from Will Burchfield of 97.1,

“And then I saw people in the stands to watch pregame skate," he said, "and I was like, ‘Okay, this is the big time.'"

A few hours later, just in case it wasn’t sinking in, Cholowski cruised down a red carpet on his way into Little Caesars Arena, doling out autographs and high-fives to the thousands of fans hanging over the gates that lined the path. He played the role of celebrity smoothly. He said it was fun.

But Cholowski is a hockey player by trade and by nature, and he was here to realize his dream. Around 7:45 Thursday night, he took the ice for the first shift of his NHL career. Whatever jitters he may have had were gone a couple shifts later. No moment, not even this one, could bend him out of shape.

“You realize you’re in the NHL," he said, "and then after that it’s just hockey."

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added 10:22am, Watch Cholowski below talk with the media after the game.