Moch,

Although murray is my first choice, there are a number of reasons ive had 2nd thoughts about drafting grigorenko, even aside from his obvious potential to be a big dominant center.
Most of them are the same recycled thoughts uve heard before, but still reason for pause.

Size up front is a pretty big need for this club.
Maybe not as much as our terrible defence, but nonetheless, a big problem.

Forwards are generally a little easier to guage than dmen.
Forwards generally take a little less time to develop.
(i wont speak for all oiler fans, but i think a good deal of us are sick of being terrible and are growing impatient for tangible success)

A few scouts have questioned his (grigs) work ethic, which may be worrying, but many others close to him have brushed that off as nonsense.
Gagner is an average 2nd liner..and small. I dont think anyone can say they ever see gags in a league of kesler for example.
Heres a chance to have that.
To have 2 dominant centers dramatically improves us.in fact makes us a playoff team even with this defence imo.
I dont need to name some other juggernaut teams with a dominant 1-2 and how successful they are.

The guy can absolutely dominate games.
Etc etc.

I think murray is the safe pick and ill be very happy if we take him. but with confidence i have in stu, if he went with grigs i'd be pretty stoked as well.

Moch,

Although murray is my first choice, there are a number of reasons ive had 2nd thoughts about drafting grigorenko, even aside from his obvious potential to be a big dominant center.
Most of them are the same recycled thoughts uve heard before, but still reason for pause.

Size up front is a pretty big need for this club.
Maybe not as much as our terrible defence, but nonetheless, a big problem.

Forwards are generally a little easier to guage than dmen
Forwards generally take a little less time to develop.
(i wont speak for all oiler fans, but i think a good deal of us are sick of being terrible and are growing impatient for tangible success)

A few scouts have questioned his (grigs) work ethic, which may be worrying, but many others close to him have brushed that off as nonsense.
Gagner is an average 2nd liner..and small. I dont think anyone can really say they see gags in a league of kesler for example.
Heres a chance to have that.
To have 2 dominant centers dramatically improves us.in fact makes us a playoff team even with this defence imo.
I dont need to name some other juggernaut teams with a dominant 1-2 and how successful they are.

The guy can absolutely dominate games.
Etc etc.

I think murray is the safe pick and ill be very happy if we take him. but with confidence i have in stu, if he went with grigs i'd be pretty stoked as well.
- hugefemale dog77

You really can never have too many centers. Somehow Boston is able to find room for Seguin, Krecji, Bergeron, Peverley, Marchand, Campbell, Kelly and whoever else I missed. Wouldn't be the end of the world if we had RNH, Ringo and Gagner on this team 3 year from now.

I want to propose something to my fellow Oilers fans. Does anyone actually want the Oilers to pick someone other then Murray? For those that want to pick Grigorenko, I simply ask why.

Murray is about a sure-fire NHL defender as you can come by. Those who don't think so will bring up current Oiler Cam Barker. That's not a valid argument. Barker was drafted high because of his (then) incredible offensive abilities. He was projected to be basically a Mike Green or Erik Karlsson. It was a risky pick, one that worked out at first, until teams figured out how to take Barker out of games, rendering him in-effective. Barker is now trying to make the necessary adjustments to his game in order to be more of a two-way defender, and thus far, the results haven't worked out as planned.

Is there a risk with any draft pick? Yes. Drafting is not a science, but some scouts have it pretty damn close. Murray is the most NHL ready dman in this draft, and could quite possibly be the best defender taken in a draft filled with defenders.

Now, in retrospect, could someone like Jake Trouba or Morgan Reilly end up being the better player? Sure.

But back to Grigorenko: Does anyone honestly think he's worth the pick when we have a guy like Nuge, who in all honestly could turn into a consistant, 85-90+ point centermen? Is Gagner really that bad of an option behind Nuge? Can't a suitable second liner be found with a later pick, or through FA or trade?

I am of the believer that top 4 dmen are the absolute hardest to come by, especially two way puck movers of Murrays quality. He cannot be passed in this draft IMO. He is who the Oilers need to take if they are picking at #2.
- mochoson

I'm still not a big fan of drafting Dmen high, every time I've looked at the results always point to drafting the forward and getting defensmen elswhere.

