After three games, defenceman Dane Olsen is only four points away from equalling his career high of eight with the St. Albert Steel.
Olsen’s four assists put him in third place in team scoring, prior to the Steel’s weekend trip to southern Alberta.
“I’ve been keeping it simple. I’m also getting more ice time than I was last year and I’m on the power play,” Olsen said Wednesday. “Hopefully I can keep it up but if I don’t my job is to take care of my end of the rink.”
During an injury-plagued 2009/10 campaign, Olsen was literally hurting for points. In 46 games he scored twice and added six assists.
“I started off the year with a broken wrist [at the Perry Pearn three-on-three camp] and then I took a shot in the foot, where I couldn’t put my skate on for about a week, and then I separated my shoulder,” said the soft-spoken 19-year-old from Island Lake. “I was hurt quite a bit. It wasn’t the season I hoped for. I don’t know what the coaches thought but I was definitely disappointed in it and this year it’s definitely going to be better.”
Olsen is determined to have a breakout season.
“I’m looking to be more of a go-to guy and a leader in the room. I’m sure the coaches are expecting big things out of me too,” said the co-recipient of the 2009 Steel coach’s award.
Olsen played his minor hockey in Athabasca, then spent two years of bantam AAA in Fort Saskatchewan. In midget AAA with the KC Pats, the Drayton Valley Thunder traded his Alberta Junior Hockey League rights to the Steel for centre Wayne Mount.
Olsen wrapped up his second season with the Pats as the team’s fifth-highest scorer with eight goals and 17 assists in 36 games.
As an AJHL rookie with the Steel he posted one goal and five assists in 50 games.
As one of four returning defencemen on the 24-man roster, Olsen has been paired with rookie Austin Yadlowski as a mentor for the promising 17-year-old from the Southside Athletic Club.
“He’s doing real well for his first three games in the league. He doesn’t look out of place at all. He definitely belongs,” said Olsen,
His fourth point in three games as Yadlowski’s partner was the helper on Ryan Berlin’s first AJHL goal, a power-play marker in Tuesday’s 6-1 loss to the Bonnyville Pontiacs.
“We got off to a bit of a slow start. We came out of the first period down 3-0. In the second period we got that power play goal and it kind of swung the momentum a bit but then in the third we took too many penalties to make a comeback,” Olsen said.
The Steel were badly outshot 18-7 in the first frame. A pair of goals in the last minute by Bonnyville left the visitors reeling.
In period two, Devon Kalinski of the Pontiacs was penalized five minutes for a hit to the head. Spencer Pommells took exception to Kalinski’s roughhouse tactic and the pair traded punches. The AJHL also suspended Kalinski for three games.
The Pontiacs sealed the deal with three goals on the power play in the third. “We kind of got outworked in the first period and then the penalties killed us in the third,” Olsen said. “They play good in their own rink. It’s a smaller rink and they cycle well.”
Shots overall were 44-31 for Bonnyville. In the Steel net was Rhys Hadfield (2-1, 3.00 GAA).
The Steel were coming off their fastest start in team history with wins of 6-2 against the Drumheller Dragons and 5-1 against the Thunder at Performance Arena last weekend.
“It was a good learning experience; you can’t get cocky after winning two games,” Olsen said. “We can beat a team like Bonnyville. It was just an off night and that happens sometimes.”
The first of three straight road games for the Steel was Friday night against the Okotoks Oilers, but score was unavailable at press time. Tonight they face-off against the Canmore Eagles and Sunday’s matinee is against the Calgary Canucks.
“We want to win all three of them, that’s the goal, and hopefully we’ll pull it off,” Olsen said. “Three in a row is always tough but it’s good for team bonding. I’m excited to see how our team can do in that type of situation.”
Next Saturday at 7 p.m. the Steel host the Olds Grizzlys.
