Prospect Info: Draft Thread | Oilers Hold The 4th Overall Selection

[Raoul Duke]

D men are so hard to project unless you've got a slam dunk guy like Doughty/Ekblad/Hedman. I look at this draft and think all 3 are kind of in that Ryan Murray caliber of prospect - you feel good about the chance they all become solid NHLers, but there's enough question marks to doubt top pairing potential.

The more I hear about Dubois, I feel confident he can fulfill the Benn/Hossa type projections. His dedication to improving his game and conditioning sounds a lot like McDavid off the ice. That's the type of culture we should be building on (not saying those D couldn't be that type as well, just that we know Dubois is). We need immediate answers on D anyway. I'd much rather trade Hall/Ebs/Nuge to land a D, then find replacement(s) via UFA.

Unless it's a slam dunk D, I feel much more comfortable drafting a forward this high. There's just as good a chance that the #1 D you feel is in this draft is picked after the first round.

Yakupov looked like a slam dunk too.
Nurse and Klefbom are trending well. I'd like another D prospect with that kind of upside. Another chance to develop a top D.
Failing that, or if our scouts don't see #1 potential, I'd prefer to move the pick for D that can play now.
I assume they trade it.

If we pick Dubois, I'm fine with it.
He looks like an excellent prospect, checks a few boxes. Just not the most important one.

 

[snipes]

I'm now officially of the position that there are only 2 options with this pick.

1) Trade it for a top pair dman

2) If that isn't possible, take BPA in Dubois. He will be a good fit in the west. If we let him develop for a year, we will get 2 cheap years out of him under mcdavids new contract

Draft lottery protected too.

I have a feeling Chia will value a guy with Dubois' size and skillset very highly.

 

[snipes]

Pretty risky.

Top defenceman taken:
2014: Ekblad (but was 1st overall)
2013: Seth Jones
2012: Ryan Murray (Griffin Reinhart at 4)
2011: Adam Larsson
2010: Erik Gudbranson

Are you happy with the chances of your #4 overall pick becoming a #1 defenceman?

Agreed.

Dmen are so hard to project. Almost as many busts/underwhelming top 5 picks as there are home runs. If anything more busts/underwhelming D men than home runs.

I feel more comfortable using #32 on a guy like Clague if he's available.

 

[Zaddy]

I've been going back and watching some footage of the top guys in this draft and I'm starting to think that Juolevi wouldn't be a bad selection at #4. Dubois is still my first choice but if we go with a d-man I'm leaning towards Juolevi now. Watching some more of him lately reminded me why I fell in love with him at the beginning of the season. Apparently there's reports out of Finland too that the Oilers have a lot of interest in Juolevi.

He's just such a safe pick, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have great upside too. He's a great skater and a terrific passer with very high hockey IQ which gives him plenty of options to transition out of the defensive zone and most of the time he makes it look easy. Really, he's the type of player the Oilers are missing on the blueline. Obviously things might be different 2 years from now or so when he is ready and we might have added guys like Vatanen etc, but either way you can't have too many of Juolevi's type.

He's a safe as bet as could be (as far as draft-eligible players go) to be at least a 2nd pairing defenseman with a distinct possiblity of being a very good #2 even. To me, he has the two single most important qualities in a defenseman and that is high hockey IQ and skating. Those two qualities in themselves will give him a very good chance of not only being an NHLer but a great one at that. Really, it would be hard to be disappointed if we selected Juolevi at #4.



This video demonstrates his game quite well. Here he is playing the right side against some of the best prospects in the world and he makes it look easy. Look at the play at 3:19. Just a great little play where he shields the puck off from the forechecker, skates up the ice and sauce a nifty little backhand under pressure onto the tape of a teammates stick. That's the type of plays he is able to do with regularity. He's so good at transitioning from defense to offense and that's so incredibly valuable in todays game. Imagine him hitting McDavid on the tape every time he comes flying through the neutral zone? That would be something spectacular to watch.

 

[Fourier]

I don't know enough about him. I'd take him there if that's where he should be going in the draft. But I wouldn't take him because he spent a year playing with McDavid.


But that player could be the next Milan Lucic!

DeBrincat is extremely talented. The kid just knows how to score goals. His issue is that he is tiny. But to compensate he plays with a lot of heart and with a real edge. He's sort of old school nasty.

 

[Fourier]

I hope we've learned our lesson on those failed attempts, as well as the approach last year (we don't need Barzal/Conner). If you can draft that high end level of skill, you do it. It doesn't mean they ever have to suit up for you, but it could be a valuable trade chip down the road.