That said, in this particular draft I wouldn't object to Murray.

You really can never have too many centers. Somehow Boston is able to find room for Seguin, Krecji, Bergeron, Peverley, Marchand, Campbell, Kelly and whoever else I missed. Wouldn't be the end of the world if we had RNH, Ringo and Gagner on this team 3 year from now.
- Lahey

Yes.

I think moch made a ton of good arguments, but having rnh already was a weak point.
One can never have enough good centers. And generally speaking, the best teams have that.

So much pressure on defences to come back with kesler, or pavelski, seguin etc right after the top line goes off

Yes.

I think moch made a ton of good arguments, but having rnh already was a weak point.
One can never have enough good centers. And generally speaking, the best teams have that.

So much pressure on defences to come back with kesler, or pavelski, seguin etc right after the top line goes off
- hugefemale dog77

Then there's the whole injury thing. I mean Boston lost Marc Savard, but between the guys they had and the minor move to acquire Peverley, Campbell, and Kelly they were able to make the loss of Savard look minor. Even Pittsburgh, loss Crosby but had Malkin, Staal and Kennedy to fall back on.

I'm still not a big fan of drafting Dmen high, every time I've looked at the results always point to drafting the forward and getting defensmen elswhere.

That said, in this particular draft I wouldn't object to Murray.
- Zombie

Although many, many great dmen have been drafted later... U certainly cant say LA made a mistake in doughty at 2 or st. Loo taking pietrangelo at 4.

Im not sure theres anyone in those draft years they shoulda taken ahead.
Maybe karlsson or myers.

Who would you guys take if both players were available this year? Murray or Larsson?

Then there's the whole injury thing. I mean Boston lost Marc Savard, but between the guys they had and the minor move to acquire Peverley, Campbell, and Kelly they were able to make the loss of Savard look minor. Even Pittsburgh, loss Crosby but had Malkin, Staal and Kennedy to fall back on.
- Lahey

Totally forgot they lost one of the best offensive centers in the game!

Holy depth

Nuge to the World's.
- Lahey

Any link to rosters for the Worlds (not just Canada)?

Who would you guys take if both players were available this year? Murray or Larsson?
- laughs2907

Thats a gooder.

Prob larsson cause ive already seen him play. Might never be flashy, but Hes the real deal.

If i hadnt already seen adam play in the show, probably murray.
I like larssons size, but murray seems so polished already

I would laugh if the leafs won the lotto today... it would be EPIC!
- saskoil21

They will win the Lottery mark my words. This lotto will be rigged for them to win. The league needs their revenue from playoff games. They could care less for the Oilers, Islanders, Columbus. The Habs are a decent team that just fell flat so the league won't help them out.

Any link to rosters for the Worlds (not just Canada)?
- mrhattrick27

Nah, just tweets here and there. Omark is suppose to go to Sweden, but he is on a tryout or something. Tourney doesn't start until May 4th, so there isn't a rush at this point.

Who would you guys take if both players were available this year? Murray or Larsson?
- laughs2907

Heatley.

Who would you guys take if both players were available this year? Murray or Larsson?
- laughs2907

Larsson, but that's because he has made that next step which is very big for young d-men.

I want to propose something to my fellow Oilers fans. Does anyone actually want the Oilers to pick someone other then Murray? For those that want to pick Grigorenko, I simply ask why.

Murray is about a sure-fire NHL defender as you can come by. Those who don't think so will bring up current Oiler Cam Barker. That's not a valid argument. Barker was drafted high because of his (then) incredible offensive abilities. He was projected to be basically a Mike Green or Erik Karlsson. It was a risky pick, one that worked out at first, until teams figured out how to take Barker out of games, rendering him in-effective. Barker is now trying to make the necessary adjustments to his game in order to be more of a two-way defender, and thus far, the results haven't worked out as planned.

Is there a risk with any draft pick? Yes. Drafting is not a science, but some scouts have it pretty damn close. Murray is the most NHL ready dman in this draft, and could quite possibly be the best defender taken in a draft filled with defenders.

