It’s often said in sporting circles that one player’s misfortune is another’s opportunity and certainly, opportunity is knocking for Filip Hronek.
A long-term lower-body injury to Mike Green has presented to Hronek the opportunity to prove that he warrants a regular place on the Detroit Red Wings’ defense.
“Yeah, sure, I’m happy for this opportunity and I want to play and try to help the team to win,” Hronek, recalled Friday from AHL Grand Rapids, told DetroitRedWings.com prior to Tuesday’s game at Philadelphia against the Flyers.
“I feel good. I’m happy I’m back here and I have a chance to show them I can play.”
Hronek appeared in his first six NHL games in October, collecting his first NHL point and goal, before being reassigned to the AHL Griffins. The Wings are hopeful that Hronek can alleviate some of the offense lost in Green’s absence.
“Fil’s skill set obviously, is much more similar to Mike Green in terms of a skater, puck mover, potential power-play guy, although (Niklas) Kronwall will spend some time on the power play in Green’s spot as well,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said.
Green is Detroit’s leading scorer on the back end, with 16 points in 23 games, and Blashill was adamant that they in no way anticipate that Hronek will fill that void.
“It’s not just Filip but how the other five play,” Blashill said. “If they play great in his absence, if all six play great in his absence, you don’t feel the loss nearly as much as if guys struggle.
“We need guys to step up and play close to 100 percent of their ability. If everybody plays close to 100 percent of their ability, we’ll be totally fine. If guys have off days, or have their B or C games, then it’s not good enough, because you don’t have as many guys to rely on as you do when a Mike Green is in. But by no means is it a barrier to success. We just need guys to step up and play great hockey.”
Hronek’s play in Grand Rapids warranted a recall to the show.
“I think he’s steadily progressed,” Blashill said. “I think he’s had a number of good games here. So I think his progression’s been good. I think there’s certainly things that he can continue to get better at, but what we need Fil to do is come up here and play with confidence.
“I thought early in the year, he struggled a little bit and he got overly hard on himself. That’s a good quality and a bad quality. Being self-accountable’s good, but when it crossed the line to being too hard, sometimes that’s bad. He just needs to come up here and play.
“He’s what I’d call a hockey player. His game is probably even better than his skill set. He’s not 6-4, he doesn’t skate like the wind, but he’s got a lot of hockey smarts and I also think he’s a real competitor.”
His brief NHL tenure was enough to open Hronek’s eyes to what he needs to do at hockey’s highest level in order to succeed
“Yeah, I learned a lot,” Hronek said. “You can see the guys like Kronner, Mike Green, how they prepare, how they work. That helped me for sure a lot.”
That little taste of big-league life also served to make him more comfortable there.
“I think it helped me,” Hronek said. “I know the guys more, so that helped me a lot.”
Blashill’s advice to Hronek? “Do the things you’re really good at,” Blashill said. “I think he’s an NHL player full-time, it’s just a matter of when and hopefully it’s right now.”
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