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Top-10 Prospects : Edmonton Oilers (5-1) |
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The conclusion, the expected conclusion. I doubt Oilers fans will be mystified by my choices, in fact, I think most guessed them out of the water. Well here you go lads, exactly what you wanted!
As always players with 40+ game in the NHL are excluded from this list.
5. Bogdan Yakimov : Centre, 6'5 232lbs, 83rd Overall, 2013, 19 Years Old, Reaktor Nizhnekamsk in the KHL
33 games 7 goals 5 assists 12 points
You know those internet ads about "one secret he discovered for perfect abs" and all those other poope you see littering news websites? Well Yakimov might have found that secret, that isn't a joke, he's actually 232lbs at 19. Not just Penner diet 232, he's solid as a bloody rock. All that borscht I'm telling you guys. Yakimov is from the same small city as Nail Yakupov, yet unlike Nail, he didn't decide to take his talent to North America...until now. After spending the summer with Nail in their hometown, Yakimov made the decision to leave for the AHL as the fastest way to get a shot at playing with his best friend. I'm not sure if Mac T planned to pick Yakimov because of his relationship with Yakipov or if he saw a 6'5 220lb (at the time) Russian with surprisingly good hands and saw a big red sign saying "ORGANIZATIONAL NEED." The first thing you notice about him is his puck protection abilities and the fact that he's extremely hard to deal with in a scrum. Not just due to his size, but he has excellent hands that are faster than anybody with that size ought to have. He's usually coming away with the puck. Defensively he's pretty strong, his positioning helps make up for his lack of top-end speed, while strong face-off abilities never hurt. He scores a lot of goals 2-6 feet around the net, sometimes on top of the goalie. He gets his shots off quick. One thing I dislike about his game is a tendency to hog the puck when on the rush, he has shown he can make some nifty plays, but often would rather try to cut in and wrist it semi-harmlessly. That's a tendency I believe picked up in the MHL where that's a common practice by a lot of the upper crust in the league. It will be interesting to see how he adapts to the NA game...in my mind, he'll do just fine if not better than he did in the K.
Potential : Third Line Two-Way Centre
4. Greg Chase : Right Wing, 6'0 205lbs, 188th Overall, 2013, 19 Years Old, Calgary Hitmen in the WHL
70 games 35 goals 50 assists 85 points
The Oilers final selection in 2013 had a very strong season. It helped really bring his name to the forefront as a worthwhile prospect. He's a pest and a tenacious competitor. He's very difficult to play against and draws a lot of penalties through goading and simply annoying players with his brash play style. Speaking of his play style, it's infectious. At the U20 camp he was one of the most noticeable players and he seemed to energize his line every time he stepped on the ice. He tied for the lead in points on the Hitmen, as well as placing second in goals behind recently drafted Virtanen (Canucks). A strong playoff performance was a nice way to round out the season. He gets a few comparisons to Brad Marchand, though he's a lot bigger and might not have as high offensive upside. The Oilers have been looking for that late round pick that they can point to and dissuade the argument that they are poor at drafting outside of the first round. Chase might be that guy. Next season he suits up for his final season of junior hockey, expect a big year.
Potential : 2nd/3rd Line Pest
3. Oscar Klefbom : Defenseman, 6'3 212lbs, 19th Overall, 2011, 21 Years Old, Oklahoma City Barons in the AHL
48 games 1 goals 9 assists 10 points
Klefbom has always had a certain air of mystery about him, scouts rave about his offensive instincts, yet the offense just doesn't seem to really come. Not in the PP QB style anyways. Thankfully he has other talents that are highly visible and rewarding. Solid and imposing in his own end, Klefbom is very mobile and tracks the puck well. With one season completely derailed by injuries, it was good to see him have a good (though not great) rookie season in the AHL which included a call up to the Oilers. He's known for doing the little things right and showing the odd spark of brilliance. Going into the season there is a lot of speculation around whether he will make the Oilers out of camp, frankly I would be surprised. Not that the Oilers defense should be too difficult to make, but because another full year of AHL experience could go a long way and Marincin has proven to be more NHL ready at this stage.
Potential : Top-Four Two-Way Defenseman
2. Darnell Nurse : Defenseman, 6'4 208lbs, 7th Overall, 2013, 19 Years Old, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the OHL
64 games 13 goals 37 assists 50 points
Sadly for Nurse he's stuck in a situation that has haunted many a talented player, he's too good for the OHL and not good enough for NHL (in my opinion), yet the level of competition that would best suit him is blocked for another year. Thanks Obama. The Greyhounds captain either needs to make the NHL or he goes back for his fourth and final season in the OHL. Nurse like several of the prospects previously listed seem to be an organizational need and look like the beginnings of a culture change. Nurse is big, strong, physical (sometimes to his detriment) and can move, basically the ideal style of player they need now and going forward. It will surprise you how well he skates. Offense is a nice added perk with Nurse, though he sometimes seems to have an "on/off" switch when it comes to offense and defense, he struggles to do both very well at the same time, it's one or the other. You can see that when he's thinking offense he can force the play and make errors, but when he's thinking defense he doesn't take high risks and simply lets players come to him and rubs them out. It makes me wonder if he will find that scoring touch in the NHL since he's basically been force fed PP time due to the simple lack of anybody else of quality on the Greyhounds. He's still a work in progress, but he has all the tools to be an excellent defender and maybe an answer to many Oilers prayers. The biggest question for me this season is "Will Nurse make the U20 squad?" and "How pissed were Oilers fans when he didn't make it last year?"
Potential : Number 2 Two-Way Defenseman
1. Leon Draisaitl, Centre/Left Wing, 6'2 215lbs, 3rd Overall, 2014, 18 Years Old, Prince Albert Raiders in the WHL
64 games 38 goals 67 assists 105 points
The best German prospect since...eh? Olaf Kolzig? Draisaitl battled for that open number one spot all year long and just narrowly missed out. Going into the draft with the emphasis on size being parroted throughout the media and fans about the Oilers, as well as being difficult to play against, it really seemed to be coming down to two players. Draisaitl and Bennett. They opted for the size and now we'll get to see some fun Battles of Alberta between those two. I think the writing was on the wall for how Draisaitl was a little too good for the old DNL development system in Germany when he kind of scored 97 goals and 198 points in 29 games in the U16 league...just a little. Draisaitl is above all else a puck protecting offensively creative forward. Likely a centre considering the Oilers will try it until he achieves it or not since they are in extreme need of a top-6 centre with size. He still has work in his own zone to get done, but that can come in time and even then, you're coming for the offense with Draisaitl. He's a very gifted playmaker and while he does a lot on his own, he hasn't yet had a linemate that matches up in his skill bracket yet, something that will be very interesting down the road. Next season is a pretty unique situation for the Oilers as Draisaitl has gone on record as saying he will go to Europe for a year if he doesn't make the NHL out of camp. He is obligated to play a final season in the WHL, but he (and most of the hockey world) feels that he has little to learn left in that league. Obviously this would be a good time for the AHL, but oh no! Not on Major Juniors watch. It seems likely he will make the team, but should he not, I believe he technically has to report back to Adler Mannheim in the DEL who last owned his rights. Not sure the DEL is really the place to go for a player of his caliber.
Potential : Top Line Centre
Thanks for reading.
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