Jackson Oleson - WHL Combine Day 2 Part 2

Good start for Jackson in the morning.  But if anything the games get more intense as players get more comfortable.  Players at higher levels know how to play the game.  They can figure out teammates quickly and be effective right away (see Olympic hockey).  As the game intensifies, you must raise your level.  Sometimes you won't get the bounces, but putting yourself in good position will always give you the chance to be successful.  On for game 2...

Game 2:  GREY vs TEAM Red

Ok back on.  We had a nice break and now the boys are circling in the warm up.  Jack looks sharp.  We are playing team Red.  Same blend of players. 

1-0  RED.  Somehow a TEAM red player got loose and Jackson tracked him perfectly pushing him into the corner on the right side.  The player ripped a shot from the bottom of the face-off circle reaching around Jackson.  No way this goes in.  But it did.  Just passed the goalies shoulder.  This was a Gretzky kind of goal.  Can’t blame Jackson for this one.  He looks up at me in the stands and at the same time we shrugged our shoulders.  Nothing you can do kid.  That kid purchased that goal.

Ok crap.  Jackson just couldn't clear the crease and now they are up 2-0 and Jackson is -2.  That is he out on the ice for 2 goals against him, dang.  But actually, directly engaged in the play for these 2 goals…oh the life of a defenseman.  He can’t budge these kids and they thrash.  This really looks like NHL hockey but miniature size.

I must say these kids have never played together but the tape to tape passes, finding seams, moving the puck.  You would think they have played together for years. 

Jacks on a PK.  It’s a total battle.  They are pinned in.  Smash, J takes a hit.  Sends the puck around the boards.  Back in front of the net.  Off the goalie to the right side.  Jackson’s on it.  35 secs to kill.  It’s a scrum but Jack comes away with it and a nice high sailing sauce out of the zone.  Great PK. Off to the bench.

Crap 3-0.  These guys are killing us.

Jackson’s head’s on a swivel.  They are buzzing like a swarm of bees.  He is trashing left and thrashing right.  Twist.  Twist again, twist again. Smash.  It’s a scrum.  Smash.  It’s on his stick.  He’s spinning off and now behind the net on his own.  His center swings in.  Jack hits him and the play is going the other way.  Get to the bench kid.  Get to the bench.

Hooorayy.  3 -1.  Nifty little goal by the Montana kid.  This kid is a tad bit taller than Jack.  Another one of the smaller boys.  Freaking scrappy this kid.  His dad says he plays football too, and it shows.

The puck is pushed deep in our zone.  Jackson hustling to get it.  Man on.  Jackson shows patience, NICE SPIN OFF, no panic here.  Moves towards the far side boards pushing the puck out, and a winger swoops down, and a tape to tape pass.  Again the Grizzly stuff.  He has been able to make that move 100 times this season.  It’s baked in.  I just wasn't sure if it would work against these guys.  They can’t pin him.  They can’t pin him!!!

Jack back out now.  He’s in a deep zone battle.  Dang what a move.  He just sent Middendorf on a break for a goal.  Assist Jackson.  Great goal.  3 -2.  Jackson only -1 now.

It’s late in the 2^nd.   A few more shifts by Jack.  Just solid.  He just handled a 2 on 1 rush as both players ended up condensing on him.  He stuck his little body in there and just hung in the fight.  The pucks off into the far board corner.  He gets some support from teammates and they are moving the puck out.

Late 3^rd, we've pushed the puck in deep and have some juice.  Red’s line looks a bit gassed.  Kind of like a power play but they have numbers.  The entire Red team has collapsed in with GREY possessing the puck.  HOLY HOLY @##$!   It’s a quick pass to GREY player with a one touch pass to Jackson slicing in from D.  He is in on high slot, a ONE TIMER LOW.  It’s IN.  It’s IN.  HOLY @#$$!  It’s 3-3 and Jackson getting the mob treatment.  Don’t hurt him.  Well the entire building knows who my kid is now.  I am not embarrassed.  I've done worse.

We have a handle on this now.  4-3 in the 3^rd us.  Nope.  Tied up at 4.  Ouch another quick one and 5-4 them.  Wow how the tide turned quickly.  These guys are just so good.  You turn your head and bang, bang, bang.

Crap 6-4.  None on Jack, he’s playing well. We've pulled our goalie and Jack’s out.  Crap, they have him one on one in the neutral zone.  Collapsinnnnggggg.  He got him.  Jack got him.  Saved an empty netter.  Nice play on the body to tie the opponent up.  To the bench.  Man my hearts racing.

