Dallas Stars Will Likely Keep Jamie Oleksiak Around This Season

The Dallas Stars have a decision to make regarding who will serve as their seventh defenseman this season. Jamie Oleksiak is one defender who has definitely made his case known over the past month.

Going into the 2017 training camp session, the Dallas Stars had a lot on their to-do list. There were position battles, new players, and a new coaching style that all combined into this year’s camp.

But perhaps the most evident storyline was in regards to battle for the Stars’ seventh spot on defense.

After an offseason filled with substantial upgrades and multiple additions, the Stars found themselves in a bit of a bind going into camp. They had too many NHL-ready players on offense and defense and not enough space in the lineup.

In addition to this overstocking problem, the Stars also found themselves over the cap space wall. After all was said and done in regards to players leaving and joining on, Dallas is about $800K over the cap wall and needs to make a move.

Dallas Stars

So how will they get back under the ceiling? Many assume that the move will come on the defensive side. Jamie Oleksiak, Patrik Nemeth, and Greg Pateryn are the three names that have been tossed around since early July. All three are considered “on the bubble” and only one of them will likely make the roster. The other two will either be sent to the minors or traded.

All three defenders have played extensive time at the NHL level and don’t seem destined to fall back to the AHL. With that being said, there’s a lot riding on this final decision.

Which player is going to win the spot? The speculation ran rampant this summer. Many believe that Pateryn fits the “seventh man” description best and proved his consistency last season while going in and out of the starting lineup. Others thought that Nemeth’s two-way game could still be effective and useful for Dallas.

But it looks like Pateryn and Nemeth might end up missing out on the position. That’s because of Jamie Oleksiak’s performance over the past few weeks.

Oleksiak kind of came out of nowhere on this one. He was drafted by Dallas in the first round of the 2011 NHL Draft and has played with the team since the lockout season of 2012-13. The Stars have witnessed Oleksiak’s talents for the past five years.

He’s played an on-and-off role for the Stars over the past few years. Oleksiak’s career has largely been spent being called up and sent down between the Dallas Stars and Texas Stars. Last season was his first time to play more than 40 games for Dallas in a given year. As a result, he’s never had a full opportunity to make his play known.

As a result, Stars fans have become frustrated. When a first-round pick still isn’t a solidified starter in the NHL six years after the draft, something is wrong.

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But Oleksiak’s lopsided progression has not been entirely his fault. While he does have trouble serving as the healthy scratch for long periods of time and then jumping back into action, his talents are impressive and can definitely be used.

The Big Rig is known for, well, being big. He’s the tallest player in Dallas Stars’ history, coming in at 6’7, 255 pounds. That’s massive for a hockey player, and Oleksiak uses it to his advantage. He is known for his ability to get physical, close out forwards in the defensive zone, and hit with authority.

Oleksiak has good skating skills and provides a shutdown presence on the blue line. He also proved in 41 games last season that he can be a scorer when necessary as well. Oleksiak set a career-high in goals in 2016-17 with five.

He’s a valuable defenseman and can provide an advantage that not many teams possess. New head coach Ken Hitchcock is starting to notice this.

Hitchcock has spoken highly of Oleksiak’s play over the past few weeks and believes that he could even see Oleksiak playing on the right side come opening night.

“He’s cool under fire, he’s competitive as heck from the dots to the boards, and he’s playing really sound right now,” Hitchcock told Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News on Friday after practice.

He called Oleksiak a “surprise” and pointed out that he is taking things to another level with his play.

Hitchcock has a knack for taking on bigger defensemen and turning them into powerhouse defenders. Considering he now has Oleksiak, Pateryn, and Stephen Johns to work with, the Stars’ blue line could look incredibly different this season in terms of play and scheme. But Oleksiak’s abilities can be incredibly useful if used under the right head coach.

Does this mean that Jamie Oleksiak is destined to be the seventh man or even start for the Dallas Stars this year? It’s too early to tell. His play is not going unnoticed, though.

Next: Three Questions Facing The Stars In 2017-18 Season

Oleksiak has had trouble staying in the lineup and solidifying his spot over the past few years. Could this be the year that all of that changes and the first rounder finally steps into a new element? We’ve got ten days to find out.