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Steve Oleksy found himself in a peculiar situation at the start of the 2015-16 season.
The veteran defenseman joined the Penguins after leaving their biggest rival, the Hershey Bears. With Hershey, Oleksy played a key role in the Bears-Penguins rivalry over the years. But now, as a Penguins player, Oleksy wanted nothing more than to beat his former team in the second round of the postseason.
That didn’t happen, but Oleksy is still proud of his first year as a member of the Penguins.
“It wasn’t exactly the ending we wanted, but with the player changes and coaching changes we had this year, as a team collectively we played our best hockey in the playoffs,” Oleksy said. “Throughout the course of my career I think this was the most enjoyable season I’ve had as a hockey player.”
Now that he has wrapped up his seventh season of pro hockey, Oleksy, 30, looks back on a year that saw him set a career high in points (19) and rack up 123 penalty minutes to lead the Penguins.
In the room, Oleksy was one of the main leaders of the club, along with captain Tom Kostopoulos. Playing on the same team with Kostopoulos helped Oleksy evolve as a player, he said.
“I can’t tell you how much I learned from him, from the moment I met him in Pittsburgh,” Oleksy said. “How he carries himself on and off the ice, approaches things. I learned a lot of valuable lessons that I’ll carry throughout the rest of my career.”
And as evidence to his physical play, Oleksy was often seen sporting a black eye during the season and the playoffs.
Now, with a summer to rest, Oleksy’s bumps and bruises will have plenty of time to heal.
Maybe.
“Every summer I think I’m getting away from it and I still end up with some stitches and a black eye. Somehow I always seem to catch one,” Oleksy joked. “I’ll enjoy it for a couple weeks, but I’m sure I’ll have one through the course of the summer, however I get it.”
Still, Oleksy doesn’t plan on taking much time off from hockey. He’ll take a short break and then begin training for next season. He’ll also ponder his first season as a Penguin and the postseason run that saw the team sweep Providence and push Hershey to seven games, only to lose in overtime.
Oleksy believes Wilkes-Barre/Scranton could’ve gone much farther in the playoffs, and it’s a big reason why he’d be happy to be a Penguins for a second year.
“I would love to come back. It was a great, great experience,” Oleksy said. “I can’t speak highly enough about everyone here, the trainers, coaches, upper management and my teammates.”