Way cool.  A Grey goal narrows it to 6-5.  This would be a nail biter if I had any nails to bite.  This is double bad, cuz I am sipping an Americano.  Hearts racing in over drive. Defibrillator around I hope.

Dang a penalty.  We are pulling the goalie anyway and going for it.

45 seconds to go.  Jackson to the bench.  He is spent.  What a push. 

Some great chaaaannnnnccccesss and buzzer.  Red takes this one 6-5.  What a game.  Can’t wait to see Jack and ask him how it feels.  He really made an impact in this one.

It’s bed time.  We have the final game at 8:15 in the am.  Hope to catch the concierge lounge in the morning for some more good eggs.

Night night.

Jackson Oleson - WHL Combine Day 2 Part 1

It is game day!  You have gotten through all of the measurable testing.  The coaches and scouts have seen you perform in that arena.  Now comes the most important part of the weekend.  Can you play?  Can you play at speed?  Can you play with guys that you have not practiced with?  Can you be an impact player shift after shift?  It does not always look like scoring goals and obliterating someone across the middle of the ice.  You must be able to move your feet defensively.  Make crisp outlet passes on the breakout.  Contain or beat a player 1 on 1.  Coaches look at a complex array of attributes to select players for a team.  That’s the beautiful part about teams.  No two players are the same, but the sum of all their parts can make a championship team.  Let’s see how Jackson’s first couple of games went…

GAME 1:

Okay here we go.  No messing around.  It’s game day.  There will be 3 games.  Two today and then a final on Sunday morning.  It’s a good start.  Sleep in till 7:30 and then a good Marriott breakfast.  Some eggs (Particularly good ones.  Not to dry, not to runny – in the Goldie Locks zone.  Just right…)

Game Day. Nothing special so far.  Arrive at the rink.  Got a great parking spot and the rink is starting to buzz.  It’s 8:30.

Jackson is dressed and focused.  No more joking around with him about the size of those kids.  This day 2 and he is ready to mix it up and play.

It’s 9:30.  They are buzzing around a normal warm up.  They are playing TEAM White.  In reviewing the roster, a lot of AAA by the names of these kids.  From So Cal, MN, Colorado, Dallas, San Diego, Phoenix, Alaska.  Yikes, they have Logan Harris on that team. Believe it or not Jackson’s teammate on a Mite team not so long ago.  Except Logan is now 6’3 at 15.   I am sure he remembers Jackson and is fond of him.  I hope he remembers that Jackson is a nice happy kid when they get in the corners.

On our side TEAM GREY, same cities and states as WHITE.  Just one stands out “ELEVATE Academy” Defense – Jackson Oleson

It’s 9:45 and puck drops.  It’s not Jack’s shift.  He is on the bench.  GOOD. He can get a look at what this is like.  Man, this is fast.  Bats out of hell.  They have something to show off for.  A full line up of scouts line the top row of the stands. 

It is 9:47 and Jack’s out.  He’s little and right off the bat TEAM WHITE come rushing down on him.  His D partner is a big boy and has some skate in him.  He is in a good position, but Jack’s got to make this play and with a cool simple poke check the job is done.

Jack’s back out.  This is fast.  Jack looks fast.  It’s a dump in and he is first man on.  Nice little fake right then spins back and skates around the net and hits his winger for a standard break out.  NICE!  The Grizzly season made this possible.  Total confidence with the puck no hesitation at all.

1-0   WHITE … Dang … Jackson on the bench for this one.  I think he would have made this play.

Another nice shift.   But nothing notable.

Mid 1^st now.  They are running 20 minute clocks.  This is going to be a lot of hockey! 

Ohhhhh crap.  A coyote kid just got Scot Stevens’d in the neutral zone.  Don’t know the reference, check the link. Just nasty.  If that had been Jack, then … pieces of Jack.  There is a clear etiquette here.  They don’t seem to be zeroing in to annihilate Jack.  But this is more than he has seen.  Another good shift.

Jack’s having trouble clearing the crease.  Hard to move mountains, as they say.  Puck’s on his stick and just executed a perfect cycle.  He slipped the puck behind him on the boards to the center and knew he would pay a price … took a big hit, but the center is moving up the ice with tremendous speed.  He’s picked by their D.  No way can Jack move it down that fast.  Much different from the skills session.  These kids are getting it done while fighting off lions and tigers.

