Confirmed with Link: Raphaël Lavoie loaned to Vasby IK of the Allsvenskan *UPDATE*

[MessierII]

RNH, Yamamoto, Kahun, Kassian, Ennis, Puljujarvi. The only way he has a spot imo is if he beats out Ennis (which is hard because the veteran Ennis likely gets more chances from coaches) or of Kassian seriously drops the ball. So yeah, I do think his spot is somewhat blocked. It could be worse, but he's gonna have to blow the doors off in camp to get a roster spot.

Oh I think to make it this year out of camp for sure but in the long run we only have 4 real top 6 forwards then a bunch of tweeners and 4th liners. Puljujarvi is a wildcard. He might not be an nhl player. Guys like Ennis are just stop gaps.

 

[Samus44]

In 21-22 maybe Nygard/Haas/Chiasson, maybe one of Kahun/Ennis are gone, and maybe Neal bought out....then perhaps Benson has a real opportunity. However certainly this assets value as a piece in a trade will be diminished and very likely frustration will creep into Benson's game. At this point its watch him closely in preseason if possible and assess the risks vs. the potential and the future fit.

Injuries happen as do trades. Benson may not have a ton of opportunity in the immediate future but things change quickly. He's in the same position Bear and Jones were in last off season. At LW he's only behind 5 guys so i would expect he plays games this year especially if it's a condensed schedule. Tippett strongly prefers to play guys on their strong side and I don't recall any RW besides Archibald playing on their off wing and that was rare. It's possible in a pinch they would but i'd expect if two guys get hurt or are ineffective, and that's very possible, he'll be playing. I also have some fears that the Oilers could lose Nygard on waivers but as that would be idiotic and piss me off lets not consider it. lol.

Benson was always going to be a late bloomer given his injuries, one more year in the minors likely won't hurt him, injuries is why a guy even as good as Couture was slow played by San Jose and that worked out just fine. Holland is doing the right thing by bringing in lots of depth and competition. I like Benson lots and would have done the same. If Benson gets frustrated and mopes then I'd just chalk that up to poor character, I don't think he's got that issue and I suspect he'll just continue working hard at getting better. They don't need to rush players to the NHL or out the door but rather put them in position to succeed, Benson is playing in Europe and will be the top LW on the farm and there's nothing wrong with that.

 

[snipes]

LOL so we should trade away a player with good potential without giving him a chance in camp to compete with other players? How on earth does that make sense? We may as well trade away all of our C prospects since we have McDavid Leon and Turris at C...

Exactly. People were saying similar things about moving Bear before last season...

Not saying Benson will exceed expectations like Bear, but just saying.

 

[snipes]

I'm pretty sure Holloway qualifies as a blue chip forward prospect...

Yeah, Holloway is clearly a blue chipper.

If his play in the first couple games at Wisconsin this year is indicative of what he can bring, then we got a really good piece for our top 6.

The nice thing with Holloway is he can be eased in if needed as he brings a complete 200 foot game and he is also strong on the face off dots. He doesn’t just rely on a pure skill game to be effective. I know how Oiler fans are and he’s going to be loved by fans on this team, Oiler fans have a keen eye for players that go balls out every single shift.

His game as many of us have noted matches the style McDavid plays well with, his tenacity and strong skating will win a lot of puck battles down low in the offensive zone and disrupt other teams play in the defensive zone.

 

[oilexport]

We need to keep Benson in the system. Our prospects at forward are weak. He will get some games to prove his case.

If anything, a younger AHL call up for injuries, is not a bad deal.