Tag Archives: Alex Debrincat

Beer League Hero, Breaking News, Edmonton Oilers, Kieron Vick, NHL, NHL Entry Draft, Prospects

Gord Downie, The Tragically Hip, and the Oilers 2016 Draft Options: 2nd Round and Beyond

 

EDMONTON, ALTA: AUGUST 5, 2010 — Gord Downie and the Country of Miracles at the Edmonton Folk Festival in Edmonton, August 5, 2010. (Ed Kaiser-Edmonton Journal)

Before we get into Kieron’s post and on behalf of everyone here at Beer League Heroes, I (BLH) just want to send our best wishes Gord Downie, his family, and The Tragically Hip. On their website, the band announced that Downie has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.

The Tragically Hip weren’t my favourite band but they certainly hold a place in my heart. Songs like “Courage”, “Little Bones”, and “50 Mission Cap” were amongst only a few that I had blaring out my car speakers as a youth. I only recently came to know the song below, “The Lonely End of The Rink”, due to it being the theme song for the Marek vs. Wyshynski podcast but it’s my favourite by far.

Cheers and a hat tip to you Gord Downie.

 

If you look at the Oilers prospect depth, there isn’t much to brag about considering the amount of high picks we have had in these recent years. Although they have drafted a couple of gems in late rounds such as Brandon Davidson, a 6th round pick in the 2010 draft, and Greg Chase, who I personally find promising, in the 7th round of the 2013 draft. However, if you look at the our prospects, you don’t see anyone that we’ve drafted in the second, third, or fourth rounds stand out.

This is one of the reasons I disliked the Reinhart trade. As much as Griffin Reinhart still hasn’t fully developed, and could actually turn out to be decent for us, it’s the two draft picks we gave up for him. Yes, we did sign Drake Caggiula a few weeks ago which helps, but the 16th and 33th overall picks would’ve certainly boosted the Oilers depth chart for prospects.

What I think the Oilers need is skilled wingers that can eventually play alongside with McDavid, or centers with size that can actually play the style of game that Todd McLellan and Peter Chiarelli are attempting to implement. Meaning the players have to have high hockey IQ and high competitiveness. They have to be smart and they have to be ready to compete.

Lets look at some of the potential 2nd and 3rd round picks that we could see the Oilers targeting at the draft:

2nd Rounders

Alex DeBrincat RW Erie (OHL) 5′ 7″ 160lbs.

Former teammate of Connor McDavid, DeBrincat is a right handed shot that’s very skilled and could turn into something special given the right role, especially if paired with Connor. Although he could be likely to go in the first round, if he slides there is no question the Oilers should take a chance on him.

Nathan Bastien C Mississauga (OHL) 6′ 3″ 195lbs

A center who has obtained the eyes of NHL scouts with his improved play up the middle. Bastien developed a great game on both ends of the ice and could surely be a player that will go early in the second, possibly late first.

Mitch Mattson C Bloomington (USHL) 6′ 4″ 190lbs

Size up the middle as I mentioned, something that is needed in the Western Conference, especially playing in the Pacific Division. Size is what Peter Chiarelli likes, and Mattson could be someone he keeps his eye on.

Tyler Benson LW Vancouver (WHL) 5′ 11″ 185lbs

The captain for the Vancouver Giants has the ability to play both center and wing. Benson has struggled with several injuries in his junior career, but when he was healthy this season, the performances were consistent, he is very mobile on the ice and has a good hockey IQ.

Carl Grundström LW Modo Hockey (SHL) 6′ 0″ 187lbs

Currently playing professional hockey in Sweden at the age of 18, Grundström is a winger that has an offensive mindset. Good speed, generates shots and isn’t afraid to get in front of the net.

3rd Round

Jordy Stallard C Calgary Hitmen (WHL) 6′ 2″ 187lbs

Stallard is more offensive than defensive. Has a great shot and is a good skater, but needs to work on his defensive game.

Tim Gettinger LW Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) 6′ 5″ 205lbs

The big winger who looks to continue developing his game, has played well this year. Skates well for his size, but Gettinger also needs to work on other aspects of his game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUBBlz7Hlpw

Brett Murray LW Carleton Place (CJHL) 6′ 4.25″ 216lbs

Much like Tim Gettinger, Murray is also a big winger who plays and moves well for his size. Doesn’t get much attention due to playing in the CJHL, but surely the scouts will keep an eye out for this player in the deeper rounds.

There is a ton of talent in this draft, as there usually is and now is a great time for the Oilers to draft well in the lower rounds, as they look to improve their rank on the standings. There is much interrogation towards the Oilers on what they’ll do once the draft comes around, as a big time Oilers fan myself, I will be paying attention to every single thing that happens. With one 2nd round pick and three 3rd round picks, lets hope to have a successful draft next month.

Who do you think the Oilers should draft in the lower rounds? Or if they trade down and acquire a couple of 1st rounders, who should they draft? Let me know what you believe would help the Edmonton Oilers in the comments below!

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Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, NHL Entry Draft, Prospects, Rumors

Could the Islanders Come Calling for Taylor Hall?

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Hall Day Long Baby! Bow to the King, Chewbacca!

