Is there a team out there that values Ryan Nugent-Hopkins more than the Edmonton Oilers might? Perhaps a club that sees Nuge as a first-line center and not a complementary winger? According to Oilers insider Bob Stauffer, there is!
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On his radio show yesterday morning, after questioning guest David Staples (Cult of Hockey) on whether or not he thought there were any teams that saw the former 1st-overall pick as a first-line center, he said this about RNH,
“I’ll give you one (team), right now. They’ve got a couple of really good young centers but they’re not there yet and that’s (Ryan) Suzuki and (Jesperi) Kotkaniemi. And then they’ve got (Phillip) Danault, who’s basically an excellent third-line center I’m not sure they want to pay in Montreal. So I would suggest the Canadiens might see Nugent-Hopkins as a first-line center.”
Stauffer was trying to make the point that there are few hockey execs that see Nuge as a 1C and the majority see him as an “elite complementary winger” who is fantastic on the PP that is NOT a driver 5×5 as a centreman.
He added,
“The reality is, as a 5×5 player, you know what the numbers are over the course of his career as a centre.”
I think we can all deduce from Bob’s words that number ninety-three probably isn’t as good at 5×5 play as someone who was drafted as high as he was should be.
Staples’ point was that he believes there could be one GM out there who’s in a tough spot that will convince himself that Nugent-Hopkins IS a first-line pivot and he will be able to produce at the same rate he does on Connor McDavid’s or Leon Draisaitl’s wing.
“He could easily get, if he plays with Draisaitl and Yamamoto, I think he’s a good bet for a point-per-game this year in the NHL and as a free-agent, you get paid for points.”
To be clear, Staples thinks that going overboard and paying RNH $8Mx8 is a mistake and that he’s more deserving of a deal akin to those of Chris Kreider and Brendan Gallagher, who sign pre-COVID (Kreider) and post (Gallagher) for around $6.5Mx6 if I’m not mistaken.
My feeling is that I could definitely see the long-time Edmonton Oiler move on to cash in on his next contract. Why not? Money is tight at the moment and if he’s to be one of the top draws free-agent-wise in 2021, there’s nothing wrong with listening. He doesn’t have to sign elsewhere, right? He can do what Steven Stamkos did and entertain the best offers in the league and eventually re-sign with his original team even if the money IS better elsewhere.
The wildcard team in all of that speculation is the Seattle Kraken. Could you imagine if the Oilers lost both Tyson Barrie and Nugent-Hopkins to Seattle next summer?
I will say this too though, what if Edmonton’s plan is to bring back Hall because he’ll sign a $6Mx6yr deal? Would that push RNH out? Conversely, would it convince him to stay?
It’ll be an interesting little show to watch over the course of the season, no doubt.
Staples and Stauffer also chimed in on Oilers prospect Dylan Holloway and they both agreed that the former AJHL star will leave Wisconsin early and join the Oilers sooner than later.
“He could be ready, because of his game, he can be an energy player. He gets in there fast and hard on the forecheck and he hits people. He could be an Edmonton Oiler as early as next year.“
To which Stauffer excitedly replied,
“Oh! I might take it one step further than that. I wonder, whether or not, what might end up occuring here, David. He plays for Team Canada at the World Juniors, finishes the year up at Wisconsin, that would be his second full year in the NCAA. Who knows? Sometimes guys come out after two years…”
It’s easy to forget that Holloway has already played a season of college hockey as it wasn’t all that memorable for the player. But you have to wonder, with all of the depth on the Oilers’ wings, where would they have him go?
In an ideal scenario, he’d leave his college team, and join the Oilers because there’d be room for him to play there or if there wasn’t, they could send him to the AHL to play for Jay Woodcroft and the Bakersfield Condors. However, the American Hockey League is slated to get started on Feb.5th, but there’s no guarantee that will even happen with how badly COVID is blazing through the US. I haven’t even checked, but can they even have indoor events in Bakersfield right now?
