Ahaha nice. So you think that the other GM's didn't know he was young? What in the world would make you think that he improved enough after his draft year to be picked in the top 10 the following year?

Hilarious, you can now be lumped in with Cloutier, probably seen the guy play 2, 3 games tops.
- SameOld

http://www.puckprospectus...rticle.php?articleid=1562

I do think klefbom>nurse. Only seen him play a few times, yes, but I've only heard good things about him. Played like 22-25 mins a night against men in sweden before shoulder surgery. I think Nurse has a higher potential but klefbom is safer

*slithers away*
- AdamFrench

only thing I'd change is Gernat ahead of Musil. Musil seriously cannot skate. I liked the small honourable mention to Davidson. Coming back from cancer treatment he was playing big minutes really well for OKC in the playoffs. Rootin for him

so many rating Nurse over Klefbom. probably looking at draft position. do people realize that Klefbom was picked 20th, but was 1 month too old to go in the next year's draft, which would have seen him picked in the top 10. He is Dougie Hamilto/Griffin Reinhart calibre. Healso captained a gold medal winning Swedish junior team. not too shabby.

doesn't matter, tho. we have both.

and as for MacT being done for the summer. if the Oilers start the season with the current crop of centres for depth, with 3 or 4 proven NHL FA centres still out of work, then Mact is not doing his job. Arcabello, Acton and Miller simple do not cut it.
- seanjohn667

1.3mil in cap space makes it hard to do anything. I think just about every team is 'mostly done' for the summer. Training camps will free up some players and early season injuries may provide opportunities for player movement, but until then,
it's gonna be

Gags
Lander
Gordon
Acton/Arcobello
(Nuge back in Nov.)

Then Lander will flounder and Hall will step into the C

Hemsky Hall Eberle
Perron Gags Yak
Jones Gordon Eager
Joensuu Lander Brown
Smyth

So, either Lander needs to be good enough to be a 2C, or they make the decision to put Hall in the middle (which I don't like) until Nuge gets back. Either option is not promising.

1.3mil in cap space makes it hard to do anything. I think just about every team is 'mostly done' for the summer. Training camps will free up some players and early season injuries may provide opportunities for player movement, but until then,
it's gonna be

Gags
Lander
Gordon
Acton/Arcobello
(Nuge back in Nov.)

Then Lander will flounder and Hall will step into the C

Hemsky Hall Eberle
Perron Gags Yak
Jones Gordon Eager
Joensuu Lander Brown
Smyth

So, either Lander needs to be good enough to be a 2C, or they make the decision to put Hall in the middle (which I don't like) until Nuge gets back. Either option is not promising.
- BigDre

Oilers organization is already making noises that Hall will play center for Nuge if he isn't ready to go, but I've also heard Nuge has made great progress physically and he should be in the line-up for the 1st game of the regular season.

If Hemsky is still around and Nuge is out, you could see Hemsky-Hall-Eberle and Perron-Gagner-Yakupov as your top two lines. Jones-Gordon-Joensuu and Smyth-Lander-Eager would make up the rest of the lines, which is almost a catastrophic mix. Jones and Joensuu are 4th line players, Smyth needs to retire and Eager can't decide from one game to the next if he belongs in hockey.

Without meaning to beat up on French, his list doesn't reflect the reality of the situation. For a prospect to develop for a team, there needs to be certain conditions. It's not all entirely about the play of the prospect themselves. Quite often, players who are not ready get pushed into the line-up too soon, and it screws with their development (Brule), or sometimes, a player never gets a real chance with a team, gets dealt, and ends up shining elsewhere (I can think of numerous former Oilers. I'll use Miro Satan for now, but there are dozens).

French's list...

Klefbom, Nurse and Marincin are all correct as the 1, 2, and 3 prospects.

Including Slepyshev, Yakimov and Roy on this list are all a bit ridiculous.

Khaira I can live with. He showed Oilers management something special during development camp that made them want to sign him immediately. I don't know if he'll play in the AHL yet...My guess is he'll play in Everett of the WHL...but the Oilers wanted him closer and playing more hockey for development purposes. He's a gooder.

