We are going through the list that I consider to be the Oilers’ top 10 most important prospects. This is not strictly a list of the most skilled young or unestablished players in the organization. In the first installment I explained my thought process and I’ll be including that paragraph in each one of these posts just so I don’t have to figure out 10 different ways of saying the same thing.
I plan on going over the top 10 most important prospects in the Oilers’ organization. This is a little different (though not by much) than going through what I consider are the 10 best prospects in the organization. The key difference is that their ranking is determined both by their potential as well as how much the NHL club needs them to succeed. For example, I believe Iiro Pakarinen is a better prospect than several players on this list but as another winger in an organization flush with them I don’t have him in my top 10 most important prospects.
We are now getting to the more intriguing Oiler prospects. These are players who might not just play a few games, but have a real chance to carve an NHL career out for themselves. It’s still a long road ahead for several of these young men but we are, I think, talking about players who are a tier above the previous entries in this series. The 7th most important Oiler prospect is newcomer to North America, Anton Slepyshev.
10)
Jujhar Khaira
9)
Kyle Platzer
8)
Greg Chase
7
Anton Slepyshev was drafted in the 3rd Round, 88th Overall in 2013. His draft story is interesting, at least to me anyway. He was supposed to be a relatively high pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Central Scouting had him ranked as the 10th best European skater that year. Despite his obvious skill level, nobody took a flyer on Slepyshev. He went undrafted to the shock of many draft experts.
We have to keep in mind that in 2012 a lockout was looming and the KHL hadn’t yet devolved into a league with a reputation for not paying its players. The fear of drafting Russians and not being able to get them to come to North America was real. I have no doubts that this played a large role (though not the only one) in Slepyshev being passed over completely.
In 2013 Craig MacTavish made what I consider to be some of his best gambles. Normally I strongly oppose moving backwards in the draft. I recognize that teams have an actuarial chart that helps them mitigate risk but forgive me for having the simple philosophy that teams should draft the best available players as soon as humanly possible. Despite my reservations MacT moved back in the draft and I liked the move a lot. What made it possible for me to like the deal was that MacT and the Oilers moved back but took a couple players who should have been drafted much higher but were carrying the wrong passports, Slepyshev among them.
Below are Slepyshev’s scoring numbers going back to the 2011-2012 season
2011-12 Novokuznetsk Metallurg KHL 39GP, 4G-3A-7, 2 PIM
2012-13 Novokuznetsk Metallurg KHL 15GP, 3G-0A-3P, 2 PIM
2012-13 Ufa Salavat Yulayev KHL 11GP, 4G-2A-6P, 2 PIM
2013-14 Ufa Salavat Yulayev KHL 36GP, 3G-5A-8P, 4 PIM
2014-15 Ufa Salavat Yulayev KHL 58GPP, 15G-10A-25P, 12 PIM
If the scoring totals you see above seem really low for a prospect this high in the organizational depth chart, remember first that the KHL has a long history of giving young players extremely limited ice time. Instead of playing 20-23 minutes a night with players his own age, Slepyshev spent most of the 2014-2015 season playing 12 minutes a night with grown men.
It wasn’t really until after his point per game Spengler Cup performance that Slepyshev’s KHL club started playing him like a top 6 forward. Despite his low ice time all year and a distinct lack of PP time, Anton still managed the 3rd most shots on his club. If he can continue to be a volume shooter in the AHL (where we assume he is likely headed) then we will be even more excited for this prospect.
One of the knocks against Slepyshev is that he is a winger for an NHL club that is pretty solid down the wings. He is listed as a LW although he shoots right so hopefully that provides a little flexibility. However, he has a reputation as a shooter plus he has decent size at 6’2” and roughly 190 pounds. This coming season will be his first in North America but he should see both more games and a lot more minutes than he was getting in the KHL.
Slepyshev has the chance to bring some high end scoring talent to the Oilers’ farm club. Once upon a time when MacT was the coach of this club he used to talk about the need for having those one shot scorers. He was talking about the players with the kind of shot that could fool goaltenders from mid-range distance. Slepyshev has that kind of a shot. It’s one of the things that makes him such an interesting prospect.
Anton Slepyshev is the 7th most important Oiler prospect because of 2 things: 1) His high-end potential. 2) The gamble the club made trading backwards to acquire him. With his size and skill he might one day be a viable replacement for Teddy Purcell on the wing of the 3rd line or perhaps even more. I still like the gamble MacT made trading back just to take a player that should have gone much higher in the draft THE YEAR BEFORE. It was a solid move. At this point the player feels very much like a wildcard because we don’t know how well he will transition to North America, but the team has Russian players in the AHL and the NHL who can help make him feel comfortable.
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