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Red Wings select college-bound defenseman Dennis Cholowski in first round of 2016 draft

MiHockey Staff

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By @MichaelCaples –

After trading their No. 16 overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, the Red Wings used the No. 20 overall pick to select defenseman Dennis Cholowski.

A native of Langley, B.C., Cholowski is heading to St. Cloud State for the upcoming season after two campaigns with the Chilliwack Chiefs of the BCHL.

Red Wings GM Ken Holland told NBC Sports Network during the official draft broadcast that he expects Cholowski to spend three or four years at St. Cloud developing into an NHL defenseman.

“We need some defensemen,” Holland said. “Our scouts are excited, he’s a great skater. He’s gonna go to university for three or four years, we’ll see how he develops. But we’ve taken a lot of forwards over the last few years and we need to get some defensemen, so love that he can really skate, love that we can tuck him away in college.”

Last year, Cholowski posted 12 goals and 28 assists for 40 points in 50 games with the Chiefs.

“Fantastic skater with a great transition game,” Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek said in an article about Cholowski. “Has a huge upside but scouts say he needs to work on developing his defensive game.”