Dennis Cholowski is driving westbound on I-96, talking about his parents.



Since early June, he has been living and training in suburban Detroit, far away from his home in Western Canada. He calls every day, and they visited recently, but they’re still the parents of a 20-year-old who is off in a distant place chasing his dream.



“They miss me, I miss them,” he starts. “But yeah, this is a big summer.”



It is, indeed, a big summer for the Red Wings’ top draft pick from 2016. At development camp in June, Red Wings director of player development Shawn Horcoff said he’d seen the defenseman progressing each year, and that he was looking forward to seeing him at training camp. That’s just weeks away now.



Cholowski is paying his own way to live here right now, as he gets ready to challenge for a roster spot. It’s not cheap. In addition to an extended-stay hotel, he pays to train at Barwis Methods five days...