The Oilers WILL take RNH First Overall

[R S]

It's my prediction.

Not exactly bold, yes, I know, but that's my statement.

At tonight's Saskatoon and Prince Albert playoff game, Oilers Head Scout Stu MacGregor was there. He was chatting with some of the people in the media/scouts game beforehand and said he was in Red Deer last night to see the Rebels.

He said it was an ok game, blah blah.

So I asked him what he thought of RNH, what he showed him in the game.

- He said he was pretty good, scored a goal.

- He said he was impressed with how well he plays away from the puck.

- He said he was impressed that he could actually dish a hit as well as take one.

- He went on to talk about his vision, and how it was among the best he has seen in a long long long time. He stated one specific example as a RNH carried the puck through the neutral zone. He said a player was coming at RNH from behind, back and to the right of him...supposedly outside of his sightline. RNH felt him and somehow saw him coming and slammed on the brakes...with the defender totally missing the check.

- He said the kid seems to have eyes in the back of his head.

- He then jokingly said "what size was 99 when he came into the league?". He joked with another scout how everyone thought Gretz was going to get "broken in half" when he entered the league, but he turned out to be just so smart and slippery.

Hearing MacGregor talk like this...the guy in charge of the likely 1st overall pick got me thinking. How could the Oilers truly pass on this kid, especially with all the amazing things he had to say about him? Hell, I asked Stu ONE QUESTION, and he had a ton of great stuff to say. To me that screams he loves the kid and would have no issue picking him first overall.

With his vision and smarts, he would be the absolute perfect fit for Taylor Hall. The two could be the best linemate duo in the league within a few years IMO.


So there it is. A long ramble, but I will be more than comfortable standing by this prediction down the stretch and into June. If it happens, awesome. If not, oh well, just going off my gut.

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[Big McLargehuge]

I still hate him for having a hyphenated name. Hopefully he learns from future teammate Karl Magnus Pääjärvi-Svensson and ****ing shortens his name. Then I'll like him.

 

[McOilbleeder]

Not surprising.

Stu "magnificent *******" MacGregor has been raving over the RNH and Strome in this draft for a while.

He's said maybe one thing about Larsson, and that was prompted(compared him to Hedmen etc).

I dunno about other Oiler fans, but I've said it since late Jan, I've reserved myself to the fact that the Oilers will take a C.

Since mid feb, it's changed to them taking one of Strome and RNH.

It's looking more and more like RNH will be an Oiler come draft.

 

[GretzkytoKurri9917]

Not if Edmonton loses the lottery and some other team takes him first overall.It seems very likely that the team that is in 30th overall is going to lose it this year since for the last few years the 30th place team has won it.

 

[smokes lets go]

He's my #1 choice for the oilers although i wouldnt be dissapointed with drafting Larsson. My only concern is his rankings are going so high that he may not be there at #2 if the Oilers dont get the #1 pick

 

[Bryanbryoil]

If we get the chance I have little doubt that we take RNH.

 

[octopi]

The lottery seriously needs to be weighted differently.

 

[PeakMcOil]

I still hate him for having a hyphenated name. Hopefully he learns from future teammate Karl Magnus Pääjärvi-Svensson and ****ing shortens his name. Then I'll like him.

Kind of unrelated, but what would happen if a Paarjavi-Svensson married a Nugent-Hopkins and then they decided to share their names and so on, a few generations we'd have people with like 16 last names.

Great to hear some comments straight from the magnificent horse's mouth, thanks Renegade.

 

[danishh]

I dont buy it.

I still see Larsson/RNH/Landeskog/Couturier, in that order, and i dont see it changing.

 

[PeakMcOil]

Not if Edmonton loses the lottery and some other team takes him first overall.It seems very likely that the team that is in 30th overall is going to lose it this year since for the last few years the 30th place team has won it.

This doesn't affect the lottery at all, unless it's rigged which I don't believe.

If you flip a coin 5 times in a row and it's heads every time is it more likely to be tails next time? No.

 

[Giggli G]

Not if Edmonton loses the lottery and some other team takes him first overall.It seems very likely that the team that is in 30th overall is going to lose it this year since for the last few years the 30th place team has won it.

Understanding probability FTW.

 

[Tom Brady]

Nope...... if we get to pick 1st again I seriously think it will be Sean Couturier, Edmonton said they want to get bigger and the dude is 6'4 , some people might question his offense but I think it will be just fine if he plays with Eberle and Hall.

 

[monkeywrench]

I went to the rebels game on Friday and RNH stole the show in the 3rd. The guy is hockey smart and quick.
I hope if Edmonton gets the pick they choose RNH, although I wouldn't be sad if we get Larsson either.

