OKOTOKS, AB (March 20, 2025) – Chicago, Illinois, also known as the Windy City, the Second City, and Chi-Town, is home to the Blackhawks, deep-dish pizza, the Bean (Cloud Gate), and Okotoks Oilers forward Michael Kowalski who is playing his first season in the BCHL.
When it comes to Chicago-style hot dogs, most Chicagoans have a strict rule of no ketchup on their dog Kowalski; however, he won’t judge you if you do, as he’s not all about the toppings that come on the Windy City Vienna beef glizzy and likes it simply with ketchup along with some cheese sauce.
While Kowalski isn’t a fan of all the toppings from his hometown’s hot dog, he does love the Chicago-style popcorn, which consists of cheese and caramel popcorn. He mentioned that his dad makes sure to have some readily available during Christmas time.
As for landmarks around the city, Kowalski has been to the Chicago Art Museum but has yet to visit a particular Chi-Town monument.
“I’ve never been to the Bean, actually. We went to the art museum as a school and stuff. But I think just playing hockey, you don’t get those opportunities much, you are so busy. It’s more like, ‘Oh, let’s go to a Hawks game’ or something, but never been to the Bean,” Kowalski explained.
Kowalski joked that he doesn’t get the fascination with the Bean. While he hasn’t gone and visited the Bean, he has seen it from a distance and just doesn’t have any interest in interacting with the landmark.
Chicago and hockey go hand-in-hand as the Blackhawks were a part of the NHL Original Six and have inspired kids in the area to join the sport. While the Hawks helped Kowalski fall in love with the sport, he recalled his first time on ice.
“No one in my family ever played hockey. My sister, it’s pretty sad. She’s just turning 24 on (March 13). When she was a baby, one year old, she had cancer. She’s good now; she battled through it. So, one year, we went to the Children’s Hospital on Christmas to hand out candy or whatever, and then we went to the Navy Pier in Chicago. My sisters were skating on it, and then my mom didn’t want me to, but my dad let me go skate. I was like four years old or something, then ever since then, I’ve just loved it,” he said about where the love of the game started.
Kowalski has two older sisters: Mackenzie, the middle child who just freshly turned 24 on March 13, and the oldest sister, Megan, who is the oldest sibling at 25.
“It was interesting,” Kowalski joked about growing up with two older sisters. “It was a lot; I love them. I feel like as we’ve gotten older, we’ve gotten closer. But, when you’re younger, you were just you’re just butting heads. Those two would team up against me; it made me tougher, I feel like,” Kowalski said about growing up with two older sisters.
Having two older sisters also meant that when he was around three years old, they would dress him up and take pictures. His sisters would have to return the favour later on as they would play hockey with Kowalski, even to the point of standing in the net while he took shots
Every kid who plays hockey has aspirations to play high-level hockey, but it wasn’t until Kowalski was around 15-16 years-old that he felt like he could have a chance at making hockey his career choice.
“I kind of went down a little bit. I was a lot smaller than everyone, and then had a some bad back injuries, stress fracture. Just kind of held me back a little bit. When I came back from my injury, my confidence was at an all time high, and then made the decision to leave home and go to New York for two years. I was out there and just kept going from there and now I’m here,” he explained.
Kowalski said living away from home in Okotoks has been easier than when he was living in New York as he said living with billets is much smoother than living in a dorm like he did in New York. He said the dorm life while balancing hockey and school could get a bit tough with balancing everything with his roommates schedules. As for his current Oilers roommate in Hunter Sawka, Kowalski has nothing but great things to say.
“When I first moved in, the first couple of days when he wasn’t there yet, it was kind of weird. You don’t really have anyone to talk to, you are not close with anybody. But, he kind of brought me around some of the guys and now I’m friends with them. He helped me transition and become a part of the team for sure,” Kowalski said about Sawka helping him mesh with the Oilers.
Goal scoring isn’t a problem for Kowalski as he netted a hat trick against the Spruce Grove Saints earlier in the season and has accumulated 13 goals in 47 games with the Oilers this season. While he knows how to pop pucks in the net, he also likes to play just as good without the puck as he does with the puck. Kowalski said he just wants to do whatever will help the team win, and has a strong focus on playing consistently.
One of the people who have been helping Kowalski reach his potential is head coach and GM of the Oilers, Tyler Deis. Kowalski mentioned the Deis can be tough on the team, but quickly said that the Oilers head coach jokes around a lot with the team. He has enjoyed having him as a coach and said he’s there for the team during the tough times as well as the good times.
Many of the Okotoks Oilers this season were recruited to join the team by the Oilers assistant coach, Derek Purfield, and Kowlaski was no exception.
“I played out in New York obviously, not a lot of BC teams come out there, sometimes, but, I was just playing a game against St. Andrews at the McPherson Tournament. I played the ceremonial game, there was like 4,000 people there, it was an awesome game. Coach was like, throw a shirt on and come outside. Purf (Purfield) was outside and just talked to me a little bit. Kind of said he liked the way I play and came out to the next game. Had a good game, we won, had a goal in it to, and he signed me there. It was pretty cool,” he said.
When it comes to hockey in Canada vs the USA, Kowalski see similarities in skill from both countries.
