Just Who Are These Oilers – Preview

Hard to believe, but it’s that time of year again folks. Here at the Oilers Rig, we have a little late summer tradition called the “Just Who Is” series. In this series, we’ll go through all of the additions made by Edmonton, from the draft, free agency and trades, and give a little scouting report on each player and what to expect.

This year saw a decrease in the overall number of additions from previous years. There were no coaching additions this year, and only Keith Gretzky was added to the management staff. Gretzky, however, will not be included in this series due to the high volume of content already posted on him here and at other blogs. Considering the move took place two weeks ago and it’s fresh in everyone’s mind, we elected to leave him off.

Here is a breakdown of who you can expect to see in this year’s series.

Defenders:

Edmonton made a bold move in June when the team dealt Taylor Hall to New Jersey in exchange for Adam Larsson. Larsson will be one of the focal points of this series, and you’ll get to read up on him Wednesday morning. Mark Fraser returns to the organization after two years as well, likely as AHL depth.

Forwards:

Milan Lucic might be the biggest free agent addition in Edmonton Oilers history. That’s no exaggeration either. He headlines this series and will be featured tomorrow morning. Drake Caggiula and Patrick Russell also join the organization from the college ranks, with Caggiula coming in as a top NCAA prospect. Jere Sallinen comes over from the KHL as well, marking his first North American stint.

Goalies:

Jonas Gustavsson signed with the club on July 1st, and as of now he has to be considered the favorite for the backup goaltending job. Nick Ellis, a stand out at Providence College, also joins the organization straight from the NCAA. Ellis, however, likely is slated for a development year in the minor leagues.

The Draft:

This year, the Oilers went to the draft with a plethora of picks and actually used them all. We’ll profile each player selected from the 2016 entry draft, starting with first round pick and possible NHL’er Jesse Puljujarvi. Tyler Benson, Markus Niemelianen, Filip Berglund, Dylan Wells, Graham McPhee, Aapeli Rasanen and Vincent Desharnais will all have their day in this series as well, going in order of selection.

What To Watch For:

Player profiles will begin tomorrow morning and post every morning at 8:00 am from tomorrow until August 31st. We’ll start with Milan Lucic in 24 hours, then Adam Larsson goes on Wednesday morning before diving into the depth signings and eventually into the draft class. Any additions made to the roster during the series will be added as evening pieces, so expect Chiarelli to throw us off with a move or two.

Enjoy!