Prospect Info: The 2018 Draft Thread

[Canovin]

Benson is a guy who might carve out a career as a bottom-6 winger who plays a decent 2-way game. 15 goals will likely be his career high, if that. Debrincat scored 25 goals THIS YEAR, lol. They aren't even remotely comparable.

I see Benson bringing more versatility to the Oilers. Nothing fancy. Just creates time and space for his linemates. I like the fact that we can bring him up slowly. Last thing the Oilers need is someone like Debrincat who's breaking out early, gets locked up to an expensive contract and doesn't live up to the contract. We can't afford anymore guys breaking out during their ELC's

 

[CycloneSweep]

Benson is a guy who might carve out a career as a bottom-6 winger who plays a decent 2-way game. 15 goals will likely be his career high, if that. Debrincat scored 25 goals THIS YEAR, lol. They aren't even remotely comparable.

They aren't comparable this year but we haven't even seen Benson play in the show yet.

Benson was a guy who was supposed to go in the 1st round at the start of the year but dropped due to injury. And this year, even missing games to start the year and being on a not high goal scoring team was 2nd on his team in points. Benson is still a few years away but he has a decent chance at being a good middle 6 winger. Thats what Debrincat is too. Benson is just further away.

 

[McAsuno]

Would be nice if we could just skip to the lottery already.

 

[MoneyGuy]

I'm really rooting for Calgary to win the lottery this year just for the lolz. It's the only scenario that would bring me great joy other then us winning it.

I want Calgary to win then the Isles pass on Dahlin and we take him with the second pick. Pretty much impossible but one can dream.

 

[belair]

Benson is a guy who might carve out a career as a bottom-6 winger who plays a decent 2-way game. 15 goals will likely be his career high, if that. Debrincat scored 25 goals THIS YEAR, lol. They aren't even remotely comparable.

They're both 20 year olds with minimal professional experience drafted within 10 picks of each other. They are very comparable.

 

[Zaddy]

With Oilers winning and Isles and Rangers losing we're only 1 point behind those teams. Looking more and more likely we'll draft #10 or lower.

 

[McBaevid]

They're both 20 year olds with minimal professional experience drafted within 10 picks of each other. They are very comparable.

Except ones producing top 6 numbers in the best league in the world and the other is barely a PPG in the WHL as a draft +2 player. They're not comparable in the slightest.

 

[Zaddy]

Except ones producing top 6 numbers in the best league in the world and the other is barely a PPG in the WHL as a draft +2 player. They're not comparable in the slightest.

69 points in 58 games is "barely a PPG" ? Benson's biggest problem is his health. Had he remained healthy these past two seasons he'd have put up big numbers in the dub. It's not like he's been playing on a great team either. Vancouver Giants have been quite poor his entire WHL career. They were 16th in GF this year as an example. He just hasn't had a lot of talent to play with. The quality of teammates, especially in juniors, have a huge impact on your scoring numbers.

This is really the wrong thread for this discussion but personally I wouldn't have taken DeBrincat at that pick. I know a lot of people actually did want him at the time but a 5'7 guy without great skating is really risky. I guess the one argument in favor was his chemistry with McDavid and yes in hindsight he would've been a great pick and probably slotted in nicely on the top line.

But it's not like Benson was some low upside pick either. He was projected top10 or at the very least top15 before injuries ruined his season. Oilers took a gamble that he'd be able to stay healthy going forward and unfortunately that hasn't been the case but it's far too early to write him off. When it's all said and done DeBrincat and Benson could end up having quite similar careers.

Also, most scouts had the two ranked very closely. HP had DeBrincat #34 and Benson #35. FC had DeBrincat #25 and Benson #29. Bob McKenzie had DeBrincat #33 and Benson #39 so they were ranked really closely. My bet is the Oilers scouts had a lot more viewings on Benson, since they're quite WHL heavy in their scouting plus he's an Edmonton kid so it made sense, and Chia obviously was on a mission to get bigger so DeBrincat didn't really fit into that picture.

Like me, they probably thought he was too risky. Benson, despite his injuries, was a lot safer as a pick and I think realistically even now he projects as a solid middle-six winger. Hell, he's so smart and well-rounded as a player it's not impossible that he could find chemistry with McDavid. He knows where to go on the ice and that's really the most important thing when you're playing with a talent like McDavid.

