By Anthony Gulizia, News Staff
When Jamie Oleksiak stepped onto the ice at Matthew’s Arena, he towers over the majority of his teammates and opponents.
But the sophomore defenseman may be take his looming 6-foot-7-inch frame elsewhere after the NHL Entry Draft tomorrow at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.
Oleksiak is expected to be a first-round draft pick, and is ranked No.1 among prospects with collegiate experience, or who have committed to play collegiate hockey in a report by USCHO.com.
“I put a lot of work in during the summer to be a top prospect,” he said. “I hope it plays out well in the draft – it’s a huge honor to be held as a high prospect. The best you can do is just put all the critics behind you.”
Northeastern’s interim men’s hockey coach Sebastien Laplante said that Oleksiak is deserving of the top-prospect.
“There’s no doubt about that,” Laplante said. “His abilities to defend and his skill set is very attracting, no matter how tall he is. But at 6’7, he’s a very unique prospect that could play professional hockey for 10 or 15 years and that’s why he’ll be picked so high.”
The blue-liner, who scored four goals and nine assists in his rookie campaign, attended the NHL combine from May 29 to June 4 in his hometown of Toronto.
The combine is an opportunity for draft prospects to work out and perform different strength and stamina exercises while professional organizations look on.
“It was a great experience,” Oleksiak said. “I ran into a lot of guys I played with in the past, and I met new hockey players – it was really an eye opening experience. I got to see hockey culture from all over the world. There was a wide variety of different hockey players – it was something I will never forget.”
Oleksiak said he performed well in the combine and a couple of teams approached him.
“I think I did well. It helped being in college because I had a little more time off [to prepare],” Oleksiak said. “I did my best [at the combine] and it showed pretty well. I left with no regrets – I left nothing on the table. I’m happy that I don’t have to look back and wish I did things differently.”
Although Oleksiak stands two inches shorter than Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, the tallest player in NHL history, he tries to emulate his style of play.
“Being in Boston, I’ve been able to watch him more,” Oleksiak said. “He plays a really good, smart game and I’m trying to learn as much as possible. He’s someone I want to model myself off of – he’s a guy I look up to.”
Laplante said that Oleksiak’s physical stature greatly alters a team’s offensive strategy.
“For a tall guy, he has good feet, good agility and a good reach,” Laplante said. “He positions himself pretty well. When you got a guy coming down the ice at 6’0 or 6’2, they see him in blue line and it gives them a lot less room to maneuver. [Oleksiak] is not a super physical guy, but when he decides to turn it on and get mad, the opponents feel it. He’s hard to play against, he never goes unnoticed.”
Although Oleksiak only played one season under former head coach Greg Cronin, who recently accepted an assistant position with the Toronto Maple Leafs, he learned a very valuable lesson.
“Nothing is given to you, even if you have God-given talent,” Oleksiak said. “You need to work your way up to the next level. [Cronin] is a really blue-collar coach, and you have to earn your spot in the lineup every night. That’s something that I’ve accepted as the difference between those who play professional hockey and those who don’t.”
