Filip Hronek tore up the Ontario Hockey League last season, eclipsing the point-per-game benchmark with 14 goals and 61 points for the Saginaw Spirit. He was second on the team in scoring, as a defenseman.



The Red Wings’ second-round pick in the 2016 draft had reason to enter camp with high expectations. Whereas his fellow defensive prospect Vili Saarijarvi was shipped off to the East Coast Hockey League to begin the season, Hronek stuck with the Calder Cup champion Grand Rapids Griffins.



But on opening night, he found himself a healthy scratch. Griffins coach Todd Nelson sat him down, explained he was going to be fine. There was a logjam on defense and someone had to sit. This was all part of the process.



For three out of the next four games Hronek sat, until the Red Wings decided both he and Saarijarvi, who was proving too good to remain in the ECHL, needed to play. On Oct. 21, the team sent 24-year-old defenseman Ryan Sproul to the New York Rangers...