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

[hallhopkinseberle]

I am all for drafting PLD but we need two find 2 20+ mins dmen

I wouldn't be surprised if PLD makes an NHL team next season.

 

[PKSpecialist]

A little off topic, but is anyone having problems with eliteprospects and the formatting of the page tonight?

 

[belair]

A little off topic, but is anyone having problems with eliteprospects and the formatting of the page tonight?

Yeah, their popquiz thing is taking up half the page.

 

[PKSpecialist]

Yeah, their popquiz thing is taking up half the page.

so its not just me then....hopefully it gets fixed.

 

[KarmaPolice]

If we can't trade it for a Dman, then Dubois, or preferably (to me), trade down and grab Juolevi or Sergachev. I think they're both getting a bit under-rated this draft. I think both project to be at least a #3 Dman, if not a #2 top pairing guy.

 

[Raab]

This team needs size, nasty, with skill Dubois and Tkachuk are those players

Dubois is far from Nasty. At least I haven't seen it.

 

[McOvechking]

There is a problem; however, that we have young defensemen (prospects/rookies/AHL stars/etc). Reinhart, LaLeggia, Davidson, Oesterle, Jones, Bear, Hunt, and sort of Nurse.

Ironically, outside of Caggiula now we have no young forward prospects. Drafting a guy like Dubois would help more than drafting a defender.

We need prime aged defenders and young forwards. It makes no sense to draft a defender with this year's first.

 

[Supermassive]

There is a problem; however, that we have young defensemen (prospects/rookies/AHL stars/etc). Reinhart, LaLeggia, Davidson, Oesterle, Jones, Bear, Hunt, and sort of Nurse.

Ironically, outside of Caggiula now we have no young forward prospects. Drafting a guy like Dubois would help more than drafting a defender.

We need prime aged defenders and young forwards. It makes no sense to draft a defender with this year's first.

Yup. Need to restock the cupboard for when the core nears the end of their $6M contracts and we negotiate extensions or trade them.

 

[Homesick]

Dubois is far from Nasty. At least I haven't seen it.

Led his team in scoring and PIM' this season. Unless he is really bad for flipping the puck over the glass in his own zone. He might not be Pronger nasty but he plays on the edge

Yup. Need to restock the cupboard for when the core nears the end of their $6M contracts and we negotiate extensions or trade them.

I'm not a fan of drafting defenseman early in the 1st round at all. They just take to long to develop and most are taken out of the 1st round

 

[Raab]

There is a problem; however, that we have young defensemen (prospects/rookies/AHL stars/etc). Reinhart, LaLeggia, Davidson, Oesterle, Jones, Bear, Hunt, and sort of Nurse.

Ironically, outside of Caggiula now we have no young forward prospects. Drafting a guy like Dubois would help more than drafting a defender.

We need prime aged defenders and young forwards. It makes no sense to draft a defender with this year's first.

It makes sense if you think that one of the guys this year has the upside to be a franchise dman. After the 1st round they could pick all forwards to restock the cupboards. We have a lot of highskilled young players on the team. We don't need another top 6 young forward, better to take a bunch of forwards in rounds 2-7 who could potentially fill the roles on the 2nd/3rd/4th lines.

 

[Raab]

Led his team in scoring and PIM' this season. Unless he is really bad for flipping the puck over the glass in his own zone. He might not be Pronger nasty but he plays on the edge

I'm not a fan of drafting defenseman early in the 1st round at all. They just take to long to develop and most are taken out of the 1st round

Probably a lot of retaliatory penalties. Being the only super skilled guy on his team I'm sure other players targeted him.

 

[Halibut]

There is a problem; however, that we have young defensemen (prospects/rookies/AHL stars/etc). Reinhart, LaLeggia, Davidson, Oesterle, Jones, Bear, Hunt, and sort of Nurse.

Ironically, outside of Caggiula now we have no young forward prospects. Drafting a guy like Dubois would help more than drafting a defender.

We need prime aged defenders and young forwards. It makes no sense to draft a defender with this year's first.

The problem with that is maybe one of those d-men is possibly capable of playing in a top pair and at least half of them are unlikely to get more than a cup of coffee in the NHL. We have plenty of top end forwards and few top defenders. We have little opportunity for another young forward but plenty for a defender.

If you think any of the defenders at the top of the draft have top pair potential then it makes total sense to pick one of them over another forward who lets face it is probably at best going to top out as 4th best forward on the team and much easier to find a replacement for in free agency.

 

[Homesick]

How many 1st pairing defenseman are taken in the top 10? Karlsson, Keith, Subban, Chara, Weber, Burns, Letang, Josi, Klingberg, Giordano, Byfuglien, OEL, etc. Doughty, Hedman, and Pietrangelo are the only ones that I can think of.
Best to focus on defenseman in the 2/3 rounds and hope we finally get lucky

 

[JJTopper]

It makes sense if you think that one of the guys this year has the upside to be a franchise dman. After the 1st round they could pick all forwards to restock the cupboards. We have a lot of highskilled young players on the team. We don't need another top 6 young forward, better to take a bunch of forwards in rounds 2-7 who could potentially fill the roles on the 2nd/3rd/4th lines.

