Jamie Oleksiak, a 6-foot-7, 241-pound defenseman chosen 14th overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Dallas Stars, is one of 22 players within the organization attending the NHL Prospects Tournament this week in Traverse City, Mich. Oleksiak has agreed to provide NHL.com with a daily blog that will offer an inside look at the tournament both on and off the ice.
It's nice to be here in Traverse City for the start of the Prospects Tournament. I'm looking forward to donning the Stars' jersey and working hard this week. I just finished up a lot of hard work preparing for the season in Saginaw and am really looking forward to this since I've heard so much about it.
We have a practice Saturday morning (Sept. 10) and then will play the Carolina Hurricanes in the afternoon, so there's a lot going on the opening day.
Dallas is very supportive of my decisions and obviously they want to me to continue my development curve. It's been pretty steep, so they want me to continue on that path and when they say I'm ready, I'm ready. They're not pushing a certain deadline or really rushing my development. They understand it'll come and they've been supportive the whole way, willing to provide any services I need to get out there.
Thanks for reading and keep checking back with more updates.