 

[17Kurri]

It's my prediction.

Not exactly bold, yes, I know, but that's my statement.

At tonight's Saskatoon and Prince Albert playoff game, Oilers Head Scout Stu MacGregor was there. He was chatting with some of the people in the media/scouts game beforehand and said he was in Red Deer last night to see the Rebels.

He said it was an ok game, blah blah.

So I asked him what he thought of RNH, what he showed him in the game.

- He said he was pretty good, scored a goal.

- He said he was impressed with how well he plays away from the puck.

- He said he was impressed that he could actually dish a hit as well as take one.

- He went on to talk about his vision, and how it was among the best he has seen in a long long long time. He stated one specific example as a RNH carried the puck through the neutral zone. He said a player was coming at RNH from behind, back and to the right of him...supposedly outside of his sightline. RNH felt him and somehow saw him coming and slammed on the brakes...with the defender totally missing the check.

- He said the kid seems to have eyes in the back of his head.

- He then jokingly said "what size was 99 when he came into the league?". He joked with another scout how everyone thought Gretz was going to get "broken in half" when he entered the league, but he turned out to be just so smart and slippery.

Hearing MacGregor talk like this...the guy in charge of the likely 1st overall pick got me thinking. How could the Oilers truly pass on this kid, especially with all the amazing things he had to say about him? Hell, I asked Stu ONE QUESTION, and he had a ton of great stuff to say. To me that screams he loves the kid and would have no issue picking him first overall.

With his vision and smarts, he would be the absolute perfect fit for Taylor Hall. The two could be the best linemate duo in the league within a few years IMO.


So there it is. A long ramble, but I will be more than comfortable standing by this prediction down the stretch and into June. If it happens, awesome. If not, oh well, just going off my gut.

I respect your insight and educated opinion, RS, but if Larsson is on the board when the Oilers pick, they will take him, imho.

There are a bunch of similarly skilled forwards available, but Larsson is clearly the class of the dmen, even when we take guys like Hamilton and Siemens into account. There is a greater drop off from Larsson to the next dman than from one centre to the next, for example.

I must admit, though, that RNH is has really grown on me since the beginning of 2011.

 

[Thrillingbroom]

This doesn't affect the lottery at all, unless it's rigged which I don't believe.

If you flip a coin 5 times in a row and it's heads every time is it more likely to be tails next time? No.

But if you flip a coin 5 times the chances of getting heads five times in a row is .5^5. Obviously each coin flip is independent of the next but over time it will tend to be 50/50. I'm not sure if that's what he was getting at but technically over enough lotteries the winner should line-up with the odds.

 

[SuperSaiyanBeastmode]

I think it's a good decision imho if they do, But they have to tank one more year and pick one of the elite defenseman prospects next year and their SET for the next 10+years with hall,eberle,hopkins,murray? that'd be a beautiful core

 

[iCanada]

I respect your insight and educated opinion, RS, but if Larsson is on the board when the Oilers pick, they will take him, imho.

There are a bunch of similarly skilled forwards available, but Larsson is clearly the class of the dmen, even when we take guys like Hamilton and Siemens into account. There is a greater drop off from one Larsson to the next dman than from one centre to the next, for example.

I must admit, though, that RNH is has really grown on me since the beginning of 2011.

Naw, Stu is a guy who you can really tell what he thinks about a guy based on how he talks about them. He'll get this look in his eye, and you can just hear the passion in his voice.

Go look last year at his interviews about Hall in comparison to his interviews about Seguin... that being said I know for a fact that he didn't do too many Hall interviews before the draft for a reason.

 

[Wheatking]

I wish I could see more of Larsson. I can't really give an educated opinion on who would be the best fit for the Oilers.

From what I've seen...

Couturier: I've seen him the most thanks to the WJC and a couple of QMJHL games on sportsnet. Good player but he never gives me a reason to get excited about drafting him.

Larsson: I only saw him at the WJC. Loved what I saw.

RNH: I've caught a couple games throughout the year and now he's playing the Oil Kings so I'm watching that series on Shaw. He actually does get me excited. He's fun to watch, is a very smart player and always shows up when his team needs him most.

Like I said, I haven't seen a lot of any of them but RNH does seem like he's on a higher level than Couturier. Size is nice but it shouldn't make or break the decision. With a top 2 pick you should be walking away with an absolute offensive wizard or #1 Dman. You don't take Jordan Staal over Patrick Kane because you need size. The Canucks wouldn't keep Kesler over Henrik just because he could win a Selke. An all around game is important but it takes a back seat to pure offense when we're talking about drafting a player 1st overall. If RNH is going to help Hall and Eberle score more goals than Couturier then I want him and I'll find other players to kill penalties.

