Oilers Sign Vladimir Tkachev

He’s been nothing short of sensational since getting a rookie camp invite way back in August. Vladimir Tkachev has caught the eyes of fans, coaches, players, and management alike. He’s played in seven pre-season games total, including rookie tournament games, and has seven points, all of them assists.

The Oilers finally made their move today with the man our friend Lowetide calls Vladdy hockey, signing the undrafted free agent to a three year entry level contract. Tkachev has two more years of junior eligibility left, so Edmonton could hold onto him for five total seasons before making a decision on him. That’s a long time, and likely will be enough to evaluate.

The Performance:

Tkachev has proven that his talent level is worthy of prospect status. Many draft experts had him comfortably in the top 100 names for this past year, but the size of the player kept him off the board. He’s not built like fellow small man Marty St. Louis, and it’s a real concern that with his frame he’ll get beaten up at the NHL level, heck even the AHL level.

That all said, physically he handled both the prospect games and pre-season games wonderfully. He wasn’t overwhelmed, and only took one massive hit that clearly was due to his lack of size. He’s got really good speed and hockey sense, and knows where to be and how to avoid those bigger players. That’s a skill that will somewhat make up for the size issue. It won’t totally fix it, but it’s going to help.

Tkachev has wonderful play-making skills, and he showed that off this camp. In my mind, he was the best offensive play-maker Edmonton had at the rookie tournament, and he was at a point-per-game pace there. In the pre-season, he made some wonderful plays as well to set up goals that not many guys can make, plain and simple.

He’s done this before, he had 30 points in 20 junior contests a year ago after coming over from Russia. The skill is there, the speed is there, and the hockey sense is there.

In order to have success, he’s going to need lots of development time, and he’s going to need to work on things like evading bigger players and even adding a little bit of muscle, but he’s still a solid prospect for almost any team, especially with the skills he possesses.

The Perks For Edmonton:

This truly is a job well done by GM Craig MacTavish and his scouting staff. The Oilers prospect ranks are filled with solid defenders and role players up front, but skill is lacking. Marco Roy and Greg Chase are the top skill guys in the system, but one can argue neither player has the skill-set that Tkachev does. This is a case of adding something lacking to a prospect system and at absolutely no cost.

Tkachev was good enough to get drafted, but the obsession with size in today’s NHL kept him from being picked this past June. Had he re-entered the draft, he almost certainly would have been a pick in the top three rounds should his offense have continued at the major junior level, so this truly is a steal for Edmonton.

Tkachev will likely be assigned to the QMJHL in the coming days, and rightfully so. Yes, he has impressed in a major way this camp, but he still has a long way to go. The best thing for him is to get a full year in major juniors and to prove that his offense last year was not a fluke. In addition to that, this will allow him to adapt to the North American game and life style better, and allow him to develop those skills on how to play the game as a smaller man.

He’s got two years of junior hockey left, and three-years on an entry level deal with Edmonton. The odds he would get signed following the draft were slim, but credit to Vlad and the Oilers for setting each other up for success. The little forward that could impressed in a major way this camp, and the team that simply couldn’t get anything right for years prospect wise may have just hit a homerun.

This will be a prospect worth watching as the season wears on.