AMATEUR NIGHT
Tonight the Barons are in action, but it is time to focus on the junior and college players in Edmonton’s system who are also slated to play this evening. Some solid work over the last week or so means we have much to talk about in the “bubbling under” category:
- L Mitch Moroz, Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL): 53, 11-17-28 +21 109pims. A recent surge (2, 2-1-3) saw Moroz pass last season’s totals with a significant portion of the season left to go. Moroz has not been a feature winger (for the most part) on the Oil Kings–his 9 even strength goals have come from all spots in the lineup–but a strong finish to the regular season will make for an interesting season over season conversation.
- D Martin Gernat, Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL): 12, 1-5-6 +4 10pims. Finally back and improving with each game. Gernat is skating well and recently the timing has returned, making a strong OK blueline even more impressive.
- D David Musil, Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL) 47, 7-17-24 +21 61pims. Another component of the OK defense, Musil is a quality junior defender who has been able to help out some offensively. A big addition to the Oil Kings blueline and he’ll likely be in OKC next year.
- L Travis Ewanyk, Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL) 42, 5-13-18 +21 102pims. Healthy and back in the thick of things, offense isn’t his game but from all reports the Oilers love his effort and skill set. The numbers to remember are 6.02, 192. He’s a ramrod.
- L Daniil Zharkov, Belleville Bulls (OHL) 40, 14-9-23 +7. His game tonight has been postponed, but Zharkov has been solid since Jan 11 (10, 6-6-12 +10) and is crawling from the wreckage of his first half.
- R Tobias Rieder, Kitchener Rangers (OHL) 40, 21-19-40 +11. He’s been very hot (14, 12-5-17 +14) since January 8th and like Zharkov is re-writing his story after a subpar and disappointing first half of the season.
- R John McCarron, Cornell (NCAA): 20, 5-7-12. Big man is 2, 1-1-2 in his most recent games and is showing well as the season wears along (he did the same thing last year). McCarron is 6.02, 225 and has 69 shots on goal in 20 games.
- L Kellen Jones, Quinnipiac (NCAA): 26, 4-9-13. Off the previous pace and will the Oilers having so many forward prospects Jones will have to pick up the pace in order to get noticed.
- C Jujhar Khaira, Michigan Tech (NCAA): 25, 4-14-18. Big center is having a quality freshman season in a good NCAA division. Has size, skill and plays a physical game, which makes him a unique and valuable player on the Oilers prospect list.
- D Dillon Simpson, UND (NCAA): 28, 2-14-16. Getting more attention this season as he’s moved up the UND depth chart and is playing a larger role for the team. His PP numbers (1-10-11) are very impressive. Watch out for this guy.
- D Joey Laleggia, Denver (NCAA): 27, 9-13-22. The guy is a machine (PP: 27, 5-7-12) offensively and on his way to another outstanding season.
Took me half the thread to realize OK was oil kings, not oklahoma.
Oilers are going to ask Khaira to go pro next year.
You just feel it.
Large body with some finish is like platinum inlayed diamonds in the NHL.
“How does 100K signing bonus sound to play a year in OKC son?”
Brandon Davidson in for the OKC Barons tonight. Well, that’s a helluva thing.
Martin Marincin, Taylor Fedun, Colten Teubert, Brandon Davidson, plus 1 or 2 non-prospect defenders, Oscar Klefbom (heard today his plan is to come to North America next season), is there room for Gernat, Musil and Bigos?
Who would you expect to head out west to Stockton?
Oklahoma City Barons @OKC_Barons
#OKCBarons projected D-Pairs: Clark-Fedun, Jones-Teubert, Peckham-Marincin. Niko Hovinen in net with Yann Danis backing up
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38m Oklahoma City Barons Oklahoma City Barons @OKC_Barons
#OKCBarons projected lines: Cornet-Arcobello-Cheechoo, Rajala-Green-Pelss, Byers-Martindale-Tyrvainen, Hamilton-House-Lizon
I think they’ll turn all three pro, but some will be in Stockton. And of course, I would like to reiterate that the Edmonton Oilers are primed for a three-for-one trade.
Lowetide,
Well thats a nice thing about seminoma (I assume thats the cancer type he had) most people make a full recovery with cure rates in the high 90s.
Lowetide,
We’re even primed for a 5 for 1 trade but even a 3 for 1 trade has too many parts for Mr. Dithers. I would be happy with a good 1 for 1 trade.
My guess would be Bigos and maybe Davidson heading down to Stockton, at least at the start
Rieder has a goal tonight.
Martindale (Rajala, Hamilton)
leadfarmer,
He can do 3 for 1 trades. He just can’t convince the 1 to come here
Hamilton’s first point since December 15.
holy crap! that kid must have some kind of Hourman-like elixir to have this kind of recovery!
Cheer like hell!
Musil with an assist
Martindale. Funny how things develop. Of that draft class, it always seemed like Hamilton and Pitlick would be the best bets for an NHL job, while Martindale seem to drop off the world early. Now you could argue they’ve all done a 180*.
Talk about a guy who has a golden oppourtunity. 6’3″ centerman with some playmaking ability? Yes please.
I was thinking the exact same thing.
Projecting teenagers is a mug’s game.
Lowetide,
I would like to reiterate that the Edmonton Oilers are primed for a three-for-one trade.
