After leaks throughout the day revealed every pick but one for the Seattle Kraken in Wednesday night's expansion draft, we finally learned who they're picking from Detroit: defenseman Dennis Cholowski.
Per Sportsnet's Mark Spector, the reveal took so long not because of Steve Yzerman's sly, secretive ways, but because Seattle was unable to reach Cholowski until late in the day.
Whatever the case, the former first-round pick is off to the NHL's newest team.
Dennis Cholowski.
— Mark Spector (@SportsnetSpec) July 21, 2021
That's the Seattle selection from Detroit.
Apparently the Kraken were unable to reach him for much of the day.
It's a disappointing, but perhaps fitting, end to Cholowski's career in Detroit. He never latched on with the Red Wings through parts of three seasons. The offensive upside was always there, but his struggles in his own zone were too much to overcome.
Cholowski finished minus-47 in 104 games with the Wings.
It's a bit of a surprise pick for the Kraken, who were widely expected to take defenseman Troy Stecher or forward Vlad Namestnikov from Detroit. They must see the same potential in Cholowski that the Wings and former GM Ken Holland saw when they drafted him 16th overall in 2016.
