Oleksiak: A Kraken Anchor

Barely 24 hours after finishing a grueling 82-game season, Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak was asked to sum up the inaugural season.
"It's been a tough year," Oleksiak said. "And we just want to make sure that we learn from it and hit the ground running next year."

The Kraken signed the 6-foot-7 blueliner as a free agent during July's NHL Expansion Draft from the Dallas Stars and hoped he'd be a steady fixture on Seattle's back end. Oleksiak delivered and was that anchor, providing a physical presence with the Kraken defensive corps.
He isn't and wasn't flashy, but he was dependable, playing just under 20 minutes a game for coach Dave Hakstol every night.
"A big goal this year was to try and establish a role," Oleksiak said. "I think this year it took some time, but as the year progressed, I felt more and more comfortable with what I was doing and playing a defensive role and focusing on that. It was definitely a year I learned a lot and a year of growth and have to take that forward."
It was a learning year for Oleksiak and the rest of the team's roster.
They were all new, thrown together by the NHL Expansion Draft during a sunny day at Gas Works Park in July. Oleksiak was there that day. A full season later, he reflects on building from an inaugural campaign that was tough due to COVID outbreaks, some injuries, and some tough results on the ice for a team that failed to make the playoffs.
The unfamiliarity of a new team took some time to overcome but Oleksiak said next year the Kraken can come in full speed ahead.
"You're not going to be spending time in training camp going through systems and feeling out who does what," he said. "We can just come in at training camp, hit the ground running, and go from there."

Oleksiak and the Kraken eventually figured each other out and over the second half of the season, they started to play better, and win some games. That's given the team some optimism and excitement moving into the summer and looking forward to next season.
"I think there's a lot of positives you can take from the year," Oleksiak said. "We showed that we can skate with some very competitive teams and when we're on I think we're tough to beat and tough to play against. I think we just have to focus on that and just make sure that we are establishing our identity as a team that's gonna work hard and outwork other teams and that's key for us."
A recent example of playing with and beating good teams came on April 3 at Climate Pledge Arena.
The Kraken beat the playoff-bound Dallas Stars 4-1
.
The Stars had yet to clinch a position in the postseason and desperately needed the win. Seattle delayed that for them and Oleksiak was front and center. No, he didn't score a goal nor record an assist. But he did play over 22 minutes, was on the ice for two goals for and none against, and threw three big hits.
Those numbers don't all show up in the scoresheet, but his teammates noticed, giving him the Davey Jones Hat in the dressing room afterward, naming him their player of the game.
It reinforces that Oleksiak is the type of defenseman that every team can use. A solid player that you can count on to show up every night. It's a role he's comfortable with.
"We had a lot of guys that could contribute offensively, and I think they really looked at me to be a steady defensive presence," he said. "And that's something I try to take pride in and something that I'm still working on and something that I think, moving forward, I want to definitely key on."
The Kraken are at the Community Iceplex to start this week, cleaning out their lockers before heading home for the summer. It's hard not to look forward but it's also a time to take a moment and reflect on the 82 games that just happened.
"It's tough to really sum up because it's definitely been a whirlwind year," Oleksiak said. "One thing I will say is, we're just very appreciative and impressed with the fans. They showed up every single night regardless of what the score was, or what was happening at the time. They support us, follow it and they deserve playoff hockey and we're gonna try and bring it to them."