When Jamie Oleksiak declared his intention to play for Canada at the World Junior Championship, he opened himself up to a lot of attention.
A dual citizen, Oleksiak had to choose between trying out for Canada or the United States. Once the six-foot-seven defenseman chose Canada, he was faced with the same topic of discussion over and over. And over.
“It was pretty good,” Oleksiak said with a chuckle. “It makes my interviews being simple and I know exactly what I’m going to say. It’s a lot of fun. It makes my job a little easier so I appreciate it.”
The last player to choose the maple leaf over the stars and stripes at the World Juniors was Brandon Kozun. He left the tournament with a silver medal. Team USA captured gold.
Regardless of outcome, Oleksiak said his decision to choose Canada was justified Wednesday when he was one of 22 players selected to represent Canada at the 2012 World Junior Championship.
“The whole thing has been justified,” Oleksiak said. “Since I’ve made the decision it’s been nothing but up for me and great. Can’t look back, everything has been positive. It’s been a great experience.”
Aaron Vickers is the managing editor of Future Considerations and can be found on Twitter. For all the latest Future Considerations news and posts, follow FC’s Official Twitter Feed, on YouTube and on Facebook!