So the club would really have to ask themselves what would be better for the development of the player? Staying at Wisconsin and getting stronger and more rounded-out or leaving?
One thing I didn’t consider is an overseas loan. With all the connections Holland has and has made this calendar year, would that be an option? Maybe send him to Sweden to finish out the year.
What do you think about Nugent-Hopkins’ future in Edmonton? Is he outtie 5000 or will he re-sign? And then with Dylan Holloway, do you think he should leave Wisconsin and start his pro career early?
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Recently, The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler was on the Lowdown with Lowetide (TSN1260) talking about the upcoming World Juniors in Edmonton, but he also took the time to talk about a few of the Edmonton Oilers’ prospects like Tyler Benson, Carter Savoie, Dylan Holloway, and Phillip Broberg.
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On Dylan Holloway
Dylan’s a special player in that he’s a bit of a throwback. He’s not like a lot of these other kids. Canada has brought a roster of talent that is built primarily around skill. We all know that Canada has typically built around roles at this tournament. In this year’s, they went a little bit of the other direction. I think it’s the right direction to go and ‘Let’s just go with the best players available and let’s figure out the rest later”. Holloway kind of fits into that group at the low end of the skill totem pole, if you will.
He’s always going to be one of those players who just fits. He can penalty kill, he’s arguably the fastest player on the team, him and Alex Newhook will play on the same line, I would argue that they are the two fastest players on the team along with maybe Peyton Krebs. So they’re going to play with a lot of speed on that line. He’s more physical than the other forwards and he just brings them something a little bit more different.
He’s going to be able to play that sort of North/South game on the wing and he’s going to finish all of his checks and be pesky. He’s got the skills to finish his plays and get open for his linemates and ultimately score goals as a shooter too.
He’s a modern pro player and often times I don’t think that those modern pro players are great fits for this tournament because they become such a track meet and sometimes they lack that sort of finesse junior skill that these kids have that really pops but Holloway just makes a ton of sense for me.
I think Dylan’s going to be a big big part of this team.
BLH’s Thoughts: I’m very excited about this player. I see him as a sort of Charlie Coyle-type in that he truly can play the game any way you want him to and he’s able to play across the board on forward. He’s such a versatile player and that is going to come in extremely handy for the Oilers in about three years when he’s ready to make the jump to the Oilers from the Condors.
The way I see it, he’ll only get two years at Wisconsin, then one in Bakersfield, and by year three, he’ll be playing on Edmonton’s third line. Could he be part of the new “Kid Line” with someone like Carter Savoie and Raphael Lavoie?
On Phillip Broberg
He’s going to play a HUGE role for that defense (Sweden’s) this year. He’s one of those kids who fits into that top-four when you look at their defence. Heading into the tournament this year you expected Victor Soderstrom, Phillip Broberg, Tobias Bjornfot, and Albert Johansson to be the four and that’s how it’s shaped up more or less.
Victor Soderstrom will I suspect will be “the no.1 guy”, but if you’re looking for a no.2 guy between Broberg and Bjornfot, I think that Broberg has got a really good chance to play 20, 25 minutes-a-night, to be on both special teams units; likely the 2nd PP but maybe the top PK and then his skating and physicality, his athleticism and his ability to play a transition game should really benefit them (Sweden).
I’ve never been super fond of Broberg’s game in the offensive zone. I think there’s a little bit of sloppyness to it. In terms of that track meet I previously talked about, he’s perfectly built for that. He’ll be a big transition defender for them.
It wouldn’t surprise me if he had a big tournament and he’s one of those four or five defenders that’s in the conversation for the 2D spot on the tournament all-star team.
BLH’s Thoughts: I’ve heard some lofty comparisons for Broberg in the past (Hedman), but to me, he looks like he’s developing into a player Oilers fans know well, Jeft Petry.
Phillip is big, rangy, can skate, is powerful, has an offensive element to his game, plays solid effective defence, and passes the puck very well. I’d be willing to be that if there was no pandemic this year, he’d be in Edmonton by now forcing one of the vets out, especially with Klefbom being hurt.
On Carter Savoie
He’s a player who attracted a lot of attention for good and bad throughout his draft year and a lot of it was, frankly, warranted. A lot of the sort of disappoinments with him, he was the kind of player who would drift in and out of games, he cheats up ice, he floats, he is a perimeter player in many cases when he doesn’t have the puck, and there are shifts when he goes out there and he’s having a negative impact on the defensive zone play of his team.
But then, in a split second in terms of raw talent and the ability to crack open a game, you could count on one hand the sort of players who could make those dashes like he can. I wouldn’t say he’s a terribly athletic kid, that’s another thing that was a knock on him. He’s always carried a bit more weight that most strenght and conditioning coaches would like out of a player who’s an elite athlete, but he can shoot the puck as well as anyone in that draft (2020) and his hands are up there. It was all kind of there for him. He was one of those kids, on skill, was just too talented to pass on once you were, say, out of the 2nd round.
BLH’s Thoughts: Remember Mike Comrie? Carter Savoie might be a better version of him.
Full disclosure, I was put off by the reports of his less-than-savory character. But as Lowetide and Wheeler talked about, when you base your judgment of a player solely on his faults, it can come back to bite you in the ass and in spades when it comes to players who are so talented at goal-scoring. Sure, he might take the odd shift off, but as we’re seeing, he has a Brett Hull-like ability to put the puck in the net.
Now, I’m not saying Carter Savoie is going to be a 500-goal scorer in the NHL, I’m just using the comparison to illustrate how good Savoie is at finding the twine with his shots. Also, nobody ever got far complaining about the Golden Brett’s two-way game.
So, and this applies to myself as well, maybe it would be more prudent to give players like Savoie or Noel Gunler and I’m suspecting Fabian Lysell in this year’s draft, as I’ve already heard whispers about him, a bit more leash and really focus on the things they do best.
On Tyler Benson
Benson is an interesting prospect because he was such a name growing up in the minor hockey circuit early on in his WHL career and he’s kind of gone the opposite direction of a player such as Savoie where he had all of the skill in the world and then the skill never took that next step and he had to remold his game.
He’s never going to be a high-end goal-scorer by any means, but I think if he can give you 10-15 goals and 25 assists and be a 40pt player at the NHL level, he still has some of the other tools now that he’s developed over the last couple of years to be able to round out that game and be a useful even strength player.
He’s just a player who’s, and it’s a cliche, but he’s become one of those “good at everything” players” who’s great at a small number of things.
He’s a fun player to watch. I really enjoy watching him, I think he’s smart and intelligent and kind of sneaky/crafty when he’s on the ice. He’s got really good playmaking instincts, but he’s not going to be the player that we probably thought he was going to be growing up many in the Western Canada hockey circle that he was going to be.
Now, the clock is ticking and can he make the jump from very good AHLer to decent NHLer?
BLH’s Thoughts: This is a pivotal season for Benson, in my opinion. In the two years prior to this one, his skating was the issue. Now, I haven’t watched his games in Europe, so I can’t comment on whether his boots have improved, but if they haven’t; I just cannot see how he makes it to the NHL when the league is transitioning to roster construction where three skill lines are the onus.
It’s true, he’s a very VERY smart hockey player, and in some cases that intelligence on the ice can supersede a player’s lack in other areas. We saw glimpses during his showcase in 2020 for the Oilers, but with the way Ken Holland has built his roster this year adding Ennis, Kahun, and keeping Nygard for another year, it doesn’t bode well for young Benson.
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Last Friday, TSN’s Craig Button was on TSN 1260 radio in Edmonton, and hosts Jason Gregor and Jason Strudwick asked him a plethora of questions on topics ranging from Carter Savoie’s white-hot start to his NCAA career, what he expects Dylan Holloway to bring to Team Canada at the 2021 World Juniors, as well as who should we be keeping an eye out for at the annual Xmas tournament.
