It’s Tkachev Day in Edmonton and it’s time to celebrate! The Oilers have signed the miniscule Russian winger to an Entry Level deal that will see him become Oiler property for the foreseeable future. This is an excellent signing by the club, one that offers almost no risk and only potential reward. It should be announced very soon that the Oilers will have sent him down to Moncton of the QMJHL where he will be expected to score in droves and maybe put on a couple pounds during the season.
The new deal comes as an early birthday present for the young man who will turn 19 on October 5th. As reported by Mark Spector, his deal is 550K/575k/600k with a 55k signing bonus. Passed over by every club in the NHL Entry Draft because of his size, Tkachev was invited to Oilers’ camp at the behest of Moncton's Head Coach Darren Rumble and Stu MacGregor (as per Bob Stauffer) and made the most of it. Actually, that’s understating things a bit. Tkachev played better than almost every Drafted player at the prospect tournament and was certainly more dynamic at TC than a lot of players vying for NHL spots.
He went 20GP, 10-20-30 with the Wildcats last season after coming over from Russia. He will heading back to Moncton right away where he is expected to push for 100 points on the season. If he maintains the pace he had last year then he would have a Nikolaj Ehlers type season. If he actually improves? Then were talking about Drouin numbers. He shows a fearlessness with the puck on his stick that players weighing 60 pounds heavier often don’t show and he skates like a miniature version of Ales Hemsky. If he could put on some weight over the course of this contract or simply get stronger then he has the tools and the inclination to become effective at both ends of the ice. Not quite as developed as his offensive instincts, he still showed an aptitude for backchecking and playing the body in the defensive zone. It’s admirable for a player his size.
Once accepting the invite to Edmonton he found instant chemistry with countryman and frost giant Bogdan Yakimov. I have taken to referring to them as True Detective Season 2 because of their unlikely yet captivating partnership. He tallied 3 Assists in 3 Games at the Young Stars tournament, an Assist in the Golden Bear game, and has 3 Assists in 3 Games in the preseason. In total that’s 7 points in 7 games with the Oilers in competition that continues to get tougher and tougher.
By signing the young man the Oilers essentially got a free draft pick, a player who Corey Pronman of ESPN rated as high as 36th Overall in May of this past year and that’s with penalties for being as small as he is. They found a legitimate prospect who has the skill level to overcome his size deficiency and perhaps find ways to turn it into an advantage. He may never pan out as an NHL player. He could be Omark 2.0 or some other failed experiment, but so could a lot of players who aren’t nearly as productive as this kid has proven to be.
I’m excited. It’s Tkachev Day in Edmonton. Celebrate!
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