Filip Hroneck is becoming a cornerstone of the Detroit Red Wings rebuild

Embed from Getty Images Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi are the names that grab the headlines in Detroit. While Detroit Red Wings top prospects Filip Zadina and Joe Veleno as well as Moritz Seider grab more headlines. Lost in the shuffle is defensemen Filip Hronek.

Filip Hronek is cementing himself as a major part of the Detroit rebuild. A deeper look show us, Hronek leads the Red Wings defense in average ice time or ATOI,  averaging 23 minutes per game. Hroneck currently ranks 33rd among all defensemen in the NHL. Placing him in the company of players like Erik Karlsson, Drew Doughty, and Mark Giordano all elite defensive players.

Filip Hronek seems to have the trust of Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill. Hroneck is not even 22 years old and already plays on Detroit’s top power-play unit. It gets better for the budding young defensive star.

Hroneck, has 3 goals and 4 assists for 7 points in 13 games this season. This comes following a strong finish to the 2018-19 NHL season. The last 36 NHL games, Hronek has scored 5 goals and 15 assists with 20 points. Over a full season would be around 46 points, which would have been in the top 20 of all NHL defensemen last year.

Of the young NHL defensive players, Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes may have a tad-bit more talent. Filip Hronek is silently solid. So what is Hronek’s ceiling in Detroit, with the Red Wings? He projects as top line defensive player. It is safe to say Hroneck will not fully hit his ceiling for a few more seasons.

Filip Hroneck is key piece of the franchise and will be going forward. One thing for Detroit Red Wings fans to watch is, just how good Hroneck is at making something out of nothing offensively, given how often he enters the ice in his own end.