2024/25 Oilers Prospect Thread

Thanks for the info!

Do you think he’ll make the WJHC team next year?

With Draisaitl and (likely) McDavid signed long term, a defensively responsible 3C would be welcome. Nuge can go back to wing.
I don't like to predict who makes the WJHC team for two reasons. One I don't follow all of junior hockey enough to make a really educated guess, and two who know what the guys picking the team are really thinking. They don't exactly make the best choices do they.

Now could he be good enough to make it. I certainly don't see why not. Those teams need guys to play various roles. He could easily be their shutdown center, while still having enough skill to play with top talent.
 
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In terms of actual value he may already have done so. I have high hopes for Savoie but hypothetically suppose that they wanted to move one of the two. I think O'Rielly would return more right now.
Savoie probably returns more. SOR is more valuable to the Oilers IMO
 
Savoie probably returns more. SOR is more valuable to the Oilers IMO
Fair enough! He should but I am never sure about these things. Teams seem to like shinny new toys a lot. Savoie may well have lost some luster just because he has not yet made the jump. It's not really a fair assessment but it is consistent with how things have been in the past.

If I was to explain my previous post I would start with position. Skilled wingers are probably the least valued commodity amongst skaters unless they are seen to be truly elite. Centers just hold more value and their flexibility makes them safer options which I think appeals to the conservative nature of most NHL GM's. Savoie has the higher upside for sure, but I think O'Rielly has a strong chance to be a very good #3C and a decent shot at becoming a good to very good #2C. But he could also become a middle six winger or a complementary top six winger whose defensive game would allow him to pk. For Savoie the value would be almost exclusively in his potential to be an offensively impactful winger. (And yes I know he has a solid two way game.) I have high hopes that Savoie can thrive with the Oilers but I have more confidence that O'Reilly will have a full career of the the two.

I brought up Nuge as a comparable with SOR, not because of explicit skills or accomplishments but because both players do the things that coaches and managers value that fans may not always appreciate. Nuge is often a whipping boy here but every coach and every Gm he has had have said the same complimentary things about him. SOR always seems to do the right thing. He can pk, can contribute on the pp, is capable of playing on your top line with skill, and has been successful playing down the lineup in a true shutdown role.
 
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IMO we will need both going forward with the age of our team and the lack of actual NHL potential top 6 prospects.
I agree. Both these guys would be nearly untouchable for me unless the return was a very high impact player.

BTW, I just spent a few minutes reading the results of a search on O'Reilly on the OHL board. It seems that there are credible Knights fans that see O'Reilly as their most NHL ready player right now. That is high praise given the talent on that team.
 
I agree. Both these guys would be nearly untradable for me unless the return was a very high impact player.

BTW, I just spent a few minutes reading the results of a search on O'Reilly on the OHL board. It seems that there are credible Knights fans that see O'Reilly as their most NHL ready player right now. That is high praise given the talent on that team.
That's very cool. As you say he is a guy with a toolbox loaded with different tools so in that sense it isn't that surprising. A bigger and stronger RNH would be one hell of a NHLer IMO.
 
Not sure about value. I don't think anyone would give us a 1st round pick for Savoie anymore but SOR could easily fetch us a 20th-25th overall pick.
 
Not sure about value. I don't think anyone would give us a 1st round pick for Savoie anymore but SOR could easily fetch us a 20th-25th overall pick.
And with that 20th to 25th overall pick the odds of getting someone that does not turn out to be as good as SOR is significantly over 50% They saw something in SOR to trade the next year's drat pick for them which unless they win the cup this year will be higher than last years
 
And with that 20th to 25th overall pick the odds of getting someone that does not turn out to be as good as SOR is significantly over 50% They saw something in SOR to trade the next year's drat pick for them which unless they win the cup this year will be higher than last years
I think that they liked the player and it moves the potential player 1 year closer to playing in our cup window.
 
I agree. Both these guys would be nearly untouchable for me unless the return was a very high impact player.

BTW, I just spent a few minutes reading the results of a search on O'Reilly on the OHL board. It seems that there are credible Knights fans that see O'Reilly as their most NHL ready player right now. That is high praise given the talent on that team.
SOR has essentially been their defensive conscience this season.
 
Beryozkin, Savoie, and O'Reilly could save a lot of problems on this team going forward. Same if one of the NCAA/EU signings pans out.
Hoping Bouchard+Walman can take the reins this first round and give us a long-term solution to Ekholm getting older.
All RH shots as well, something that we have been lacking in the top 9 outside of Hyman.
 
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All RH shots as well, something that we have been lacking in the top 9 outside of Hyman.
Very true. I'm not as down on our prospect pool as some are, but I'm also maybe higher on those 3 guys than some people are. I honestly believe SOR has ROR potential. May never hit it, but could easily become the 3rd line centre version of it. He was extremely impressive in this year's preseason games, saw him live a few times.

Savoie to me is a guy who needs a year or 2 to adapt to the higher leagues, but has high level sniping/playmaking potential. His production this year is kind of what I expect on a Condors team that severely lacks talent.

Beryozkin, I've only actually seen clips, so he's more of a wildcard, but he looks like he skates very well for a big guy and is showing more consistency with his puck handling these days. The fact he's upped his performance in the playoffs 2 years straight is a good sign.

I'm more reserved on Akey because he missed so much time and I haven't had as many viewings of him. I'll wait to see how his first pro-seasons go before having any expectations of him, but he has some nice tools. My only concern would be that there's a lot of D prospect with nice tools that seem to become 6/7D or AHL fodder.

The prospect pool is not very deep, but the top end of it has some nice players.
 
And with that 20th to 25th overall pick the odds of getting someone that does not turn out to be as good as SOR is significantly over 50% They saw something in SOR to trade the next year's drat pick for them which unless they win the cup this year will be higher than last years
This is all about Rick Pracey who's watched O'Reilly for several years, across leagues, and through a positional change to centre from defense. It was a qualified bet to jump up to pick this player with strong growth potential within a powerhouse junior organization. Same with a late pick on William Nichol who had even more impressive production growth essentially all EV situational results.

The real clarity with prospect potential will alway come with the jump to pro competition. But I really liked the Oilers strategy to move into the first round for a two-way right shot centre with latent offensive upside (at the time), hard ice competitive game and all situational play at least at the junior level. If O'Reilly can land somewhere between Scott Lawton and Ryan O'Reilly that would be a win. The Oilers prospect pool is extremely shallow with O'Reilly and Savoie looking like NHL players with specific roles and some hope that RD Akey and wildcard Beryozkin might project into a NHL top nine forward. Clattenberg might eventually push into a physical bottom six guy.

Big picture the Oilers will have to spend their way out a shallow asset situation and are thankfully as an NHL revenue driver will have the means to do so. Their recent volume signings will help sift for one or maybe two players who can push for NHL jobs around the super elite core.
 

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