As one might expect of a player selected in the first round of the NHL Draft, Oleksiak has been the most celebrated athlete in his family. At least until the summer of 2016, when his sister Penny won four Olympic swimming medals as a 16-year-old at the Rio de Janeiro Games.
Penny became Canada's youngest-ever Olympic gold medalist and the first Canada athlete to win four medals at a single Summer Olympics. Meanwhile, Oleksiak has another sister who is a successful athlete: Hayley Oleksiak became a member of the women's rowing team at Northeastern University, which Jamie previously attended. He was the highest-drafted hockey player in school history when the Dallas Stars picked in him in the first round in 2011.
As one might expect of a player selected in the first round of the NHL Draft, Oleksiak has been the most celebrated athlete in his family. At least until the summer of 2016, when his sister Penny won four Olympic swimming medals as a 16-year-old at the Rio de Janeiro Games.
Penny became Canada's youngest-ever Olympic gold medalist and the first Canada athlete to win four medals at a single Summer Olympics. Meanwhile, Oleksiak has another sister who is a successful athlete: Hayley Oleksiak became a member of the women's rowing team at Northeastern University, which Jamie previously attended. He was the highest-drafted hockey player in school history when the Dallas Stars picked in him in the first round in 2011.
After Oleksiak joined the Stars organization, he played in the Ontario Hockey League in 2011-12 for Saginaw and Niagara. He played his first professional game in 2012-13 with Texas of the American Hockey League and made his NHL debut with Dallas on Feb. 1, 2013, against the Phoenix Coyotes.
Oleksiak got his first NHL point on an assist Feb. 13, 2013, against the Calgary Flames. He scored his first NHL goal Oct. 28, 2014, against the St. Louis Blues.
A massive presence (6-foot-7, 255 pounds) with a long reach, Oleksiak is considered one of the more difficult defensemen to play against. A strong, fluid skater, he can move the puck well out of his own end.
A native of Toronto, Oleksiak moved to the United States to enhance his chances of developing into an NHL player. He played for Chicago and Sioux Falls of the United States Hockey league for two seasons before attending Northeastern.
A citizen of the United States and Canada, Oleksiak has represented each country in international play. He played for the United States at the 2009 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup and helped Canada win a bronze medal at the 2012 World Junior Championship.
