Tag Archives: Tyler Benson

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

Edmonton Oilers, NHL Entry Draft, Prospects

2015 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Awards

Today Brayden Sullivan (@sullydraftgeek) blesses us with his 2015 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament Awards for MVP, Best Forward, Best Defenceman, Best Goaltender, and Best 2017 Draft Eligible!

MVP: Tyler Benson
(Runners up: Michael McLeod, Jacob Cederholm)

Tyler Benson

The current Vancouver Giant was a beast throughout the tournament for Canada. He finished

the tournament tied for 3rd in scoring with 6 points in 5 games (2 Goals, 4 Assists) and with the game winning goal in the gold medal game. He beats out his team mate Michael McLeod for   this award because he was much more consistent then McLeod was and much more utilized/relied on.Another part that helped him was that he didn’t take a single penalty the whole tournament and drew a few penalties that helped his team win.

The thing he brought most to Canada was his playmaking abilities while still being somewhat physical, as he was a player who won a lot of his battles in the corner and always found the open man. As a 2016 draft eligible, Tyler is ranked very high as he currently sits ranked at 7th overall by Future Considerations and 14th by DraftGeek. It will be interesting to see how Tyler plays this year in Vancouver, under a new coach, and how he will be able to maintain his draft stock on a weaker team in the WHL.

Top Forward: Alexander Nylander
(Runner up: Sam Steel, Nikita Popugaev)

Alexander Nylander: Better than William?

Alexander Nylander’s current CHL rights are owned by the Mississauga Steelheads, as they took him 12th overall in the 2015 CHL import draft. His USHL rights are owned by Dubuque Fighting Saints. I predict that he will commit to Mississauga and have a great year playing alongside Canadian, Michael McLeod.

Going into the tournament Nylander was a player that everyone had their eyes on and was someone who everyone knew would play a lot for Sweden. He always seemed to be on the ice for Sweden and was easily one of the most skilled players in this tournament. He was a very quick and creative player throughout the tournament and he always showed that he wanted the puck on his stick. As the tournament progressed his skill did not decline but his shot started to become more of a weapon and he ended his tournament by scoring a great goal on a shot in slot that went over the shoulder of the Canadian goalie in the gold medal game.

Going into his draft year I hope that Nylander chooses the right team to commit to and gets the attention throughout the year that he deserves.

Top Defenseman: Jacob Cederholm
(Runner Up: Kale Clague, Libor Hajek, Markus Niemelainen)

Jacob Cederholm

The 6’3 Swedish defenseman was a wall for his national team, he was heavily relied upon and was by far the top defenseman in this tournament.

Cederholm is a big strong two way defenseman who is very good defensively but also brings high end puck moving skills. He possesses a very long stride which allows him to get to pucks first before using his body. He was someone who played crucial minutes for the Swedish side. He also came on as a leader through the tournament and took on the responsibility of captain. Jacob Cederholm beats out 3 high scoring blueliners to this award because of the way that he was relied upon and how he always rose to the occasion.

For the 2016 draft eligible the giant Swede is ranked 17th on DraftGeek’s new draft rankings, he should suit up this season with HV71 in the SHL but if not he will be a dominant force on their J20 team.

Top Goalie: Severi Isokangas
(Runner Up: Vladislav Sukhachev, Filip Gustavsson)

Severi Isokangas

The reason Isokangas beats out all goalies to this award is because how he makes himself look big in his net and how calm he looked at all times.

He finished the tournament with a 1.77 GAA and a .920 SVG % through 4 games and put himself 4th in goalie statistics. He’s a 6’1 goalie who is currently committed to Karpat in the Finnish league and will most likely play with their U20 team once again. Although Finland did not take home a medal in this tournament he was the true reason why they finished on top of group B and the reason why they made it to those semi-final games.

Isokangas is currently ranked 2nd amongst all goalies going into the 2016 draft by DraftGeek, right behind Sweden’s goaltender Filip Gustavsson. Through the 2015-2016 year it will be fun to see Severi playing up and down the Karpat junior system, looking for every starting opportunity he can get with the team as a 17 year old.

Best 2017 Draft Eligible: Nico Hischier
(Runner Up: Nolan Patrick, Kailer Yamamoto)

Nico Hischier

The final award goes to Nico Hischier as the top 2017 draft eligible through this tournament. As one of only a few 1999’s in this tournament, Hischier surpassed all expectations set and was by far the best player for a 7th place Switzerland side.

He finished the tournament tied for 3rd in scoring with 6 points in 4 games (3 goals; 3 assists), and was far and away one of the best forwards in this tournament. A strong playmaker who also possess some two way in his game, as he is always the deepest forward in his own zone. His skating was much better than anyone else’s on his team and playmaking abilities were heavily utilized by the Swiss. He was the most played player on his team and was always on the ice in the last 5 minutes, regardless of the score.

He beats out two of the top 5 2017 draft eligible, Canadian Nolan Patrick and American Kailer Yamamoto because of how he dominant he was on a 7th place team and how he always stood out in the games he played in. It will be good to see if Nico makes the switch over to NA hockey in the coming years and if he can push to be a top pick in the 2017 draft.

I wonder if any of these guys will be wearing an Edmonton Oilers jersey someday? Benson is a local boy but I’d be more than disappointed if Edmonton was in a position to draft him next summer.