Going by Bob McKenzie's draft ranking article, it doesn't sound like scouts are super high on this year's crop of Dmen.

A defenceman being taken in the top six picks of this draft is by no means out of the question, but TSN's consensus on that is quite clear – forwards are currently Nos. 4, 5 and 6.

Only two of the 10 scouts surveyed by TSN had a defenceman in their top five – one had Sarnia Sting blueliner Jakob Chychrun, a U.S.-born dual citizen who represents Canada internationally, at No. 4 and another had London Knight Olli Juolevi, a Finn, at No. 5. Only two other scouts had a defenceman in their top six.

Maybe the Oilers are one of the two teams that think highly of the Dmen, but it seems the vast majority prefer the forwards where we'll be picking.

Personally, I'd be happy with either Dubois or Tkachuk. Both bring physical skill to the table. I like that Dubois can play Center or Wing and he's a sniper, which our team really lacks (especially if we move Eberle). Tkachuk is more of a net-front guy who knows how to play with other skilled players. Some people will see it as riding the coat tales of his linemates, but finding a good complimentary player is no easy task. Just ask Crosby. I actually see a lot of Corey Perry in the kid.

I've heard Chia bringing up Brown a lot. I haven't seen the kid play other than highlights on YouTube, so I don't even trust my own opinion on him. But he really doesn't look like he's on same level as Dubois or Tkachuk. Little worried people just love his size and you end up regretting that selection. I'll have to read up more on him I guess.

 

[Giggleplex]

How many 1st pairing defenseman are taken in the top 10? Karlsson, Keith, Subban, Chara, Weber, Burns, Letang, Josi, Klingberg, Giordano, Byfuglien, OEL, etc. Doughty, Hedman, and Pietrangelo are the only ones that I can think of.
Best to focus on defenseman in the 2/3 rounds and hope we finally get lucky

OEL was taken 6th overall.

 

[belair]

Just looking back at some draft history...

Troy Hesketh

They drafted that kid in the 3rd round out of high school and he went back?

Christ that was an awful pick.

 

[sportsdynasty]

What picks are the Oilers giving to the Bruins and Sharks for hiring staff they fired? Are they giving them this draft?

 

[McWeber]

What picks are the Oilers giving to the Bruins and Sharks for hiring staff they fired? Are they giving them this draft?

Sharks got their compensation last year already. Chances are the Bruins get 2017 2nd because this years is 32. Though if we wanted to tend an offer sheet we would have to give up this years 32nd to the Bruins this year to free up the one needed to OS.

 

[Spawn]

Sharks got their compensation last year already. Chances are the Bruins get 2017 2nd because this years is 32. Though if we wanted to tend an offer sheet we would have to give up this years 32nd to the Bruins this year to free up the one needed to OS.

Or we trade up into the 2nd round and offer them another teams 2nd rounder this year.

 

[HumbleEgomaniac]

http://edmontonjournal.com/sports/hockey/nhl/cult-of-hockey/did-the-edmonton-oilers-lose-the-draft-lottery-or-did-they-win-matthew-tkachuk

 

[Fourier]

It makes sense if you think that one of the guys this year has the upside to be a franchise dman. After the 1st round they could pick all forwards to restock the cupboards. We have a lot of highskilled young players on the team. We don't need another top 6 young forward, better to take a bunch of forwards in rounds 2-7 who could potentially fill the roles on the 2nd/3rd/4th lines.

I am curious how much you have seen of these three OHL defensemen. I get to see teams like Windsor and London a fair bit and this year the Rangers played both in the playoffs. I believe we both have Sergachev as the pick of the OHL threesome but you may be the only person I know of who talks about franchise defensemen with this group.

All three are very good but not the type you could see really rising in the draft. In fact I think there is a very good chance that the first 6-7 picks are forwards with Calgary maybe going off the board to pick Brown.

I asked the posters on the London board if there was any argument for Juolevi over Tkachuk. The answer was a clear no. I see it the same way even though for much of the season I was not as high on Tkachuk as I am now since his playoff run.

Sergachev was the youngest player to win the OHL defenseman of the year and is a guy I have lots of time for. But I think that has more to do with a gap in the quality of the older OHL defensemen than it does with his being exceptional. The best of the drafted OHL defensemen were guys like Travis Dermott, Roland McKeown and Rasmuss Anderson. There is not a single OHL defenseman form the first round still playing in the league.


Don't get me wrong, if the Oilers trade down and pick him they get a guy I like a lot. But any of these defensemen at #4 is a huge stretch.

 

[CornKicker]

http://edmontonjournal.com/sports/hockey/nhl/cult-of-hockey/did-the-edmonton-oilers-lose-the-draft-lottery-or-did-they-win-matthew-tkachuk

solid article but how in this day in age do things end up in print that havent been spell checked?

