Olsen finds dream destination

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This article was published 15/05/2025 (310 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Logan Olsen was picked by the Brandon Wheat Kings in the Western Hockey League draft last week, he ended up exactly where he wanted to be.

The 15-year-old defenceman from Warman, Sask., was at school on draft day because he had a test that day, and didn’t want to miss it. Later that day, he was monitoring the draft on his phone when Brandon had the 107th overall pick.

“I saw my name pop by Brandon and was really excited,” Olsen said. “It’s all good.”

His family shared the feeling.

“They were excited,” Olsen said. “That’s kind of where we wanted to go. That’s the main place I wanted to go and my family, especially my dad, was pretty set on Brandon as well.”

It turns out the reason is the team’s Saskatoon connection, which includes star forward Roger McQueen.

“It’s just a really good organization from what we’ve heard,” Olsen said. “We don’t team personally but we’ve heard of them. The McQueens say they’re happy in Brandon so once I heard that, my mindset was on Brandon.”

The five-foot-10, 145-pound blue-liner lived in Humboldt until he was six, when the family — including father Shayn, mother Carla and brother Carson — moved to Warman, a short drive north of Saskatoon.

He took to skates early.

“I used to walk around the house on the carpet with my skates on my feet,” Olsen said. “I think I was two, and then got on the ice around three.”

He began to play when he was four.

Olsen alternated through all the positions when he was young but ultimately settled on defence.

“I was always forward until I turned 10, which is when I changed, because my brother changed as well,” Olsen said. “I’ve stuck with it ever since, and I’m thinking that was a good thing.”

His older brother is a defenceman in the BCHL and is committed to the University of Massachusetts Lowell, where he’ll be a teammate of recently graduated Wheat Kings defenceman Luke Shipley in two seasons.

Both Olsen’s dad and uncle played in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League as well, with his father a huge proponent of his hockey career.

“My dad is the backbone of everything,” Olsen said. “He’ll take a day off work to drive me to Edmonton or something. He’ll do everything he can to get me on the ice playing hockey, and the same with my mom. She’s not as involved as my dad but she still does anything she can for me to stay in it and keep working.”

He used to play soccer and baseball but eventually left them to focus on hockey. A big part of that focus was the WHL.

Since he lives just off Highway 11 and has Saskatoon south of him and Prince Albert to the north, he’s seen WHL games in both places.

“I try to make it to a Blades game once every two weeks if they’re home or near here,” Olsen said. “I went to P.A., a couple of times this year to watch the Raiders play.”

That gave him a pretty good sense as a young player that the WHL was a place he wanted to be. And it still is as he made the short trek to SaskTel Centre on the north side of the city.

“It’s everything I’ve looked up to,” Olsen said. “It’s so accessible here because it’s only a 15-minute drive to the rink and go watch the Blades play. Even in Humboldt, I used to come here and watch games the odd time.”

He also turned into a pretty fair player himself.

In 29 games with the under-15 AA Warman Wildcats — Saskatchewan doesn’t call it AAA like Manitoba but it’s the same level — Olsen had nine goals, 34 assists, 43 points and 46 penalty minutes.

The team went 25-4 to finish second in the North Division but was ousted in its best-of-three quarterfinal by the Saskatoon Outlaws.

“I was pretty happy,” Olsen said of the season. “I thought I had a good showing at the SaskFirst top 80 in Balgonie and I think the season was really good. I think we could have made it further in playoffs … I thought we played really good throughout the year. Me and my partner (Walker Bergen), who was drafted to P.A., we’re best friends and I thought we played really good together.”

With a top pairing like that, Olsen certainly understood the scouts were watching. He admitted it’s impossible to completely tune it out.

“It’s definitely there in the back of your head but I’m more focused on the task at hand, which is just playing hockey,” Olsen said. “I tried my best to think if I made a mistake, ‘Oh well, whatever, you can’t go back and fix it. There’s no point on sobbing on it.’ It definitely adds pressure but it’s nothing to really think about for me.”

Brandon Wheat Kings director of hockey operations Chris Moulton certainly likes the result. He said Olsen is a well-rounded player.

“Logan has the ability to create some offence, he has the ability to make plays but he’s also not afraid to engage and defend hard,” Moulton said. “He plays with a competitive edge and works really, really hard. He’s just a really well-rounded player.”

Olsen, who has played against Cruz Jim and last year’s first-rounder Chase Surkan and knows of Ahmad Fayad, said he can play in any zone but likes to spark offence.

“I’d say I’m a 200-foot player who really likes to create offence and join the rush,” Olsen said. “I feel like I can see the ice really well and make good first passes. Coming out of our D-zone and seeing people in the neutral zone, I feel like I’m really good at that. I like to move around the O zone and create plays everywhere.”

At the same time, he understands his game has to continue to improve.

“I think skating means everything these days,” Olsen said. “Everything is so fast and good on their edges so I’m training my legs and core. I feel like you an always get stronger too so I’m hitting the gym a lot this summer.”

Next season he plans to play with his hometown U18 AAA Warman Wildcats, but another new adventure also awaits.

He’s one of the rare out-of-province picks who has actually seen a game in Brandon. On their way to a tournament in Brandon, he and his father elected to stay the night in the Wheat City and attend a game.

In August, he’ll return for his first WHL camp.

“I’m thrilled,” Olsen said. “I can’t wait.”

» The Brandon Sun is profiling every member of Brandon’s draft class of 2025. See Friday’s Sun to read about Winnipeg forward Mark Munday.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com