The Edmonton Oilers management have rightfully been criticized due to the state of the team. One of the guys that has been receiving a lot of criticism is Head Amateur Scout Stu MacGregor.
I’m here to end all of that criticism and declare that Stu MacGregor will be very responsible for the (God knows how long) turnaround of this lagging franchise.
WHY THE CRITICISM?
A lot of the heat directed at Stu MacGregor has been his inability to produce NHL talent omitting the first round.
Another aspect has been particular high picks that haven’t turned out to even earn an NHL contract or even an AHL tryout.
MacGregor first took on his current job title in time for the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, where the Oilers needed to make up for the 2007 Draft where the Oiler basically kissed away three first round draft choices.
MacGregor’s tenure as the Edmonton Oiler head scout has currently produced three full-time NHLers outside of the 1st round. The players considered full-time NHLers are Anton Lander, Martin Marincin and Tobias Rieder.
While that may not be grounds to defend his job title, I believe the reason for his viewed failures to be a product of his General Manager’s calls.
2008-2012 THE TAMBELLINI YEARS
2008 Draft (current NHL stats)
1/22 RW Jordan Eberle (351GP 118-164-282
4/103 D Johan Motin (1GP)
5/133 LW Phillipe Cornet (2GP 0-1-1)
6/163 RW Teemu Hartikainen (52GP 6-7-13)
7/193 D Jordan Benfeld (DNP)
While Tambellini wasn’t the GM at the time, Kevin Lowe was making the decisions. Eberle was a slam dunk and considering the lack of higher picks this draft can’t be considered a disaster.
Teemu Hartikainen looked like he could be player and I truly believe the Oilers gave up on him too early. His 5-on-5 play needed to be better, but Kreuger utilized him as a power play specialist. He was dealt to Toronto for (ugh) Mark Fraser and is playing and producing really well in the KHL. He still has an NHL shot
2009 Draft (current NHL stats)
1/10 LW Magnus Paajarvi (228GP 32-39-71)
2/40 C Anton Lander (127GP 8-17-25)
3/71 D Troy Hesketh (DNP)
3/82 RW Cameron Abney (DNP)
4/99 D Kyle Bigos (DNP)
4/101 LW Toni Rajala (DNP)
5/133 G Olivier Roy (DNP)
Nobody was complaining about the Paajarvi selection. Paajarvi was primed to become an NHL scoring threat. However, due to a lack of a decent roster in the big leagues, Paajarvi was rushed into the NHL and now he is currently back in the minors for a stacked St.Louis organization. That’s not on MacGregor.
Anton Lander was also rushed, but management finally figured out that developing in the AHL is better than developing in the NHL and the Oilers are beginning to see the fruits of that labour coming to fruition. Lander recently signed a two-year contract extension.
Tambellini was pressured to add a few “coke-machines” in big bodied players in hopes that they could breed a power forward and a big-bodied bruising defender. Meet Troy Hesketh a player who hasn’t laced up since 2011-12, and Cam Abney, an ECHL fighter.
Rajala had tons of skill but considering there was no future for a player of his size in the Oilers organization, he asked to have his contract terminated after an AHL season in which he produced at almost a point-per-game pace.
2010 Draft (current NHL stats)
1/1 LW Taylor Hall (294GP 105-155-260)
2/31 RW Tyler Pitlick (24GP 2-0-2)
2/46 D Martin Marincin (80GP 1-8-9)
2/48 LW Curtis Hamilton (DNP)
3/61 C Ryan Martindale (DNP)
4/91 D Jeremie Blain (DNP)
5/121 G Tyler Bunz (DNP)
6/162 D Brandon Davidson (7GP 1-0-1)
6/166 LW Drew Czerwonka (DNP)
7/181 LW Kristians Pelss (Deceased)
7/202 C Kellen Jones (DNP)
This was supposed to be the draft that shaped the future in Oil Country. The Oilers may be able to walk away with two NHL defensemen in this draft, and that’s a pretty nice feat.
Martin Marincin is looking like he’s ready to be an every day NHL defenseman, while Brandon Davidson may be a year or two away, but early results are looking good for the 6th rounder.
Tyler Pitlick has not developed as hoped, but it’s not a question of his attitude and work ethic, it’s his fragility. Pitlick has not been able to stay off the injured list and that may contribute to him not panning out.
Curtis Hamilton is finally starting to show a pulse, but time is running out on him as well. Hamilton could see NHL time next year if he can improve and sign a new contract.
