Jeff Blashill hinted at it Thursday morning, after he announced Dennis Cholowski would not be in the lineup Thursday night versus Ottawa. Sure enough, the Red Wings sent Cholowski to Grand Rapids following that night's 3-2 win.
The rookie defenseman has struggled in the second half of the season after racing out of the gates. His offense has dried up and he's tumbled to a minus-20 rating, worst on the team and tied for seventh worth in the NHL. Thursday marked his second healthy scratch in a row.
Blashill and the Red Wings would rather have Cholowski, who turns 21 on Friday, play important minutes in Grand Rapids than languish in Detroit.
"Like we've done with most of these young guys, we're looking at what's best for their long-term development," Blashill said. "One, he has to play. Two, he gets into an environment where he can make mistakes and they’re not as costly as they are at this level, so then he can learn and grow at times at a greater rate than he has here lately.
"We have to make sure we put the individual growth of some of these young guys at a paramount step in our development process, and we felt like it was the best move for his individual development. I don't have a timetable on how long or anything like that. I'm hoping he does what Filip Hronek's done, and that's gone down and grown his game."
Cholowski was the best surprise for the Red Wings in training camp when he won a job in the NHL. And he backed it up by playing strong hockey over the first month of the season.
But rookie growing pains have set in, particularly of late. Cholowski has one point and a minus-8 rating in his last 10 games.
"As the year's gone along, he's just been in a position where he’s racked up lots of minuses, both from a plus-minus standpoint and chances against," Blashill said. "So let’s go down, let’s grow as a player and let’s keep getting better. I think he’s had a real good year and it’s been a real positive for him, now let’s keep that positive going.”
Blashill emphasized that Hronek, who's bounced between Detroit and Grand Rapids this season, is a good example of how to respond to a demotion.
"When we sent Fil down at the beginning of the year, honestly coming into map we thought that was going to be Cholowksi. He earned his way to that not happening. Fil went down and I think he really improved because of it and his development showed, so we're hoping that similar thing will happen now with Cholowski," Blashill said.
Cholowski's first game with Grand Rapids will be Friday night.