Jamie Oleksiak D, 6'7 245 Northeastern University

18 games, 2 goals, 3 assists, 5 points, +5+/-, 20pim

By Ian Esplen

You don't have to look to hard to find Jamie Oleksiak on the ice. He's the

player that looks more like a basketball player or a tight end, then a hockey

player. The big defenceman, is currently playing for the Northeastern Huskies in

the Hockey East Conference, in the NCAA.

Oleksiak had a few stops before finding his way to Northeastern. He played his

minor hockey mostly in the Toronto area. After a solid season with the Toronto

Young Nationals, he was chosen 137th overall in the OHL Bantam draft by Saginaw.

Oleksiak decided the the OHL was not for him, and he wanted to go the college

route instead. He moved on to the USHL for the 2008/2009 season, and played for

both Chicago and Souix City, over the next two seasons.

In the summer of 2009, Oleksiak would get his first taste of international

hockey, playing for the United States at the Ivan Hlinka Tournament. He was able

to play for the United States because he holds duel citizenship. At the

tournament, he played a solid defencive game on a team that finished 4th in the

tournament. His strong play in this tournament caught the eye of USA hockey, and

he was the second youngest player to receive an invite to their world jr team

camp, this past December. Despite a solid camp Oleksiak did not make a United

States squad that had eight returning players on it.

Oleksiak, is having a solid freshman year for the Northeastern University

Huskies. He has two goals, and 3 assists in 18 games this season. He is also posting a

respectable +5, on a decent Northeastern team. Head coach Greg Cronin had this to say about Oleksiak, after one of the teams games “He gets better every day and he’s very

coachable. He has NHL written all over him,” Cronin noted after the game. "He takes care of everything else so when he gets on the ice, he can just focus on

hockey"(Watson). Cronin also sees similarities is both Oleksiak and Zdeno Chara,

a player he worked with while Coaching in the Islanders organization. Cronin notes

"Jamie shows similar potential, and uses his size well (though needs to add some

of the grittiness that Chara provides) and brings the ability to skate as Chara

does. What has most impressed Cronin though is Oleksiak’s work ethic and

ability to learn. Since starting at NU, Oleksiak’s progress has been noticeable

not only from game to game, but from day to day and practice to practice his

coach says. Jamie is dedicated to improving his game and achieving success at

the highest levels of the game"(Watson).

Oleksiak has the size and Athletic ability (6"7 245) that few people have. His

main assets are size, skating, work ethic, amazing ability to keep the front

of the net clear, physical play, and long reach. His flaws are limited skill

level, stopping and starting when skating, and lack of physical play at times.

Overall, if Oleksiak puts the work in to learning how to use his size to his

advantage, and play well in his own end. He should be able to become a 3/4

pairing type Defenceman, who can kill penalties and log 22-25 minutes a night.

NHL comparison- More mobile, better skating, Hal Gill type.

works cited

http://somethingsbruin.net/college-hockey/hockey-east/friday-night-hockey-rpi-at-northeastern-the-prospect-roundup.html

http://www.somethingsbruin.net/college-hockey/hockey-east/hockey-east-boasts-3-potential-1st-round-picks.html