Turner Ottenbreit has had a stellar 2015/16 WHL season with the Seattle Thunderbirds.
The 18-year-old rearguard scored five goals and picked up 11 assists for 16 points in his second full season in the WHL, up from three goals and 10 assists for 13 points last year.
In addition Ottenbreit 鈥� from Yorkton 鈥� posted a plus/minus rating of +15, second highest on the Thunderbirds behind only Matthew Barzal, and cited his 2015/16 success to newfound confidence in his game. 鈥淚 feel like I was more confident coming into this year than last year, and felt that I could play a little bit more of my game because I felt a little bit more confident in my abilities and the team around me,鈥� said Ottenbreit, adding that an increase in ice time definitely didn鈥檛 hurt. 鈥淚 get more minutes too, every night, and I get put into bigger roles and into bigger situations than I was last year.鈥�
That he does, as Ottenbreit has went from a third line defensive pairing last year to a top line defenceman this year, seeing upwards of 20 minutes on the ice alongside defensive partner and fellow former Yorkton Harvest (now Mauler) Ethan Bear. 鈥淏ear and I, we鈥檝e excelled together this year and we have good chemistry on and off the ice,鈥� said Ottenbreit on his defensive partner, adding that his strong defensive play allows Bear to do what he does best 鈥� rush the puck. 鈥淗e鈥檚 (Bear) a really good guy and whenever he鈥檚 out there and has the puck I know he has the confidence to rush it and do what he can in the offensive zone because he knows that I鈥檒l be back there to back him up.
鈥淗e knows that if he鈥檚 up there and does make a mistake, which doesn鈥檛 happen often, that I鈥檒l be back there to help him out.鈥�
The strong defensive play from Ottenbreit has been a big reason why the Thunderbirds posted a U.S. Division best 45-23-4-0 record for 94 points and the Division banner.
And while Ottenbreit doesn鈥檛 find his name on the scoresheet all that often, he鈥檚 aware that that is not his game. 鈥淚鈥檓 more of a physical defensive defenceman who can also chip in on the offence when needed, but I鈥檓 usually the guy preventing goals, not scoring them,鈥� stated Ottenbreit, who was ranked 169th overall for North American skaters for the 2016 NHL Draft at the midway point of the season 鈥� although his stock has most certainly risen over the latter half of the season.
As for the upcoming Draft, the talented defenceman says he鈥檚 not even thinking about it right now. Instead, Ottenbreit said that while it would be nice to get drafted, the focus at the moment is on the playoffs, and Seattle鈥檚 first round opponent the Prince George Cougars. 鈥淲e just want to take it one series at a time, one game at a time and not look too far ahead. We just want to focus on Prince George in the first round because that has to be our focus point right now,鈥� mentioned Ottenbreit, adding that the overall goal this year is definitely a WHL title. 鈥淥bviously that would be a huge honour to be able to go to the Memorial Cup and represent the WHL which is our end goal. That is our goal, but like I said, we鈥檙e not focusing on that right now; we鈥檙e focusing on Prince George and the first round with Game One coming up here on Friday.鈥�
