Welcome back Beer Leaguers. If it’s Monday morning, then it must be time for The Oilers Prospect Recap! It’s a busy week for Oilers prospects this week, as the CHL and KHL continue their seasons, and the AHL and most NCAA teams began play as well. I’m going to continue to focus on prospects in the CHL, NCAA, Europe, and the ECHL once the Norfolk Admirals begin play.
News and Notes:
Oct 5 – D Ben Betker and C Greg Chase assigned to Norfolk Admirals (ECHL) from Bakersfield Condors (AHL)
Oct 6 – LW Braden Christoffer signs a 3 year ELC with the Edmonton Oilers. Previously assigned to Bakersfield Condors (AHL)
Oct 10 – D Ziyat Paigin transferred to HC Sochi (KHL) from Ak Bars Kazan (KHL)
Keven Bouchard, G – Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL)
Oct 9 – Back-up vs Moncton Wildcats. MON 4 – BAC 2
Oct 10 – Allowed 2 goals on 29 shots, playing 60:00 vs Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. CAP 2 – BAC 3. Named 2nd Star
Season Totals: 4 GP, 1-3-0, 4.05 GAA, 0.866 SV%, 0 SO
Ethan Bear, D – Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
Oct 10 – 2 assists, even, 0 PIM vs Prince Albert Raiders. PA 2 – SEA 3 (SO)
Oct 11 – No points, even, 2 PIM vs Portland Winterhawks. SEA 3 – POR 2
Season Totals: 5 GP, 0 G, 4 A, +1, 4 PIM
Caleb Jones, D – Portland Winterhawks (WHL)
Oct 9 – No points, +1, 0 PIM vs Spokane Chiefs. SPO 0 – POR 5
Oct 11 – 1 assist, -1, 2 PIM vs Seattle Thunderbirds. SEA 3 – POR 2
Season Totals: 5 GP, 1 G, 2 A, -2, 9 PIM
John Marino, D – Tri-City Storm (USHL)
Oct 9 – No points, even, 2 PIM vs Cedar Rapids Roughriders. CR 2 – TC 1 (SO)
Oct 10 – No points, -3, 0 PIM vs Des Moines Buccaneers. DM 4 – TC 2
Season Totals: 5 GP, 1 G, 4 A, +2, 6 PIM
Tyler Vesel, F – University of Nebraska-Omaha (NCAA)
Oct 9 – No points, even, 0 PIM vs Minnesota State. OMAHA 3 – MINNST 2
Oct 10 – No points, +2, 0 PIM vs Minnesota State. OMAHA 2 – MINNST 0
Season Totals: 2 GP, 0 G, 0 A, +2, 0 PIM
Evan Campbell, LW – UMass-Lowell (NCAA)
Oct 9 – 1 goal, 1 assist, +1, 2 PIM vs Rensselaer. RPI 0 – UML 3
Season Totals: 1 GP, 1 G, 1 A, +1, 2 PIM
Aidan Muir, LW – Western Michigan University (NCAA)
Oct 9 – No points, even, 0 PIM vs Ferris State. FSU 2 – WMU 3
Season Totals: 1 GP, 0 G, 0 A, Even, 0 PIM (note: WMU did play on Oct 10, but as of time of publish, had no box score available.)
William Lagesson, D – UMass Amherst (NCAA)
Oct 9 – No points, +1, 0 PIM vs Colorado College. UMASS 6 – CC 3
Oct 10 – 1 assist, +1, 0 PIM vs Colorado College. UMASS 4 – CC 3
Season Totals: 2 GP, 0 G, 1 A, +2, 0 PIM
Roman Horak, F – Vityaz (KHL)
Oct 5 – 1 goal, +1, 0 PIM vs Lokomotiv. LOK 3 – VIT 1
Oct 7 – No points, even, 0 PIM vs Lada. LAD 1 – VIT 0
Oct 9 – 2 goals, +1, 2 PIM vs Ak Bars Kazan. AKB 2 – VIT 4
Season Totals: 19 GP, 5 G, 3 A, -4, 10 PIM
Miroslav Svoboda, G – AZ Havirov (Czech 2)
Season Totals: 6 GP, 4.09 GAA, 0.877 SV%, 0 SO (note: I’m still searching for a good site that provides box scores for the Czech 2 league.)
Ziyat Paigin, D – HC Sochi (KHL)
Season Totals: 8 GP, 0 G, 1 A, Even, 2 PIM (AK Bars Kazan, KHL)
5 GP, 1 G, 2 A, -3, 2 PIM (Bars Kazan, VHL)
Prospect of the Week: Roman Horak (3 GP, 3 G, 0 A, +2, 2 PIM)
For information regarding the Oilers AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, watch for my second stat package, Condors Corner, coming later this week.
With training camp in full swing, the Oilers have already played two split squad games, with another preseason tilt against the Winnipeg Jets looming. Following the split squad games, coach Todd McLellan divided the team up into two groups. This is a bit of a change to Oilers fans, as in previous years, the coaching staff has already begun making cuts to trim the roster down. Be that as it may, there was a number of cuts made prior to the games against Calgary. As well as that, there are a handful of prospects that didn’t attend main camp. Here’s a quick look at were those players not currently in Oilers camp can be found.
Tyler Vesel – University of Nebraska-Omaha (NCAA)
Evan Campbell – UMass-Lowell (NCAA)
Aidan Muir – Western Michigan University (NCAA)
William Lagesson – UMass Amherst (NCAA)
Zack Nagelvoort – University of Michigan (NCAA)
Keven Bouchard – Baie-Comeau (QMJHL)
Eetu Laurikainen – Bakersfield (AHL)
Ben Betker – Bakersfield (AHL)
Caleb Jones – Portland (WHL)
Ethan Bear – Seattle (WHL)
John Marino – Tri-City (USHL)
NCAA hockey is scheduled to begin play October 3. QMJHL and WHL hockey seasons both begin on September 24. USHL begins play on September 25.
In addition, teams overseas have already begun their seasons. Here are the players in that category:
Roman Horak – Chekhov Vityaz (KHL) 11 GP, 1 G, 2 A, -3, 6 PIM
Miroslav Svoboda – AZ Havirov (Czech2) 5 GP, 3.84 GAA, 0,876 S%
Ziyat Paigin – AK Bars Kazan (KHL) 8 GP, 0 G, 1 A, +2, 2 PIM (Paigin has since been assigned to Bars Kazan of the VHL, and has yet to play a game)
Former draft pick John McCarron has moved on from the Oilers, and signed an AHL deal with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
On an interesting note, forward Daniil Zharkov is not listed anywhere as playing with a club. Myself, as well as the very talented Patrick Conway (@chunkletshockey) are both looking into what Zharkov’s status may be.
Check back regularly, as I intend to be posting weekly stats for these players, and any other prospects as they are assigned following training camp.
Part 2 of my summer feature, Prospect Profile, finds us examining a trio of players in the Oilers system that will be playing collegiate hockey this upcoming season. In the past, the Oilers have dipped into the US college system on a fairly regular basis to find players, whether it be via free agency in the case of Justin Schultz or Marc Arcobello, or by using a mid round draft pick, as they did twice in 2012 when they drafted both Joey Leleggia and John McCarron out of college, both of whom we’ll look at on a future date.
Aidan Muir
Following his draft year in 2013, Aidan Muir joined the Indiana Ice of the USHL for one season, before moving on to Western Michigan University. The Oilers took Muir in the 4th round that year, with the 113th pick, adding more depth to the forward position. Muir looked to have some impressive offensive potential, as the left winger amassed 14 goals and 41 points in his 51 games with the Ice in the 2013-14 season, helping the team capture the USHL championship, the Clark Cup. His offense seemed to dry up a bit though following his jump the NCHC the following year, as Muir only turned in 15 points in his 36 games as a freshman. Perhaps that can be contributed to it being his first year of collegiate hockey, playing against older and stronger opposition.
Unfortunately, Muir was not at the Oilers development camp earlier this year, so I wasn’t able to get a look at him on the ice. I also had a difficult time finding any video of him, aside from a highlight reel goal he scored while with Indiana, which you can find below.
Based solely on his numbers since being drafted, it’s somewhat difficult for me to profess to know what kind of player Muir is, or when Oiler fans can expect to see him have an opportunity to play in the NHL. As it stands now, my personal opinion is the Oilers aren’t going to be in any rush to see Muir leave college to go pro. It would more than likely benefit both sides to allow Muir to finish his hockey career at Western Michigan, and hopefully gain some more size and strength to his 6’0″, 212 lbs. frame. This upcoming year, and likely the season after, are going to be key for Muir to show the Oilers he still has an offensive touch, and is deserving of an ELC from the club.
Tyler Vesel
I can’t really say Tyler Vesel stood out for me too much at the development camp. In all honesty, he was a smaller forward who got lost in the group of smaller forwards in attendance, standing at 5’9″ and weighing in at 182 lbs. Drafted in the 6th round of the 2014 draft, and I don’t mean for this to be a knock against Vesel, but he epitomized everything that was wrong with the Oilers scouting staff at that time. Too often they drafted undersized players who were supposed to have the potential to counter that with skill. With that, there is definitely a skilled player in Vesel, although he could be a project for the Oilers to develop.
The Oilers drafted Vesel out of the Omaha Lancers of the USHL. In the year leading up to his draft, Vesel notched an impressive 33-38-71 in 49 games. Vesel then took a similar path to Aidan Muir, jumping to college hockey the next year with the University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks. Vesel though, seemed to carry some of his offensive flare with him into his freshman year, going 8-15-23 in 39 games, and gaining some big game experience in the Frozen Four, although the Mavericks lost in the semi-final
For Vesel, drafted as an overage player, he needs a breakout year with the Mavericks this season to really catch the attention of the Oilers. Even so, while I think there is a very good chance the Oilers will sign him to an ECL, Vesel will find himself in tough to stand out in an organization that drafted so many similar players.
Evan Campbell
Another pick from the 2013 draft class, the Oilers selected Evan Campbell following his last year of Junior ‘A’ hockey with the BCHL’s Langley Rivermen, where he scored 66 points in 51 games, including 20 goals, making him the first NHL draft pick in franchise history. His first year with the UMass-Lowell River Hawks saw him contribute only 9-2-11 in his 33 games. His numbers the next season started to climb however, as Campbell increased his totals to 12-15-27 in 34 games. There’s every reason to believe those numbers will continue to increase as Campbell readies himself for the 2015-16 season, his third at UMass-Lowell.
Like Tyler Vesel, I didn’t see anything overly memorable from Campbell at the development camp. He’s an average sized player, who could stand to add some weight before trying to make the leap to pro. One thing that could very well work against Campbell is the path he’s taking in his hockey career. Not to say there is anything wrong with it. By all accounts, the BCHL is a very tough league to play in, and the opportunity to get a top education from a US school while playing hockey is an excellent opportunity. What I mean when I mention the path Campbell is taking, is that there are players in the Oilers organization who have a higher pedigree, and have faced stiffer competition in their development that Campbell has.
Already at 22 years of age, there’s every reason to believe the Oilers are going to let Campbell play out his college commitment before deciding on him one way or another. If his numbers continue to increase, perhaps he gets noticed enough to get a shot in Bakersfield. My opinion is he’s going to be another prospect who falls just short of expectations, like so many players taken under the Stu MacGregor regime.
