Oleksy to return for third season

(Boise, ID) ? Defenseman Steve Oleksy has agreed to terms with the ECHL?s Idaho Steelheads and will be in training camp with the team, Head Coach and Director of Hockey operations Hardy Sauter announced on Wednesday. The 25-year-old Oleksy (pronounced oh-LEX-ee) is returning for his third season with the Steelheads. He originally signed with the team in January 2010, completing the 2009-2010 campaign with Idaho as the team reached the Kelly Cup finals. He returned last season and solidified himself as one of the team?s top blue-liners with 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists) and a team-high 134 penalty minutes for the Steelheads before being loaned to the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League. ?Steve is a guy who got an opportunity last season and really took advantage of it,? Sauter said. ?You want the kinds of players that will step up like Steve has. He got good experience with us and in the AHL last season, so we?re really happy to have him back.? During his time in the AHL, the top level of minor-league hockey in North America, Oleksy skated in 17 games, picking up four assists and 39 penalty minutes. He also appeared in three playoff games with Lake Erie. Oleksy is the fifth player on Idaho?s training camp roster that played college hockey at Lake Superior State, joining Kory Scoran, Matt Cowie, Chad Nehring, and Tyson Hobbins. Training camp begins in Boise on Monday, October 3, with a Season-Ticket Holder Only exhibition game scheduled for Friday, October 7, at CenturyLink Arena. Steelhead Season-Ticket Holders get six games FREE when they sign up for full-season packages. Plans for all 36 home games start at just $275 per seat. Partial-season plans are also available, with the regular-season home-opener coming on October 15 against the Utah Grizzlies. Contact the Steelheads front office at 208.383.0080 for more information.