The Oilers signed 20-year-old forward Cameron Hebig to a 3 year ELC out of the WHL today.
Hebig is listed as 5’10… 185 pounds and has played 4 years in the WHL with increasing offensive production each year. This season, he has 34GP 28-23-51 for Saskatoon. He now becomes one of the few right shooting centermen in the Oiler organization.
Obviously the next big jump for Hebig will be to the professional leagues where we wait to see if his goal-scoring can continue to show. Hebig is currently 5th in WHL goal scoring this season. He has 13 more goals than his next closest teammate, Braylon Shmyr. He is a shot generating machine, with 174 through 34 games this season. This places him for 3rd in the WHL at that stat.
Hebig had missed all of last season with an injury, which obviously tanked his chances of being drafted as a 19 year old. It’s probably a good bet that the Oilers have had their eye on this kid since his original draft year and are taking the time to strike now.
I stand by the statement that teams like Edmonton, who are not supposed to be lottery teams, should be finding college free agents and standout 20 year olds and being aggressive with them as a means of keeping their prospect pool as deep as possible. Follow me on Twitter @Archaeologuy