Monday, February 2, 2009

Drewiske Called Up By LA Kings

One of my favorite things to report on is when a former Badger gets his opportunity to show what he's made of in the National Hockey League. Today, former Badger Captain Davis Drewiske was re-called by the LA Kings to take the spot of suspended defenseman Denis Gauthier.

Here is the press release from the Kings:

The Los Angeles Kings, the parent club of the Manchester Monarchs, have recalled defenseman Davis Drewiske from the Monarchs, Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi announced today.

Drewiske, 24, has one goal and 11 points (1-10=11) in 46 games with the Monarchs during his rookie season and he's tied for second on the team with a plus-4 rating. In addition, his 63 penalty minutes rank third overall on the team. Drewiske, a 6-2, 215-pound native of Hudson, Wisconsin, has not played in a regular season game with the Kings this season. He will wear jersey No. 44.

Last season, Drewiske finished his senior season at the University of Wisconsin by recording 21 points (5-16=21), 46 penalty minutes and a plus-6 rating in 40 games while serving as captain of the team. He also tied for first among Badgers defensemen with five goals and his 21 points ranked second among club blue-liners. The Kings signed Drewiske as an unrestricted free agent on April 1, 2008, and he finished last season in Manchester, appearing in the Monarchs' final five regular season games (5 GP, 0-0=0, 6 PIM) and four postseason games (4 GP, 0-1=1, 6 PIM).

Davis spent time with the Kings in the pre-season and impressed the Kings brass as well as the fan base. Many fans on the Kings message boards are excited to see what Davis brings to LA.

Davis will be the 9th player off the 2006 Wisconsin National Championship team to play in the National Hockey League. (Earl, Pavelski, Burish, Gilbert, Skille, Dowell, Piskula, Elliott and now Drewiske) Think about that for a second. 9 players off that team have played in the NHL just a few short seasons after the fact. I would have to assume that this would be pretty close to a record of players off one team spending time in the NHL.

Congratulations to Davis and I hope you find your niche in the show buddy!

(Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
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