Oleksiak Signs With Saginaw

Via @canuckscout on twitter, Northeastern defenseman Jamie Oleksiak has signed with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit. He was the first collegian taken in the 2011 draft this summer, but after announcing he would be playing for Canada internationally, the dual citizen has made his migration across the border complete.

I’m not a CHL expert, but it seems to me that he would get better playing against guys who are older and stronger in college rather than being able to dominate kids his age. Still, he seems fairly raw and maybe playing more games will be good for his development, though I do think that working on his skating in practice would be the most beneficial thing he can do. In any event, I would assume the Stars, who took him in the first round, pushed him to go the OHL route. Or I could take a more cynical position and note that Hockey Canada is probably more likely to take an OHL kid than an NCAA kid.