It’s been a while since Detroit had a true minute-munching top pairing defenseman. While it’s important to not get too far ahead of ourselves, last year Filip Hronek showed that he could be better than even his biggest supporters thought.

Vitals

Position: Defense
Shoots: Right
H/W: 6’0”/170
Born: November 2, 1997
Birthplace: Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic
Drafted: 2016, 2nd Round (53rd overall)
Last Year: #7

Stats

Strengths:

After being sent down to the minors last season, Hronek looked like he is here to stay upon his return to the NHL. In addition to being one of, if not the best defenseman on the Red Wings at even strength, he showed that he belongs at the quarterback spot on PP1 next season. On the power play, he demonstrated an ability to move the puck quickly at the point and find the right pass quickly.

Weaknesses:

The decision to send him down earlier in the season made a lot of sense. Since his recall, he’s shown that he doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses. The closest thing to a weakness is his size, but that doesn’t seem to be a limiting factor for him.

Looking Forward

After taking such a big step forward last season, this year Hronek will be looking to continue to improve. If he does, that will go a long way to helping Detroit improve its blueline.

Highlights

2019 Red Wings Top 25 Under 25:

25: Vili Saarijarvi
24: Ryan O’Reilly
23: Joe Hicketts
22: Albert Johansson
21: Robert Mastrosimone
20: Jack Adams
19: Albin Grewe
18: Otto Kivenmaki
17: Oliwer Kaski
16: Christoffer Ehn
15: Filip Larsson
14: Jared McIsaac
13: Jonatan Berggren
12: Evgeny Svechnikov
11: Taro Hirose
10: Michael Rasmussen
9: Moritz Seider
8: Dennis Cholowski
7: Joe Veleno
6: Filip Zadina