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A MacT Gamble Set To Pay Off? |
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Craig MacTavish made a Draft Day gamble in 2013 that in part was predicated on a trend in the NHL that undervalued Russian born players. The two key players the Oilers took as a result of the trades were Anton Slepyshev and Bogdan Yakimov. If the gamble was to pay off then those two players would need to outperform their draft numbers.
Here’s how the trades went down:
TRADE 1
To Edmonton: Picks 57, 88, 96
To Los Angeles: Pick 37
TRADE 2
To Edmonton: Picks 83, 94, 113
To St Louis: Pick 57
Ultimately, Edmonton missed on Valentin Zykov (37) and William Carrier (57) though there’s no telling who they themselves would have taken at those spots. I generally don’t support trading down in the draft though that’s perhaps more applicable to the 1st round where talent is more obvious and projections are more sure.
However, they ended up turning 1 pick into 5 prospects: Yakimov (83), Slepyshev (88), Houck (94), Platzer (96), and Muir (113). Quantity doesn’t equate to quality but that’s where the hope that the undervalued Russians would still be there when Edmonton was picking in the 80’s comes into play. If these Russian players have 2nd round talent but late round Passports it’s a gamble that could potentially pay off.
The first player the Oilers picked was Yakimov, more lovingly dubbed Big Yak by the time he got to camp. At 6’5” and 230+ pounds playing in the KHL as a Teenager he should have gone higher in the draft than when he did, IMO. If he was a Canadian people would have raved about him. He went first so we can assume that maybe he was the target all along for Edmonton and they realized that they could get him much later plus a lot more.
The second player they took was Anton Slepyshev. Now Slepyshev was in the draft for a 2nd time and many Draft experts were shocked that he wasn’t Drafted at all in 2012. NHL Central scouting had him ranked as the 10th best European Skater in 2012, for example. He’s got NHL size at 6’2” and 190+ pounds and by all accounts he’s a skilled player.
Something to always keep in mind is that the KHL is not a developmental league and while they often employ young players they do not often give them big minutes. Even Nail Yakupov who was far and away the best player on his KHL team during the lockout wasn’t being fed minutes, so even less heralded players see very little ice.
That’s the context we need to bear in mind when we see very low point totals for young players in the KHL. They play fewer minutes and fewer games than they would in, say, the AHL. As per the KHL website Slepyshev averaged just 12:26 per game. That is restricitively low and something we should bear in mind when we consider his 58GP, 15-10-25. Over the course of the year his TOI went up and in the Playoffs he’s averaging 16 minutes but let’s keep to the regular season for now.
One interesting note about Slepyshev, despite only playing 12:26 per game he still managed to muster 129 shots, which was the 3rd most on his KHL club. He looks like a volume shooter and I’m interested in what he might be capable of with more minutes. That translates to roughly 10.6 shots per 60 minutes which is truly an elite number.
Craig MacTavish’s gamble was based on the belief that these kids could outperform their Draft Rankings and that the Oilers could convince them to come overseas. They got Bogdan Yakimov over this year. It wasn’t an easy season for him. Now it seems as though the Oilers have convinced Slepyshev to come over as well. I do not expect him to win a job on the win with the NHL club, but a season in the AHL with call up options alongside Yakimov would be fantastic. He will unquestionably average in the 17-18 minute per night range with Bakersfield.
Now the table is set for those Draft Deals to really pay off. The future is uncertain but both young Russians should be in North America next year and they remain intriguing prospects. As someone who normally hates trading down in the Draft, this MacTavish move has not bothered me at all. In fact, I kind of like it as of today.
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Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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