Big thanks to Brayden Sulluvan for working his ass off to bring us coverage from the 2015 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup. It’s been a real pleasure working with him and reading his posts! So I urge you to head over to DraftGeek.ca for all your NHL draft information. I know Brennen and Brayden and they are top guys who know their stuff when it comes to the draft! Follow them on Twitter too @draftgeekDOTca and @sullydraftgeek.

And don’t forget to check out Jack Gruninger‘s Season Primer series. He’s up to Colorardo now and all we’ve gotten is rave reviews regarding the team previews! You don’t want to skip these ones! Check out his latest here!

Thanks for reading everyone! Have a good day!

Take Care!

– BLH (@beerleagueheroe)

NHL Entry Draft, Prospects

Day 1 of the Ivan Hlinka Tournament!

With the first day of the 2015 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup Tournament in the books, there was plenty of great action across the day starting with Finland’s 5-1 beat down on the Americans, followed by the 4-3 nail biter between a big Swedish side and a young and skilled Swiss team. The Russians overpowered a weak Slovakian team 5-2, and the Canadians beat the co-host Czech Republic 3-1 (The game can be watched here on Youtube).

After watching the games and going through the score sheets the players I thought stood-out were:

Jacob Cederholm (Sweden): The highly touted 2016 draft eligible put on a great showcase against the Swiss, starting off with his game winning goal in the final 30 second of the game. Not only did he put the final stamp on the game but he was a brick wall. The 6’3 defenseman who is currently ranked 25th by Hockeyprospects.com showed off his physical stature and his defensive abilities throughout this game. He was a wall that the Swiss always had to climb when attempting to skate into the zone and was arguably the best Swedish player today.

Otto Makinen (Finland): Another 2016 eligible who had a great opening day. Putting up a 3 point performance against the Americans which included 2 goals and 1 assist. With above average size at 6’1, looked very good despite not being ranked by any of the scouting services, he showed his patience and his shooting abilities in a 5-1 victory over the US.

Alexander Nylander (Sweden): The brother of William Nylander put on a great showing. Played a really dynamic, but smart game against the Swiss and put up a good 2 point performance. Played a huge part of the Swedish power play and looked a lot like his skilled brother in the offensive zone. Still, I think he needs to work a bit on his defensive game. Nevertheless, it was a great opening day showing by futureconsiderations.com’s 14th ranked player.

Nico Hischier (Switzerland): One of the youngest players on an already young Swiss side, as he is not eligible until 2017, Hischier scored the opening goal of the game as he outbattled SWE defender Jacob Moverare in the corner before the getting the puck back on the half wall and firing the puck off the goalie’s blocker, on the PP. Hischier showed off his wide range of skill, as well as his hard working compete level. He really showed that he deserves to play against the older players. I’m looking forward to this kid next season.

Ilya Avramenko (Russia): Playing against a weak Slovakian side allowed this small forward to show off his abilities. Putting up a goal and an assist today, he played a huge part in the 5-2 win for Russia. Avramenko skates really well and uses his small size to get by defenders and open up ice, which allows him the time to show off his puck handling.

Libor Hajek (Czech Republic): Although he did not put up any points he did have a bad penalty after the play… The 6’2 196lbs defender was the best player on the Czech side (IMO). He handled the Canadian fore-check well and was able to show off his defensive abilities. Personally I think he’s one of the better defensive defenseman going into this year’s draft. With that being said he does need to work on his offensive abilities and discipline, but against Canada today he was a huge part of why the game was kept close.

Adam Brizgala (Czech Republic): The only goalie on this list goes to the Czech starter. Another 2016 draft eligible who currently sits at 6’0 209lbs. He saved 37 of 40 the shots he faced from a strong Canadian side which left him with a .925 SVG%. Big in stature and quite mobile in his crease, Brizgala made a big stop on Nolan Patrick’s penalty shot which kept the game within one.

Michael McLeod (Canada): The Mississauga Steelhead’s top 2016 eligible forward really showcased why he is on this deep Canadian team. McLeod showed off his physical upside and how he uses his 6’2 200lbs frame to fend off the other team’s players in the corner, and on the wall. He played a huge part on Dillon Dube’s shorthanded goal as he made a hit at the blue line which allowed him to send Dube alone on a breakaway. A player who I think will rise up the ranking this year, I’d love to see him round out his skating abilities though.

Tyler Benson (Canada): The final player of the day is probably the highest ranked player on this list. Ranked at 7th by FC, 27th by HockeyProspect, and 14th by DraftGeek, the 6’0 forward of the Vancouver Giants had a good game. Benson had a couple of chances on Brizgala, and sprung a breakaway on a good backhand feed. He showed good awareness and great abilities with the puck today. He did not put up a points against the Czechs but his hard work did not go unrecognized.

Day 2 of the Ivan Hlinka Memorial will feature two early games that include two 1-0 teams as Russia plays Finland, and another 1-0 team in Canada as they play Switzerland who look bounce back. Later on, the games include the two bottom teams in group B facing off in USA vs Slovakia, and as well as co-host team Czech Republic taking on Sweden. I expect a good showcase from Canada’s Jake Bean and a bounce back game from the Americans.

Thanks Brayden! You can follow Mr.Sullivan on Twitter @Sullydraftgeek. For more hockey prospect news and insight, head on over to DraftGeek.ca!

Thanks for reading and please share/retweet this article. It lets us know that we’re doing a good job.

-BLH