Just Who Is Josh Winquist

The Edmonton Oilers signed a trio of players to AHL contracts this past spring, with one of those players being little known forward Josh Winquist, who finished his WHL tour of duty this past season and took a spin in the pro ranks with the Oklahoma City Barons at the end of the regular season in the AHL.

The Means Of Entry:

Josh Winquist went undrafted out of the WHL, and signed an amateur try-out agreement with the Oklahoma City this past fall. That was followed up with an AHL contract that will hold place for the 2014-15 season. Winquist played for the Everett Silvertips for five seasons, starting during the 2009-10 campaign. He played his Midget hockey for St. Albert in the AMHL.

The 20-year old was eligible for the 2012 and 2013 entry drafts, but was passed over both years, making it to free agency following the conclusion of his junior career.

The Boxcars:

Winquist represents a similar case study to the player we profiled on Monday morning, Mitch Holmberg, a fellow WHL overager. Winquist’s numbers were not impressive early on, but as he adapted to the league and got a bigger role, he saw his production increase.

During his rookie year of 2009-10, Winquist played in 50 games for Everett, scoring just seven points. The following season, 2010-11, Winquist posted an improved campaign, playing in 65 games and scoring 24 points.

He nearly doubled his production in 2011-12, posting 41 points in 68 games, while he enjoyed his breakout campaign in 2012-13, scoring 51 points in 51 games, his first venture into point-per-game territory.

This past season, Winquist played in 67 games, scoring a career high 93 points. That includes 47 goals, marking the first time that Winquist had ever scored over 30 in a season.

Following his move to Oklahoma City, Winquist played in one regular season game and one playoff game, recording no points in the two games, and a total of two penalty minutes while going -1.

The Player:

Winquist is a bit older for a guy just joining an NHL organization, coming in at age 20, and represents a project type of prospect. Winquist is slightly smaller, standing in at 6 feet even and 180 pounds. He’s not known as a physical player, and is mainly an offensive weapon.

Offensively, Winquist has a decent mixture of skills. He’s mainly a playmaker, as up until this past season the majority of his points came via the assist. This is a guy that has decent vision and the ability to make smart passes that set-up scoring chances. The Barons lacked that to a degree last season.

Goal scoring wise, his career best years were 47 goals, this past season, and 24 goals in 2012-13. Those aren’t exactly earth shattering totals, and suggest a player that until recently struggled scoring. It’s likely that this is a player who will earn the majority of his points through the assist.

His two-way game is decent as well, coming from an Everett program that preaches defensive hockey and smart plays. That makes Winquist a smart player, and a more all-around player than Mitch Holmberg, who seems to be all offense. Winquist also had decently low penalty minute totals during his WHL career, suggesting a player who is relatively disciplined.

This isn’t a game-breaking player, but appears to be one that has decent play-making skills, some goal scoring ability, and some two-way ability. He’s not big and he’s not physical, and likely won’t make his money playing a tough defensive role.

Josh Winquist is a project, but the St. Albert product has the ability to be a tweener down the road that might snag a roster spot and contribute in a secondary scoring role once he fully develops into the pro game.

The 2014-15 Outlook:

Josh Winquist will be in tough to get a feature role in Oklahoma City, and likely will end up playing behind AHL veterans and Oilers’ prospects who will count against the 50-man limit. Winquist seems like a guy that could use some ECHL seasoning as well, and may be best served spending a portion of his rookie pro season in Bakersfield.

For Winquist, Oiler fans can expect a transition year, where we find out if this guy is going to be someone to watch or not. I’d expect Winquist to split the season between playing a big role in Bakersfield and playing a smaller role in Oklahoma City. How he handles a big role in the ECHL and the adjustment to the AHL will be key for this long-shot.

This is the Mark Arcobello road to the NHL. Usually, the dream ends far before the lights of the NHL, and most of the time these signings are nothing more than minor league filler contracts. That said, Edmonton has produced an NHL player this way within the last few seasons, and there is no harm in trying this route, especially when you own an ECHL franchise.

Personally, I think Mitch Holmberg is the better bet in this spot, but that doesn’t mean we should sleep on Winquist.

Tomorrow, we’ll look at another player who earned an AHL contract with the Oiler organization this past spring.