Score is 1-1 now.  Nice goal by one of our boys.

Jack has a guy flying down the boards 1 on 1.  Jack rides him off into the corner.  I was sure he was beat but he stayed in it and got enough of this kid to push him off, then nice little tag by Jackson to take his kid out of the play. 

Jacks on the PK now.  Playing it straight.  No frills.  They have us pinned in as Jack wraps it around the boards with no clear.  More pressure now.  Dang that TEAM WHITE kid is fast.  I wish there was time to see who he was and what team.  Didn’t recognize the colors.  The Stars, Kings, and Coyotes kids are obvious.  Colorado maybe?  Anyway.  Pucks cleared Jackson heading to bench.  Did his job.

Oooohhh.  Harris had Jackson line up but didn’t finish.  Thanks Logan. 

There are a lot of 1 on 1 and 2 on 1’s in this game really testing the D.  Jackson just took the body leading to a scrum in the corner.  He’s thrashing, slash left then spin slash right.  He came away with the puck and now moving it up the ice.  Nice long pass through the neutral zone and we have numbers going the other way.  Just dang.  Just an awesome play.  Wow.

My phone is about to die so my play calling voice recordings of the game are going to stop.  Rest from memory.

I don’t really have a good memory, sorry for the black out.  So game is over with a 3-2 win GREY!! Jackson was plus 2 with no goals against.  There were so many more awesome plays I just can’t remember them all to describe here. 

There is a player parent meeting and I plan to stay consistent and find a way to duck out.  I just hate parent meetings.  Jack can attend, I am heading to the car for a quick nap and follow up on emails.  It is so warm here.  Perfect nap time.

We don't currently have video of Jackson's team playing, but follow the link for video of a couple other teams to see the game play.  Good, fast hockey!

Jackson Oleson - WHL Combine Day 1 Part 2 and 3 ***Updated***

Combines are a series of long days strung together.  As a player, you are on stage the entire time and you know it.  Coaches, scouts, agents, trainers, parents...everyone is watching you.  Stop watches are ticking, pens are scratching on notepads feverishly, grown men whisper to each other about this player and that player and who is looking good and who is not.  How do you perform off the ice?  How do you perform on the ice?  How do you interact with other players around you?  How do you respond to the spotlight shining brightly on you?  These are questions each player must answer and how they do may determine their future in hockey.  After all the off ice intensity of the morning on Day 1, it is now time to hit the ice...

4/17 12:55pm

Lunch is over and all the boys are gearing up for the skate.  Jackson is now out of the locker room and the unis are beyond cool.  Under Armour logos to the max.  They really have these kids looking pro!

The layout for the rest of the day is a skate with basic drills apparently for the scouts to get a quick view of the basics then a skills evaluation tonight.

Jackson is dressed and ready to go.  The pinnie signifies defense.  Yes, in the land of giants the little whipper snapper just shines on D.  Funny, there is one other small guy Jack’s height who is also a D, however, that kid is about 3 feet thick and was lightning fast in the off ice eval.  It will be interesting to see how this all goes.    

There is a quick skate around warm up, then the lead coach calls practice to order.  The first drill is standard two lines on one side of the ice each line on the boards.  This is a 2 on 0 cross ice passing drill at full speed.  Jackson drew a good partner both flying passes tape to tape.  Looks like the Elevate stuff Findorff’s having the kids do is a payoff.  Down and back, down and back.  Some of the kids have a few flubs but all and all these kids can play.

A bit of a variation on the next version of the same drill.  Down then curl back leave the puck for your partner then break out.  Again long cross ice pass and “YES”  tape to tape.  The little guy is looking great.  It appears that the goal of this session is a quick fundamentals check.  How they skate and pass.  The next three drills are again more variations of the same.

Essentially the entire practice is:

2 on 0  go down inside come back outside

2 on 0 go down outside peal to the boards and down outside

2 on 0 do down outside peal with back checkers

Next set was neutral zone weaving passing drills.  I’ll leave it at that.  Way too complicated for me to describe.  Thankfully I don’t have to do these since I can’t even explain what the #$% is going on.  A Findorff thing…

Last drill was a 1 on 0 shooting drill.  The innovation here was if the shooter misses they must get their puck and take it back to center ice.  Reminds the player to get his rebound and all the pucks are in one spot for easy pick up.  NOTED!!

Same old Jackson, nice shake and bake but didn't take this one very seriously.  A good chance to show off kinda wasted. I’ll have a chat with him later to remind him he is on stage.  But what would I know?

