The Oilers released their roster for the Young Stars prospect tournament coming up at the end of the week in Penticton and this is almost certainly one of the most talented teams they’ve ever brought to the event. The Winnipeg Jets are also bringing a loaded team as well. I think the Jets and Oilers are the teams to beat.
Here is Edmonton’s team:
FORWARD
Connor McDavid Leon Draisaitl Anton Slepyshev Greg Chase Kyle Platzer Tyler Soy Braden Christoffer Cole Sanford Connor Rankin Rihards Bukartz Cole Linaker Marco Roy Alexis Loiseau Josh Winquist Mitch Moroz
DEFENSE
Darnell Nurse Joey LaLeggia Ethan Bear Ben Betker Caleb Jones Kevin Davis Colton Waltz Loik Leveille
GOAL
Eetu Laurikainen Keven Bouchard Jordan Papirny
THOUGHTS
Obviously we all want to see Connor McDavid in game action. In this case he’ll be up against the best prospects 3 other franchises can muster. These games are always a blast to watch and often they are the only times we get to see the prospects play. For example, I probably wont get to see a lot of Ethan Bear this season.
The Oil have enough players to put together a pretty effective top 6. We don’t exactly know how it will all play out but I wouldn’t mind seeing something like:
Moroz-McDavid-Slepyshev Winquist-Draisaitl-Chase
Now, we all know my thoughts on Moroz as a prospect (he isn’t one) but the Oilers want him playing and he’s a big body who will understand his role is to “protect… McDavid as much as it would be to skate alongside him.
Beyond the forwards we’re already pretty familiar with (McDavid/Nurse), Slepyshev and Chase are my next two most intriguing players. I’ve looked at Slepyshev’s numbers. I’ve read about him from international competition. I haven’t seen him play a lot. He is supposed to have potential top 6 skill and if he’s playing on the top line he will have every opportunity to show that off. This will be his first North American season. He will likely end up in the AHL but he could be knocking on the door quickly. He was averaging only 16 minutes a night for the final part of last year and before that he was averaging 12 minutes a night. He would be able to average at least 16 a night in the AHL and probably more. With the increase in ice time we should hopefully see a surge in his scoring numbers.
As for Chase, he is also about to enter the AHL and if he ends up on Draisaitl’s wing then he’s going to have a lot of opportunity to look pretty good himself. I want to know if that mean streak has worn off or if he’s still going to be the pest the Oilers thought they drafted.
Edmonton’s top 4 defenders will likely be as follows:
Nurse Bear LaLeggia Betker
Obviously Nurse is Edmonton’s most talented defender at the tournament but I’ve noticed, historically, certain defenders have struggled to look good at this events. I really wonder if a lot of higher end defensemen can look off because of the unstructured nature of the tournament. There isn’t a lot of coaching and systems that go into it and for defenders that can pose problems. It can leave them more exposed than they should be. In Nurse’s case he happens to be one of the best athletes in the organization so he can probably overcome that. We’ll find out.
Beyond Nurse, the two players on Defense I really want to see are Bear and LaLeggia. Ethan Bear really impressed me from my limited viewings at the Oilers development camp. He was sharp, he used his stick really well, and he looked like he knew how to defend 2v1 and 1v1. Others have rated him quite high among Edmonton’s prospects I’m interested to see if there’s a real player there. Given the fact that he’s a 5th rounder, if the Oilers have found anything with this young man then it’s already a win.
LaLeggia just finished an NCAA career that saw him perform very well offensively. He should be able to move the puck. It’s an uphill battle because of the great number of players who will be battling for AHL spots, but he might have the talent and maturity in his game to depose a few incumbents.
In Net I’m really only interested in seeing Eetu Laurikainen play. This will be his first camp as Oiler property and he has a real opportunity to prove he should be considered a part of the future. He might be destined to start in the ECHL but by the end of the year we’ll have a pretty good idea where to slot him in. With the way things can change in net it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility to see him leapfrog Brossoit, but that’s getting ahead of ourselves.
In total, the Oilers have their big 3 prospects plus at least 5 more I’m very interested in seeing play in game action. I sincerely doubt there’s any team at the tournament as strong down the middle as the Oilers will be, but after Nurse the defense has its question marks. There certainly isn’t anyone else among the rearguards who has proven to be a blue-chip player yet.
The Oilers are bringing a lot of offensive firepower and the player everyone wants to see. Let’s get the games underway already.
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