Today is not my day, the thread got locked by accident. So...READ IT AGAIN SUCKERS!
That wasn't mature of me. I need to go to bed.
30. New Jersey Devils : Kasperi Kapanen 29. Los Angeles Kings : Brendan Lemieux 28. Tampa Bay Lightning : Julius Honka 27. Chicago Blackhawks : Conner Bleackley 26. Montreal Canadiens : Nick Schmaltz 25. Boston Bruins : Alex Tuch 24. Anaheim Ducks : Jack Dougherty 23. Colorado Avalanche : Travis Sanheim 22. Pittsburgh Penguins : Nikolay Goldobin 21. St. Louis Blues : Joshua Ho-Sang 20. San Jose Sharks : Brendan Perlini 19. Tampa Bay Lightning : Ivan Barbashev 18. Minnesota Wild : Roland McKeown 17. Philadelphia Flyers : Sonny Milano 16. Columbus Blue Jackets : Jakub Vrà¡na 15. Detroit Red Wings : Adrian Kempe 14. Dallas Stars : Robby Fabbri 13. Washington Capitals : Dylan Larkin 12. Arizona Coyotes : Jake Virtanen 11. The Nashville Predators : William Nylander 10. Anaheim Ducks : Jared McCann 9. Winnipeg Jets : Nikolaj Ehlers 8. Toronto Maple Leafs : Nick Ritchie 7. Carolina Hurricanes : Haydn Fleury 6. Vancouver Canucks : Leon Draisaitl 5. New York Islanders : Kevin Fiala 4. Calgary Flames : Michael Dal Colle
3. The Edmonton Oilers select Centre Sam Bennett of the Kingston Frontenacs in the OHL
6’0, 181lbs, 1996-06-20 : 18 years old
57 – 36g – 55a – 91p – 118PIM
Ok so I just lost the last three picks thanks to Word dying on me and the autosave bringing up this file from about 3 weeks ago…fantastic. The pick is the same, just lacking my usual witty remarks. Let that one sink in.
The Oilers will not be picking a defenseman with this pick unless Ekblad miraculously falls…which is within the realms of possibility. They won’t trade down for a defenseman either, unless MacT is crazy or gets a nice return. NHL defenders are a problem for the Oilers, but prospect defenders aren’t. What the major problem with the Oilers is that they are the easiest team in the NHL to play against. We’re seeing time and time again how important being difficult to play against is, how two-way forwards are emerging as the league’s prime asset, how rolling lines of effective players who know their role is the key to victory. The Oilers desperately need more of those kinds of players, Bennett is the guy, he brings everything they need…except pull up skills.
Bennett won the CHL Top Draft Prospect Award, an award that basically has guaranteed every recipient a top-4 pick; you have to go back almost 30 years to the awards inception to find somebody who fell past four. So for people thinking that a lack of upper body strength will hurt him so much that he falls…history is against you. He also was named the Best Defensive Forward in the OHL, an award I think was slightly robbed from Jared McCann, but hey, that’s the whole thing about the Selke right? The fact is Bennett is highly capable in his own zone and is an all-purpose player.
Bennett plays with alarming tenacity, I don’t have to point to the penalty minutes to get my point across, but yes, he’s feisty. He has Doug Gilmour who, love him or hate him, was the definition of heart during his long NHL career extremely impressed. He never stops skating, he never quits on a play and he will try to finish you if he can. Obviously the reckless and non-stop brand of hockey he plays is worrying for a guy who is basically built like a twig. He’s hard to take off the puck and has excellent leg strength, but in the NHL he’ll be playing against guys who will literally push him off the puck. Edmonton fans might be worried about that, and I know just reading around that people think he will be demolished in the NHL…but here’s the thing. Rome wasn’t built in a day, the Kings weren’t built in a day, the Blackhawks and Bruins weren’t built in a day….and these Edmonton Oilers sure as shit haven’t been built in a day. There is no player who will instantly make them a contender next season, there is no magic fix. Bennett fits their need best for the future. He isn’t as NHL ready as any three of Ekblad, Reinhart or Draisaitl (or even Ritchie), but given the time, Bennett will probably be the best overall forward in this draft. Remember 2006? The same thing happened. The best defender went first, the most NHL ready forward went second, the third was a guy who did everything right but wasn’t filled out, that guy is now considered the most valuable forward in the NHL. Not saying he’ll be Toews because it’s highly unlikely he is, but this whole nonsense about him being a bust because he isn’t strong at 18 is absurd.
Wherever he goes, first, second, third…fourth, the team will get a gamer period.
Comparison : Can’t come up with one, a lot of people say Doug Gilmour which is absurd, Patrice Bergeron with anger issues?
Thanks for reading.