The Edmonton Oilers selected Vancouver Giants Captain Tyler Benson with their 2nd rounder 32nd overall. I’m skeptical of this pick because, and I don’t really know if there’s a true correlation here apart from the obvious, but he reminds me of Tyler Pitlick. Difference being he’s smarter but is not on the same level skating-wise and I’m always weary of players who have an injury history in junior. I should probably holster that opinion though as we’ve seen players like Alex Galchenyuk and Ryan Murray come out okay and become very good NHLers.
Some believe that the Oilers might feel as if they’ve gotten another 1st round pick here in Benson. I hope his injury troubles behind him and I can’t wait to see him play! Bob Stauffer described him as a lesser version of Dustin Brown. He could be an interesting player in a couple years for the Oilers.
Stauffer loved the pick!
What do you think about the pick? Let me know in the comments section under the Youtube clip of Benson below.
Oilers draft SSAC grad Tyler Benson. Projected mid-first 'rounder dropped due to injury-plagued campaign. Love the pick!
Position: Center/Left Wing Shoots: Left Height/Weight: 6’0 196 lbs Born: March 15, 1998, Edmonton, AB
“He is a nightmare to defend because he is as physically punishing with the puck as he is without it. There are only a few of his 2016 draft-eligible peers (Auston Matthews in particular) who makes successful on-the-spot corrections once a chance to create offense in a specific area of the ice is no longer an option. Benson is very shifty with tremendous balance, meaning he can continue to move if he gets hit at the same time he decides to change direction. Possessing the kind of vision and IQ he owns makes it no surprise the CHL came close to giving him “exceptional” status to play a full season as a 15 year old (cut short by a knee injury).” – Steve Kounianos, The Draft Analyst
Nice pick up for #Oilers in 2nd round with Tyler Benson. Got a chance to work with him. Very hard worker and incredible guy.
Yesterday the hockey gods pulled one out of their back pocket for the Edmonton Oilers and somehow tricked the Columbus Blue Jackets into taking Pierre Luc Dubois over Jesse Puljujarvi. The Oilers were so taken aback that they didn’t even prepare a nameplate for the grinning Finn. Immediately Oilers fans started sending their goodbyes to Jordan Eberle and to a lesser extent, Nail Yakupov. But I think we need to step back and take a look at this roster before we punt those two out of town.
Ideally you’re not going to want to put Puljujarvi on a line with two younger players, right? You’d keep Eberle with McDavid and Pouliot because that line had some success. Hall and Draisaitl came on like gangbusters last year but tailed off but having Yak on that line would add a different element; and then you have Puljujarvi lining up alongside Pat Maroon and Nugent-Hopkins thus insulating him a bit.
THEOILERS SPECIAL TEAMS
IF everything pans out the Edmonton Oilers finally have a right-handed winger who can actually one-time the puck. That is going to be a huge asset on their power-play as Jordan Eberle does not have said one-timer, actually you can probably give it at least two Mississippis before he releases the puck. Puljujarvi changes the complection of the power-play units in such an amazing way.
As for the penalty kill, Pulju has the speed and hockey IQ to be an asset there as well but I don’t expect him to see him there next year unless to give the regular penalty killers a rest.
SOMEBODY HAS TO GO
Well this is the pink elephant in the room isn’t it. We’re all expecting Yakupov to go but what if they kept the Russian and played him alongside McDavid for the year, then dealt him off? His cap hit is reasonable and there’s still tons of potential there for him to put 20 goals up easily.
But maybe the Oilers should hold on to Eberle, that would give the Oilers two ELITE right-handed snipers and that is something not a lot of teams could boast in having.
DRAFT DAY TWO MOVES
The problem is that the Oilers still need to get that upgrade on defence. As far as I know, today should be the day that Yak is actually moved but he might not be the only one. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins seems to be the name being tossed about in trade rumours and Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli was in fact seen talking to Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher on the draft floor yesterday leading some to speculate that the Oilers are looking at one of their young dmen.
