GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — This wasn't how Dennis Cholowski expected his week to go.
Thursday night was "Dennis Cholowski Bobblehead Night" at Little Caesar's Arena. However, Cholowski ended up being a healthy scratch on the same night he was being celebrated. It was the fifth time he'd been scratched from the lineup this season.
Then after the Red Wings 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators, Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill announced that the defenseman was being sent down to Grand Rapids.
Oh, and today just so happens to be the rookie's 21st birthday.
This is not how he expected things to go.
However, Cholowski was on the ice Friday morning at Van Andel Arena for a pregame Griffins practice, ready to make the most of his time in Grand Rapids.
"Obviously it's a disappointment. Any guy wants to stay up there [NHL] and keep playing," Cholowski said. "But just being out here, being able to play some minutes and have some fun though, I think it will be good."
The young defenseman has 16 points and 16 penalty minutes in 52 games with the Red Wings this season, while averaging 18:15 of ice time. Cholowski was the 20th overall pick of the 2016 NHL Draft and while he's added an offensive punch, Blashill and General Manager Ken Holland want him to continue to build on his defensive skills.
"They wanted me to work on my D-zone and being stronger on the puck and eliminating the goals against. Keep playing the way I can and to be myself."
Also rejoining the Griffins on Friday is forward Martin Frk. The Red Wings placed Frk on waivers on Wednesday but he went unclaimed by every other NHL team. So he returned to Grand Rapids, where he helped the Griffins win the Calder Cup in 2017.
"Being up in Detroit was fun but when you don't play, you don't enjoy it as much," Frk said. He knows the team is in need of his big right-hand shot, especially on the powerplay. The Griffs have the lowest rated power play unit in the AHL, scoring on just 31 of their 217 chances. In his last season with the Griffins Frk scored 13 power play goals.
"I've got to go use my one-timer, try to use it as much as I can and hopefully I can put some goals in. Being in the NHL, you learn how to manage the game more but I'm going to try to shoot the puck. I've always been more goals than assists."
Frk had just one goal and four assists in 25 games with Detroit this season. He had 25 points in 68 games last year. He's skated in 240 games with the Griffins since the Red Wings drafted him 49th overall in 2012. He had 50 points for the Calder Cup winners in 2017.
The Griffins host the San Antonio Rampage Friday night at 7 p.m.
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