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Magnus PS a solid fit for Oilers brand of hockey |
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Three Swedes selected in the top 10, and the Edmonton Oilers took one of them. Heck, North Americans haven’t seen this much Swede since IKEA set up shop!
Paajarvi-Svensson, a six-foot-one, 201-pound forward, scored 17 points in 50 games last year while toiling for Timra in the Swedish Elite League.
The Oilers were in discussions to possibly flip the 2009 NHL Entry Draft’s 10th overall pick and move down the chart, but the probability of that trade dissipated when the fleet-footed, creative puck carrier, Paajarvi-Svensson, was still available for the taking.
“I’m coming to a club with very much hockey history with Wayne Gretzky, and I’m shaking right now,” the 18 year old told TSN, proudly draped in the team’s legendary copper and blue.
“I’m proud to be part of the Edmonton Oilers, for sure. It means a lot to me to be a part of a Canadian team. I want to do my best for them.”
It was difficult to say who was prouder, the Swedish Elite League player, his folks or Edmonton Oilers GM Steve Tambellini, orchestrating his first draft selection for his new club.
“He plays Oilers hockey…he drives to the net,” Tambellini told reporters. “He has great speed, and gets to the net. We like his emotion too.
Of the possibility of trading the 10th overall pick and moving down Tambellini said, “We just didn’t want to let that pick go by.
“He’s not a perimeter guy. He creates so much just because of his athleticism.”
Paajarvi-Svensson was ranked second among European skaters in the NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings.
Magnus captured a pair of silver medals with Team Sweden at the World Junior Championships, and finished tied for second for his national club with seven points (2-5-7) in 2009.
The Oil will be back on the clock with the 40th overall selection when the second round opens in Montreal’s Bell Centre Saturday morning.
And though Dany Heatley remains a Senator, the Oiler faithful can sleep comfy tonight, knowing their club snatched a solid, speedy European winger with a chip on his shoulder (somewhat of a contradiction, Grapes?).
The Red Wings have been trolling in these waters for years, and with much success. With any luck, Stu MacGregor and company have reeled in another winner.
Trade Talk
Two sources tonight, one with the club, another fairly plugged in, have told me the team is in the mix for “two players”, and has been “campaigning hard” to land them. Who those names might be, and whether Tambo will be successful in landing them, will likely unfold next Wednesday. Ambiguous, I know, but interesting nonetheless.
I’m also being told that Tambellini has sealed up Oilers HQ like Fort Knox. Little info trickling out of HQ under his watch. Much like his days in Vancouver, during my time there, other than when Burkie was using the media for his own objectives.
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