Dallas Stars‘ 1st round pick in the 2011 draft (#14 overall), mammoth-sized defenseman Jamie Oleksiak(6) made his NHL debut after starting his rookie season with their minor league affiliate Texas Stars.
He skated 21 shifts for 15:32 of total ice time in a 4-3 shootout win.
At 6’7″ 250 lbs. his size speaks for itself but he started to show an offensive upside in the second half, after a trade, of his only year in junior hockey. That followed one season in college hockey.
In 43 AHL games he has scored a modest 3 goals but added a playmaker 20 assists to his scoring totals and leaves the farm club (for now) with a +12 plus/minus. He also was selected to the starting lineup of the recent 2013 AHL All-Star Game and Skills Competition.
The 20-year old signed a 3-year entry level contract that keeps him in the Stars‘ system through 2015. He should easily become a full-time fixture in the show well before then as a solid two-way specialist.
Original story: 2/2-13
He would finish his first season posting a team leading 27 assists and 33 points for d-men with a healthy +19 rating.
He also appeared in 16 games with the big club recording his first two assists.
In his sophomore campaign he played a new high 69 AHL games but only got into 7 contests with Dallas, unable to get any points. His 5 goals, 18 assists and 23 points with a +8 plus/minus were second amongst blue liners on Texas and he would be a part of the 2014 Calder Cup Champions contributing 5 assists and a +13 rating in 21 playoff outings.
He would start his contract year on the opening night roster but was a healthy scratch and called into action for the following game.
For the next few games he’d be back in the stands watching but after that he would start showing up regularly.
He would end up playing 36 contests getting his first NHL goal and 7 assists.
While mostly playing with the big club he was sent down, skating 35 games with the farm club.
Now 23-years old he signed a one-year extension early into his restricted free agency to stay with Dallas Stars and is expected to stick with the big club exclusive in 2015/2016.