Month: October 2018

Praise for Cholowski’s ascent

Sportsnet’s Sam Cosentino offers a set of “power rankings” regarding 10 Canadian Hockey League prospects who are graduating to the NHL, and he mentions Wings defenseman Dennis Cholowski fairly high up on the list:

3. Dennis Cholowski, Detroit Red Wings: Another team in rebuild mode, the Wings have plenty of prospects with which to move forward. Cholowski was a bit of a surprise pick going 20th overall in 2016. He was just 5-foot-5, 125 pounds in his WHL Bantam draft year (2013), but the now-6-foot defenceman has experienced a plethora of activity in recent seasons. He was in the BCHL for the 2015-16 season, attended St. Cloud St. a year later, got signed by the Red Wings, and then played one game in the AHL to wrap up 2017. Last year he started with WHL Prince George before being dealt to Portland. Played one playoff game with Grand Rapids once Portland was eliminated and now he’s on Detroit’s opening night roster.

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Khan: Red Wings recall Filip Hronek, Joe Hicketts and Luke Witkowski

Down they go, up they go:

Update: Wings confirm:

Krupa on Holland, Martin’s comments regarding the Wings’ roster’s younger trend

The Detroit News’s Gregg Krupa, DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji and Wings play-by-play announcer Ken Kal live-Tweeted as Ken Holland, Kris Draper and Ryan Martin spoke with the Detroit Sports Media Association’s annual luncheon today.

This evening, Krupa offers an article discussing the comments made by the trio of Wings executives:

The Red Wings will make use of their young players and some rare salary-cap space this season to move young players into the lineup, the team’s top managers said Wednesday.

“Over the course of the year, we’re going to be moving more and more younger people on to our team, and the hope is that they are going to develop and we are going to become more and more competitive,” general manager Ken Holland said at an annual lunch with Detroit Sports Media, formerly known as the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association, at Sinbad’s Restaurant & Marina.

Entering his 36th season with the Wings and 22nd as general manager, Holland has made good on his vow at the end of last season to put two or three more young prospects into the lineup.

Some injuries among defensemen have allowed him to add a few more, temporarily.

The Red Wings will could have four players, defensemen Dennis Cholowski, Libor Sulak and perhaps a third, along with the forward Michael Rasmussen, debuting in the NHL against the Blue Jackets on Thursday at Little Caesars Arena.

It would be the first time since Oct. 10, 1985, that the Wings started a season with that many players in their first career games.

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Darren McCarty talks comedy and life lessons with GR Press’s Wallner

The Grand Rapids Press’s Peter J. Wallner interviewed Darren McCarty regarding his stand-up comedy tour of Michigan:

Darren McCarty can laugh now, and that’s exactly the point in delivering punchlines instead of punches.

What’s so funny is that given the crazy road he has traveled, the former Detroit Red Wings bad boy sees humor as the latest extension of outreach to fans and therapy for himself.

“There’s nothing you can embarrass me about that I haven’t already embarrassed myself,” he said with a chuckle.

McCarty, 46, is a legend to Detroit hockey fans for his rugged play and deft scoring skills, some incredible brawls and four Stanley Cup championships. His dark moments have also been documented – battles with alcoholism, financial missteps and marital strife.

Pretty funny stuff? Well, yeah, McCarty said.

“What I’ve had to do to survive is not what I’d recommend for a life plan,” he said. “But I’m here and can share what not to do or, for someone else, it’s like, ‘Hey, I’m here and OK. You can be, too.'”

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Krupa, Wakiji Tweet Ken Holland, Ryan Martin, Kris Draper’s comments at DSMA luncheon

Meanwhile, at the Detroit Sports Media Association’s luncheon…

Continue reading Krupa, Wakiji Tweet Ken Holland, Ryan Martin, Kris Draper’s comments at DSMA luncheon

NHLPA.com profiles Michael Rasmussen

NHLPA.com’s Tim Wharnsby profiles Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen today:

There was no doubt in the young mind of Detroit Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen that he was going to be a hockey player after the first time he hit the ice.

But his passion for the game deepened when, as a kid, he would sit in the stands at Rogers Arena and watch his beloved Vancouver Canucks.

His family had season tickets and he would study the moves of players like Markus Naslund, Trevor Linden, Mats Sundin as well as Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

Even though Sundin suited up for only 41 regular-season games and eight more in the playoffs with the Canucks in 2008-09, he took particular interest in the way the big Swede played.

“I was only nine turning 10 when he played in his final season in Vancouver,” Rasmussen recalled. “He was only there a short time, but I also followed him when he played for Toronto. I liked the way he played.”

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From the scrums: Ericsson out Thursday, Daley in, ‘A’s’ to rotate between Nielsen and Larkin

The Red Wings seem set in terms of their lines for Thursday’s home opener vs. Columbus, per Wednesday’s practice and MLive’s Ansar Khan:


After the Wings’ final practice before the home opener, the Red Wings held a media availability, per the Free Press’s Helene St. James…

Continue reading From the scrums: Ericsson out Thursday, Daley in, ‘A’s’ to rotate between Nielsen and Larkin

Red Wings name four alternate captains, with Nielsen and Larkin joining the fray

Updated 3x with video at 2:05 PM: Per the Free Press’s Helene St. James and MLive’s Ansar Khan:

Continue reading Red Wings name four alternate captains, with Nielsen and Larkin joining the fray