The good news is that 71 is Jackson’s teammate.  Unfortunately, a lot of the guys are this big.  I suggested to Jackson that he offer 71 a salary position as body guard for the rest of this weekend.  Certainly offer to polish his skates and dry his gear in any case. 

This one is in the books.  Jack had a solid showing.  The Findorff practices with the Elevate crew and the Blue kids have totally paid off. 

We have four hours before the skills evaluation.  Jack and I have talked it over and are discussing how to best prepare for the next session.  We were thinking back to the hotel for a nap.  A little debate and weighing the options and we made the right choice.  Shopping!  The rip curl outlet is about 15 miles away and that place is wicked cool!

4/17 – Evening Skills Competition

Still waiting for the next on ice session.  I picked up the printed rosters and just flipping through.  Players representing all the big name teams are here.  Shattuck’s,  MN Edina, MN here,  MN there,  Chicago Fury, Colorado, Dallas,  Alaska, Phoenix and of course the So Cal kids.  The Jr. Ducks finished ranked 9^th at the 2000 group this year and the Kings finished 15^th.  All the big names are here (Harris, Castro, Ensign, …) and all very familiar to the little guy.

Now this is getting even cooler.  The ice is arranged with obstacles that have laser start and stop systems.  The way this works is each kid gets RFID scanned prior to each run.  They bolt through the start laser and off to complete the obstacles.  The kid then races to the finish lasers where their time is recorded and displayed in real-time on a leader board. 

The weave agility with the puck is the first event and Jackson just misses the leader board by a hair.  He is in this thing.  I think I am the only one taking pictures of the leader board.  Nut parent is what most are thinking I am sure.

Beyond COOL!!! But just noticing Jackson’s profile picture.  Looking all laid back, and what are you holding on to?  Come on kid!!!!  This is an amazing opportunity. “Sit up, Look sharp, act like you …" If there was a count I am sure this would have been the 100,000,000^th time I said that exact phrase.  This is a sports event not a rap video.  Millie could have raised him better!!

For the weave agility, Jackson was the last to go in the last group.  OMG the kid finished 2^nd!!!!  Findorff was right,  “Wait till they see him skate”!!!!  The leader, “Griffith”, that’s the other defenseman I mentioned that is Jackson’s size.  He was the wicked fast kid in the off ice.  Jackson can really tighten things up on the ice it seems.

Next up is Transition Agility.  Basically same idea just adding a backwards transition both ways in the mix.  This really separates the kids with big strong legs that can skate fast north and south from the kids that can stay in the play.  AND ……  OMG …. Jackson makes the board again and finishes 7^th in this group. 

The next event was transition ability with the puck.  Jackson had an amazing looking run going then fumbled the puck on the last transition.  The kid was moving.  Feet flying backwards.  I think he is the fastest out there, surely would have been #1 on the board.  Around the last flag he went to one hand control of the puck transitioning from full speed forward to his left side.  Now this is a specialty for him, but with one hand on the puck you have no room for error.  ERROR. 

This must be very difficult.  You can tell these kids want to go full speed all out.  The judges are being fair and are letting the kids go again, however, you can tell the 2^nd pass is more cautious.  So, Jackson now lines up for another run and sure enough this looks half speed but it’s a clean finish and he misses the leader board by .01 seconds.  This was his event!!

Following this is the “Forward Agility Event”.  There is one kid out here that was born for this one.  There is no one even close.  Essentially, you skate forward in a hurry to then wait for a signal telling you to dart left or right nearly 90 degree horizontal. You have to be left to right on a dime.  You do this twice in each run.  This kid times it perfect and is a showcase.  Jackson, nowhere close on this one.  Back to the lab again “Yo”.

Another event was the backward straight away without the puck then the backwards straight away with the puck.  Again, Jackson’s looks to be #1.  But, the board is hung up.  I can’t tell if a score registered or not.  RFID tag mis read?  Software error?  Just dang.  This was all him.

So it’s around 7:30 and this event is in the bag.  Off to dinner where I can’t wait to hear what it’s like to participate in an event like this.  What it must feel like?  

