The Emphasis On Developing Your Own Prospects

The best way to stay competitive in the NHL for a lengthy amount of years comes down to one thing most of the time; developing your own prospects.

I recently filled out my own “fan experience” and I was asked if the Oilers are on the right track to becoming Stanley Cup contenders and if there was any work to do. That question got me thinking about what will happen when the Oilers get in a cap crunch.

If the Oilers get into a cap crunch, they will need to offload some of their high-money players and fill those spots with cheaper players on value deals.

We all know that the Chicago Blackhawks are the model of this method. You lose Andrew Ladd, you bring in Andrew Shaw. You lose Dustin Byfuglien, you bring in Niklas Hjalmarsson. You lose Antti Niemi, you bring in Corey Crawford. You get the idea.

The Chicago Blackhawks once again continue to be a Stanley Cup threat and it’s their ability to develop NHL players that allows them to continuously lose NHL players. The Blackhawks are getting contributions from Ryan Hartman (2013 1/30), Vince Honstroza (2012 6/169), Tyler Motte (2013 4/121), Dennis Rasmussen (Free agent signing), Nick Schmaltz (2014 1/20), and Gustav Forsling (2014 5/126, acquired from Vancouver for Adam Clendening) on their roster today.

Using that model, the Oilers will need to produce NHL players from the 2015, 2016 and 2017 drafts to stay competitive.

DON’T WORRY FOLKS, THERE IS GOOD NEWS

(Charts taken from www.hockeydb.com)
2016 Entry NHL Totals
Draft Num. Round Player Pos Drafted From GP G A Pts PIM
2016 Entry 4 1 Jesse Puljujarvi R Karpat [SM-liiga] 26 1 7 8 8
2016 Entry 32 2 Tyler Benson L Vancouver Giants [WHL] 2016 Entry 63 3 Markus Niemelainen D Saginaw Spirit [OHL] 2016 Entry 84 3 Matthew Cairns D Georgetown Raiders [OJHL] 2016 Entry 91 3 Filip Berglund D Skelleftea Jrs (Sweden)
2016 Entry 123 5 Dylan Wells G Peterborough Petes [OHL] 2016 Entry 149 5 Graham McPhee L U.S. National Development Team [USHL] 2016 Entry 153 6 Aapeli Rasanen C Tappara Jrs (Finland)
2016 Entry 183 7 Vincent Desharnais D Providence College [H-East]

2015 Entry
Draft Num. Round Player Pos Drafted From GP G A Pts PIM
2015 Entry 1 1 Connor McDavid C Erie Otters [OHL] 83 30 61 91 34
2015 Entry 117 4 Caleb Jones D U.S. National Development Team [USHL] 2015 Entry 124 5 Ethan Bear D Seattle Thunderbirds [WHL] 2015 Entry 154 6 John Marino D South Shore Kings [USPHL-Pr] 2015 Entry 208 7 Miroslav Svoboda G Trinec Jrs. (Czech Rep.)
2015 Entry 209 7 Ziyat Paigin D Kazan Ak-Bars [KHL]

Looking at the most recent drafts, the Oilers actually have some good players in these drafts that are tending upright.

Caleb Jones is having a solid season, and currently is playing a big role on the American junior squad. Jones is a player who I hope to discuss at length on the podcast one of theses days.

While it was disappointing that Ethan Bear didn’t get a camp invite for Team Canada and their World Junior squad, Bear is playing another good year of WHL hockey and will also turn pro next season.

Miroslav Svoboda is putting up absolutely incredible numbers in the second tier Czech Squad. While he is playing second tier, his numbers are good in any league. Throughout 19 games, Svoboda has a 1.51 GAA and a mind-blowing .950 save percentage as per Elite Prospects.

Ziyat Paigin is looking like a steal, but there’s no telling if he’ll make the trek to turn pro.

The 2016 Draft will need to chime out at least two NHL players other than Jesse Puljujarvi down the road.

Tyler Benson is playing a strong WHL season, and I think he is definitely on track to be an NHL player. Might not happen until he proves he can stay healthy and he needs to play at least two seasons in the AHL before I think he starts paying off. The Oilers truly believe in him and he signed his ELC recently.

Markus Niemelainen looked really strong in camp, but he is having offensive troubles once again this year. After 27 points in 65 games last season, Niemelainen has only added two helpers in 27 games this year. The only promising sign is his plus minus (for what it’s worth anymore) is -2 up from -23 last year.

Matthew Cairns was a questionable pick to me when it was made. In my opinion, an AJHL or OPJHL or BCHL player shouldn’t be selected until the 5th round. The Oilers liked something in Cairns, but he’s likely going to take the long way to the big leagues like Joey Laleggia.

Filip Berglund is my favourite of the third round picks as he is taking a regular shift in the SHL. Maybe he is the Gustav Forsling comparable.

Goaltender Dylan Wells was drafted with really poor numbers, but he’s looking like a steal as a 5th round pick with the numbers he is putting up this year. His save percentage has improved from .871 last year to .917 this year.

Graham McPhee and Vincent Deharnais are long shots. While McPhee is small and Desharnais is big, both players will be taking long routes, but hopefully they can surprise in college. So far nothing is promising. McPhee has five points in 22 games at Boston College while Desharnais has one goal in 14 games for Providence.

Aapeli Rasanen may be the steal. Even though Rasanen’s world junior squad did a complete 180, Rasanen has produced well in the tournament. He also has 16 points in 20 games for the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL.

THE 2017 NHL ENTRY DRAFT

The upcoming draft will be one for the Oilers to prove what their new scouting team can do.

No longer will the Oilers be able to throw away a slam dunk with a top five pick or have ample opportunities in the second and third rounds.

The Oilers will only have a second round pick if Nail Yakupov finds a way to score another 12 goals. Nobody is holding their breath on that one.

So all in all the club has their own picks in rounds 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 with an additional 3rd and 5th.

Surprisingly, the Edmonton Oilers lack prospect depth at forward more than any other position.

ENTRY LEVEL FREE AGENTS

One thing the Oilers have been able to hit home runs on lately are there free agent signings of players out of college.

Matt Benning, Drake Caggiula, Jordan Oesterle, Nick Ellis and Patrick Russell are some of the latest names signed out of college free agency and every player except for Russell has been a slam dunk.

Matt Benning gave the Oilers a player who may be able to help off set the potential loss of Brandon Davidson to the Vegas Golden Nights. Drake Caggiula gives the Oilers another option down the middle. Oesterle has provided strong defensive depth, and Ellis is looking like he could possibly steal the starting job away from Laurent Brossoit.

The ability to assess strong free agents out of college has helped make up for the Oiler’s lack of development from the prior managerial team.

CONCLUSION

Finding NHL talent has been a weakness for the Oilers for the years prior to Bob Nicholson, but Peter Chiarelli and his team has hit more homers than pop flies.

The Oilers are finally in good hands, and if the drafting team can put out two NHL players per draft, the Oilers will be totally fine.