I know that everyone digests their media the best in different manners, so I’d like to give you his quotes via this platform.
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What Role Does Button See Dylan Holloway In?
It’ll be important, it doesn’t matter where he plays. He’s going to have an important part of the team and be an important contributor.
Dylan has a lot of skill and he has a lot of power and I see players with power that want to be a skill guy and other players that have a lot of skill and they want to try and be a power player. I think he blends both of things together seamlessly. He can use his skill, he’s a powerful skater, he’s really quick and agile; and then once he uses that skill, because he’s thick and he’s strong and he’s assertive, it’s really hard to knock him away and knock awry from where he wants to go. He’s good on the boards, he’s good in the open ice, he’s good on the forecheck, he’ll get his chances and he can shoot the puck.
The thing I love most about Dylan is that he’s not interested in just going out there and having time go off the clock. He wants to go out there and make a difference.
Could we be seeing the emergence of a more talented version of Shawn Horcoff in the making here? Horcs had one really good season statistically, but for me at least, I saw him as a workhorse that did what was necessary to get the job done. He was also a tremendous leader for those Oilers teams that he captained.
Who to Keep an Eye On At the 2021 World Juniors?
Sweden’s blueline is really good lead by Broberg, Bjornfot, Viktor Soderstrom. They were key players when the Swedish team won the u18. They can skate, they’ve got size, and they’re going to really be able to push it.
Lucas Raymond and Alexander Holtz, the 4th and 7th overall picks in the NHL draft. They’re big time and they had their debut as 16yr olds at the Hlinka-Gretzky in Edmonton playing as underage players at that tournament. They are both gifted offensively and this will be their 2nd World Junior and they’re going to be really good.
You come across now to the US team. Matt Beniers is going to be a top pick in the draft and he may very well be a front-line player, he may be more of a front-line player and ahead of Alex Turcotte with respect to his impact. And it’s not that Alex isn’t good, Alex is really good, but that tells you how good Beniers is. He very easily could be a top-5, top-3 pick and Turcotte went 5th.
Cole Caufield has been outstanding in college hockey. Matt Boldy‘s been outstanding over at Boston College. That’s a line that they’ve had playing together they’re going to be really really formidable.
The Russians, we know about the goaltender. Do I have to talk about the Hlinka-Gretzky again? That’s where Yaroslav Askarov as an underage had his debut and he’s been terrific in the KHL. He returns.
Podkolzin is going to be a factor.
But this Russian team, the blueline is outstanding. Daniil Chayka is going to be a first-round draft pick. (Shakha) Mukhamadullin is a first-round draft pick to New Jersey. (Yan) Kuznetsov to the Calgary Flames. Mukhamadullin and Chayka are playing regular roles in the KHL. They can skate, they can move, and you’re looking at really good players.
Yan Kuznetsov, Edmonton Oilers fans aren’t going to want to hear this but, he’s another big strong Robyn Reghr-type of defenseman. He might not be as good as Robyn so I’ll call him a lower case Robyn Regehr, but he’s that type of defenseman.
The Russians are going to have scoring, they’re going to have a great blue line and they’ve got an awesome goaltender.
I’d add the following players should be ones to keep an eye on as well, Anton Lundell (FIN), Tim Stutzle (GER), Juraj Slafkovsky (SVK), Marco Rossi (AUS), Simon Knak (SUI), Jan Mysak and Stanislav Svozil (CZE), Jesper Wallstedt (SWE), Marat Khusnutdinov and Semyon Chistyakov (RUS), Spencer Knight and Brendan Brisson (USA), and finally Jack Quinn and Quinton Byfield (CAN).
The tournament should be really good this year! My feeling is that it’s going to be a three-horse race between the Canadians, Americans, and Russians for Gold. But, that being said, with 2020 being as messed up as it’s been, I would not be surprised one bit if a team like the Swedes or Czechs caught fire and upset everyone.