Rajala likely will never get a shot with the Oilers, because they have plenty of offensively-slick smaller scoring forwards. You can't argue at all with his stats from last season. Someplace, somewhere, Rajala is going to find his way on to an NHL 2nd line, and he'll do well.

Musil has many good attributes that suggest he could become a 5/6 D man. I wouldn't rank him as a prospect ahead of Gernat, who could become a Top 4 defenseman. I'd have Gernat higher if he wasn't a little Pitkanen-insane with the puck at times.

Taylor Fedun has shown more so far, so nether should be higher than him yet. and Dillon Simpson might be better than all three, although it's hard to compare NCAA players to WHL players. Different leagues and older players.

If Teemu Hartikainen would have stuck around, and if he was willing to work harder, he would have been on the third line this season. He has all the potential, but the wrong attitude. It's unfortunate.

A guy like Kessy represents something the Oilers desperately need: A big, mean character player with skill. He gets ranked on my list because he's the type of player the Oilers are lacking, and therefore, he has a better chance than some of the other prospects to crack the roster. I'm not saying Yakimov and Slepyshev are lost causes, because they aren't. But they don't necessarily bring what Kessy would, and what he brings is something the Oilers are missing.
- Maxbone

Frenchie was rating the prospects in terms of NHL potential, rather than their place on the inter-positional organizational depth chart.

It's the only reasonable way to rank them. There's a world outside of the Oilers, and ranking the prospects merely by their potential to be movers and shakers on the oilers is silly.

Why should and incredibly skilled small forward with great potential to be a great NHLer be ranked lower than a crummy power forward wannabe, just because we're small as a team?

Haha it's make up stuff day is it.

Reilly played 60+ games last year.
- SameOld

There were only 48 games played this past season. Unless you're talking about 2012 calendar year?

Without meaning to beat up on French, his list doesn't reflect the reality of the situation. For a prospect to develop for a team, there needs to be certain conditions. It's not all entirely about the play of the prospect themselves. Quite often, players who are not ready get pushed into the line-up too soon, and it screws with their development (Brule), or sometimes, a player never gets a real chance with a team, gets dealt, and ends up shining elsewhere (I can think of numerous former Oilers. I'll use Miro Satan for now, but there are dozens).

French's list...

Klefbom, Nurse and Marincin are all correct as the 1, 2, and 3 prospects.

Including Slepyshev, Yakimov and Roy on this list are all a bit ridiculous.

Khaira I can live with. He showed Oilers management something special during development camp that made them want to sign him immediately. I don't know if he'll play in the AHL yet...My guess is he'll play in Everett of the WHL...but the Oilers wanted him closer and playing more hockey for development purposes. He's a gooder.

Rajala likely will never get a shot with the Oilers, because they have plenty of offensively-slick smaller scoring forwards. You can't argue at all with his stats from last season. Someplace, somewhere, Rajala is going to find his way on to an NHL 2nd line, and he'll do well.

Musil has many good attributes that suggest he could become a 5/6 D man. I wouldn't rank him as a prospect ahead of Gernat, who could become a Top 4 defenseman. I'd have Gernat higher if he wasn't a little Pitkanen-insane with the puck at times.

Taylor Fedun has shown more so far, so nether should be higher than him yet. and Dillon Simpson might be better than all three, although it's hard to compare NCAA players to WHL players. Different leagues and older players.

If Teemu Hartikainen would have stuck around, and if he was willing to work harder, he would have been on the third line this season. He has all the potential, but the wrong attitude. It's unfortunate.

