Notes: Hronek happy for another opportunity with Wings

PHILADELPHIA -- There are still a lot of things that Red Wings rookie defenseman Filip Hronek has to learn but at least he's in familiar territory.
Because of many injuries along the blue line, Hronek, 21, started the season with the Wings along with fellow rookie defensemen Dennis Cholowski, Libor Sulak and Joe Hicketts.

After Hronek played in six games, the Wings opted to send him to the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins, where he has flourished.
Hronek had five goals and 13 assists in 20 games, leading the Griffins defensemen in points and tied for ninth among AHL defensemen.
Hronek also has points in nine of his last 10 games, which included an eight-game point streak from Nov. 23-Dec. 7. In that span, he had four multi-point games and tied a franchise record with an eight-game assist streak.
But when Mike Green suffered a lower-body injury that is expected to keep him out three to five weeks, the Wings recalled Hronek.
"I feel good," Hronek said after the team's optional morning skate Tuesday. "I'm happy I'm back here and I have a chance to show them I can play."

Hronek said his recent run of success in Grand Rapids was because the team was playing better.
"We had a pretty good team down there," Hronek said. "The start, we were struggling a little bit but then we step up a little bit, guys came back and we were playing pretty well."
Hronek said while he did not play every game when he was in Detroit the first time, he still benefited from being around the veterans.
"I learned a lot," Hronek said. "You can see the guys like Kronner (Niklas Kronwall), Mike Green, how they prepare, how they work. That helped me for sure a lot."
Being around the team for training camp, preseason and the first month also helped Hronek get more comfortable in his surroundings.
"I think it helped me, I know the guys more so that helped me a lot," he said.
In the two games since his return, Hronek has played 11:51 against the Ottawa Senators and 13:18 against the New York Islanders.
RELIEF IN GRAND RAPIDS: There was a sense of relief in Grand Rapids Tuesday when forward Filip Zadina practiced with the team.

Zadina left last Saturday's game with a lower-body injury and did not play Sunday.
There was some concern that Zadina would not be able to join Team Czech Republic for the World Junior Championships but it appears that he is good to go.
"If he's able to go, I think it puts him in a situation where he can kind of be a real go-to guy and hopefully be in a position where he can have the puck a ton and have a lot of offensive success," Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "I think anytime you transfer into pro it's hard. I don't care if it's the American League or the NHL, it's hard. He'll be at a level that he's more even with his peers in terms of age. If anything, he'd be in the upper echelon at this point. But we'll see where that goes."
WORRIED ABOUT OWN PLAY, NOT FLYERS TURMOIL: The Philadelphia Flyers have been going through a tumultuous time.
On Monday, they fired head coach Dave Hakstol and replaced him with Scott Gordon, who was coaching the Flyers' AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
In addition, the team put goaltender Anthony Stolarz on injured reserve and recalled Carter Hart, who will make his NHL debut against the Wings.
"Not worrying about anything to do with the other side," Blashill said. "Just worry about us playing great hockey. We got to make sure we come out with a great sense of urgency. We got to make sure that we're not giving up easy chances and we got to make sure that we're playing 60 minutes of great hockey."
For Cholowski, it will be his first time playing in Philadelphia.
"Historic team. Broad Street Bullies, I always watched those clips of what their team was like," Cholowski said. "Obviously they're a big, strong team, lots of tough players and they're going to try to get the puck behind us and grind on us. We have to get back fast and move the puck up and use our speed."
But it won't be Cholowski's first time facing Hart as Hart played for the Everett Silvertips, the team that eliminated Cholowski's Portland Winterhawks in the second round and Michael Rasmussen's Tri-City Americans in the WHL's Western Conference finals last season.
"An athletic, really good goalie," Cholowski said. "When we played in the playoffs, I thought he was the biggest reason why they won, or got as far as they did. He was like their brick wall, just couldn't really score on him in the playoffs. He's an athletic goalie and I'm happy for him he's playing in his first game tonight."
It's a bit unusual for a 20-year-old goaltender to play in the NHL, even though the rest of the league has gotten younger.
"Certainly there's a reason why there's not been many," Blashill said. "It's only been a few special ones that have come in at that young age.
"Guys don't give their jobs up and it doesn't seem like there's been a whole bunch of abundance of young guys taking them. The other thing with a goaltender different from any other position is you can ease guys into other spots. You can ease guys in as a D-man. You can protect them. Just play them in the O-zone. You can protect them by playing them on the PP. Same thing with a forward. You can't do that with a goalie. The goalie has to be ready when he plays. And certainly confidence is a huge thing at every position, but it's paramount at the netminder position."