Jackson Oleson - WHL Combine Day 1

The Western Hockey League is one of the premier junior hockey leagues in the world.  Just last year the WHL has 37 players drafted into the NHL, including 4 in the top 10!  It is a breeding ground for top end talent that has major impact on the sport we all love.  One of our, Jackson Oleson, was one of 82 players invited to the WHL combine in Anaheim, CA.  For one, we very proud of his accomplishment.  More so, we are excited at the opportunity he has worked so hard to earn.  This another of a long line of stories about our youth going and making something of themselves in the world of hockey.

Jackson and his dad, Van, are in Anaheim now and are recording their entire weekend for us to share...

So it’s day 1 of the WHL combine here in sunny Anaheim.  The invite letter was cool enough, “Congratulations, you are among 82 of the selected kids in the western US.” But in walking up for registration we just could not believe what we were seeing.  There was a full pro layout including obstacle course, jump station, sprint track, long jump, etc.  I mean the layout put on by Under Armour left us speechless.  The only thing missing was the ESPN truck!

9:00 am

We are next up at the registration desk. Jackson receives his combine swag!  Under Armor shoes, shorts, shirt, socks, Evaluation RFID band and a bunch of other stuff.  I thought, “Shoes? Whoa!"  My mind was racing. In all the travel, gas money, effort, pain, sweat, and accomplishment to get here and standing there proudly watching Jack be treated like a Pro my thought went all the way back to “man it’s warm here”  and “I wish I could get a pair of those shoes”.

Jackson looked freaked a bit.  What the “@#!” am I in for here?  Jackson was in the land of giants.  Had to double check and make sure we were in the right place.  “Excuse me sir, Are these the 18s??????”  No sir, these are the 15s.  The twilight zone tune played in my head and my eyes popped out.  Actually a few expletives.  Just keeping this update clean.  Jackson isn't saying much at this point.  He is gulping a bit more than usual.  They are getting ready for the fitness test so we will report after.

9:30 am

Ok, so I am just realizing that Jackson does not know really how to run or jump high.  Right off the bat on the first event, they had to lower the high jump bar and adjust to his height.  Comically, they had to pull this thing way down.  Jackson JUMPS!  Hey not bad.  Kind of hit the middle.  JUMP and JUMP again.  I had to call Findorff right away, “What do we do?  He doesn’t know how to jump."  Michael said something reassuring, me, “Gotta go”, next event.  As Jackson moved on to the long jump station, in my peripheral vision I see a trainer raising the high jump back up for the rest of the boys.

Now the long jump, he is up.  I'm thinking, oh man he has never done this.  After all what does this have to do with skating?  I never thought of this stuff.  Now I'm feeling like I didn’t prepare him properly.  Hours and hours of skating flashed before my eyes.  Back on the phone with Findorff.  “He doesn’t know how to jump”, something reassuring from Michael, the jump, “Not bad…ok ok...Michael, gotta go."

10:00 am

It's sprint time.  Hmmmm sprints, can he run?  Good news is we took a running clinic in Findorff’s training program.  Just last week, we went down and trained with Jo Jo Townsel the former Receiver for the Jets.  After that I realized that I nor Jackson actually knew how to run.  It was good stuff, let’s see if it helps. 

Weeeeelllllll, need to work with Jo Jo some more.  Sending that email out after this report.  Wow, that other kid was fast.

Back on the phone with Findorff.  “Dude!?!?!  Dude?!?!?!” more reassuring words, this time I listened “Van, just wait till they see him skate …” Yep, yep...That’s right.  Wait till they see him skate.

10:30 

Just talking with Jackson now since he is between events.  He isn’t really saying much.  I can see the nerves are displayed like an advertisement in Times Square.  Off to lunch.  Next up, on ice practice!

 

To be continued...

 

Tahoe Hockey Player Spotlight Series

Hey everyone,

We are starting a new blog here at the rink to let you all know about everything related to your skating rink here in South Lake Tahoe.  This version of our blog will focus on all things hockey.  We will publish stories about anything and everything we can think of to keep you in the know about all the fun stuff going on and the great people that are involved. 

This time of year we have many kids either returning from their past season experience away from Tahoe, or preparing to go somewhere to further pursue their hockey dreams.  This often involves going to camps and tournament to be seen by coaches and scouts.  As we have a number of kids participating in these sorts of events over the next 2 months, we will highlight their experiences and tell you their story as they go through the rigors of trying to stand out in the ultra competitive hockey world. 

So how will this work?  We will generally put up quick posts on our Facebook page to alert you of new stories.  Links will bring you over here to blogger for the whole story.  While you're here, be sure to leave comments, ideas, encouragement for our players, and anything else you can think of. 
With that, here we go!