Mick Hatten

mhatten@stcloudtimes.com

In July, Dennis Cholowski became the 1st St. Cloud State player to be taken in the NHL's first round.

Going into junior hockey, he was taken with the 200th pick in the 2013 WHL Draft by Prince George.

He has one goal, 10 assists, 14 penalty minutes, 40 shots on goal, is a minus-11 in 32 games in 2016-17.

It is one of those questions that people throw out there as they are trying to get to know someone, maybe someone who is a little quiet.

St. Cloud State men's hockey team captain Jimmy Schuldt asked defenseman Dennis Cholowski what he would do if he knew he had one last day on earth. The answer came quickly, and there was a plan.

"I would pack a cooler with three meals and be on the ice all day, maybe with some friends and family," Cholowski said. "The best part of my day is when I'm on the ice. I love to skate and it's where I'm most comfortable."

Schuldt has been Cholowski's defensive partner and was not surprised at the answer. Schuldt was being interviewed during an optional day on the ice for the Huskies and Cholowski was one of two skaters on the ice.

"He likes to skate on Sundays and he's a really dedicated guy," Schuldt said. "He's always at the rink and he's definitely a rink rat.

"He's so dedicated and committed to the game. I don't know how much he's joking when he said he'd just be on the rink all day if it was his last day. He just loves being out skating and stickhandling around."

Cholowski, a 19-year-old from Langley, British Columbia, was selected with the 20th overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings because of that skating and stickhandling ability that go with his 6-foot-1, 185-pound frame. He's the first St. Cloud State player to be taken in the first round of the draft.

He has enjoyed his season of growth in NCAA Division I hockey. Cholowski has a goal, 11 points, 14 penalty minutes and is a minus-11 in 32 games for the Huskies.

"This has probably been the biggest jump in his hockey career," St. Cloud State coach Bob Motzko said. "We've seen a lot of growth with Dennis. The talent you see is undeniable: the skating ability and his passing.

"You see it come in flashes and a little bit of wave. Not a lot of time passes when you don't see (his talent). In between, you see where he needs to take the big growth steps in his game. All kids physically mature at a different age. He's a 19-year-old in a 16-year-old body ... but that's a good thing. His upside is huge ... . He's got an opportunity to develop into an elite player."

Growth spurt

Part of why Cholowski is still filling out physically is because he is not far removed from a massive growth spurt, not only physically, but in how others view him as a player.

"The big growth spurt started in my last year of midgets before I went to junior hockey," he said. "By the time I was in my second year of juniors, I was the size I am today.

"It was about a span of a year and a half that I sprouted up. I went from 5-foot-6, 125 pounds to 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds. I think I'm honestly closer to 6-2 now."

Cholowski grew up dreaming of playing major junior hockey, the most popular route for young Canadian players to develop and move into pro hockey. Major junior hockey includes a small living stipend, which eliminates players from being eligible to play NCAA hockey after their eligibility is up.

Growing up in British Columbia, his focus was on playing major juniors in the Western Hockey League.

"I kind of used the motivation of not being drafted very high in the WHL Draft because I was small," said Cholowski, who was taken in the 10th round (200th overall) of the 2013 WHL Draft by Prince George. "I was hoping that I would grow, eventually.

"I went to one camp with them the year I was drafted," he said of Prince George. "All the guys that they drafted that year were way bigger than me. I was small, the little guy on defense who could skate."

BCHL

Cholowski ended up playing for the Chilliwack Chiefs in the British Columbia Hockey League, a Tier I junior league with no stipends that prides itself on developing college players. He said he did not know the BCHL existed until a season before he played in it.

Smooth-skating 16-year-old defenseman commits to SCSU

In 2014-15, he had 34 points and four penalty minutes in 67 games for Chilliwack. In November 2014, he verbally committed to play for St. Cloud State as a 16-year-old.

At the midpoint of last season, he was listed as the 48th-best available North American skater eligible for the 2016 draft. By the end of the season, he was ranked No. 23 and scouts were flocking to Chilliwack games.

Cholowski had 55 points and 20 penalty minutes in 70 games, was named an All-BCHL second team all-star and helped the Chiefs reach the championship series of the BCHL playoffs.

"As the season kept going, my stock kept rising and more scouts started showing up," he said. "By the end of the year, every game was exciting to play in. They're announcing all the (NHL) teams at the games and talking with all the scouts. We had a great year and made it pretty far in the playoffs, which helped my cause."

And Prince George held onto his rights, which made for another decision during the offseason. Because of his age, Cholowski has junior hockey eligibility remaining and the Cougars made him an offer to join the team and play this season in the WHL.

"It was a long process, for sure, because one side (St. Cloud State) is calling and the other side (Prince George) is calling," Cholowski said. "You have to make a decision.

"Ultimately, we thought and Detroit thought, that this was the best decision, to play college hockey and develop. Major junior was always in the back of our heads, but ultimately thought this was the best for me."

NHL draft: SCSU's Cholowski taken 20th by Detroit

Engineering major

Cholowski wanted an education, though. His parents, John and Natalie, both have college degrees. His older brother, Frederick, is working on degrees in political science and economics at the University of British Columbia.

And Cholowski is a dedicated student. When he made his recruiting visit to St. Cloud State, he asked where the library was and spent time studying for a class. Like his dad, he is planning on majoring in engineering and has classes in calculus, physics and sociology this semester.

During the break between semesters this season, the Huskies were playing in a tournament in Arizona and Schuldt and some of his teammates decided to intervene.

"He was trying to study and get ahead in calculus," Schuldt said. "We told him to just take a break and do something else. We got him to hang out and relax a bit.

"For a freshman to want to get ahead (academically) is just crazy."

Cholowski confirmed the story and laughed about it. When he is not on the ice, Cholowski spends a lot of his spare time at the library.

"My dad was sending me calculus textbooks online to get a head start on the next semester," he said. "Jimmy just said, 'Put the book down for awhile.'

"You need to take a little bit of time off and let your brain recover from last semester."

The back-and-forth between Cholowski and other members of the team has been good for Motzko to see.

"The fun experience with Dennis this year has been watching him mature off the ice, watching how he interacts with other players," Motzko said. "Early in the year, he'd just smile (at good-natured ribbing), then he laughed and now he pokes back.

"It went from a smile to a laugh to a poke back."

Follow Mick Hatten on Twitter, Instagram and at Facebook.com/sctimesmick. Reach him by phone at 259-3621.