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Oilers Keep Their Powder Dry And Have A Solid Draft |
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Once again we entered into the draft expecting big trades and dozens of players to be moved and as usual things were not as exciting as they were hyped up to be. A couple surprise moves happened but we can get into those later.
Buzz grew stronger over the morning on Friday and it seemed likely that Chiarelli was going to move the Oilers 10th overall pick.
Then some weird stuff happened.
Montreal did what many expected and chose to go with the centre as opposed to drafting the best player available. I think Kotkaniemi will grow into an NHL player but he doesn't scream elite talent nor do I think he is NHL ready for next season.
Barrett Hayton was getting hype right before the draft started and it seemed like someone was going to pick him in the top 8 and Chayka and the Coyotes did so.
Jump ahead and suddenly the Oilers found themselves in a position to draft Dobson, Wahlstrom or Bouchard and as we all know they chose the latter.
Initially I was mixed in choosing Bouchard over Dobson but the more I delved into the player the more I think this was the best choice.
Bouchard is a 6'2 nearly 200lb right shot offensive defenseman. The kind of player Edmonton has needed in their system for over a decade. His 87 points in the OHL last season is the best since Ryan Ellis did so in 2009. Bouchard scored 33 points more than the next player on his team while Ellis was second on his team behind a pretty good player named Taylor Hall.\
Bouchard loves to carry the puck, he was second in the league for shots last season and unlike some players in the draft he is not known for forsaking defense for offense. Perhaps most interesting is the fact that he will be 19 in late October.
I do not think the Oilers should expect this player to make the team next season. Full stop. However scouts have called him the most NHL ready defender aside from Dahlin so while I expect him back in the OHL next season I think he will make a case for himself for the 2019/2020 season.
With the 40th overall pick the Oilers selected Ryan McLeod, a player I thought would be gone by the late first round. I did end up getting a couple of my mock picks wrong.....
McLeod is a natural left shot centre who is also comfortable on the wing. He is a versatile player who is currently tracked to be a third line centre/winger. Either way the Oilers have nothing in the way of centre prospects making McLeod a great pick.
Things got a little Oilery for a bit with the Oilers trading their 3rd and 5th round picks in order to select Oliver Rodrigue. At first glance, trading a couple later picks to draft the best goaltender in the draft seems great.... until you realize his dad works as a goalie coach in the organization.
Until the team improves these little shades of nepotism will look poor. However the scouts believe he has the talent to become a starting goaltender so this is one we will look back on 5 years from now.
The Oilers ended their draft by selecting another big right shot defender in Michael Kesselring in the 6th round and Finnish centre/winger Patrik Siikanen. If either of these kids have an NHL future it won't be for at least 3 or more years which is to be expected in the later rounds.
There was one small trade after the draft with the Oilers trading a 5th round pick next season to the Habs in exchange for Hayden Hawkey. The Oilers are really playing the dartboard game with their goaltending prospects.
All and all it was a great draft by Keith Gretzky and Peter Chiarelli. The team suddenly has prospect depth with right handed defense and a couple decent forward prospects. They didn't make any rash decisions and try and force their way into a trade. We are just entering into the off-season and are still a week away from free agency. Plenty of time to make things happen.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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