Realistically though, it really is Canada’s gold medal to lose. I just hope all those days in quarantine haven’t had too much of an impact on the players.
Is it too much to ask for a Russia/Canada final?
Button’s Initial Thoughts on Carter Savoie’s Hot Start
I thought he was one of the best goal-scorers in the draft. What I was surprised about was that he was around in the 4th round.
Goal-scoring is such a valuable commodity. To me, I’m going to look at a player like Carter Savoie at every turn. I think he got unfairly maligned and people stopped looking at what he does really well and that’s what he’s doing at Denver.
Will Savoie Leave College in Two Years or Three?
I think he’s a terrific goal-scorer, but I would say, let’s see where he’s at after two years. Let’s see where his development is at and then go from there.
You’re looking now at a player that’s a niche and will have every opportunity if he continues playing at the level that he is and I think he’s capable of playing at. I mean, he very well could be at the World Junior tournament in Edmonton which will be another step for his development.
After two years, where’s he at physically? Where’s he at in his game? Has he dominated? I’m a big believer, don’t leave school until you’ve really mastered that level of play. If he’s there in two years, then you can have that discussion.
What Does He Have to Work On?
There’s two things that I think Carter (has to work on). Number one, when you’re such a prolific scorer coming up through all of the age groups and everything, you know that there is a lot of forgiveness with respect to ‘you know if I don’t score this shift or I’m gonna get the puck again. I’m not too worried about it’. Just that consistent focus and intensity and being a dangerous player shift-to-shift-to-shift.
The other thing, he’s learning that at the college level the players are bigger, they’re stronger, it’s a little bit harder to get where he needs to get to. So just understanding, don’t get yourself unnecessarily tied up, make sure that you understand where you’re going on the ice, and don’t get yourself contained unnecessarily. As a goal-scorer, you want to be open and you want to be free to get the puck and get onto rebounds.
Some have been comparing Savoie to former AJHL, NCAA, and WHL standout Mike Comrie.
Now, I remember Comrie from his performances at the Viking Cup in my hometown WAY back in the day. I think the 1998 tourney when he starred for the AJHL All-Stars with Fernando Pisani. He was so far ahead of everyone from a scoring POV that every time he hit the ice he was producing scoring chances left and right.
Fun Fact: Current Oilers head coach Dave Tippet played in the very first Viking Cup back in ’81 for the Prince Albert Raiders of the SJHL. His team finished 2nd.
So if Savoie is Comrie v2.0, then the Oilers have a fabulously gifted player on their hands. I would caution young Carter to avoid the route Comrie took and that is to become a scrapper in the NHL’s lightweight division when the scoring slows down.
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The World Juniors are just around the corner and TSN’s NHL draft guru Craig Button is doing a series of short profiles on the players who are candidates to be on Team Canada for this year’s tournament.
Here’s what Button had to say about Edmonton Oilers 2020 first-rounder Dylan Holloway,
“Dylan Holloway will bring a skill and power element regardless of where he plays. His versatility has been demonstrated time and time again. He can play center ice, he can play wing. He can play up your lineup and he can play down your lineup. He can play in all different types of situations. His skating is excellent. He’s got speed, quickness, power, and once he uses that to create advantages for himself, it becomes very difficult for opponents to regain an advantage on him because that size and power is utilized very very well. He attacks defenders, he attacks the net, and he’s invested from a competitive standpoint everywhere on the ice.
My one big takeaway, Dylan Holloway can switch from skill to power and power to skill in a fleeting moment.”
I liked him early last season as he reminded me of Anders Lee a bit. However, I think a lot of fans were down on the selection of Holloway because he didn’t quite have the jaw-dropping numbers some were expecting him to have after being named the MVP of the AJHL as a 17yr old. His NCAA club featured former NHL first-round picks players like Alex Turcotte (LA) and Cole Caufield (MTL), and K’Andre Miller (NYR), and was coached by former NHLer Tony Granato. Yet, success wasn’t to be had and it was a mess from the get-go.
