The Saskatchewan Midget Hockey AAA league could very well have a powerhouse team in western Canada just off highway 11. The Beardy's Black Hawks will feature the 2010 WHL bantam draft #1 overall pick in Alex Forsberg and joining him playing age advanced hockey will be Braden Oleksyn from Saskatoon.
In an interview we conducted with Braden Oleksyn recently, we asked him about what expectations he will have playing Midget AAA next year, and how he will deal with the constant comparisons he will have to Alex Forsberg who also played age advanced last season. Braden says "I look at it as a great oppurtunity to develop my skills at the next level and test myself everyday.....I have not set any expectations for myself, making this team i feel is an accomplishment in itself and will push myself to develop with every practice and game.
For the rest of the interview and other interviews and rankings. Please see the July 26, 2010 newsletter.
1 comment:
I'm not sure if this was the wisest decision on either parts. With Forsberg in his second - and undoubtedly - last year with Beardy's, i thought they would be more interested surrounding him with older players who could take them on a deep playoff run, and perhaps a Telus Cup shot. Personally, i like Oleksyn's game and think he's a real talent, but i didn't see him start to dominate games until very late last year (the final against Lumsden, to be exact). Yes, he has the ability to play midget, but whether he can raise his game again and be able to make a difference against ELITE midget squads is another question. I just wonder if his development would have been better served playing in a very competitive Saskatoon Bantam league and trying to be dominant there for an ENTIRE year. Time will tell, i suppose.
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