Thoughts on Cole Caufield? Would it be a mistake to shy away from him because of having Yamamoto?
He's another tiny dude(5'7'' 155lbs), but he's lighting it up on the USNTDP.
He's got the whole package offensively and might have the best shot in the draft. 19 goals in 23 games on the u18 team this season. 44 goals in 40 games on the u17 team last season.
I think it depends on where the Oilers pick land. I feel like he could probably be a solid pick in the mid 1st, not sure I take him much higher than that, but I haven't seen him that much, especially recently.
While on the subject of USNTDP guys another guy that intrigues me is Matthew Boldy. 6'2, 187 lbs left winger who's been drawing a lot of comparisons to the Tkachuk brothers, but maybe without the edge and agitation.
Seeing how those guys translated to the NHL and have proven everyone doubting their offensive ceiling wrong, Boldy might be on the same path and a player like that who is big and strong and very good around the net would be valuable for this team.
LW is also probably the weakest area on this team and in the pipeline right now, only really have Benson there while on the right side we're stacked with Pulju, Yamamoto, Maximov, Safin etc.
Boldy is really highly rated by the scouts right now too, everyone of FC, McKeens, ISS and HP has him in their top10. So he could be an interesting option in that 8-12 range.