That said, Turcotte (whose dad, Alfie, had a cup of coffee with the Oilers’ AHL club in Nova Scotia back in the day) signed with LA and that opened up a door for Holloway to become the top centre on the club. The Bragg Creek native grabbed that opportunity and has run with it. In his first two games with Wisconsin this year, Holloway has already amassed 25% of his goal production from the season prior. That’s just a fancy way of saying he only scored eight goals last season and he has two so far.
The Athletic’s prospect expert Corey Pronman has Holloway in the category of “Strong Consideration” for this year’s edition of Team Canada that will compete for the gold in Edmonton. Alongside him, Pronman listed other players like Alex Newhook (COL), Cole Perfetti (WPG), Connor Zary (CGY), Peyton Krebs (VGK), and Phil Tomasino (NSH).
I think Holloway should be a lock. Unless he’s found unfit to play, cutting him after all he’s had to go through to get to the camp, would be a massive mistake and would surely piss off a lot of powerful people. He’s exactly the kind of player you want on this team. He’ll be a momentum shifter during the tournament, mark my words.
This is what Mr. Pronman had this to say about Holloway’s chances of making Team Canada for this year’s World Juniors,
Holloway and Newhook are in tough positions given they didn’t play in either scrimmage because they were isolated from the group after entering Canada from the United States. But they have strong histories with Hockey Canada, and have the toolkits and performances with their club teams to merit a spot.
As an Oilers fan, I’m feeling jacked about the future of the club. The pipeline is finally starting to fire out some legit NHL prospects.
I mean, think about it. Edmonton has Rafa Lavoie causing absolute terror for goaltenders in the Allsvenskan. They’ve got defenceman Evan Bouchard in the same division producing offense like he’s back in junior. Ryan McLeod and Philip Broberg are getting regular shifts for their clubs in the Swiss league and the SHL respectively. Look, Phil Kemp, a defensive defenceman, signs a contract with Edmonton and a week later he’s already putting up points in Vasby. Tyler Benson is a point-per-game player in the Swiss second division, and Dmitri Samorukov is the KHL’s +/- leader whilst playing a huge role for his club there. Then we’ve got goalie Olivier Rodrigue stonewalling the Austrians to boot!
In two seasons, there’s a good chance that we could see as many as five of the players I talked about above on the Oilers main squad. The benefit of having all of those ELCs on the club will be through the roof and right about the time the club is challenging for Western Conference titles no less.
Tell me this isn’t all a bit too convenient for real life. The NHL expands the playoffs to include 8 more teams because reasons. Then! The NHL draft lottery is held and those teams as a group are given the 2nd best odds of winning the Alexis Lafreniere sweepstakes and they do?! Not only does this set up ANOTHER live TV event to determine the winner of the play-in losers but it shafts teams who are in desperate need of a player like Lafreniere…
Now, as a draft geek, I’d love nothing more than the opportunity to draft the latest French-Canadian phenom. I’m confident in saying that he’s going to be more impactful from a goal-scoring perspective than the last left-winger Edmonton drafted first overall. I mean topping an average of 20-goals/yr shouldn’t be that hard for a talent like this, should it? But the reality is, this is the Oilers’ best chance to go deep into the COVID Cup playoffs. This roster is as deep as it’s been since 2006, deeper than 2016 I’d argue. So I’m happy to be drafting at 20th overall or later if that ends up the case.
Who could the Oilers be looking at in or around 20th overall? Well, let’s see who the experts have Edmonton taking in their mock drafts or their latest rankings.
Kaiden Guhle – LD – Prince Albert (WHL) – 6’2, 186lbs
“Strapping blueliner with great mobility and a keen eye for defending. Has the potential to be a minute-muncher down the line, albeit with a somewhat limited offensive ceiling. Safe.” – Robinson (source)
I’ve read that Guhle compares well to Darnell Nurse. He’s very athletic, he’s one of the better skaters in the draft on the blueline, and he’s got a mean streak.
