Red Wings rookie rated the best defenseman at the World Championship.

Promising sign for the Red Wings future.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 4 years ago
Red Wings rookie rated the best defenseman at the World Championship.
Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS/Zuma

This is a very positive sign if you are a fan of the Detroit Red Wings.

Fans may not be super familiar with young Red Wings defenseman Filip Hronek just yet, although he is coming off his rookie season in the National Hockey League, but if you have not heard his name yet prepare to hear it a lot more in the future. The young Red Wings rookie saw his NHL season come to an end but thankfully for both him and the Red Wings he was able to continue his development at International Ice Hockey Federation's World Championship.

To be honest it was more of a showcase of Hronek's skill to the rest of the world as he would go on to do nothing but impress at the World Championship, going on a deep run with his native Czech Republic. The Czech Republic would eventually be stopped in the semi-finals of the tournament by a red hot Canadian team but when you consider the level of international dominance Canada has had in the sport there is never really any shame in losing to their squad. That being said it was no doubt a big disappointment for Hronek himself.

Although his team overall did not get the job done during the tournament the young defenseman did mange to distinguish himself from the rest of the pack and in fact earned an individual award for his efforts. According to a report from Corey Pronman of The Athletic, Hronek has now been named the best defenseman at the World Championship by the International Ice Hockey Federation's Directorate. That is to say that among all the defensemen in the tournament, including several who currently play in the National Hockey League, the IIHF Directorate felt no one stood out more than the Red Wings rookie.

This is of course a huge boon for the Czech Republic's hockey program as Hronek is only just 22 years of age and will likely play for them for many years to come, but it is an equally positive sign for the Red Wings organization who are seeing a late 2nd round draft pick blossom into a truly top tier talent on the ice.

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