A guy like Benson could be there at 32 as well. He is a big kid with talent who has had a tough time the last couple of years. He could be an elite 3rd line LW even if he does not pan out completely.

 

[Mcnotloilersfan]

DeBrincat is extremely talented. The kid just knows how to score goals. His issue is that he is tiny. But to compensate he plays with a lot of heart and with a real edge. He's sort of old school nasty.

JG isn't much bigger. Would love to grab this kid and have him turn out as good. Flames would hate it

 

[Arpeggio]

If Debrincat is there in the second round the Oilers would be fools not to take him. Guys that score that many goals in Junior are always worth taking a chance on. I'd be shocked if he doesn't go in the first round.

 

[Digger12]

If Debrincat is there in the second round the Oilers would be fools not to take him. Guys that score that many goals in Junior are always worth taking a chance on. I'd be shocked if he doesn't go in the first round.

I'm hoping that my fears turn out to be groundless, but I'm a bit worried that with Chiarelli being so fixated on making the team bigger that after the 1st round he's going to be drafting a bunch of Moroz clones because he wants "hard to play against" guys and who cares if they can actually put the puck in the net or even know what a puck is.

Although who knows if we'll even have any picks in the first 4 rounds with him, for all we know he's going to trade them all for immediate help. Which is fine, but we'd better get used to having some piss-poor prospect depth in the coming years, especially at forward where it's completely dried up.

 

[SPIRIT]

I'm hoping that my fears turn out to be groundless, but I'm a bit worried that with Chiarelli being so fixated on making the team bigger that after the 1st round he's going to be drafting a bunch of Moroz clones because he wants "hard to play against" guys and who cares if they can actually put the puck in the net or even know what a puck is.

Although who knows if we'll even have any picks in the first 4 rounds with him, for all we know he's going to trade them all for immediate help. Which is fine, but we'd better get used to having some piss-poor prospect depth in the coming years, especially at forward where it's completely dried up.

I feel both Chiarelli and McLellan have been consist with their messaging. Size is important, but the key is 'heavy'. McLellan often references Detroit as a team that was not big but had 'team heaviness' throughout. Heaviness on pucks, heaviness in battles. Marchand is a real heavy player.

 

[nexttothemoon]

5 underrated prospects that I don't see a lot written or talked about very much.

McAvoy
Thompson
Dineen
Bastian
Mascherin

Again, I think there are enough good prospects in this 1st round that if the Oilers could get 2 1sts by trading down from #4... I'd be in favour of that as there's some solid players with size/skill that are going to be available later in the 1st.

 

[Aceboogie]

I'm hoping that my fears turn out to be groundless, but I'm a bit worried that with Chiarelli being so fixated on making the team bigger that after the 1st round he's going to be drafting a bunch of Moroz clones because he wants "hard to play against" guys and who cares if they can actually put the puck in the net or even know what a puck is.

Although who knows if we'll even have any picks in the first 4 rounds with him, for all we know he's going to trade them all for immediate help. Which is fine, but we'd better get used to having some piss-poor prospect depth in the coming years, especially at forward where it's completely dried up.

I think the fear is a bit unfounded. I mean in Boston he drafted Pastnernak who is small. In Edmonton his first draft was all D and some smaller D too. Paigin was the only "big" guy and he was a 7th rounder

 

[lakai17]

5 underrated prospects that I don't see a lot written or talked about very much.

McAvoy
Thompson
Dineen
Bastian
Mascherin

Again, I think there are enough good prospects in this 1st round that if the Oilers could get 2 1sts by trading down from #4... I'd be in favour of that as there's some solid players with size/skill that are going to be available later in the 1st.

Good eye. I am high on McAvoy as well. There's aways a legit underrated American d that gets plucked in the middle of the first round.

Adding one of McAvoy + Fabbro would be vital. Or one of those d + a project power forward to develop in the minors.

 

[McDoused]

5 underrated prospects that I don't see a lot written or talked about very much.

McAvoy
Thompson
Dineen
Bastian
Mascherin

Again, I think there are enough good prospects in this 1st round that if the Oilers could get 2 1sts by trading down from #4... I'd be in favour of that as there's some solid players with size/skill that are going to be available later in the 1st.

I tried to get a conversation started about Thompson and Bastian but really they will both be gone by the second round. Johansen and Dineen might be around with the 32. I would love either of those guys. Dineen just keeps getting better and finds a way to get his shot on net. He has a cannon from the point and is decent defensively. He also has speed to burn and moves the puck well.

