There were 125 reasons why Dennis Cholowski was still available 10 rounds into the 2013 Western Hockey League bantam draft.

That was his weight in pounds as a skinny five-foot-five defenceman while he was playing for the Langley Eagles bantam Tier 1 team when the Prince George Cougars called his name. At the time, Cholowski and his family made it known to WHL teams he was going the NCAA college route and wouldn’t likely ever play a game in the WHL.

Four years later, the six-foot-one, 200-pound Cholowski is plying his trade in Prince George after signing a contract with the Detroit Red Wings, the team that picked him 20th overall in the 2016 NHL draft.

“It’s every hockey player’s dream to play in the NHL and knowing that I’m not that far away from it is a pretty amazing feeling,” said Cholowski.

“They just want me to get bigger and stronger and gain some weight, which I’ve done, and just work on shooting the puck more and develop harder shot. I’m going to keep working hard and go to camp this year and try to make the team.”

Making Detroit’s roster is the only scenario that would keep Cholowski from playing in the WHL. The NHL-CHL agreement won’t allow NHL teams to send junior-aged players to minor pro assignments unless they’re 20-year-olds or if they’ve played four years of major junior hockey.

Cholowski is among five Cougars heading to pro camps. Nikita Popugaev is NHL-bound for the first time since New Jersey drafted him in the second round in June. Radovan Bondra (Chicago Blackhawks, fifth-round, 2015), Josh Anderson (Colorado, third round, 2016) and Kody McDonald (invited to the Winnipeg Jets’ camp) are also leaving the Cats following their exhibition game next Tuesday in Red Deer.

Cholowski played his 16- and 17-year-old seasons in the BCHL with the Chilliwack Chiefs and he’s no stranger to Prince George hockey rinks. In his rookie year in his first two-game weekend road series against the Spruce Kings he scored a goal in the first game and had two the following night.

Cougars general manager Todd Harkins first got to know Cholwoski seeing him play minor hockey against his son Jansen. Cholowski loves to join the rush and create scoring chances like he did Saturday playing for Team Chara in the Cats camp. In the afternoon scrimmage against Team Byfuglien he took a hard shot and scored the opening goal on a 3-on-2 rush and in the second period showed he’s not afraid to go deep with the puck, setting up behind the enemy net to consider his options in Gretzky-like fashion.

“I’m a pretty offensive defenceman, just asserting myself and taking control and you’ve got to be sound defensively as well and I’ve been working on that and I think I’ve gotten much better,” said Cholowski.

“Hockey always came naturally, I just didn’t really grow at the right time at the bantam draft.”

In 36 games last season for St. Cloud in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Cholowski had a goal and 11 assists. He played one AHL game at the end of the season with the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Presented with a rookie contract worth $925,000 U.S. and a $92,500 signing bonus, Cholowski decided to forego the remaining three years of his NCAA scholarship at St. Cloud State to join the Cougars.

“It was a huge decision,” he said, “but Detroit approached me and said they wanted to speed up my development and wanted me to sign. When someone offers you and NHL contract it’s pretty hard to turn down.”

Cholowski was among 13 defencemen who attended Canada’s world junior team summer evaluation camp in Calgary. That could mean he won’t be around much for the Cougars in December while the tournament is on in Buffalo.

Watching him from the leather seats in the upper corner of CN Centre, the Cougar coaching staff liked what they were seeing.

“He’s a good skater, he’s got some (Brendan) Guhle in him, the same type of player,” said Cougars assistant coach Shawn Chambers.

“You can tell why he’s an elite player and you can tell why he’s a first-round draft pick,” added head coach Richard Matvichuk. “The guys at that level don’t make mistakes too often and when you watch him play, the way he sees the ice and the way he gets up and down the ice, that’s why he is where he is.

“If we get him back, he’s going to be one of our leaders, a guy we will rely on heavily. He was sent here for a reason and that’s for us to turn him into the best professional that we can, and that’s our ultimate goal. He’s a natural leader and at times in training camp with our 15-year-olds out there he’s going to feel like he’s light miles ahead, but once we get to the crunch time his eyes will open up that the speed of the WHL game is really close to an NHL game.”

The Cougars are in rebuilding mode, having loaded up last year with a baker’s dozen of 19-year-old players. That project resulted in a first-place B.C. Division regular-season finish and their first WHL banner, tempered by the disappointment of a six-game series loss to Portland in the opening playoff round.

“I know the Cougars have been near the top of the division, especially in recent years and they haven’t been able to transition it into the playoffs lately but that could be because it’s such a long travel schedule around here and being on the bus that long it’s pretty tough,” said Cholowski. “I think we have a really good team with a young core here and we’ll just be looking to do better in the playoffs.”

The Cats have their Black versus White intraquad game tonight at 7 at CN Centre. Admission is free.They start their preseason schedule Friday, Sept. 1 in Red Deer and will face the Edmonton Oil Kings in an afternoon game. The next day, the Cats play the Calgary Hitmen. The team will then return to Prince George for training camp sessions at CN Centre before heading to Langley for a date with the Vancouver Giants on Friday, Sept. 8, followed by games against the Everett Silvertips (Sept. 9) and Victoria Royals (Sept. 10).

The Cougars' only preseason home game is Friday, Sept. 15 at CN Centre against Kamloops. They open the regular season at home against the Spokane Chiefs on Sept. 22.

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