from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

Cholowski’s improved defense means a chance to be part of the offense. He’s designated to quarterback the power-play unit that includes Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha, Tyler Bertuzzi and Andreas Athanasiou. Cholowski fits because he shoots left and has a big shot.

“As the half-wall guy gets it on that side, he’s looking at lefty Larkin, lefty Mantha, and lefty Cholowski up top,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “If you don’t have that lefty on top, their strong-side forward can take away Larkin and he becomes way less of a threat. Having another lefty that’s a threat to shoot to one-time a puck on the top of the power play helps make Larkin way more dangerous.”...

“The young guys got thrown to the wolves last year,” Blashill said. “It’s way easier if you can be put in situations for you to be successful. When you have more of your D corps in totality, then you can do that and you can manage guys’ games a little bit. Certainly he’s one of them.

“I also think it’s a year of maturation, it’s another summer of working extremely hard. He’s been willing to listen and learn and understand the things we’re talking about. He’s a better player today than he was a year ago.”

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