At 6-foot-7 and 255-pounds, Northeastern defenseman Jamie Oleksiak often draws comparisons to Bruins captain Zdeno Chara.
The Dallas Stars must think Oleksiak can develop similarly to Big Z as the team chose the Toronto native with the No. 14 pick in the first round of the NHL draft Friday night.
"It's unbelievable and I couldn't be happier," Oleksiak said after getting picked by Dallas. "I'm at a loss for words. I'm really excited right now and I think it's a really good fit for me. I talked with Dallas' scouts and the management before and I'm really looking forward to this opportunity."
Oleksiak played in all 38 games for the Huskies during the 2010-11 season and finished with the highest plus/minus rating on the team at plus-13. The freshman also added four goals and nine assists for a total of 13 points.
The towering defenseman's draft stock rose considerably in the months leading up to the draft. At the midterm rankings Oleksiak was ranked as the 27th-best skater among North Americans, according to NHL Central Scouting. The 18-year-old impressed scouts enough during pre-draft workouts to move all the way up to No. 13 among North American skaters. He was also the first college player chosen in Friday's draft.
"Jamie is a terrific prospect with tons of upside ahead of him," said NU interim head coach Sebastien Laplante. "He is a great kid who went from relatively unknown to a high-end prospect because of his dedication to becoming an elite player and his work ethic."
As the No. 14 pick, Oleksiak is now the highest draft pick in Northeastern history. The only other Husky ever drafted in the NHL's first round was Braintree native Mike Morris, who was taken at pick No. 27 by the San Jose Sharks in 2002.
Oleksiak is now the 44th player from Northeastern to be taken in the NHL draft.