Jared Spurgeon is the guy that the Oilers could be looking at. He’s one of the best puck movers in the NHL and of course he’s a local boy. I’ll be honest though, I’m not sure how much Chiarelli buys into the local boy stuff but my theory will be tested today as Vancouver Giants captain Tyler Benson is still available and lots of Oilers pundits are expecting his name to be called by the Oilers in the 2nd round.
Edmonton could also be looking at Jonas Brodin, a good friend of current Oilers blueliner Oscar Klefbom. He can play the right side even though he shoots left, so if he’s actually acquired by Edmonton I’ll be under the impression that other deals for a right-handed defenseman broke down.
Then there’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ former teammate, Matt Dumba. He’s the highest risk/reward of the three. He’s a big time hitter (ask NHL MVP Pat Kane) and he’s got a cannon of a right shot but he’s very unpredictable and I’m not sure that’d be something Todd McLellan would be interested in. I watched him at the World Championships and he looked lost. So there’s that…
Any way you cut it, the Oilers won the draft lottery again. They got one of the Finns they were coveting and the Oilogosphere is a sane place to be in again.
In the day’s first surprise, the Columbus Blue Jackets went a little off the board and selected forward Pierre Luc Dubois. This left Oilers fans with mouths gaping wide open and then collective cheers could be heard across the entire city of Edmonton. Jesse Puljujarvi had fallen to the Oilers at no.4!
The Oilers are getting the best two-way forward apart from Auston Matthews. He’s been likened to Teemu Selanne with regards to his speed and shot but he’s also very smart on the ice and absolutely dominated players of his own age. That being said, he fared pretty well playing against men in the Finnish league.
2015-16 Team: Oulun Karpat (#9)
Date of Birth: May 7th, 1998
Place of Birth: Alvkarleby, Sweden
Ht: 6’4″ Wt: 203 lbs
Shoots: Right
Position: Right Wing
Now considering that the Oilers have a complete lack of right-handed shooters, will they still move Jordan Eberle? Could this be Nail Yakupov’s dream come true? Theoretically, the Oilers could trade Eberle to shore up the D and Yak would finally get his spot in the top 6. I mean Chia could use this as an opportunity to pump and dump Yak because we know that Puljujarvi is playing in Edmonton next year.
I’d caution from trading Eberle though. Having two elite right-handed snipers is something a lot of teams don’t have and the Oilers powerplay could finally get going. But if the Oilers don’t deal a Nuge, Eberle, or Hall to upgrade their defence; they’re not going to make the playoffs.
Craig Button couldn’t help himself as soon as it was known that Puljujarvi would be an Edmonton Oiler and made the obvious correlation to the legendary Gretzky/Kurri duo. I reckon Puljujarvi might sound a bit closer to Esa Tikkanen when he talks but that makes no difference to me.
I’m stoked! As soon as the Blue Jackets named Dubois at no.3, the hairs stood up on my arms and I knew the Oilers would be getting that right-winger they’ve been craving. It’s all happening folks!
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It’s here folks! I hope you brought your popcorn and soda because she’s going to be a barnburner! Will the Edmonton Oilers use their pick to make Matthew Tkachuk an Edmonton Oiler or will it be Pierre-LLuc Dubois? Will they trade down and pick up a defenseman like PK Subban? Is anybody safe on the Edmonton Oilers roster apart from Connor McDavid? Let’s talk about it.
