6'2" - 183 lbs
D.O.B. : February 18, 1994
I must admit that I knew nothing about Koekkoek coming into the 2010-2011 OHL season but a fellow poster on HF Boards told me to keep an eye on this kid. And you got all you could expect from a 16 year old rookie and then some.
He put up 7 goals and 23 points in 65 games to go along with 67 penalty minutes. He was a minus 29, but don't let stats fool you. It was a pretty bad Petes team in 2010-2011.
Koekkoek is a smooth skating physical defenseman who can join the rush. He has a terrific shot that he gets off quickly and accurately. He's one of the hardest working players on the ice shift after shift. He has a good hockey IQ and is coachable - very important if you want to make the next level.
Koekkoek is also not afraid to drop the gloves when need be. He's the type of guy that would rather drop the mitts and fight his own battles than have his team mates sticking up for him.
All these attributes led Koekkoek to be selected for Team Canada at the IIHF World U-18 Championships with the likes of fellow defensemen Ryan Murray (2012), Ryan Murphy (2011), Scott Harrington (2011) and Cocy Ceci (2012), where he has put up a goal and an assist in 5 games heading into the medal round.
During the 2009-2010 season, Koekkoek played for the AAA Notre Dame Hounds where he notched 16 goals and 27 assists with 91 penalty minutes in 44 games. He followed that up with 3 goals and 4 assists in 13 playoff games.
He also played for the Hounds at the 2009 KIBIH Tournament where he scored twice and added 5 assists in 7 games. Koekkoek won a gold medal for Team Canada-Ontario at the WHC -17 championships in 2010 where he had a goal and 2 assists in 5 games.
2010-2011 was a troubling season for the Petes and if they are going to make any improvements for 2011-12 they are going to need to rely on Koekkoek even more and will require him to take the next step.
No doubt in my mind he'll be up to the task.
Koekkoek was named to the OHL's Second All Rookie Team.
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