Veteran sports journalist Larry Brooks recently wrote an article in the New York Post discussing what the New York Islanders need to do take the Eastern Conference and part of his post included a tidbit about a player on the Edmonton Oilers…

If we’re going beyond rentals, and why not, don’t the Islanders have enough to get Jonathan Drouin? And is there enough for Snow to pull off a deal with old trading buddy Peter Chiarelli, now in Edmonton, to get young Taylor Hall onto No. 91’s left wing? Wouldn’t that be something? – Larry Brooks

Now this is nothing more than commentary on the part of Larry Brooks but I feel that it’s not completely unrealistic. It’s pretty far out there but for the sake of igniting a bit of water cooler talk, I think we should delve into it.

Now the reason we can sit here and talk about the idea of moving Taylor Hall is simple, what’s he done the last 15 games when the team has needed him so badly? Well he’s contributed three goals in that time. Ouch. The good thing is that in the past three games he’s produced five points. But that 15 game stretch hurts the Oilers. He’s their main man this year and up until the loss to Vancouver on Boxing Day, he was getting points left and right.

Let’s be straight about something though, this is not an anti-Hall post. It’s simply me taking a shot at an idea put forth by another writer. Just for shits and giggles if you will.

The Return

So Hall is the Oilers (and possibly the NHL’s) best LW, he’s doing a majority of the scoring and the next person on the depth chart after him is Benoit Pouliot… So I’d be looking to toss a band-aid on there but my main concern would be on defence. With the Islanders that’s easy, Travis Hamonic. But it couldn’t be a straight up deal there, Garth Snow would have to toss in something else… Something big.

Brock Nelson is a guy that would have some value to the Oilers. He’s a big body, is about to put up around 200 shots this season if everything goes to plan and should be good for around 25-30 goals (which would be a career high but he’s shooting at 17% when his career average is around 10%, so we can expect that to come back to earth at some point). He’s good on the face-off dot (51%) and is above water (barely) on the CF% Rel (.2)

Ryan Strome is another player that is worth your time. He’s a forward that can play across the board with a solid build (6’1″ 199lbs). He put up 50pts in 81 games last season and then for whatever reason found himself on the outside looking in this season. He was sent down to the AHL for 8 games where he racked up 10 points in that time. He’s too good for the AHL and he needs to find a team that could accommodate him in the NHL if the Isles aren’t willing to do so. Not that there is any indication that the Isles are unhappy with Strome but he’s def. not getting the same push this year as he was last season.

But let’s say it’s one of those players, prospects, and a pick deals… We’ve got Hamonic already, so moving on to the prospects. Two jump out at me right away, Michael Dal Colle, a LW plying his trade with the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL, and Mathew Barzal of the Seattle Thunderbirds. Another prospect by the name of Ryan Pulock, a right-handed shooting dman, catches my eye a bit too.

Dal Colle hasn’t had an amazing season so far. He was cut from the Team Canada World Junior team as he wasn’t producing at the rate he was expected to (he had back to back 90+ point seasons before this one) in Oshawa before his trade to Kingston. But since that deal MDC has been scoring at more than a 2 PPG clip, so that is a plus. The other thing that is intriguing about him is his size, he stands 6’3″ and 198lbs according to eliteprospects.com and he’s a former 5th overall pick from the 2014 draft.

Mathew Barzal is a crafty playmaking centre who is remarkably good at reading plays. He had a few highlight plays at the World Juniors in Finland for Team Canada but was under-used in my opinion. He has an injury history but has moved on from that to put up very respectable numbers this year (45 points in 27 games so far). The Oilers did have a chance to select him but chose to move their second first round pick in the Griffin Reinhart trade where the Islanders landed him at #16 overall. Lastly, he was one of the final cuts at Islanders camp this year so there’s that to consider as well.

Ryan Pulock could be the powerplay quarterback the Oilers have been looking for since they signed Justin Schultz. He’s got a cannon of a shot and decent size (6’2″ 220lb.) but his downside being he’s not the most physical of players and his skating could use a bit or work.

As far as draft picks go, the Islanders first rounder is a given. At this point it is sitting at 23rd overall and we don’t know how the Isles will do in the final third of the season, so it could go up or down but they’re sitting in a playoff spot right now, so let’s assume it’ll stay in the 20-25 range thus giving the Oilers a plethora of options.

At that point in the draft they could add depth to the forwards by picking skilled players like Sam Steel (Regina Pats), hard-working two-way players like Tyler Benson (Vancouver Giants), or a sniper like Connor McDavid’s linemate last year, Alex Debrincat (Erie Otters). Chiarelli could possibly pick up another defenceman with the pick and I’m thinking the likes of the level-headed Kale Clague (Brandon Wheat Kings), the hulking Logan Stanley (Windsor Spitfires), or the uber-intelligent Libor Hajek (Saskatoon Blades).

Then again Edmonton could very well do as they did last year and use it in a trade too. Who knows?

The Conclusion

The team trading Taylor Hall in this situation never wins. As I said earlier, he’s one of the best left wings in the game if not THE best left-wing. He’s finally maturing into the guy we’ve been waiting for and he’s staying healthy! The other thing is, scoring is hard enough with one of the best in the league, you can only imagine how much harder it would be without him.

Grabbing a handful of prospects and picks with Travis Hamonic or acquiring Hamonic with Strome or Nelson would definitely add to the scoring quandary as oppose to solving it but I guess with that said, it would add depth to a team that looks to be lacking in it not only at the NHL level but at the AHL level and it could open up the possibility of adding a high-ticket marquee defenseman.

What say you? At the cost of an amazing hockey player, would you try to shore up the holes in the Oilers roster so that the foundation of the team was stronger going forward? Let me know in the comments below!

Thank you for reading! Take care!
BLH