PK SUBBAN
A few quotes from some reputable writers who cover the Oilers online talking about these Subban rumours:
“If Peter Chiarelli pulls this off, every male Edmontonian will own a moustache like the one you see in the photo.” – Lowetide
“Whatever the case, a deal bringing Subban to Edmonton would be the biggest trade involving the Oilers since the Pronger transactions. It would instantly revitalize the club’s blue line, and as long as such a trade didn’t include Taylor Hall it’s hard to imagine a plausible scenario where the Oilers would be worse off as a team in the aftermath. It’s even possible to imagine a deal built on Hall-for-Subban which works from an Edmonton perspective, and that’s really saying something.” – Jonathan Willis
“The Oilers aren’t getting Subban, who has a cap hit of $9 million for six more seasons. His no-move clause kicks in July 1 which has kick-started the trade rumours, but Bergevin knows Subban and goalie Carey Price are 1 and 1a in terms of importance.” – Jim Matheson
“This feels like the Dany Heatley rumours so many years ago when everyone was in a frenzy but ultimately let down. Maybe I’m foolishly optimistic, but I firmly believe that Subban will be traded. I believe the talk from the TSN guys. I feel like there is far too much smoke for something not to happen.” – Kris Hansen
“Edmonton lacks either a No. 1 or 2 blue-liner, so this is something Chiarelli can’t afford to pass up. Especially when one assumes the Oilers might not have another Top 5 draft pick to peddle for years to come.” – Mark Spector
So there you have it. Coming some major contributors to the Oilogosphere to boot. Consensus seems to be that the Oilers must act on this and do it while they have a draft pick in the top 5 because those days are coming to an end and the Oilers’ first rounders won’t have this much value again… Hopefully.
Pete’s on it. He’s going after the big guns which shouldn’t be a surprise. He did manage to convince Zdeno Chara to join the Bruins and how he’s on a quest to add a Chara-like defender to the Edmonton Oilers. Hallelujah!
I wonder how much of a coup it would be if the Oilers could obtain PK Subban without having to give up Taylor Hall? The biggest or one of the biggest?
I have warmed up to the idea of trading Leon Draisaitl for help on the blueline but it would still be a hard pill to swallow. It’s been quite a while since the Oilers had a big centre like Leon. But if the Oilers could package him, the #4 overall, Davidson, and Yak for Subban, the #9 overall, and Eller; I think that’s something that would have to be considered.
THE NO.4 OVERALL PICK
I want to point you in the direction of this Youtube clip of the OilersTV boys having a little chat with Pierre-Luc Dubois. He says something VERY interesting in it that could sway some of the votes his way come draft time for the Oilers.
If you didn’t catch it, the journalists were asking him about where he projects himself in the NHL. Of course, if you’ve been reading his reports online you’d know that he’s a left-winger turned centre but he can play the right-wing as well. In fact, if given the choice between left and right wing, he’d prefer to play the right side and shoot from his off side.
Interesting turn of events. The Oilers could very well have an open spot on the right-wing come training camp and Dubois has been mentioned as one of the more NHL-ready prospects. At 6’2″ and over 200 pounds, this Screaming Eagle is a man child whose versatility is hard to ignore.
“If you need someone to check the other team’s top line and be a shut-down forward, he’s a guy who can do that. If you need someone to generate scoring opportunities, he has the skill, speed and hands to do that too. He’s a very all-around player.” – Dan Marr, NHL Director of Central Scouting,at NHL.com
What are your thoughts on Subban and Dubois? Let me know in the comments below!
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“THEY’RE TAKING CALLS OUT ON ALL THREE OF THE BIG BOYS. THEY’RE TAKING CALLS ON HALL” – Bob Stauffer, June 23rd Episode of Oilers Now
Lord tunderin’ Jebus! What in Sam’s living hell happened yesterday? PK Subban happened, that’s what. We’ve all been Subbanated. So instead of this draft being about Matthews and Laine, it’s going to be about where PK Subban is going, isn’t it? I’ll get into mythoughts on the Habs no.1 dman a little later. For now I want to talk about what Bob Stauffer was saying on yesterday’s Oilers Now.
DENNIS WIDEMAN
For the 2nd day in a row Stauffer talked about a Lauri Korpikoski/Dennis Wideman deal.
Wideman has had a couple of good seasons in the past and I guess that and the fact that he’s a right-handed shooter qualifies him to be a potential target for the Oilers.
Chiarelli did say he could go the “stop-gap” route on the short-term but geez, does anybody actually think that Wideman would be anything more than Nikita Niktin 2.0?
BS introduced us to the high-end, middle-end, low-end of what the Oilers could do with the hole on the right side of the defence.
