The Edmonton Oilers will hit he ice for the first time in 2014 on Friday night in Penticton as the rookies will do battle for the first of four games. The youngstars will play Vancouver on Friday night, Calgary on Saturday night, and Winnipeg on Monday afternoon before heading to Edmonton to battle the U of A Golden Bears in the middle of next week. The following morning, main camp begins.
The Goalies:
Edmonton will carry four goalies this year, new prospect Laurent Brossoit, draft pick Kevan Bouchard, second-year pro Ty Rimmer, and first year North American pro Frans Tuohimaa. I’d imagine each goalie starts one game in the four game slate. I’d imagine LB is the back-up in Oklahoma City this year, playing behind Richard Bachman.
Bouchard will return to the QMJHL to compete for the starters job on his junior team, while both Rimmer and Tuohimaa are expected to be playing at some sort of ‘AA’ level, Rimmer likely the CHL and Tuohimaa the ECHL with Bakersfield.
None of these goalies have NHL hopes for the upcoming season, but all of them have some sort of hope for a career down the road. The best bet? LB, who dominated the ECHL a year ago. I wouldn’t sleep on Ty Rimmer however.
The Defense:
The defense has one elite prospect on it, as 2013 7th overall pick Darnell Nurse leads the way. Nurse has a very high ceiling, can play a physical brand, and can shut-down the other team’s top threats. He’s got an NHL career ahead.
Solid potential pros in Marty Gernat, Dillon Simpson, David Musil and Jordan Oesterle will all be on the roster as well. Gernat and Musil both played in the AHL last year and showed solid signs, Gernat as a puck-mover and Musil as a Laddy Smid type player. Simpson is a typical college defender that is strong skating wise and can move the puck, while Oesterle is a puck-mover with serious defensive questions.
Defenders Ben Betker, Connor Boland, CJ Ludwig, and Graeme Craig all will be on the team as well. Betker will head back to the WHL after main camp, but is a big boy who is a solid shut-down defender with a potential pro career. Ludwig and Craig will likely split the year between the ECHL and AHL after signing AHL deals, while Boland is attending on a camp invite.
Nurse leads the ways as an NHL prospect, but Gernat, Simpson and Musil all have solid chances to get a look in the NHL in the coming seasons. This is certainly the strength of the roster, and is one of the better defensive units Edmonton has brought to this tournament in a few years.
The Forwards:
This group breaks down into three groups. The high-end group includes centers Bogdan Yakimov, Jujhar Khaira, Marco Roy, Greg Chase and Leon Draisaitl. Leon is easily the best of the group, and will be on the Oilers’ roster come October 9th. Yakimov and Khaira will make their pro debuts in OKC, playing big roles for the Barons down the middle, while Roy and Chase will play feature roles on their junior teams.
Dr. Drai is a great puck possession player with great offensive skills and some creativity, while both Yakimov and Khaira are big centers who are defensively responsible and have a little bit of offense.
The second group has a big variety in it. Both Kyle Platzer and Jackson Houck will return to juniors this year, but both are bigger players with some toughness and offensive skill, something badly needed in Edmonton. Houck especially will be an interesting prospect to watch. Mitch Moroz, coming off an unreal season as an offensive and physical threat in the WHL, will make his AHL debut, while Travis Ewanyk will go back to OKC as a fourth line specialist.
The final group are the wild cards, four players on AHL deals will be on the team as Mitch Holmberg, Josh Winquist, Kellen Jones, and Connor Jones head to camp. All of these guys have solid offensive potential but question marks surrounding size, speed and defensive play. Vladimir Tkachev comes as an invite with a ton of skill and a year of junior eligibility left, he is currently hunting for a pro contract.
Kale Kessy, a tough guy coming off of a tough year in OKC, will be on the roster too, as well as camp invite Alex Krushelnyski.
Out of this group, Draisaitl is easily the best prospect and potential pro, but this too is a solid group. Yakimov, Khaira, Roy, Chase, Houck and Moroz all have great chances to be Oilers in coming years, while wild cards like Tkachev and Holmberg could make a name for themselves as well.
The Overview:
This Oilers roster isn’t as flashy as, say, the 2010 group of rookies, but it is a solid group. There are real prospects at every position, and a number of potential pros that could fill major areas of weakness on the Edmonton roster. The Oilers will only achieve success with solid development, and this roster is a solid indication of that. These guys can fills the big holes on defense and at center down the road.
Todd Nelson will coach this unit, and he’s had some solid success teaching these young kids. They’ll be in Penticton soon, and the puck will be dropped in just a few days. It’s almost here my friends.
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