A guy like Kessy represents something the Oilers desperately need: A big, mean character player with skill. He gets ranked on my list because he's the type of player the Oilers are lacking, and therefore, he has a better chance than some of the other prospects to crack the roster. I'm not saying Yakimov and Slepyshev are lost causes, because they aren't. But they don't necessarily bring what Kessy would, and what he brings is something the Oilers are missing.
- Maxbone

I think Klefbom, Nurse, and Marincin are 1,2,3 in that order. I really don't think Lander deserves to be ranked so high. He needs to become a much better skater. I don't think Hartikainen wouldve made our 3rd line this year or MacT wouldve signed him to a one way contract like he wanted. I actually think going to the KHL for the year will be better for his development at this point than playing in OKC. I like Kessy a lot. He's got shades of Lucic in him. He's big, can score, and fight. We need a guy like that. Hopefully him or Moroz can develop into a player for us but they're both slow as poop. Juhjar Khaira is such a fun name to say. I think he plays in the WHL this year. I think Rajala will be a top 6 forward with someone but it likely won't be with us for the same reason we traded Tobias Reider. We are chocked full of small RW's.

Frenchie was rating the prospects in terms of NHL potential, rather than their place on the inter-positional organizational depth chart.

It's the only reasonable way to rank them. There's a world outside of the Oilers, and ranking the prospects merely by their potential to be movers and shakers on the oilers is silly.

Why should and incredibly skilled small forward with great potential to be a great NHLer be ranked lower than a crummy power forward wannabe, just because we're small as a team?
- Morris

You missed the point.

Players need opportunity to develop. Opportunity = Ice time. How many times have we seen an organization squander a quality young player because there was no room in the organization?

The Oilers in the last two drafts have done something very specific: They've focused on big players, especially forwards. There have been other guys thrown into the mix, but there has been a clear want to get bigger and meaner at all positions. Bigger and meaner players will be given more of a chance to develop, which will increase their chances of becoming an NHL-level talent.

I'll give you three examples: Organizationally, the Oilers let certain prospects go this summer to make room for Tyler Pitlick, Curtis Hamilton and Ryan Martindale. Those three will receive significantly more ice time with the AHL this season, as the organization came away from last season realizing they haven't been focusing enough on prospects. It's hard for Hamilton to develop if he's in the press box or if he's only playing six minutes per game.

As far as Slepyshev, Zharkov and Yakimov, my bigger concern with them is the potential for them to stay in Russia. Because after all, if they don't eventually come here, they're not really NHL-prospects. I'm very close to pulling guys like Tyrvainen and Hartikainen off the list for the same reason. I don't want to unfairly portray the Russian players, as who knows...maybe the NHL is exactly where they want to be. But history shows clear reasons why to question their value to the organization until they're willing to do stuff like stick in the AHL for a few season while developing. It's a hard sell often for players who would much rather be making AHL money X 10 in Russia.

Guys like Pitlick, Ewanyk, Martindale, Hamilton, Kessy, Khaira....Even guys who sucked ass last season like Moroz will get all sorts of opportunity with the Oilers to develop into NHL players because the Oilers Bottom 6 is questionable at best. If you're lucky, one or two guys will actually turn into something.

Between Hall, Eberle, Nugent-Hopkins, Gagner, Perron and Yakupov, there's no real need to find and add a Top 6 forward for at least the next five seasons. Developing character guys with size will be the focus.

Perhaps of the Russian prospects Yakimov has the most opportunity, as he's a big center and the Oilers organizational depth at the position is horrifying.

Being pickled is the best way to read a Cloutier blog (as well as the comments)

. I've been teasing you folks a bit, making you wait. Don't panic.

That isn't teasing, that is just sparing people from it. Please keep us waiting.

"People still don't quite fully understand what the Oilers have in Klefbom, do they?"

You have no idea yourself, other than what you have seen other people who know about hockey write.

Oilers organization is already making noises that Hall will play center for Nuge if he isn't ready to go, but I've also heard Nuge has made great progress physically and he should be in the line-up for the 1st game of the regular season.

If Hemsky is still around and Nuge is out, you could see Hemsky-Hall-Eberle and Perron-Gagner-Yakupov as your top two lines. Jones-Gordon-Joensuu and Smyth-Lander-Eager would make up the rest of the lines, which is almost a catastrophic mix. Jones and Joensuu are 4th line players, Smyth needs to retire and Eager can't decide from one game to the next if he belongs in hockey.
- Maxbone

They'd better not bring Nuge back til he's totally fit.

Oilers organization is already making noises that Hall will play center for Nuge if he isn't ready to go, but I've also heard Nuge has made great progress physically and he should be in the line-up for the 1st game of the regular season.

