In Red Wings Land

Kronwall hopes strong finish carries over to next season | NHL.com

In the previous two seasons, Kronwall missed a combined 42 games.

This past season he missed only the first three games before returning to play the final 79 games, averaging 18:31 per game.

I think it’s a safe bet that I’m not the only one that was shocked by how many games Niklas Kronwall played this past season. He’s physically not what he used to be out on the ice, but he’s still a smart hockey player. I’d be happy to have him back next season to help the young guys on the blue line. Speaking of young guys...

Wings general manager Ken Holland has said he has to rebuild the defense and Kronwall agrees with that assessment.

”No doubt about that. I definitely think with where we are at as a team, we’ve seen some changes up front,” Kronwall said. “Definitely ready, and I think it’s time for these young guys on D to take another step and get a shot at playing for the team here. Again, it starts with hard work. Have a good camp, but both (Filip) Hronek and (Dennis) Cholowski seem to have really good years. It will be awesome and I very much look forward to watching them play.”

Around the League

Dahlin, Svechnikov top NHL Central Scouting’s final prospect rankings | Sportsnet

Man, I cannot wait for the draft lottery. I still dream of Rasmus Dahlin, but the Red Wings should still be getting a pretty darn good player in the top eight if they don’t win the top pick. I think I’d be very happy with any of Andrei Svechnikov, Filip Zadina, Brady Tkachuk or any of the defensemen.