EDIT: Maybe it sounds like I'm super-high on Benson but I'm not, but I think it's a bit premature to rule him out as an effective NHL player. Development isn't linear and he's missed some time with injuries. DeBrincat would probably have been the better pick once it's all said and done, but he was a very risky pick at the time. Personally I wouldn't have selected him or Benson with that pick. I was looking at Pascal Laberge, Cam Dineen and Adam Fox mainly IIRC.

 

[Zaddy]

Anyway here's a fresh Evan Bouchard highlight package:



Kid is very, very good, but I can't get over his skating. He's gonna get pylon'd a number of times at the NHL level. This is going to be a soft minutes, offensive push type player who puts up great numbers but can't play against other teams top players. I guess as long as we have Adam Larsson it's fine but ideally we'd add some speed on the backend. He would really help the Oilers transition game as well as the PP though.

Klefbom-Larsson
Nurse-Bouchard

Could be a pretty good top4 actually for many years to come. Nurse would cover Bouchard's deficencies quite well I think.

At least he knows his weaknesses. He's interviewed by Guy Flaming in that video and he identifies his skating as well as his defense as being things he needs to work on, so that's...good I guess.

 

[CupofOil]

Anyway here's a fresh Evan Bouchard highlight package:



Kid is very, very good, but I can't get over his skating. He's gonna get pylon'd a number of times at the NHL level. This is going to be a soft minutes, offensive push type player who puts up great numbers but can't play against other teams top players. I guess as long as we have Adam Larsson it's fine but ideally we'd add some speed on the backend. He would really help the Oilers transition game as well as the PP though.

Klefbom-Larsson
Nurse-Bouchard

Could be a pretty good top4 actually for many years to come. Nurse would cover Bouchard's deficencies quite well I think.

At least he knows his weaknesses. He's interviewed by Guy Flaming in that video and he identifies his skating as well as his defense as being things he needs to work on, so that's...good I guess.

The Oilers won't be in a position to draft him anyway unless he takes one of those Cam Fowler type falls down the draft board.

With the Oilers likely drafting 10-11th, I think it's more likely to be traded than not.

 

[Zaddy]

The Oilers won't be in a position to draft him anyway unless he takes one of those Cam Fowler type falls down the draft board.

With the Oilers likely drafting 10-11th, I think it's more likely to be traded than not.

Yeah, it's sure looking that way with the Oilers winning a lot lately while every other team basically have given up.

I don't know about the pick getting traded. If Chia is still at the helm, does he really have the balls to make another big trade with him already being on the hot seat?

At #10-11 you're still pretty likely to get one of Smith or Dobson I think. And if neither one of those are available Veleno and Kaut are solid options. Actually just doing the math, if we draft at #10 we're guaranteed to get one of Hughes, Boqvist, Dobson, Smith, Wahlstrom, Bouchard (assuming Dahlin, Svechnikov, Zadina and Tkachuk are all taken, otherwise we get one of those). The only risk is if we draft at #11 or later.

Anyway, Veleno should at least be a 2nd liner and is able to play both C and LW. Kaut is a RW with size who is scoring quite well in a men's league already. If they wanna roll the dice on a russian Vitali Kravtsov is a hell of an option too. He currently has 6 goals and 11 points in 9 games in the KHL playoffs Either one of those three could easily be better than the guys ranked in the top10.

I think statistically there's actually a pretty good chance one or two of the d-men ranked in the top10 are going to bust, so just because you're drafting there doesn't guarantee anything. Kravtsov and Kaut are at least playing against men already and proving themselves whereas Veleno plays a pro-style game and with his speed and feistiness will definitely be an NHL player in some capacity.

I would keep the pick, you're gonna get a good prospect regardless and it's not like the Oilers pipeline is stocked, even if it's looking half-decent at the moment, you never know who's gonna bust. What are they even gonna trade it for? Oilers can't afford to take on much salary so trading it for an established player seems unlikely.

I sure hope they wouldn't trade it for another Reinhart type player, meaning a guy who is deemed "NHL ready" but actually isn't all that good. What Chia and management should realize is that teams don't just give away high-end prospects and if they do, there's something fishy about it.

