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Traverse City: Siebenaler prepared for big opportunity
- Updated: September 16, 2016
As the Traverse City Prospect Tournament gets underway tonight, four members of the Blue Jackets squad are looking to complete the championship “three-peat.”
One of those players is defenseman Blake Siebenaler, who is not only gearing up for the tournament but also for his first year playing professional hockey within the Blue Jackets organization.
“It’s a big year for me for me coming up,” Siebenaler told BlueJackets.com. “I’m just trying to go out there and play my game and have fun at the same time. I try not to worry too much about (competing for an NHL spot), and the more I do that, the better I play.”
Siebenaler, a third-round pick (No. 77 overall) in the 2014 NHL Draft, is a skilled offensive defenseman who is coming off a three-year run with the Niagara Ice Dogs of the OHL. He was the second-highest scoring defenseman on the team in his last two season.
“I’m a defenseman who likes to play offense,” Siebenaler said. “I like that little flair to my game. I like to join the rush, I like to backcheck too, I like to play physical.”
But what’s as interesting as Siebenaler’s play is how he found himself in that role.
The Toledo native was a forward until he arrived at a hockey camp where the team was struggling to find defensemen.
“Someone said we need an extra ‘D,’ and I was like, …