Now, in retrospect, could someone like Jake Trouba or Morgan Reilly end up being the better player? Sure.

But back to Grigorenko: Does anyone honestly think he's worth the pick when we have a guy like Nuge, who in all honestly could turn into a consistant, 85-90+ point centermen? Is Gagner really that bad of an option behind Nuge? Can't a suitable second liner be found with a later pick, or through FA or trade?

I am of the believer that top 4 dmen are the absolute hardest to come by, especially two way puck movers of Murrays quality. He cannot be passed in this draft IMO. He is who the Oilers need to take if they are picking at #2.
- mochoson

I have no problem with the Oilers draft Murray as long as stu thinks he is the best player at the spot. I would personally rather see the oilers draft a center such as galchenyuk, grigs, or faksa and then trade for a dman already in a few years of his development. Maybe paajarvi or gagner as part of trade gets us a player like Brendan smith, Stefan elliot, or Tyson Barrie.

I think people need to stop adding prv in trade packages.
Not everyones development is linear. Hes got all the tools though and it'll happen for him imo.

Gags in a deal makes sense if we went with grigs or galchenyuk, but prv developing is a huge part of this team taking the next step. More so than gags, as i dobt see gags too far from his ceiling at this point.

Aside from all his (prv) skills, he actually brings size. He doesnt play a physical style, but if he can learn to use that size along with his brilliant skating, and puts it altogether, he gives us 2 dangerous lines.

Id be pissed if hes dealt

I think people need to stop adding prv in trade packages.
Not everyones development is linear. Hes got all the tools though and it'll happen for him imo.

Gags in a deal makes sense if we went with grigs or galchenyuk, but prv developing is a huge part of this team taking the next step. More so than gags, as i dobt see gags too far from his ceiling at this point.

Aside from all his (prv) skills, he actually brings size. He doesnt play a physical style, but if he can learn to use that size along with his brilliant skating, and puts it altogether, he gives us 2 dangerous lines.

Id be pissed if hes dealt
- hugefemale dog77

I don't want to see Paajarvi go but he has the highest trade value (that the oilers could spare) that could help land us a good dman. We have the depth up front and if we want to take a step forward he may be have to go. I would prefer to trade gagner personally.

I think people need to stop adding prv in trade packages.
Not everyones development is linear. Hes got all the tools though and it'll happen for him imo.

Gags in a deal makes sense if we went with grigs or galchenyuk, but prv developing is a huge part of this team taking the next step. More so than gags, as i dobt see gags too far from his ceiling at this point.

Aside from all his (prv) skills, he actually brings size. He doesnt play a physical style, but if he can learn to use that size along with his brilliant skating, and puts it altogether, he gives us 2 dangerous lines.

Id be pissed if hes dealt
- hugefemale dog77

Don't have that many players that we can actually trade though. I don't want him dealt for the sake of dealing him, but if he can help out our back end then go right ahead.

Great answers, you (frank)ers

Great answers, you (frank)ers
- laughs2907

That's sister (frank)ers to you.

Don't have that many players that we can actually trade though. I don't want him dealt for the sake of dealing him, but if he can help out our back end then go right ahead.
- Lahey

Just for argument sake; who plays the left side on either top 2 lines that also gives us 2 truly dangerous lines?
Hartakainen?? Doubt it. Hes a banger with rockish hands.
Hamilton, pitlick? Neither seem like great options at this point.

Prv, nuge, ebs
Hall, gags, hemmer

Depending on prv's development along with gags, That could be pretty formidable.
A little soft tho

They will win the Lottery mark my words. This lotto will be rigged for them to win. The league needs their revenue from playoff games. They could care less for the Oilers, Islanders, Columbus. The Habs are a decent team that just fell flat so the league won't help them out.
- MrSmitty

Sarcasm?

Great answers, you (frank)ers
- laughs2907

I would take Murray... I think he is the next scott niedermayer

Just watchin that disgusting goal malkin scored against tampa. Holy eff.
Not much question hes 1 or 2 in the world currently

I would take Murray... I think he is the next scott niedermayer
- kneughter