieDunn 2,571]

He either didn't like college, wanted to get paid, or he knows that 90% of Wings d prospects have a mandatory 3 year stay in GR and wants to get it out of the way before he's 26.

Sent from my LGLS676 using Tapatalk

[krsmith17 7,191]

2 hours ago, Andy Pred 48 said:

I think Medicine Hat hold his rights in jnr where he can play one more year or any of the Red Wings affiliate teams.

It was actually the Prince George Cougars that drafted him 200th overall in 2013.

I remember when he was drafted hearing comparisons to Duncan Keith. If this kid turns out to be half as good as Keith, he'll be a solid player for us. From everything I've read, he seems to have a high hockey IQ, strong skater that can rush the puck as well as get it to his forwards. Not a hard shot, but is very good at getting pucks through from the point. All great qualities in an offensive defenseman...

[Dabura 12,228]

3 hours ago, DickieDunn said:

He either didn't like college, wanted to get paid, or he knows that 90% of Wings d prospects have a mandatory 3 year stay in GR and wants to get it out of the way before he's 26.

Sent from my LGLS676 using Tapatalk

I'm guessing the Wings just didn't want him continuing at St. Cloud. Could've been a deployment issue, could be that they want him to forget about the academics and focus squarely on being a pro athlete, could be that there's some specific facet of his game that they personally want to attend to at this point in his career. I doubt that this was driven by Cholowski.

And there's also the fact that our blue line sucks. I'm hoping the end of the playoff streak and Holland's insistence that he wants this team to get back to being a contender ASAP means we're going to see young defensemen progress through the system more quickly than we're used to seeing.

[LeftWinger 5,025]

When it comes time to nickname him, I'm going with Chewie. Why? Dunno...it kind of incorporates letters from his last name. Except for the European.

So..Svechnikov is Beaker and Cholowski is Chewie. 

Lol! Darn auto correct! I meant to say "except for the E." European was pointed out to me, but it was just too darn funny to change!

Edited April 6, 2017 by LeftWinger

[PavelValerievichDatsyuk 1,935]

5 hours ago, Fedorovfan said:

I wonder if they were not happy with the program he was in at St. Cloud and think he would be better developed in Grand Rapids? Can't really say I know much about about college hockey, but it seems odd that they would sign him now.

I think that's possible. I saw an article on him that said he was the highest draft pick to ever play on the team and it doesn't seem the most established hockey program. But Nick Jensen played there for 3 years. Or maybe they are looking at Jensen's long process to get to the NHL and think that not something that should be repeated.

[Dabura 12,228]

3 hours ago, F.Michael said:

Good thing we didn't get Chychrun.

Signed Franzen when we should've signed Chychrun. Holland will never live this down. Sad!

[krsmith17 7,191]

17 minutes ago, LeftWinger said:

When it comes time to nickname him, I'm going with Chewie. Why? Dunno...it kind of incorporates letters from his last name. Except for the European.

So..Svechnikov is Beaker and Cholowski is Chewie. 

You know Cholowski is Canadian right?

[LeftWinger 5,025]

7 minutes ago, krsmith17 said:

You know Cholowski is Canadian right?

Lol! I put except the E and my darn phone auto filled European without me noticing!

[Fedorovfan 25]

While I do think in the long run Hronek will be a better player. The Wings need to hope like crazy Cholowski is worthy of a first round pick.

[kipwinger 8,582]

I'm pumped about this.  Seems like the organization may be trying to get ahead of the curve on the rebuild.  His numbers weren't great in college, but remember a few things.  1) Freshmen don't get a ton of playing time in NCAA hockey, and rarely put up big numbers when they do.  2) the NCAA itself isn't a high scoring league.  I'm happy that the kid will have the advantage of professional quality training facilities, nutritionists, etc.  That should only help him develop physically.  And playing against better quality opposition might mean he'll struggle at first, but hopefully it means he'll be ready to make the jump at an earlier age.  I've said before I'd like to see us competitive again in 3 years.  If Cholo takes 3 years to develop and can come up to the big club and be a quality defender at age 22-23 I'll be thrilled.  I like this. 

[Krayzie_Bone 58]

I hope he is not another offensive defenseman that is a turnstile and can not stop anyone. We have so many dmen that cant clear pucks or keep people out of the front of the net. Most of the times they just end up turning it over in our end.re watched 08 game 6 when the wings won the cup and even a 3rd pairing of lilja and lebda were not that bad. Yeah they took a lot of penalties but after years of watching smith erickson green turn if over all the time its just sickening. Lindstom can make any team good though. Man that was nice with Lindstrom and Rafalski on top and Kronwall and stuart second pairing. That should be the focus on the off season get a solid dman somehow via trade. I was all for trading Nyquist since he was basically nothing for two years but he did turn it on lately and looked like the old Nyquist so idk who to trade.

Edited April 10, 2017 by Krayzie_Bone