Rasmussen, Seider assigned to Grand Rapids as Red Wings inch closer to final roster

After a 5-0 blowout loss in the final preseason game of 2019, it was time for the Red Wings brass to make some final decisions on the final roster.

Yesterday, several players were placed on the waivers, including Joe Hicketts and Calvin Pickard. They all cleared and have been assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Today, the Red Wings announced what looks like one of their final preseason decisions before their season opener next Saturday, sending Moritz Seider and Michael Rasmussen to the AHL to debut their season with the Griffins.

Seider and Rasmussen will join Filip Zadina and Joe Veleno on a Grand Rapids team that is stacked with talent. Seider was always a long shot to make the Red Wings roster, but the fact that he’ll be playing in the AHL instead of the German league is a testament to how much closer he is to the NHL than we all originally thought.

As for Rasmussen, he really wasn’t ready for the NHL last year, but because of the silly CHL transfer rule, the Wings didn’t have much of a choice. He’s a big body, standing 6’6″ tall, and a natural center, but he often looked lost during NHL game play. Starting in the AHL will allow him to play his natural position, build some confidence, and grow into his big frame. I actually really like this decision.

With all this dust settling, Dennis Cholowski is left standing once again on the opening night roster. Cholowski had a very strong preseason, cementing himself on the middle pair and earning a spot on the power play.

Having Cholowski on the ice feeding pucks to Anthony Mantha with the man advantage will be huge for the Red Wings. He’ll likely quarterback the second power play unit while Filip Hronek anchors down the first.

Other players who have not yet been sent down are Jacob De La Rose, Adam Erne, Taro Hirose, and Christoffer Ehn.

The Red Wings start their season on Saturday, October 5th against the Nashville Predators.