Tate Olson was all covered up in his Vancouver Canucks gear when he took his first strides in his first NHL training camp Friday at CN Centre but he had to be pinching himself a few times to make sure it wasn't just a dream.
How many 18-year-old hockey players would love to be in his situation?
Olson knows that after camp wraps up Sunday he'll be returning to his regular gig playing defence in the WHL for the Prince George Cougars. But until then he's in the NHL, rubbing shoulders with the best the game has to offer, and doing it in the city he now calls home.
"It's pretty cool, you watch those guys on TV and you go out and play with them, it's pretty exciting," said Olson. "It seems like the town's pretty excited abut the camp coming here, lots of people and they're excited in the stands, it's awesome.
"I was kind of nervous coming back here. It's kind of funny being around the rink with all these guys. I've been here so many times and it's all new to them. It's something else out there, it's tough to keep up to those guys."
Olson was in Penticton last week, where his parents from Saskatoon watched him play two games for the Canucks in the Young Stars rookie tournament. It was an eye-opening experience playing the Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets, who had Cougars centre Jansen Harkins playing with their other pro prospects.
"You just learn a lot from those guys, they help you a lot and it's good," said Olson.
"It was pretty weird seeing Jansen coming down the ice on me. It was a little competitive between me and him. The Canucks just want to see me work hard every day and adjust to the speed compared to juniors and keep getting better and better. It's a lot higher pace out there so you have to be ready defensively."
The Cougar coaches have noticed a significant difference in Olson since he left for Vancouver on Sept. 9. He's raised his own competitive bar and the Cougars have let on to him they expect that development to continue when he returns to the WHL.
Playing against the Sedins and watching veterans like Alex Burrows rip one-timers, it was hard for Olson not to be amazed, just like the fans were.
"You try not to really think about it when you're out there but it's pretty hard," he said. "I'm just trying to soak it all in. Hopefully I can just bring it back (to the Cougars) and keep playing at this level and be a leader for this team. These guys help you through things and they make you look good."
Olson was paired with fellow rookie Travis Ehrhardt on Team Blue in the second session Friday and made one ill-advised clearing pass which Team White centre Henrik Sedin intercepted.
But the 18-year-old Cougar certainly didn't look out of place sharing the ice with battle-tested NHLers.
"It's nerve-wracking for a young guy to come here, in front of family and friends where he's played, but he did really well today," said Canucks assistant coach Glen Gulutzan.
"It's always hard to give up a pass to Sedin up the middle when you're a young defenceman but he's done well. We have a great veteran group so those guys will feel they can do their thing and he's done that so far. Dan (Hamhuis) went through the same thing and he's done pretty well."
The Canucks selected Olson in the seventh round, the second-last choice in the 2015 draft, 210th overall. He had five goals and 24 points in 68 games for the Cougars last season and struck for three goals in five playoff games.
"He has some mobility and for me the biggest thing for defencemen is the first pass and if he has the ability to get the puck out of the zone and break out... and he has that," said Gulutzan. "Like any young defenceman he has to develop because at the higher levels it gets tougher to do that."
Olson will be back on the ice today and is expected to play in the intrasquad game Sunday at 11:20 a.m.
