One moment Turner Ottenbreit was coming home from a SMAAAHL road trip with his Yorkton Harvest teammates and trying to finish an essay for high school, the next moment he was in vehicle on his way to Saskatoon.
But why did he suddenly bolt to the City of Bridges?
Well it's because the Yorkton Harvest alternate captain got a phone call from the Saskatoon Blades, calling him up to the WHL so he could make his regular season debut on Wednesday. Not only did he make his debut, but he made it a memorable one, registering his first minor penalty in the WHL (roughing) as well as being a respectable plus one in the plus/minus column; one of only two Blades players to do so.
A great debut by any standards, but even more impressive since his team struggled in all aspects of the game, losing 7-1 to the Kelowna Rockets at the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon.
But what, exactly, does Ottenbreit credit his solid debut on? "It's just being in the right places at the right time. Just working hard out there and trying my best all the time." Said the 6'2'', 175-pound defenceman.
Ottenbreit also mentioned that he simply went back to the basics. Something that many young players making their WHL debut fail to do in an effort to impress their coaches. "Honestly, I just kept things simple. I kept pucks moving forward and tried to do my best out there and to just keep it simple and not make too many high-risk plays."
His strategy of keeping things simple seemed to work out for him as Ottenbreit was informed that he will be joining the Blades after the Christmas break. "I'm going back there Boxing Day," said the WHL rookie. "We have a home-and-home with Prince Albert on the 27th and 28th and we'll see where it goes from there."
