The consensus assumption concerning the New York Rangers first round selection in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft is that they will use it on a forward due to their immense depth in the defensive ranks. Jess Rubenstein at The Prospect Park is not sold on that assumption and discusses how the Rangers might be interested in Jamieson Oleksiak with their first round selection this month. Oleksiak is a mammoth 6-foot-7, 245-pound defender who has received numerous comparisons to another Zdeno Chara, who Gordie Clark selected.
Do not discount for a second that the idea of sending out a 6'5 Dylan McIlrath with a 6'7 Jamieson Oleksiak is not making Jim Schoenfeld or John Tortorella smile. 2 monsters with heavy shots from the point while making life horrible for other teams.
Oleksiak, 18, who has already played his Freshman season at Northeastern recorded four goals and nine assists in 38 games while leading the team with a plus-13 rating.
While many would be disappointed to see the Rangers take yet another defender in the first round, Jess is right that you have to plan for anything with prospects and you are not drafting for today, rather for 2-3 years down the line when the player will actually see the NHL. This is certainly not a selection that would be based on current need, but as we have seen the NHL is about having assets and if Oleksiak develops as he is capable he gives them another asset to allow them to move him or someone else down the road.
My personal preference is still for a forward if a high quality one the Rangers like is available, but I would not be at all shocked if they went defense and Oleskiak is not the only potential guy that could fit that billing either.
Scouts takes:
Elite Prospects:
A huge defenseman with terrific reach and strength. Moves very well for a man his size. Has superb agility and athleticism. Oleksiak can deliver thunderous hits and uses his stick effectively to break up passes. He also has great hands and puck skills, which could see him blossom into a very solid two-way defensemanBruins Draft Watch:
Jamie Oleksiak, D Northeastern University (Hockey East)Craig Button
Huge kid at 6-7, 240 pounds and may not be done growing. Pretty mobile for someone so big, and more importantly, so young. Many guys Oleksiak's size are very gangly and still developing their coordination for their big bodies. He's already pretty much there and has a long, fluid stride and better footwork at this stage than most would think. He covers a lot of ground with the long stride and power behind it. Massive wingspan and long stick make it virtually impossible for opponents to beat him to the outside. Mobility makes it a challenge for them to go inside on him as well. With more work on his skating, could be even more mobile and difficult to beat. Working on his reads and progressions- still a work in progress who sometimes tries to do too much in his own end- needs to keep things simple. Decent passer on short to intermediate feeds, but on-ice vision is questionable and lacks the accuracy to stretch opposing defenses with long leads. As can be expected, has a big drive given all the power and torque he can generate on his twig. Needs to work on improving the accuracy and release. Important to avoid the lazy comparisons to Zdeno Chara or Tyler Myers because of size/mobility alone- those guys are more skilled with the puck and shooting skills than Oleksiak and he has a long way to go to reach that level. Oleksiak has upside, but may end up being more of a shutdown guy in the NHL. One thing he has going for him that most will never achieve no matter how well they are coached or how hard they work is that monstrous size. That should get him to the NHL, but still a wildcard in terms of what he's going to be at that level. Oleksiak will be a first-round pick, but based on what we've seen in multiple viewings this season, we'd take him at the end of the round instead of earlier. There is some risk that he'll be more Hal Gill than Chara, but he's at least made himself into a top-30 option with his potential, and Gill has fashioned a nice NHL career dating back to his league debut in 1997 with Boston.
"I saw Chara play at that age and Oleksiak is way more developed and does possess better coordination than Chara had," NHL analyst Craig Button told NHL.com. "A 6-foot-7 defenseman with the skill of Oleksiak doesn't come very often. There's a big development window in front of him. I could see three or four years down the road, NHL teams that passed on him might be saying 'We should have taken him.’”