I can’t see Edmonton taking another defenseman with their first-rounder this year. From all indications, my sources have more or less said that the Oilers will be looking to select a forward with skill.
“Reichel is a very good skater with great combination of speed and quickness. He is constantly moving and participating in the play even when he doesn’t have the puck. Reichel has very good puck-skills and a great shot. He isn’t afraid to battle for pucks in the corners or go to the dirty areas of the ice which shows his pro-like style. Reichel has shown great hockey sense on both sides of the puck; he is already pretty good defensively which is a positive sign for his NHL future. He isn’t all that flashy, but he is very efficient, and he has legitimate middle-six upside at the NHL level. He is also pretty young for his draft class.” – Jokke Nevalainen (source)
What I like about this player is that he’s very good in the muck. If you’re a team who needs a winger to dig about in the corners or on the walls, Reichel is one of the best players in the draft at doing this. He doesn’t seem to care how big his opponent is either. He wins a lot of puck races and battles because of this regardless of his slight stature. Could be a real handy player to have alongside a highly-skilled center.
McKeen’s 2020 NHL Draft Guide
Hendrix Lapierre – C – Chicoutimi (QMJHL) – 6′, 179lbs
“Lapierre may just be the draft’s biggest wildcard this year because of his head and neck injuries. He entered the year as a potential top five pick and now is not even a guaranteed first rounder. However, the Oilers are a team that I believe are positioned to take a chance on Lapierre. They have tried to address their blueline the last few years in the first round, so the Chicoutimi center would certainly give them another offensive weapon in the future.” – Brock Otten
I’m torn on this player. He played 19 games in the ‘Q’ before shutting it down and only scored two goals… Not great but like Otten, I’ve got a feeling that Lapierre is high on Edmonton’s draft list but there’s a feeling that he’ll be long gone by the time the Oilers are selecting according to one of my sources. If you’re taking this player, you’re convinced his neck issues are behind him and you’re taking as much time as needed, or more, with regards to his development. Meaning, he gets the maximum amount of time in junior, then two or three years in the AHL.
For me, what the team decides to do with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will tell me how they plan on developing the club’s future. Taking Lapierre when the team has McDavid, Draisaitl, and RNH ahead of him for the next five seasons doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.
“Andrae is a reliable one-on-one defender with a short gap who looks to deliver hits and battle hard for positioning. He may be on the smallish side, but Andrae has a very high compete level and it shows in the way he continues to fight for pucks and uses his lower-body strength and rapier-like stick thrusts. Andrae uses superior anticipation and short routes to intercept passes ranging from chips to cross-ice attempts, and he transitions from defense to offense as well as any of his peers. He also is a solid bodychecker who plasters unassuming puck carriers to the boards or line someone up for a jarring open-ice hit” – Kournianos
Another left-shot defender but this one only a shade taller than Kailer Yamamoto is probably not what the Oilers are looking for right now. I haven’t seen a lot of this player but from what I have he looks like a great puck mover. A smooth operator indeed. I’m just not sure how long his career would be if he was playing the role of Darius Kasparaitis AND Sandis Ozolinsh… As interesting as it sounds, I reckon he’ll fall to the second or third round.
Greig’s name kept rising in the final months of the season and scouts have told me they expect him to be a first-round lock due to how skilled he is and how hard he competes on the ice. I can see the Oilers valuing those attributes a lot, especially down the middle where the organization doesn’t have a lot of young depth. – Pronman
Now here’s where my previous point about draft a center hits a bit of a wall. Why draft Greig over Lapierre when they’ve got 97, 29, and 93 all locked up and the answer is, the Wheat King brings a different toolbox to the job site than Lapierre. He’s got some Martin Lapointe in him that I’m sure Ken Holland would love. If Lapierre isn’t helping out on offense or is being shut down, how else is he contributing? Can he excel in the muck like Greig can? I’m not so sure he can.