 

[Cam98]

larsson > everyone in 2011 draft.

 

[ponder]

If the Oilers win the lotto and stay at 1st overall, and the top 4 stays as Oilers/Colorado/Ottawa/Florida, there's the potential for every team to be real happy with their pick. Oilers get a great young C in RNH, Colorado add a much needed 2nd stud dman in Larsson, Ottawa get their Alfie replacement in Landeskog, and Florida get a needed big C in Couturier.

 

[SDig14]

Nope...... if we get to pick 1st again I seriously think it will be Sean Couturier, Edmonton said they want to get bigger and the dude is 6'4 , some people might question his offense but I think it will be just fine if he plays with Eberle and Hall.

Except couturier is consistently being ranked out of the top 2. If he continues going into the draft being ranked 3 or lower, then there's no chance we take him at #1. When was the last time a guy ranked outside the top 2-3 went 1st overall? I think Sean needs a really big playoff performance or else he's going to be ranked at 3 or lower.

 

[The Angry Teatowel]

Except couturier is consistently being ranked out of the top 2. If he continues going into the draft being ranked 3 or lower, then there's no chance we take him at #1. When was the last time a guy ranked outside the top 2-3 went 1st overall? I think Sean needs a really big playoff performance or else he's going to be ranked at 3 or lower.

You're talking about independent rankings though, not the Oilers' ranking. I think people get a bit carried away in here with rankings that really bear no reflection of how each team ranks the draft. If the Oilers like Couturier (or whoever) the most, they pick him, regardless of what anyone else thinks.

 

[Handlanger]

It's my prediction.

Not exactly bold, yes, I know, but that's my statement.

At tonight's Saskatoon and Prince Albert playoff game, Oilers Head Scout Stu MacGregor was there. He was chatting with some of the people in the media/scouts game beforehand and said he was in Red Deer last night to see the Rebels.

He said it was an ok game, blah blah.

So I asked him what he thought of RNH, what he showed him in the game.

- He said he was pretty good, scored a goal.

- He said he was impressed with how well he plays away from the puck.

- He said he was impressed that he could actually dish a hit as well as take one.

- He went on to talk about his vision, and how it was among the best he has seen in a long long long time. He stated one specific example as a RNH carried the puck through the neutral zone. He said a player was coming at RNH from behind, back and to the right of him...supposedly outside of his sightline. RNH felt him and somehow saw him coming and slammed on the brakes...with the defender totally missing the check.

- He said the kid seems to have eyes in the back of his head.

- He then jokingly said "what size was 99 when he came into the league?". He joked with another scout how everyone thought Gretz was going to get "broken in half" when he entered the league, but he turned out to be just so smart and slippery.

Hearing MacGregor talk like this...the guy in charge of the likely 1st overall pick got me thinking. How could the Oilers truly pass on this kid, especially with all the amazing things he had to say about him? Hell, I asked Stu ONE QUESTION, and he had a ton of great stuff to say. To me that screams he loves the kid and would have no issue picking him first overall.

With his vision and smarts, he would be the absolute perfect fit for Taylor Hall. The two could be the best linemate duo in the league within a few years IMO.


So there it is. A long ramble, but I will be more than comfortable standing by this prediction down the stretch and into June. If it happens, awesome. If not, oh well, just going off my gut.

Just out of curiousity....does it make sense for the Oilers to take RNH? They're supposedly small up front with Gagner, Eberle, Cogliano, Hall, Paajarvi. And they lack talent on defense. As much as they lilke RNH, it would make much, much more sense for them to go with Larsson, wouldn't it?!

 

[svartgul]

Oilers GM is in Sweden right now,watching Larsson. hint?

 

[The Saw Is the Law]

Just out of curiousity....does it make sense for the Oilers to take RNH? They're supposedly small up front with Gagner, Eberle, Cogliano, Hall, Paajarvi. And they lack talent on defense. As much as they lilke RNH, it would make much, much more sense for them to go with Larsson, wouldn't it?!

Of course it makes sense to pick BPA. With RNH, Hall, Eberle, Pääjärvi, Gagner they would have one of the best forwards of league. Then it's much easier to sign UFA D-men because they think the team is good and it's possible to win the cup.

Oilers GM is in Sweden right now,watching Larsson. hint?

I hope Larsson goes first overall so Avs can get RNH.