During his senior year at UW, defenseman Davis Drewiske had no idea where he would be upon season’s end. But just days after he and the Badger hockey team lost to North Dakota in the NCAA Tournament, he was comfortably able to say he found a home at the next level.
Drewiske signed a multi-year, entry-level contract with the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL. Considering he remained an unsigned free agent throughout his four years despite being team captain as a senior, Drewiske was obviously relieved and thankful.
“I am just very excited about the opportunity that I will have with the organization,” Drewiske told me in an e-mail interview. “Everything I have experienced so far with the organization has been first class, and I hope to be with them for a long time.”
While he was signed by Los Angeles, Drewiske told me the Kings weren’t the only team expressing interest in him.
“My agent and myself had contact with a handful of other teams, but L.A. has been the most interested all along, and I feel very confident that it is a good situation for me and my future,” he said.
Unlike former teammate Kyle Turris — who made his NHL debut with the Phoenix Coyotes a week ago–Drewiske’s road to the NHL began in the minors, as he joined the Manchester Monarchs, the AHL affiliate of the Kings, and has played in five games with the club already. While finishing out the season and perhaps spending some of next year with the Monarchs, Drewiske remains optimistic that his chance to make it to the big stage will someday come.
“I am just concentrating on improving my game and getting some experience with Manchester in the AHL for the rest of the year,” Drewiske said. “If I play hard and well, playing time will come.”
Drewiske finished his Badger career with 41 points in 152 career games and was a member of the 2006 National Championship club. But his UW career came to a disappointing halt with a playoff loss at home in which his team led UND 2-0 heading into the third period.
The sting of the overtime defeat was only temporary for Drewiske, however, as he signed his contract just two days later.
“It has been a whirlwind of emotions,” Drewiske said. “The way we lost to UND was certainly hard to swallow, and I was confident that we were headed back to the Frozen Four. The new experiences here in Manchester have helped me move forward from an extremely disappointing finish to my career.”
It’s great to see the hard work and dedication of a guy like Davis finally pay off. Frankly, it was a bit of a surprise that he remained a free agent his entire career. He was the captain of a team that included nine NHL draftees on its roster, yet he himself was never picked up.
Notions of where he would end up didn’t occupy Drewiske’s thoughts, though, as he maintained a true captain’s mentality: team over individual.
“I was very focused on finishing my career at UW strong,” Drewiske said. “I knew that if I played well and our team had success that there would be a place for me to play after I was finished playing in college.”
Drewiske has joined former Badger teammates Joe Piskula and Jeff Likens on the Monarchs’ roster. Piskula — who would have finished his UW career the same year as Drewiske had he not left school early — has already seen time at the NHL level, playing in five games with the Kings during the 2006-07 season.
As for Drewiske, it remains to be seen when his call to the big stage will come. But when it does, he’ll never leave behind the memories he had as a Badger.
“I am extremely grateful for the chance to play for UW,” he said. “It was a dream come true for me to wear the cardinal and white. There is not a better place to play in the country, and there are no better coaches in the country at developing players for the next level than the ones at UW.”
Tyler is a junior majoring in journalism. Let him know which Badger in the NHL is your favorite at [email protected].