High-End: PK Subban
Middle-End: Tyson Barrie/Travis Hamonic
Low-End: Dennis Wideman
Personally if the Oilers come to the point to where they’re picking off the low-end, I’d prefer they stick with what they have. Play Oesterle or Davidson on the RS and wait it out.
RIGHT SHOT DMAN RUMOURS
BS proposed the following trade ideas:
Leon Draisaitl, #4 overall, Fayne and another salary player (Korpikoski) for Subban
Why in the hell would Montreal do that? It’d basically boil down to Draisaitl and Dubois for Subban. Surely Fayne and Korpi would move on after the season. He’d get crucified if he made any deal that didn’t involve Hall or RNH.
Stauffer rejected any proposals from callers that included Hall and Nugent-Hopkins later on in the show. Was adamant that Draisaitl would need to be the centre-piece.
Draisaitl, #4 overall, Yakupov, and Fayne for Subban and Eller
Later he added Montreal’s 9th overall pick.
Money issues with this one for the Oilers I think.
BS proposed the hypothetical: What if the Oilers acquired Travis Hamonic AND Dennis Wideman this summer?
Bs said himself that Hamonic’s offense isn’t really there like it would be with Barrie (who he’s still claiming is very much available) but that would be a bit better than what the Oilers currently have now.
But for Hamonic, the Isles will want Hall and this is where Chiarelli has to say no.
What about Draisaitl for Hamonic? Or that being the base of the deal?
BS exclaimed that the Oilers would HAVE to listen of the Isles put together a really good package and talked about Josh Ho-Sang and Michael Dal Colle.
A 2-3% chance Subban gets moved proclaimed Stauffer.
I don’t see him getting moved. Any trade he makes for multiple pieces will set the Habs back unless a player like Hall is included. And likewise for Edmonton with Hall, they’ll lose any deal because his numbers won’t be able to be re-created in the aggregate.
OTHER MOVES
Would Winnipeg consider moving down?
Stauffer is under the impression that the Jets need another center and could the Oilers package something with the #4 to get the talks started with the Jets?
Bob McKenzie did send out a tweet that said Winnipeg might not be sold on Laine…
When Bobby Mac talks, you listen.
Florida Panthers’ UFA back-up Al Montoya came up
Bs fully expects the Oilers to entertain the idea of them signing a UFA goalie for $1.3M or less.
I dig it. Brossoit had some nice highlights but he’s not ready quite yet. One more season or less in Bakersfield and he should be good to go.
Does the Keith Yandle signing affect any notion of acquiring Kevin Shattenkirk or Jason Demers?
BS reckons the right-shooting defender is going to have to come via trade and doesn’t think that the Oilers can take on another 2nd pairing defenseman who makes $5.5M per year.
Tyler Bozak for Mark Faybe
BS said TOR is lacking RH’d dmen at the moment, they just game Kadri a bunch of cash and Auston Matthews is coming in but wasn’t sure if they’d take that deal.
He liked Bozak’s handedness, the secondary offence he’d bring and his ability on the faceoffs though.
Mark McNeill for Jujhar Khaira
Just a hypothetical from Stauffer illustrating that whoever acquired McNeill would have to be damned sure he’d make their team because he’s not waiver exempt but Khaira is.
Do you think that the Oilers could realistically add PK Subban AND Travis Hamonic? Or is that a bit too far-fetched at this point given we’re talking about the Oilers dealing Hall, Draisaitl, the 4th overall pick, Yakupov, Nugent-Hopkins, etc.
MILAN LUCIC
Bob said if Milan is coming in, expect a money man on the left-side to go out “And I think you know who that’d be.”
$6 per year times six years gets it done in Stauffer’s mind and the scenario where the Oilers are signing Lucic, one of Hall or Pouliot are going and what better way to address the defence than with Hall?
So Hall or Leon goes out, Lucic and PK Subban come in. Does that not put what Garth Snow did by adding Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy to shame?
What do you think about all of these rumours? Do you believe any of them? Let me know in the comments below!
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