Don't Call It A Comeback

After I wrote last week about Garret Sparks suiting up with Bloomington as their EBUG for a week, I didn't expect to write a second story about a former NHL player finding work in the ECHL. The man to the left, though, has given me that opportunity as he signed a standard player contract with the ECHL's Jacksonville Icemen yesterday, and the veteran of 73 NHL games appears to have played last night as the Icemen hosted the Atlanta Gladiators. If you don't recognize him from that picture immediately, that's alright because I'm not sure that Steve Oleksy was a household name in any city where he played, but Oleksy is now a member of the Jacksonville Icemen for the time being!

Oleksy is a 39 year-old hockey player who last suited up for the Orlando Solar Bears in 2022-23 where he skated in four games. He logged 28 games of ice-time the season with Orland before that after playing in sixteen games with the Toledo Walleye. His last NHL games were in 2016-17 with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and he's since logged time in the AHL, Austria, and the ECHL. He hasn't played more than 54 games in any season since the 54 he skated in for the San Diego Gulls in 2017-18. What I'm saying is this isn't a comeback.

I'm not faulting Steve Oleksy in any way for extending his career by a few more games and maybe even a few more months. Transitioning to everyday life for some players takes some time, and finding a place where one can continue playing hockey at a higher level helps to make that change a little easier. Since leaving Lake Superior State University in 2009, Oleksy has played some sort of professional hockey regularly outside of the last few years. He didn't play in 2020-21 as well, but his 73 games of NHL service are complemented by 411 AHL games and 192 ECHL games including last night's contest.

Being a defenceman, I don't expect Oleksy to be Bobby Orr in the ECHL, but he'll add some muscle and experience to the Icemen lineup. He wasn't a factor last night as he recorded a high-sticking penalty just 3:49 into the game, but he was a +1 on the night despite the Gladiators ripping the Icemen by a 7-2 score. Those two teams will meet again at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville at 7pm ET tonight before Jacksonville heads up to Atlanta for a game at 3pm ET on Sunday in the unbalanced home-and-home series.

The Icemen sit with a 9-10-0-0 record after the loss last night, but hold fourth-place in the ECHL South Division. Comparatively, Atlanta is 13-4-0-0 this season, sit in second-place with an eight point advantage on the Icemen, and have two games in-hand on Jacksonville. Needless to say, Jacksonville needs to find a way to take points off Atlanta if they want to have any hope of catching them. Sitting tenth-overall in the conference isn't good for playoffs.

For those that are unaware, Steve Oleksy also played with Team USA at the 2008 and 2009 IIHF Men's InLine Hockey World Championships. Team USA lost the bronze medal game to Germany by an 8-7 score in 2008, but Oleksy finished tied for fourth-best in scoring in the tournament with 11 points. In 2009, he helped USA win a silver medal after falling to Sweden 7-6 in the gold medal game, but Oleksy wasn't among the top scorers at that tournament. It should also be noted that Steve married Brooke Bollea, better known as Brooke Hogan, on June 8, 2022, and is the proud father of twins born in January 2025!

Obviously, Steve's got a lot going on with two young kids and married life eating up a chunk of time, but it appears he still has something left to give when it comes to hockey. There's no guarantee on how long he'll continue to play nor is there any certainty that'll be with team after this weekend, but the newest member of the Jacksonville Icemen looks like he's ready to help the team as much as he can!

Just please don't call it a comeback!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!