"He plays most of the game with two outstanding linemats in Mitch Marner and Christian Dvorak, and while that jacks up Tkachuk’s point totals, it’s a positive in that Tkachuk already knows how to fit in on a line with NHL-quality players. He’s not the focal point of that line. He’s the riookie, the kid, the third wheel. So he’s not going to come to Edmonton expecting to get every pass and expecting to stickhandle through the opposition team. He’s used to being the grinder, the hustler and the guy who gives up the puck. He does it all game with London. "


i mean i just copied and pasted that and its highlighted red as error.

 

[Halibut]

How many 1st pairing defenseman are taken in the top 10? Karlsson, Keith, Subban, Chara, Weber, Burns, Letang, Josi, Klingberg, Giordano, Byfuglien, OEL, etc. Doughty, Hedman, and Pietrangelo are the only ones that I can think of.
Best to focus on defenseman in the 2/3 rounds and hope we finally get lucky

Really? We're going to keep hoping to get lucky? This team? Maybe at the draft lottery but certainly not the draft.

It's hard to imagine we continue to ignore our biggest organizational weakness in favor of size up front when we just picked up Maroon for Gernat and a 4th round pick before that we got Kassian for a cap dump. Sure Dubois and Tkachuk are more skilled than either of those two but we already have tons of skill up front. We need some complimentary players up front and they shouldnt be hard to find in free agency, as cap dumps or in later rounds of the draft.

 

[Raab]

I am curious how much you have seen of these three OHL defensemen. I get to see teams like Windsor and London a fair bit and this year the Rangers played both in the playoffs. I believe we both have Sergachev as the pick of the OHL threesome but you may be the only person I know of who talks about franchise defensemen with this group.

All three are very good but not the type you could see really rising in the draft. In fact I think there is a very good chance that the first 6-7 picks are forwards with Calgary maybe going off the board to pick Brown.

I asked the posters on the London board if there was any argument for Juolevi over Tkachuk. The answer was a clear no. I see it the same way even though for much of the season I was not as high on Tkachuk as I am now since his playoff run.

Sergachev was the youngest player to win the OHL defenseman of the year and is a guy I have lots of time for. But I think that has more to do with a gap in the quality of the older OHL defensemen than it does with his being exceptional. The best of the drafted OHL defensemen were guys like Travis Dermott, Roland McKeown and Rasmuss Anderson. There is not a single OHL defenseman form the first round still playing in the league.


Don't get me wrong, if the Oilers trade down and pick him they get a guy I like a lot. But any of these defensemen at #4 is a huge stretch.

Havent seen as much of them as I would have liked. But for me it was a toss up between Tkachuk and Sergachev for the top pick out of the OHL. With his playoffs I think Tkachuk jumped ahead. But in saying that I see nothing in Sergachev's game that shouldn't transfer well to the NHL. Maybe if we want to get picky his skating and defensive zone play could use a bit of work. No reason he shouldn't be a top pairing dman at the NHL level though. So while Tkachuk may be ahead on a lot of scouting list I think Sergachev could be taken before him if a team values a dmen higher then a LW.

The way I see it from my limited viewings of all 3 is that anyone of Dubois, Tkachuk, or Sergachev could go at 4 and not be a stretch. I think there's a slight drop after that where you have guys like Chychrun, Nylander, Brown, Keller, Jost, Juolevi, Bean in the next tier.

Now in saying that this doesn't take into account the players personalities and attitudes. If anyone of those guys have attitude problems they could drop quite easily.

 

[Aceboogie]

Really? We're going to keep hoping to get lucky? This team? Maybe at the draft lottery but certainly not the draft.

It's hard to imagine we continue to ignore our biggest organizational weakness in favor of size up front when we just picked up Maroon for Gernat and a 4th round pick before that we got Kassian for a cap dump. Sure Dubois and Tkachuk are more skilled than either of those two but we already have tons of skill up front. We need some complimentary players up front and they shouldnt be hard to find in free agency, as cap dumps or in later rounds of the draft.

By picking Dubios or Tkachuk you can kill two birds (or even 3 birds) with one stone

1) It allows you to easily trade Eberle and/or RNH and for proven D. D is addressed
2) It allows you to reconfigure your top 6/9 to be big enough to compete in West. Hall (6'1), McDavid (6'1), Drasaitl (6'2), Maroon (6'3), Pouliot (6'2), Dubios (6'3) are more than enough size. That top 6 also has a good mix of 2 way play. If RNH is kept you have PLD, RNH, Pouliot, McDavid as good two way guys.
3) It allows you to NOT take on anymore cap space if you acquire new D. Eberles 6M coming off the books will off set anything. Your cap is fine

The problem with picking a average top 10 D pick is that it swings your teams balance way to far to being D heavy. Which is not the end of the world but you still need to score.

Drafting Dubios or a forward enables you to address D while reconfiguring forwards all in one swoop. I dont see that as anything less than perfect