 

[CupofOil]

Yeah, it's sure looking that way with the Oilers winning a lot lately while every other team basically have given up.

I don't know about the pick getting traded. If Chia is still at the helm, does he really have the balls to make another big trade with him already being on the hot seat?

At #10-11 you're still pretty likely to get one of Smith or Dobson I think. And if neither one of those are available Veleno and Kaut are solid options.

Veleno should at least be a 2nd liner and is able to play both C and LW. Kaut is a RW with size who is scoring quite well in a men's league already. If they wanna roll the dice on a russian Vitali Kravtsov is a hell of an option too. He currently has 6 goals and 11 points in 9 games in the KHL playoffs

I would keep the pick, you're gonna get a good prospect regardless and it's not like the Oilers pipeline is stocked, even if it's looking half-decent at the moment, you never know who's gonna bust. What are they even gonna trade it for? Oilers can't afford to take on much salary so trading it for an established player seems unlikely.

I sure hope they wouldn't trade it for another Reinhart type player, meaning a guy who is deemed "NHL ready" but actually isn't all that good. What Chia and management should realize is that teams don't just give away high-end prospects and if they do, there's something fishy about it.

I would keep the pick too but Chia is a desperate man and unless RNH or Klefbom is being dealt, there really aren't many other expendable assets of value that can be used to upgrade the roster. Don't really see Puljujarvi and Yamamoto being dealt. I think if it was a top 5-7 pick, it would be a different story because that's a totally different quality of prospect, a potential franchise player, but at 10-11? I don't know.

 

[Zaddy]

I would keep the pick too but Chia is a desperate man and unless RNH or Klefbom is being dealt, there really aren't many other expendable assets of value that can be used to upgrade the roster. Don't really see Puljujarvi and Yamamoto being dealt. I think if it was a top 5-7 pick, it would be a different story because that's a totally different quality of prospect, a potential franchise player, but at 10-11? I don't know.

Frankly I think another trade like that could be absolutely catastrophic, not just for Chia but the entire franchise. He/they can't afford to get it wrong. The team is already in a dire situation player and prospects wise thanks to his moves. The team needs all good assets it can get. Having guys on ELC's coming in an contributing in 2-4 years when McDavid, Drai, Nurse etc are in their prime will be vital. 1st round picks are your best bets of getting those players. I mean you can just look around the league and see how many good young players have come in in recent years and made an incredible impact.

But yeah, I don't know what Chia is going to do but I don't think this is the time to panic and deal big assets like RNH, Klefbom or the pick. This team is better than the record shows. We just need to add some half-decent wingers to play with our talented centers (good teams are able to find these guys all the time at virtually no cost) and have a healthy D and a Talbot on his game. This team isn't going to contend in the next 2 years I don't think but it should make the playoffs and hopefully in 2-3 years guys like Yamamoto, Puljujärvi, maybe Benson as well as this years draft pick are able to come in and make significant contributions.

 

[Canovin]

Trade our 1st for two 1st's(Philly or Isle). No one at #10-11 is that much better than the #15-#25.

Come out of the 1st round with 2 of Kotkaniemi, Veleno, Kravtsov, Lundestrom, Noel, Wilde, Denisko, Bokk, Olofsson etc and we will be laughing

 

[dustrock]

Anyway here's a fresh Evan Bouchard highlight package:



Kid is very, very good, but I can't get over his skating. He's gonna get pylon'd a number of times at the NHL level. This is going to be a soft minutes, offensive push type player who puts up great numbers but can't play against other teams top players.

At least he knows his weaknesses. He's interviewed by Guy Flaming in that video and he identifies his skating as well as his defense as being things he needs to work on, so that's...good I guess.

I read a month or so ago someone said he would be a superior version of Franson in the NHL. Is this a bad thing? No, he would be an effective player.

I'm just paranoid about skating.

 

[PaPaDee]

I read a month or so ago someone said he would be a superior version of Franson in the NHL. Is this a bad thing? No, he would be an effective player.

I'm just paranoid about skating.

All depends what kind of person he is - if he's committed to improving it, he can become a good skater. Draisaitl is an excellent example, wasn't a great skater when drafted, but has worked extremely hard on improving.