 

[belair]

I tried to get a conversation started about Thompson and Bastian but really they will both be gone by the second round. Johansen and Dineen might be around with the 32. I would love either of those guys. Dineen just keeps getting better and finds a way to get his shot on net. He has a cannon from the point and is decent defensively. He also has speed to burn and moves the puck well.

I wouldn't call Dineen's shot a cannon per se but it's very accurate. He also has a knack to jump into the rush at the right time. He sees what's happening on the ice at both ends and reacts accordingly. I don't usually agree with Button often, but his comparison to Keith is pretty accurate. I'd like to see some physicality from him next year just to know that he has it, but he's a pretty complete defenseman at this point.

He will have his hands full next year with Kyle Wood graduating though. Hopefully he's able to find another complimentary linemate.

 

[McDoused]

I wouldn't call Dineen's shot a cannon per se but it's very accurate. He also has a knack to jump into the rush at the right time. He sees what's happening on the ice at both ends and reacts accordingly. I don't usually agree with Button often, but his comparison to Keith is pretty accurate. I'd like to see some physicality from him next year just to know that he has it, but he's a pretty complete defenseman at this point.

He will have his hands full next year with Kyle Wood graduating though. Hopefully he's able to find another complimentary linemate.

He definitely prefers to get his shot off quickly and find holes instead of blasting it past people. Still, I've seen a few slaps shots that make me think he has a cannon in that arsenal. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Edmonton picks him up in the second round. He just keeps getting better and better. How would you rate him compared to other late 1st/early second dmen?

Clague, Johansen and Dineen all seem like they could be pretty special down the road.

 

[lakai17]

Anyone high on Juolevi like myself?

He will become a better skater than Klefbom who people are very high on here. We need that type of defenceman that can send that puck up fast or control it for more than 5 seconds a period while on the rush.

He will not have to be rushed up this season either. That's too many young d in the lineup today unless he really pushes for 10 games which is possible with this team and his natural skill.

Keep in mind what Juolevi did only months ago at the World Juniors breaking the record for most points by a 17 year old defenceman passing Ryan Ellis. Named to to the tournament all star team as top d. He skated mainly 30+ mins a game that tourney on the gold medal winning team.

He fits this fast skating team we thrive on in Edmonton. This ice will still be one of the best league wide I assume due to technology today.

Why not Juolevi at #4?

 

[McDoused]

It sounds bad but this team still has so many holes that it doesn't really matter if we take one of the three dmen or Dubois. Any of these players will help down the road.

 

[Stud Muffin]

Anyone high on Juolevi like myself?

He will become a better skater than Klefbom who people are very high on here. We need that type of defenceman that can send that puck up fast or control it for more than 5 seconds a period while on the rush.

He will not have to be rushed up this season either. That's too many young d in the lineup today unless he really pushes for 10 games which is possible with this team and his natural skill.

Keep in mind what Juolevi did only months ago at the World Juniors breaking the record for most points by a 17 year old defenceman passing Ryan Ellis. Named to to the tournament all star team as top d. He skated mainly 30+ mins a game that tourney on the gold medal winning team.

He fits this fast skating team we thrive on in Edmonton. This ice will still be one of the best league wide I assume due to technology today.

Why not Juolevi at #4?

I have Juolevi at 4. Wouldn't think twice abou who I would take if we kept it.

 

[Fourier]

5 underrated prospects that I don't see a lot written or talked about very much.

McAvoy
Thompson
Dineen
Bastian
Mascherin

Again, I think there are enough good prospects in this 1st round that if the Oilers could get 2 1sts by trading down from #4... I'd be in favour of that as there's some solid players with size/skill that are going to be available later in the 1st.

Mascherin can play. He's short but all there. Big shot, excellent skater and high compete level. He was absolutely one of the Ranger's key players.

 

[lakai17]

I have Juolevi at 4. Wouldn't think twice abou who I would take if we kept it.

What intrigues you about Juolevi at #4? I hope we keep the 4th.

 

[Old Boys Club]

Probably already been mentioned, but I am too lazy to flip through. Is Dubois NHL ready for next year (I would assume for 3rd line minutes) or is he needing another year in the Q?

 

[JordanGalhanth]

Well, we have Caggiula, so I guess we don't need Dubois...

 

[BlackDogg]

Laine's performance making the drop from second spot just a little sadder.

 

[McDoused]

Probably already been mentioned, but I am too lazy to flip through. Is Dubois NHL ready for next year (I would assume for 3rd line minutes) or is he needing another year in the Q?

He could play but probably shouldn't. I'd give him another year in the minors. Same kind of thing as Draisaitl. He needed more time in the minors before making the jump and actually impact the game. Having said that, playing with McDavid he could probably put up 50 points even if he struggles.