Adirondack Thunder 7th year defenseman Dylan Olsen(5) took most of 2016/2017 off after he was left unqualified as his two-year deal with Florida Panthers expired.
He almost oddly skated 6 RHL games (Calgary-based Senior AA men’s league) for Nanton Palominos, joining his brother, but that was about it.
Kind of makes sense for the high draft selection after he played 124 NHL games (5 goals, 17 assists) over 4 seasons.
The big blue liner made a bit of a late decision and signed at the start of 2017/2018.
In 49 ECHL games he has 5 goals and 19 assists with a -1 rating and if remains healthy will definitely help them come Kelly Cup Playoff time.
He was also loaned to Binghamton Devils for another 7 AHL games (bringing his total in the league to 222) and grabbed an assist.
It would be no surprise to see the 27-year old set up a nice deal overseas to continue his pro career.
Dylan Olsen (4)
Florida Panthers‘ 6th year defenseman Dylan Olsen(4) was a former Chicago Blackhawks‘ 1st round pick in the 2009 draft (#28 overall).
The fairly sizable 6’2″ 223 lbs. blue liner played for three full seasons in their ‘Hawks‘ system before being a component part of a trade early in 2013/2014.
He played mostly with affiliate Rockford IceHogs, and even left college after competing in the World Juniors with Canada, then signing his three year entry level deal to join the team for the second half of 2011.
A late cut from the following training camp he was reassigned but recalled a couple of months befoe the conclusion of 2011/2012 and skated his first 28 NHL games and one in the playoffs recording only an assist with a -5 rating but also seemed to fall of the depth chart.
He was never one to put up a lot of points, being mostly a punishing stay at home d-man.
Upon being acquired by the Cats, he was sent to farm club San Antonio Rampage but summoned quickly, skating 44 games with his new squad scoring a career best 3 goals and 9 assists for 12 points.
He would be quickly extended for two more year on a one-way contract but did continue to spend some time on a short leash in the minors.
The 24-year old has split time evenly between the big league and AHL so far in 2015/2016 and will enjoy one more season as a restricted free agent at the end of the current campaign.
It would appear that he’s fitting in nicely where he’s at and will be full-time in the show soon.