 

[CupofOil]

Frankly I think another trade like that could be absolutely catastrophic, not just for Chia but the entire franchise. He/they can't afford to get it wrong. The team is already in a dire situation player and prospects wise thanks to his moves. The team needs all good assets it can get. Having guys on ELC's coming in an contributing in 2-4 years when McDavid, Drai, Nurse etc are in their prime will be vital. 1st round picks are your best bets of getting those players. I mean you can just look around the league and see how many good young players have come in in recent years and made an incredible impact.

But yeah, I don't know what Chia is going to do but I don't think this is the time to panic and deal big assets like RNH, Klefbom or the pick. This team is better than the record shows. We just need to add some half-decent wingers to play with our talented centers (good teams are able to find these guys all the time at virtually no cost) and have a healthy D and a Talbot on his game. This team isn't going to contend in the next 2 years I don't think but it should make the playoffs and hopefully in 2-3 years guys like Yamamoto, Puljujärvi, maybe Benson as well as this years draft pick are able to come in and make significant contributions.

I agree and that would be my plan too but I don't think Chia can afford to pretty much stand pat like he pretty much did last offseason in which we know he got burned.

There is more pressure than ever for him to get this ship righted before time runs out for him so I can't see him just making small tweaks to the roster. Dealing RNH or Klebom is robbing Peter to pay Paul so that's why I think the 1st will be on the trade block if they don't win one of the 3 lotteries. He has never been shy about dealing picks and I don't think offseason will be any different.

 

[CycloneSweep]

I read a month or so ago someone said he would be a superior version of Franson in the NHL. Is this a bad thing? No, he would be an effective player.

I'm just paranoid about skating.

He isn't even a bad skater..

 

[McDNicks17]

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I have no problem with Bouchard's skating.

I think he's actually got a really good first step and solid 4-way mobility.

His top speed isn't great, but I think he'll still have average NHL straight line speed.

 

[Hockey Nightmare]

When is the draft lottery

aka our stanley cup

 

[Aerrol]

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I have no problem with Bouchard's skating.

I think he's actually got a really good first step and solid 4-way mobility.

His top speed isn't great, but I think he'll still have average NHL straight line speed.

IDK if I'd say his first step is 'really good'. I'd say it's pretty good. I also have questions about his edgework as well. But its definitely not a total weakness like some are making it out to be. Its definitely around where Draisaitl's was when he was drafted. (Though weak in different areas)

 

[McFlash97]

The way the Oilers are winning, I don't beleive we will get any one these dmen. Oilers are picking in the 11-14 range guys.

 

[Canovin]

The way the Oilers are winning, I don't beleive we will get any one these dmen. Oilers are picking in the 11-14 range guys.

Only way we end up picking in that range is if we win all 8 games and the teams behind us won all 3 lotto. There's a better chance of us winning one of 3 lottos than the former happening

 

[McFlash97]

Only way we end up picking in that range is if we win all 8 games and the teams behind us won all 3 lotto. There's a better chance of us winning one of 3 lottos than the former happening

I'm all for picking in the top 7. I just can't see is finishing that low by the end of the season. We have some gimme's coming up and 97's Art Ross on the line.

 

[Burnt Biscuits]

Anyway here's a fresh Evan Bouchard highlight package:



Kid is very, very good, but I can't get over his skating. He's gonna get pylon'd a number of times at the NHL level. This is going to be a soft minutes, offensive push type player who puts up great numbers but can't play against other teams top players. I guess as long as we have Adam Larsson it's fine but ideally we'd add some speed on the backend. He would really help the Oilers transition game as well as the PP though.

Klefbom-Larsson
Nurse-Bouchard

Could be a pretty good top4 actually for many years to come. Nurse would cover Bouchard's deficencies quite well I think.

At least he knows his weaknesses. He's interviewed by Guy Flaming in that video and he identifies his skating as well as his defense as being things he needs to work on, so that's...good I guess.

Just on the powerplay he reminds me a bit of Pronger, very intelligent decision making, doesn't look like he is in a big rush to get things done, very deliberate & concise, controls the flow of the powerplay quite a bit, and a nice hard slapshot with a big wind-up. Don't take me out of context in that I'm comparing him at all to Pronger on the grander scope of things or in style of play, just certain attributes they both brought to the powerplay.