I’d be a little shocked if Mark Greig’s boy was drafted in the first round. He’s good but I think there are some better players that could be taken in the top-31 picks. That said, a team looking to increase its depth and character might take him before the first round is up.
The Hockey Prospect Black Book
Connor Zary – C – Kamloops (WHL) – 6’0″, 177lbs
“Zary is a multi-faceted, duel-threat center who might be more translatable on the wing. Arguably his best skill attribute are his hands. He has an excellent set of hands that he can use to break down opposing players at a consistent rate. His hands seamlessly blend into his release, giving him a fairly difficult wrist-shot for a goalie to pick up on. He can catch and release the puck, yet find difficult to hit seams on a goalie. There’s a good balance between accuracy, power, and timing with his shooting talent. He can make high-end passes and knows how to stretch out his passing options and readjust his passing lanes by slowing down the play. What really stands out the most is the deception. His competitiveness is also a plus. He’s consistent at getting into high danger areas, and isn’t afraid to use his body in tight to the net when looking to get a rebound. He can hit as well.”
When I watched Zary at the Top Prospects game I was really impressed. He was very creative with his playmaking and seemed to be in the right place at the right time offensively. Out of the centers discussed in this post, I think I like Zary the best. He’s got wonderful hands and he attacks the middle of the ice with no qualms. Maybe that could bite him in the ass at some point but Matt Barzal has done okay so far. Zary’s skating will need to improve a bit going forward as he looks like he’s got heavy boots. Not much waterbug in his game, he’s more of a straight-ahead skater.
At the start of the year, I was really into Dylan Holloway. I liked everything about the kid and that he dominated the AJHL as a 17-year-old was the catalyst. He had a slow start to his time in Wisconsin but I’m confident he’ll really pick it up in his 2nd season there whenever that gets started.
But as the season wore on, a Czech player caught my eye during the World Juniors and then continued to draw my attention as he made the hop over the Atlantic to play for Hamilton (OHL), his name is Jan Mysak.
An electrifying player in my opinion. Once he’s fully developed physically, he has the potential to be a real game-breaker at the next level. Might I say Pastrnak-like? Probably not to that point, but I’m confident in saying that he could be an effective triggerman at the NHL level.
Now, you’re not going to mistake Mysak for Ryan O’Reilly. Mysak scores goals and contributes to offense primarily and I’m okay with that. I really hope the days of taking elite offensive talents and trying to mold them into 200ft two-way players is over. Imagine if they tried to do that with Pavel Bure back in the day or Teemu Selanne? I don’t think so!
The reason I brought up Holloway is that I think there’s a possibility he may slip from around the 10-14 spot to possibly the 18-22 spot depending on who jumps up. It would be a very difficult decision for me to pick just one of these players as I’m a big fan of both. With that in mind, if Zary, Holloway, and Mysak are available when the Oilers draft, I reckon it’s a win/win/win situation for the club if they take one of them.
Do you have a personal preference for who the Oilers should pick? Let us know in the comments below or over on Twitter (@beerleagueheroe)!
Puck Racism
The sales are starting to trickle in with this design and I’m going to spam the hell out of it on my website and the BLH Hockey Instagram because I feel passionate about it and I feel like Hockey is Diversity deserves the proceeds that I’ll be donating to them.
So, please. If you’ve got an extra $20 lying around and you want to do a good thing for good people, click the pic down below and grab a t-shirt, a mask, a onesie, a tank top, or some stickers.
Hockey is Diversity is a German group whose aim is to draw attention to the ethnic diversity in society, which goes beyond the sporting borders in order to sensitize people interculturally. The diversity that has long been regarded as an enrichment in sport as a melting pot of people of different ethnicities, cultures, and religions should also be transferred to society.
Click the pic and help support this worthy cause! Portions of the proceeds will go to Hockey is Diversity!
