ESPN’s Cory Pronman revealed his list of the best prospect systems in the NHL on Tuesday. The list went through all 30 teams, ranking them from first to last. To the surprise of very few, Edmonton’s prospect system was named the best in the NHL.
Pronman is one of the best independent scouts for hockey. His analysis of draft eligible players and prospects under team control is sensational. Personally, I find him to be the best source when I’m looking for scouting reports on players in juniors or who recently graduated from that level.
Pronman’s piece is guarded by a paywall, but it’s very interesting and absolutely worth the read. NBC’s Pro Hockey Talk was kind enough to give us what Pronman had to say about the Oilers and why they were number one.
“The Oilers have two great defensive prospects in Darnell Nurse and Griffin Reinhart, but the reason for their No. 1 rank is Connor McDavid,” wrote Pronman. “Frankly, remove him and the system is average, as it’s quite thin after the few top names.”
So, what makes Edmonton’s system so good? There are a few things in my mind, and Pronman touches on them here. Both Nurse and Reinhart could be impact defenders, while McDavid is on track to be the face of the franchise in Edmonton.
That’s not all, however. I think there are three major reasons why Edmonton got this spot on the list…
Top End Talent:
Pronman mentioned McDavid by name, and how couldn’t you? McDavid is the best prospect to enter the NHL since Sidney Crosby in 2005, heck some think he might even be better. Most people are projecting McDavid to hit around 55-70 points this season, which is the level of an impact player. I have McDavid hitting 76 points, again, impact player.
Also mentioned in the piece are Darnell Nurse and Griffin Reinhart. Nurse is big, mobile, physical and has some offensive ability to go with an extremely sound defensive game. He’s not ready to be an impact player yet, but he could be a top-pairing defender for Edmonton in short order. If not a top-pairing guy, then he’ll certainly be a top-four defender for a long time in the NHL.
Reinhart doesn’t have, in my mind, the ceiling that Nurse does. That said, he’s still a very quality prospect. He’s a big and physical player that is very smart and projects to be a top-four defender in a shut-down role. I suspect we see him in Edmonton for a large chunk of this season, and that he is a big part of the top-four moving forward.
The forgotten man? Leon Draisaitl. The 3rd overall pick in 2014 has size, speed, and a ton of skill. After dominating the WHL upon his return there last year, it became clear by the spring that he was ready to join the pro ranks full-time. This fall he will, although likely at the AHL level.
Draisaitl is that big and skilled center Edmonton has been searching for for years, he could be the long-term third line center, or a top-six winger for the team should McDavid and RNH work out as planned.
Solid Middle Tier Prospects:
People forget that Edmonton has a number of other options in their system, guys who could be second or third line players up front moving forward. Center Bogdan Yakimov possess the needed size and has the skills to make it in the NHL.
Yakimov is 6’5” and 232 pounds, making him one of the largest skilled players in the system. He’s decently quick and has solid hands, a good sign for any player. He’s got an offensive side too, evident by his 28 points in 57 AHL games this past season. He struggled to start, but Yakimov caught fire towards the end of the AHL season. Oh, and he really impressed in camp last year. He could be a third line center down the line.
Winger Anton Slepyshev might be Edmonton’s best kept secret. The 88th overall pick in 2013 is coming to North America this season, and could very well find himself as a secondary scorer in the NHL within the next two years.
He’s not small, 6’2” and 187, and he’s a quick guy with some unreal skill, making him a player of interest. In a pro league, the KHL, Slepyshev scored 25 points in 58 games last season. Keep in mind, he wasn’t getting much ice time in Europe’s top-league, young players rarely ever do. He’s a real prospect of note for Edmonton.
On the back-end, defender Dillon Simpson quietly put together a very solid rookie season, one that saw him jump up the Barons depth-chart by the end of the season. He’s a college defender who has a high hockeyIQ and the skills to make it in the NHL, he’s solid when it comes to moving the puck. The analytics love him, and he could be a sleeper to be a second-pairing defender down the road.
Goalie Laurent Brossoit had a very strong AHL debut last season and is trending to be a starting goalie in the NHL in the next three years. Goalies are tough to predict, voodoo as Lowetide says, but LB is trending in a very good way.
Lots Of Potential NHL’ers:
In addition to the guys mentioned above, Edmonton has a number of players who could easily play in the NHL and be part of a successful team down the road. Shut-down defender Brandon Davidson is ready to make the jump now as the team’s seventh defender. Similar styled defender David Musil looks like he could be a solid third-pairing defender in a season or two as well.
Let’s not forget defender Joey LaLeggia either. His NCAA numbers suggest a player who could be an offensive weapon from the blue-line in the NHL. If he can defend, he’s going to have a good career in the world’s best league. Same goes for Jordan Oesterle, although on a lesser level.
Forward Kale Kessy might have a calling as a fourth line tough guy who can play a little, while center Jujhar Khaira very well could be a solid checking center for Edmonton in two or three years. It’s also tough to overlook forward Iiro Pakarinen, who could be a solid role player in the NHL as early as this season.
Final Thoughts:
Edmonton’s system is deeper than many people realize. Yes, the Oilers have the high level guys like Nurse, McDavid and Draisaitl, but they also have some depth. The 2008, 2009 and 2010 drafts didn’t produce much after the first round, but the 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2015 drafts have.
I named off a lot of established prospects above, and still missed guys like Ben Betker, Kyle Platzer, Greg Chase and new picks Ethan Bear and Caleb Jones. For the first time in a long time, Edmonton’s prospect system has some depth to it.
When you combine all of those things, it’s not overly surprising to see Edmonton’s system be ranked number one in the NHL.
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