What's Kraken: Two former Huskies selected in expansion draft
7/22/2021 11:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
SEATTLE, WASH. - The Seattle Kraken are not strangers to headlines. The mythical being has made waves since being announced as the NHL's newest franchise in July of 2020. Late Wednesday evening, the team itself started to take shape, as the Seattle Kraken announced its selections in the 2021 Expansion Draft. St. Cloud State University men's hockey fans should recognize two names on Seattle's inaugural roster, as former D-men Will Borgen (Moorhead, Minn.) and Dennis Cholowski (Langley, B.C.) were early selections in the draft.Â
Both Borgen and Cholowski were selected in the first five picks of the draft. The Kraken selected Borgen with the second pick of the draft, while Cholowski was chosen third. They are the first Husky tandem to be selected back-to-back in any draft, according to available records, and are the first St. Cloud State players taken in an expansion draft.Â
A former blueliner for the Huskies, Borgen was selected with the second pick of the expansion draft after two seasons with the Buffalo Sabres. In three seasons at St. Cloud State, Borgen earned multiple postseason honors from the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC), as he was named to the NCHC All-Rookie Team in 2016 and was named the NCHC Defensive Defenseman of the Year after his junior season in 2017-18. As a junior, Borgen tallied a career-high in points thanks to his two goals and 13 assists and helped the Huskies to the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. In total, Borgen appeared in 106 games in a St. Cloud State uniform, scoring five goals with 36 assists for 41 total career points with 123 blocked shots.Â
A first round draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings in 2016, Cholowski spent one season with the Huskies in 2016-17. In his lone season, the defenseman played in 36 total games and scored one goal with 11 assists to close the season with 12 total points and 33 blocks. He scored his first and only collegiate goal on December 9, 2016 in a 3-1 loss to Omaha at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center and recorded two points with two assists in a loss to Minnesota-Duluth on November 5 that same year.Â
In total, 67 former St. Cloud State student-athletes have been selected in the NHL draft, including current players Sam Hentges (New Brighton, Minn. / Tri-City), Nick Perbix (Elk River, Minn. / Omaha), David Hrenak (Povazska Bystrica, Slovakia / Green Bay) and Veeti Miettinen (Espoo, Finland / Kiekko-Espoo U20). Incoming first year Jack Peart is a projected high draft pick for the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, which will be held July 23-24 in New Jersey.Â