Kristians Pelss was tracking well before tragedy struck and he lost his life.
2011 Draft (current NHL stats)
1/1 C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (257GP 65-123-188)
1/19 D Oscar Klefbom (72GP 3-17-20)
2/31 D David Musil (DNP)
3/62 G Samu Perhonen (DNP)
3/74 C Travis Ewanyk (DNP)
4/92 D Dillon Simpson (DNP)
4/114 LW Tobias Rieder (67HP 13-7-20)
5/122 D Martin Gernat (DNP)
7/182 G Frans Tuohimaa (DNP)
This is where Tambellini’s influence seems evident. The first rounders are huge parts of the current team and the future, with Nugent-Hopkins making a case for being the captain of the franchise in a few seasons.
The second round saw the Oilers select a defensive-defenseman in David Musil. Musil has been steadily improving but may not have the foot speed to be a difference maker in the NHL. Boone Jenner and Brandon Saad went 37 and 43, and may have been worth the pick instead.
The selection of Travis Ewanyk is where Tambellini’s quest to find the next heavy forward is evident. Ewanyk would be considered a decent pick had he been selected 5th round plus, but instead Tambellini insisted the club use the 74th selection on a player with no offensive upside.
MacGregor was still able to find some gems in late rounds as Dillon Simpson, Tobias Rieder and Martin Gernat all have potential to become full-time NHL players.
2012 Draft (current NHL stats)
1/1 RW Nail Yakupov (187GP 40-45-85)
2/32 LW Mitch Moroz
3/63 C Jujhar Khaira
3/91 LW Daniil Zharkov
4/93 D Erik Gustafsson
5/123 D Joey Laleggia
6/153 RW John McCarron
The final Tambellini draft saw the Oilers waste picks on big bodies ahead of a position in their draft.
Mitch Moroz was apparently high on the Oilers list, so this one may be on MacGregor. In his first pro-season, Moroz has struggled to score but there’s every possibility it could be just the jitters. He needs to rebound.
Jujhar Khaira is tracking well as a prospect, so the jury is still out on him.
MacGregor seems to have found another gem in Joey Laleggia, who recently signed his NHL contract following a stellar college career.
WITH MACTAVISH AT THE HELM
Craig MacTavish made it known that his draft philosophy would not include drafting players based solely on their size.
MacTavish had a great quote that went somewhere along the lines of drafting players with skill because you can teach those guys to play different roles, but you can’t teach skill.
He said it, and his first year as the GM at the draft proved this point.
Darnell Nurse is a Chris Pronger gem in the making, and anybody that watched the World Junior Tournament this year knew what he meant to that club. He’s exactly what the Oilers have needed ever since the aforementioned Pronger packed his bags.
Marco Roy, Anton Slepyshev and Kyle Platzer have all shown they have the skills needed to be a prospect of note. While it’s too early to tell which of these guys will have impact, it’s a lot sexier of a list than years prior.
6th and 7th round picks, Ben Betker and Greg Chase have signed NHL contracts and have chances to be steals.
Bogdan Yakimov has been proving himself in the AHL this season where he has continued to get better and better as the season has gone on. Yakimov alone could be the real reason the Oilers call 2013 a successful draft year.
While it’s believed that Leon Draisaitl is still the biggest stud on the Oilers prospect list, the 2014 draft won’t be judged for a few seasons.
Early reports are that William Lagesson (91st overall) is trending very well as a defensive defenseman, while Tyler Vesel (153rd overall) will continue to hone his game in college. He will likely turn pro as a 22-year-old and has a chance to be another steal.
SUMMARY
Stu MacGregor’s first round choices are slam dunks, even though the selections of Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov were pretty easy to make. Darnell Nurse, Oscar Klefbom and Jordan Eberle were great picks at their selections.
The real reason I believe Stu MacGregor has done an admirable job is his ability to find players in the late rounds. An article by Travis Yost is a great reference for odds at finding an NHL player based on his draft status.
MacGregor has found diamonds in the rough in later rounds that will bear their fruit very soon. We await to see the likes of Brandon Davidson, Dillon Simpson, Joey Laleggia, Greg Chase, Ben Betker, Kyle Platzer and to a certain extent Tyler Vesel.
Considering the most intriguing names from 2004-2007 consist of Milan Kytnar, Cody Wild, Slava Trukhno, and Liam Reddox you can see what i’m getting at.
There’s a lot of problems in the Oilers management, but I strongly believe Stu MacGregor is not one of them.
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