The Dallas Stars did not trade down, as we thought they might, and they did not take a goaltender, as some so sarcastically suggested after last years interesting first round. No, this year they took Jamieson "Jamie" Oleksiak, a HUGE 18 year old defenseman from Northeastern University with dual Canadian/American citizenship.
Jamieson Oleksiak
Team: Northeastern (NCAA)
Born: December 21, 1992
Hometown: Toronto, Canada
Height: 6-7
Weight: 244 pounds
Position: Defense
Shoots: Left
NHL Central Scouting: 13th among North American skaters
International Scouting Services: 25th overall
The Hockey News: 13th overall
NHL Central Scouting has pretty rave reviews, saying...
"I think he has unbelievable upside," NHL Central Scouting's Gary Eggleston said. "Whoever gets him is probably going to hit a home run with this kid. You could be looking at a 15- to 16-year player in the League, and to get a kid that size and skates that well is not common. He handles the puck well, has an excellent shot and his pass percentage completion in two games I saw was 100 percent -- he never missed. He covers a lot of ice in a very short time and it's a long trip around the outside with that wing span of his. He always has that stick out there dangling, too, so he keeps the guys about eight feet away."
For the Stars he is probably at least three years away from sniffing the NHL due to his young age. He has a decision on whether to return to Northeastern next year or leave to play in the OHL where his rights are owned by the Saginaw Spirits. Both sides will push to have him develop there and it will be interesting for the Stars to see where he goes. TSN says his coach at Northeastern just left to join the Toronto Maple Leafs, so there is some thought that he could go.
It might be a year late, but Stars fans have the first round, big shutdown defenseman they craved on draft night 2010.
We'll have much more coming up in a bit...
Welcome to Jamieson Oleksiak, newest member of the Dallas Stars organization.