DETROIT -- Playing in your first National Hockey League game is a special event for any player, but when you get to share it with the ones who made it possible, it makes a fantastic experience an absolutely unreal one.

At 7:46 of the second period in Thursday night's home opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Red Wings rookie defenseman Dennis Cholowski scored his first NHL goal in his first NHL game, setting off a raucous celebration in section 117 of Little Caesars Arena.

Cholowski's parents, John and Natalie, his older brother, Fred, his aunt, Carrie Light, and his girlfriend, Brooke Kudirka were all high-fiving and hugging everyone in range.

"Absolutely over the moon," Fred Cholowski said. "I mean, it's surreal alone having him play his first NHL game and being here. The goal is just the icing on the cake. He was in the perfect position, it was the perfect shot and I'm so glad I was here to see it."

Natalie Cholowski couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she relived the moment during the second intermission.

"We were all jumping out of our seats, exploding out of our seats,' she said. "You can see by Dennis' face, too, that he is having the time of his life."

Being able to be there in person for Dennis' first goal in his first game is something his family will never forget.

"Nothing beats being around everybody, giving the hugs and not being able to breathe for a good, solid two minutes afterward," Fred said. "It was truly an amazing moment."

Kudirka, who is also a hockey player at St. Cloud State where Dennis spent a year, was overjoyed to be able to take a break from school to be there.

"He just works so hard and has such a positive attitude and I'm just unbelievably happy for him," Kudirka said. "I don't think I could breathe for, like, three minutes when I was out there. I'm just so happy for him. To see the work he put in all summer and for the past two years since I've known him, it's just a dream come true to be able to be here and to be able to watch him and be able to support him."

John Cholowski said it was going to take a little while for the whole experience to sink in.

"You can't ask for anything else," John said. "It's just a dream. It feels like a dream.

"All the minor hockey and everything, everybody says nobody ever makes it, it's just a dream, enjoy the game, play for fun. Here we are today, first NHL game and he scores."

The group got to see many of the moments that led up to that moment, from taking Dennis to his practices when he was a kid ("We loved every minute of it," Natalie said) to visiting him over the summer as he elected to stay in Detroit to train as he worked toward making the team.

"It's just been a whirlwind of activity," John said. "Starting in the summer, he's in Detroit and we're not. We don't see him and then we come out and see him and he's a little different looking kid. Just like he grew up here in Detroit or something."

Light is not only Cholowski's aunt but also a trainer who has worked with him since he was just nine years old.

"It's incredible," Light said. "I have seen this young fellow since the age of three being on the ice with incredible talent. I've worked with him as his trainer at a very young age also. So I've been able to see him grow and grow and grow. He has talent and he's a humble, gracious young man at the same time."

While Cholowski was not the odds-on favorite to make the team before camp started, his family was not surprised he did.

"That's Dennis, he just always works so hard and his dream his whole life has been this, he's living his dream," John said.

RASMUSSENS LIVING THE DREAM, TOO: Just a little ways away from the Cholowski clan in section 117 was the group there to celebrate the debut of Michael Rasmussen.

Rasmussen, 19, might stand 6-foot-6 now but some things will never change.

"He still is my little boy and it's surreal to think that he's actually here playing his first NHL game," mom Denise Rasmussen said. "It seems like just yesterday he was learning to skate backwards."

Denise said she and Michael's dad, Paul, were in different cities when Michael texted her the news that he had made the team. But she got his real reaction a while later.

"A couple of hours later when we were able to talk, we Facetimed, and it was full of emotion," Denise said. "It was so sweet that I could see his face, he could see mine. I was thrilled and crying and he shed some tears as well. It was just so wonderful, so special."

As he watched his son play, Paul Rasmussen thought back to all those days back home in Vancouver.

"It's pretty exciting, it's been his dream to play in the NHL from a young boy shooting pucks in the garage to where I had to replace the garage door," Paul said. "He's very determined and a hard-working young man and we're all very proud of him. To be here tonight for the family, it's just really wonderful."

Rasmussen's sisters, Jacqueline and Samantha, were also part of the Rasmussen cheering crowd.

While Denise said she really didn't know that her son was destined to be a professional athlete, Paul had an inkling early on.

"I knew right away since he put on a pair of skates or a pair of soccer boots," Paul said. "Michael's very athletic and anytime he a played a game in a sport like soccer, he was very determined. He always wanted to be the best he could possibly be, and he's done that throughout his childhood and into his teenage years now and that's the reason why he's playing in the NHL now.

"It's just the way he is, it's in him to be the best he can possibly be, not just as a player, but as a person and he gives a lot of credit to us for helping him showing him the way, but at the end of the day, the hard work and effort comes from him."

EHNS MAKE LONG TRIP: While the Cholowskis and Rasmussens traveled quite a way from British Columbia to be in Detroit, they couldn't beat Christoffer Ehn's family.

Ehn's parents, Lars and Ulrica, and his younger sister, Rebecca, flew in from Skara, Sweden to be there for Christoffer's debut.

"It means a lot," Lars said. "This is was his dream from the beginning. Detroit Red Wings have been his favorite team growing up. This has always been the goal for him. This is his life, he's living his dream. So it's meaning the same to us."

Rebecca said it was fun watching her brother walk the red carpet, which was lined with excited Wings fans, before the game.

"It's awesome," Rebecca said. "He seemed pretty nervous. But it was really cool."

It was also a cool moment to see Christoffer skate onto the ice when he was introduced as a member of the Red Wings.

"You can't really describe it," Ulrica said. "It's an emotional feeling."

Ehn, 22, was supposed to join the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins at the end of last season after his season with Frolunda of the Swedish Hockey League ended.

"It was in the playoffs. It was the end of the season with the Swedish team and he was not feeling very well but he still left to go to Detroit," Ulrica said. "Then he was diagnosed with mono."

Ehn returned to Sweden without playing for the Griffins as he needed several weeks to recover from his illness.

There were many young players considered to be in the running to make the Wings out of training camp but Ehn was generally not mentioned among them.

So were the Ehns surprised when Christoffer called to tell them he was remaining in Detroit with the Red Wings?

"Yeah, kind of," Lars said. "I managed to watch some of the preseason games. I think he did well. I know there was a small chance for him to make it. On the other hand, he also was OK with the thought of going to Grand Rapids and making it that way. History of the Red Wings is you also go through Grand Rapids before you will get the chance. A bit surprised, yes."

Said Ulrica: "Of course we were surprised. I know he's a fighter and he's stubborn and he has a goal set so in that way, it's not that surprising. But of course it is a surprise."

With the Wings leaving for California Friday, the Ehn family planned to head right back to Sweden.

"The Red Wings have taken care of us, showing us (around)," Lars said.

"It's been a fantastic trip."