TESINK READY FOR ACTION

Ryan Tesink has made his intentions clear.

"I'm hoping to crack the squad first obviously,” said Tesink to the Times & Transcript following his selection at the QMJHL Entry Draft on Saturday. “There's no guarantees, but I want to be on the third line as a 17-year-old.”

Tesink was selected by the Saint John Sea Dogs with the last pick of the first round – 18th overall at the Marcel Dionne Centre on Drummondville, Que. on the weekend.

The Saint John native certainly seemed pleased to be drafted by his hometown club as a picture of him smiling like a maniac appeared on the cover of Monday’s Telegraph-Journal.

"I'm very excited to play in my hometown,'' Tesink said to T-J. "It's going to be fun. There's obviously some added pressure being a local guy, but I think having the support of my family and friends will help me a lot. I think I can deal with it.''

The left winger already has some key experience at the junior level. Along with following his brother, Brad, a former Quebec league player, Tesink already has a year of Junior ‘A’ under his belt with the MJAHL Champion Woodstock Slammers.

“I feel like I have junior experience already and I've won a championship (with Woodstock) so I know what it's like," said Tesink.

With the Slammers last year, the forward registered 10 goals and 19 assists in 44 regular season games. In the post-season, he added four goals and six assists in 14 games while helping Woodstock capture the league title.

Along with his playoff experience, the Port City son skated with Team Atlantic at the World Under-17 Hockey Championships in Timmons, Ont. this past winter. In five games, the 5’11” skater scored two goals and recorded four assists in just five games.

Here is a scouting report from HockeyScene.com:

Tesink, who just turned 17 in late May, played the past season with the Woodstock Slammers of the Maritime Junior Hockey League. He’s an in-your-face forward who doesn’t shirk from the corners and seems to enjoy heavy going and hard hitting play.

The 5’11, 160 pound is an above-average player who is a fiery attacker who scored 41 points the past season while accumulating 183 penalty minutes.

Always in proper position he is efficient in both the defensive and offensive zones and is rated an above avergae skater. He was excellent in the Under 17 Championship in Timins this past season accoring to reports.

One of the coaches from another team in the MJAHL said he was an "in your face competitor that any coach would love to have although most hate to see him on an opposing team. He has experience at the junior level and is very nearly the complete package."