If Hemsky is still around and Nuge is out, you could see Hemsky-Hall-Eberle and Perron-Gagner-Yakupov as your top two lines. Jones-Gordon-Joensuu and Smyth-Lander-Eager would make up the rest of the lines, which is almost a catastrophic mix. Jones and Joensuu are 4th line players, Smyth needs to retire and Eager can't decide from one game to the next if he belongs in hockey.
- Maxbone

Did Brown retire?

You missed the point.

Players need opportunity to develop. Opportunity = Ice time. How many times have we seen an organization squander a quality young player because there was no room in the organization?

The Oilers in the last two drafts have done something very specific: They've focused on big players, especially forwards. There have been other guys thrown into the mix, but there has been a clear want to get bigger and meaner at all positions. Bigger and meaner players will be given more of a chance to develop, which will increase their chances of becoming an NHL-level talent.

I'll give you three examples: Organizationally, the Oilers let certain prospects go this summer to make room for Tyler Pitlick, Curtis Hamilton and Ryan Martindale. Those three will receive significantly more ice time with the AHL this season, as the organization came away from last season realizing they haven't been focusing enough on prospects. It's hard for Hamilton to develop if he's in the press box or if he's only playing six minutes per game.

As far as Slepyshev, Zharkov and Yakimov, my bigger concern with them is the potential for them to stay in Russia. Because after all, if they don't eventually come here, they're not really NHL-prospects. I'm very close to pulling guys like Tyrvainen and Hartikainen off the list for the same reason. I don't want to unfairly portray the Russian players, as who knows...maybe the NHL is exactly where they want to be. But history shows clear reasons why to question their value to the organization until they're willing to do stuff like stick in the AHL for a few season while developing. It's a hard sell often for players who would much rather be making AHL money X 10 in Russia.

Guys like Pitlick, Ewanyk, Martindale, Hamilton, Kessy, Khaira....Even guys who sucked ass last season like Moroz will get all sorts of opportunity with the Oilers to develop into NHL players because the Oilers Bottom 6 is questionable at best. If you're lucky, one or two guys will actually turn into something.

Between Hall, Eberle, Nugent-Hopkins, Gagner, Perron and Yakupov, there's no real need to find and add a Top 6 forward for at least the next five seasons. Developing character guys with size will be the focus.

Perhaps of the Russian prospects Yakimov has the most opportunity, as he's a big center and the Oilers organizational depth at the position is horrifying.
- Maxbone

Good reply. That makes sense. If you've got "upside" and "likelihood to reach potential", you need to take into account the organization they're playing for in evaluating the 2nd category. Guys like Rajala have a high potential to be Omark'd and that can't be ignored.

I guess where we differ in our opinions is how much that weighting should count for. Guys like Slepyshev and Marco Roy have ceilings that can't be denied, whether on the Oilers or some other team, or in the NHL or some other league. It's fair to say those players don't figure as heavily into our future, but to say they're not as highly regarded prospects as players that do is overkill.

Evaluating the extent that we'll stall their development makes assumptions about how quickly they develop (and thus how long they're 'wasting time' in a lower league), whether our NHL team will stay together, or simply whether/how long we'll wait before trading them. Not being prepared to make those assumptions, I think it's safer to call someone a future 2nd liner in the objective sense than to too strongly apply a "organization-specific" bonus.

I really dont understand why Peter Mueller hasn't been signed yet. Unless he's holding out for a 2 year deal or something. I can't believe no ones scooped him up yet.

Hall-Lander-Eberle
Perron-Gagner-Yakupov
Jones-Gordon-Hemsky
Joensuu-Smyth-Brown

Hall-Gagner-Eberle
Yakupov-Perron-Hemsky
Smyth-Gordon-Jones
Jonessu-Lander-Brown

?????

Hall-Lander-Eberle
Perron-Gagner-Yakupov
Jones-Gordon-Hemsky
Joensuu-Smyth-Brown

Hall-Gagner-Eberle
Yakupov-Perron-Hemsky
Smyth-Gordon-Jones
Jonessu-Lander-Brown

?????
- mochoson

Lander cannot be on the 1st line. Perron's pathetic in the dot.

