Rumor: Rumors & Proposals Thread | Dermott on a PTO, Will We See More PTO's? Can We Get Some Toughness Too Please?

[Broberg Speed]

Sure I guess. Hard to get too excited about a player that is 5 years away probably at this point. They should absolutely try to just draft the BPA and swing for a home run at every pick I think, maybe you hit the jackpot.

Drafting a few puck moving stud defenders that will be ready 3 to 5 years down the road, playing on entry level contracts, is likely the only way the Oilers can stay contenders.

 

[Tarus]

It seems to me Stan Bowman is big time plugged into the US National Development Program. We probably won't have many picks next season, or in the seasons to follow, but I would be fine with the Oil spending the majority of picks they do have on players, to be more precise, defensemen, that have been through the American National Development Program or Canadian Junior A defenseman headed to prestiges American college programs. That's where they'll find "diamonds in the rough" with mid to late picks.

I believe the flight risk these players represent, due to rejecting the NHL club that drafted them by playing out their college time, therefore hitting UFA status, may be mitigated by having Bowman as GM. Bowman's ties to US hockey plus the McDrai effect are recruiting factors in our favor. If not the risk is still worth it in my opinion.

These players drop in the rankings because of the fight risk they illustrate and they are usually more raw and take longer to develop... usually team defensive systems take priority over individual skills training in American programs. Sometimes in the case of Canadian Junior A players, being physically smaller than their CHL counterparts is the reason they decide to take the US college route. The Oilers system needs puck transporting defensemen on both sides.

Why exactly would Bowman mitigate the flight risk of college players? It's not like he's going have a relationship with the players, nor would he prevent an Adam Fox caliber prospect who is determined to play for the team of his choice to stick around with the franchise that drafted him just because he has some ties to the US national program. Bowman might not even be GM by the time a 2025 NCAA draft pick is looking for a contract, Katz typically runs out of patience for his managers by the 4 year mark.

Mcdrai effect didn't help much when John Marino was ready to play in the NHL either, and it's not like he couldn't have beat out half the defenseman that were on Oiler's roster the year he forced a trade.

Not that it's really that much of a loophole or anything, Euro players have a similar out clause after 4 years too. American players in the NCAA just seem more inclined to pick their spots, which unfortunately makes it a risky bet for some teams in the league(Oilers/Winnipeg/Calgary etc). Probably has something to do with the fact that American players can choose to avoid the culture shock of moving to a new country, while European players coming over the pond will go through it no matter where they land.