“I feel like competition wise, I feel like it’s somewhat the same throughout the two of them. But, it’s just like the lifestyle of hockey here is completely different. In my town there might be like a couple of kids in your graduating class play hockey, but here it’s like going to school and stuff, there is like 15 kids playing hockey. It’s hockey nuts out here. It’s still big down there (USA), but it’s more like football, basketball, and baseball,” Kowalski said about the differences between the two countries.
One thing that hasn’t changed for Kowalski in playing in both America and Canada is the support from his parents Chris and Stephanie.
“They mean everything to me. They are obviously my number one supporters, driving me everywhere, I mean everyone says that. Taking sacrifices, my dad owns a family business, his dad started. He’s always had that, staying there late and he always finds a way to help me out. He’ll get up at 4:00 a.m. and get back at 10 o’clock. It just kind of shows me like if he’s doing that, I can go shoot some pucks and skate. They have just been good role models, good people for me to watch as I grow up, and they still support me to this day,” he said about how his parents inspire him.
Both Stephanie and Chris have made the trip out to Okotoks. Kowalski said that his parents love the town, his billets, and everything in the area. He agreed with his parents thoughts on Okotoks as he added that it feels like home, and that it feels like a perfect fit for him.
One benefit of playing in Okotoks is being so close to Calgary which Kowalski has taken advantage of since joining the teams this season.
“Yeah, we went to a couple of Flames games. I went to the Pittsburgh game. I saw Crosby, first time seeing him. Then as a team we saw Colorado, so saw MacKinnon and Makar, it was pretty cool,” Kowalski said about visiting the Saddledome.
When it comes to the Okotoks Oilers organization, Kowalski gave out a ton of praise in how everything is run.
“I just like how they treat their players. They treat everyone with respect. It feels like a AAA team, it’s weird. They don’t just go out and cut guys, turn over their teams, walk in and trade guys. We kind of had the same group all year and we’ve been growing together. I think in the beginning it was tough, like me, there was a lot of new guys. But, I feel like we’re all getting used to it,” he added.
Some of those new players were fellow Americans and Kowalski said that it helped having multiple players from the States integrating themselves on the roster at the same time as they could relate to each other. He also mentioned that playing in the same tournaments, playing against the same teams and even playing against each other helped open up conversations between the Americans when the season first got going.
After Kowalski signed with the Oilers, he made sure to watch some Okotoks hockey before making the trek over and said how great the series between the Oilers and Bandits was last season in the playoffs. He added that the fans were noticeable to him as they were fully invested in the games.
As for the Green Army this season, Kowalski has taken notice and thanks the fans for showing up each and every game.
“You for sure feel it in the games, it’s exciting to have them there. Just like having billets too, they’re big fans. Some of the fans don’t always talk, like you’ll maybe say something but it’s not as personal. Just talking to the billets, they are so into it, you know, they all have friends over that are in town and they’re just like ‘yeah, we need to win this game’. It’s just exciting for us, makes us go out there and want to win it for them,” Kowalski said about the Green Army.
10 questions with Michael Kowalski
What is the most embarrassing song on your current playlist?
“Probably Sicko Mode by Travis Scott. I just think it’s like cringey a little bit.”
What is your go-to cheat meal?
“Probably just a cheeseburger and fries. If it’s in Chicago, its going to be after a workout. Large cheese fries and a big beef from Portillo’s. There is (a Portillo’s) about two minutes from my house, it’s dangerous.”
If you could meet anyone in the world, alive or dead, who would it be?
“Probably Elon Musk, I don’t know, he’s just like a funny guy.”
Would you try and get a Tesla from Elon?
“No. My dad’s in the petroleum industry.
Favourite player and team growing up?
“Favourite team, the Chicago Blackhawks. Favourite players, Steven Stamkos.
Favourite TV show and movie?
“Favourite TV show is Friends for sure. Movie, I think it’s the Godfather Part One, I watched it with my dad.”
Would you rather go to the past or the future?
“Probably the past. Maybe like 2015, just prime like being a kid, playing hockey.”
What song gets you pumped up?
“Right now it’s kind of like a team song, Super Fly. I forgot who it’s by. It’s the team song right now. That’s like our walk out song, it fires me up.”
Where in the world would you go if I could snap my fingers and get you there?
“Probably Hawaii. I think just for all the fishing, I’m a big fisher.”
Who one the team would you have as an emergency contact?
“Probably Souchy (Brock Souch). He always answers his phone, he texts me back quick.
Bonus
Favourite sport other than hockey?
“Football, playing it’s fine, but I love the NFL. Watching the Chicago Bears.”
If you could relive any day, what day would you choose?
“I’ll say high school graduation. I was with those guys for two years there. Just being with them one last day. It was the last time I saw most of them because we are all over the country. Just relive that would be unreal.”
What is the bets advice you got from your parents?
“Just work hard, keep your head down and just don’t quit until you got what you want. It’s just kind of how they raised me. Just put your head down and just work. Outwork the competition.”
What is your secret talent?
“I would say I’m good at fishing.”
Written by: Scott Savard
Photos: Chad Goddard
Graphics: Geyan Predas
About the Okotoks Oilers
The Okotoks Oilers are a not-for-profit, community-run junior hockey franchise competing in the BCHL and operating out of Viking Rentals Centre. The Oilers are currently in their 20th year of play and their first full season since officially joining the BCHL in January 2024. For more information, visit okotoksoilers.com or follow the Oilers on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram.