Hemsky-Hall-Eberle
Perron-Gags-Yak
Joensuu-Gordon-Jones
Smyth-Lander-Brown

Develop chemistry with Perron-Gags-Yak together. Pump hemsky's numbers on the top line. When RNH is healthy, deal Hemmer for a 3rd liner capable of tough mins like Klinkhammer

I really dont understand why Peter Mueller hasn't been signed yet. Unless he's holding out for a 2 year deal or something. I can't believe no ones scooped him up yet.
- mochoson

Multiple year deal has gotta be it.

And as an oiler fan id be extremely hesitant to sign him to anything beyond 1 year

Multiple year deal has gotta be it.

And as an oiler fan id be extremely hesitant to sign him to anything beyond 1 year
- hugefemale dog77

I'd think he'd want a 1-year deal so he can get more $ when the cap goes up next year

I'd think he'd want a 1-year deal so he can get more $ when the cap goes up next year
- TheNugeIsHuge

I certainly wouldnt be against signing him to even an overpayment on 1 year deal.
We could certainly use the body.

Provided of course accounting did some extrapolation with the numbers in case we wanted to add a body or two at the TD.

I certainly wouldnt be against signing him to even an overpayment on 1 year deal.
We could certainly use the body.

Provided of course accounting did some extrapolation with the numbers in case we wanted to add a body or two at the TD.
- hugefemale dog77

N Schultz'd have to be dumped somewhere first

There were only 48 games played this past season. Unless you're talking about 2012 calendar year?
- BlazinMike

There was two lines to read and you clearly skipped the first one.

It will be a sad day if/when Ales Hemsky is finally dealt.....he is rapidly challenging Tomas Kaberle as holder of most trade rumors of all-time....

I've always scoffed at the notion that Hemsky could somehow bring back a #1 pick in return, but I felt the same about Kaberle and Brian Burke eventually got a #1 (albeit a low one) for him....MacT would be doing well to get a 2nd rounder, but you never know; Shane O'Brien once brought a #1.....

1.3mil in cap space makes it hard to do anything. I think just about every team is 'mostly done' for the summer. Training camps will free up some players and early season injuries may provide opportunities for player movement, but until then,
it's gonna be

Gags
Lander
Gordon
Acton/Arcobello
(Nuge back in Nov.)

Then Lander will flounder and Hall will step into the C

Hemsky Hall Eberle
Perron Gags Yak
Jones Gordon Eager
Joensuu Lander Brown
Smyth

So, either Lander needs to be good enough to be a 2C, or they make the decision to put Hall in the middle (which I don't like) until Nuge gets back. Either option is not promising.
- BigDre

I think Arcobello will get the 2C role over Lander. He's just not fast enough for that role.

Klefbom must of been the best player on planet earth to play 11 games and be a better prospect than a 7th overall pick.
- SameOld

Your name suits you. You keep coming back with the same poop and proving how little you know. Klefbom is 20 and was playing against men and being a leader on the team. Was 1st team all star at WJC 2 yrs ago. Was taken 19th overall. Nurse was 7th overall, but is 18 hence 2 years of development behind Klefbom. Will he turn out better? Maybe. But right now Klefbom is ahead as he is ready to step into the NHL and Nurse is still a couple years away.

Go away now and come back when you actually know anything....so never....

It will be a sad day if/when Ales Hemsky is finally dealt.....he is rapidly challenging Tomas Kaberle as holder of most trade rumors of all-time....

I've always scoffed at the notion that Hemsky could somehow bring back a #1 pick in return, but I felt the same about Kaberle and Brian Burke eventually got a #1 (albeit a low one) for him....MacT would be doing well to get a 2nd rounder, but you never know; Shane O'Brien once brought a #1.....
- jkaflagg

Hemsky 3 year ago could have gotten a 1st plus. Now....

I for 1 will be dancing and drinking the day he's gone. Biggest mistake Tambi ever made was that stupid 2 yr 10 mill deal when it was clear no one else was going to give him anything close to that.