Each youngster made an impression on their NHL debuts over the past week.

20-year-old Cholowski made an immediate impact as a starter on Thursday night, scoring the Red Wing's first goal of the season in the curtain raiser with the Columbus Blue Jackets at Little Caesers Arena, tying the game at 1-1 in the second period.

Despite Cholowski’s impressive start, the Red Wings would go on to lose their opener with the Blue Jackets stealing victory in overtime to win 3-2.

That was followed by a 4-2 defeat to the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday, a game in which the 19-year-old Rasmussen started after getting 12 minutes on the ice against Colombus.

As Rasmussen said after Thursday night’s game however, “Anytime you gain experience, it’s good.” Coach Blashill was also pleased with the performance of the team and its new members and held an optimistic outlook, even if results hadn’t gone their way.

“I thought Dennis played a pretty good game,” Blashill told the Detroit News after the Blue Jackets defeat. “The goal was nice. He did a pretty good job of jumping into the play. I thought he showed real good poise.”

“He made a mistake that resulted in a goal, but it didn’t affect him. He just kept playing.”

“To me, it’s a young mistake, and a little bit of what we tried to do too much tonight, where we were trying to look for a better shot.”

Cholowski brought the home crowd to life when he slotted home, after the defenseman sensed open ice and, after pinching aggressively from the blue line, finished beautifully with a low shot.

Rasmussen meanwhile showed a glimpse of the imposing figure his 6’6” frame can prove to be, particularly with the teenage forward still having some years to mature into his body.

“I thought overall (Rasmussen) was physical, he was big, he was strong,” Blashill said. “I thought he had a good game.”

“I like his game. I think it is a pro game.”

Sunday’s defeat was a blow to suffer back-to-back defeats but the performance didn’t necessarily match the result as the Red Wings outshot the Kings 38-25 on the road.

Rasmussen struggled a little more to influence this encounter, but it’s a baptism of fire at this level that will be crucial to his development.

Rasmussen and Cholowski’s inclusion in this inexperienced side is in part thanks to injuries to a number of key senior players, but blooding them in this early – and even exposing them to mistakes – is a blessing for the long term.

Blashill has put faith in his young players and as such, may ultimately be judged on how they fare. Based on their early showings however, the omens are good.

The Red Wings get another chance to earn their first win against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday and go into the game as favoruites with gambling sites like Gamblersaloon.com.