Happy 6th anniversary on that prediciton.
One day it will come true.
Maybe.
We’re going to drink the river dry that day, my friend. DRY!
Cheechoo (Fedun, Clark)
I’m normally the first guy to preach patience with a player – for example, I think trading Marincin could quite possibly turn out to be a huge mistake in 5-6 years, and I’ve been defending Gagner based on his youth and potential for years now – but I feel pretty confident in suggesting that Mitch Moroz is a bust. He should have established himself in junior by now. Lucic went from 9 goals, 19 points in 62 games in his draft year, to 30 goals, 68 points the year after in 70 games and 19 points in 22 playoff games.
I was also fairly excited about Jujhar Khaira until I compared him to Riley Nash. Nash actually outscored (in goals and points) Khaira by a decent margin in the BCHL, and did better in his first year of college, as well – almost 1 point per game. The ECAC is a weaker conference than the WCHA, but that much weaker? Nash was no shrinking violet, either.
I’m starting to feel the need for more perspective on our players and especially prospects. Would it be helpful to post comparable draft picks more often?
Here I am, just dreaming of Jonathan Cheechoo rediscovers his touch and perhaps even shores up his two-way game in the AHL, and he scores.
sigh
Do we know anything about Laleggia’s ability to play defence? His O is terrific.
He is short but weighs the same as Justin Schultz does now.
Is he MAB (best put out for PP’s) or could he be an all round defenceman?
Cheechoo (Cornet, Green) Gorgeous pass by Cornet.
BlacqueJacque,
Just because Moroz doesn’t turn into Lucic doesn’t make him a bust. I have “seen him good” during the 3 games I have attended this year. He can take and make a pass, skate and has a lot of tools. The numbers are not there but I can see him as a useful pro.
First 11 games of the season rieder assumed the set-up role on a 3 scorer line.
He was 5G 10 A EVEN 1.36PPG .46GPG.
A 2nd line had established chemistry.
They decided to break-up the first line.
So Rieder got to play with 3rd line players.
Until he broke his foot and played @ WJC.
16 games 4G 4A -2
Apon his return on Jan. 8 they supplied him with a Set-up winger.
Trading for Lievo from Sudbury.
14GM 12G 4A +11
Last 10 GM 11G 4A 1.1GPG 1.5PPG
They recognized what player worked with him last year.
we know what we have a .7-1.1GPG player with a set-up forward.
XXX- Khaira-Rieder SIGH!
BlacqueJacque,
Yes it is a much weaker conference.
Blacque Jacques:
Saying the ivy league is equal to the WCHA, CCHA, Hockey East.
Is like saying BCHL is the same as WHL.
Thank you all for the clarifications.
Said it in earlier post. I would like to see vets added to nhl roster. Let kids get primo time in minors ala Detroit. So that said, I hope to see Cheechoo and Clark eventually on big club. They are vets, and may be an upgrade. Who would look better, Harski or Cheechoo with Nuge and Ebs. He’d be more responsible defensively and he has better hands. And Clark as our 7th dman is an upgrade on Potter. Good teams have vets not rookies in a depth role.
I hope the Oilers take a look at Cody Corbett this draft. Guy has decent size, and is just about at 0.5 ppg. Granted he’s on an outstanding team, but he’s clearly 5th on the depth chart for that D.
It’s nice to see Gernat playing again-I hope we can graduate one of the 2 Martin’s to the big club in the next couple of years.
Rieder with an assist
Eidy: Yep, 1-1-2 tonight and goes above 1 point per game. He’s been sizzling.
DBO,
Smyth would skate circles around Cheechoo. His legs are shot and he cant skate fast enough for the NHL, which is too bad cause he has a lot of above average skills including a good shot. He’s like Alex Giroux now, can score a ton of goals at the AHL but cant keep up with the play at the NHL level.
As with all players in slumps. I think his play was better than his results early. No one for Kitchener scoring and faksa having a rough year. Rieder being back over ppg I think is a big plus considering a slow start. Small sample size and all
And why couldn’t have phx just taken someone else. Coyotes might have found the oilers lucic Only 4 more picks and 2012 draft looks completely different
I fear for the river if that happens.
Was at the Moncton-Halifax game earlier. Of course Mckinnon leaves in 2nd with injury…but he will be out of Oilers draft territory….right?. The player whose game I enjoyed the most wasn’t Mckinnon or Drouin but Frk, he was flyiing tonite. Looks like the Red Wings drafted him.
Its not Lucic NHL teams are chasing.
Its Jamie Benn.
6’2 190, 53gp 42g 23a 65pts 78pims BCHL the year he was drafted.
Was going to college until someone told him to play WHL and get to the NHL faster.
Next year did 51gp 33g 32a 65pts with the Kelowna Rockets
Drafted 129th over all.
Probably goes top 5 in a re-draft that had for the first 2 rounds:
Patrick Kane
James Van Riemsdyk
Kyle Turris
Thomas Hickey
Karl Alzner
Sam Gagner
Jakub Voracek
Zach Hamill
Logan Couture
Keaton Ellerby
Brandon Sutter
Ryan McDonagh
Lars Eller
Kevin Shattenkirk
Alex Plante
Colton Gillies
Alexei Cherepanov
Ian Cole
Logan MacMillan
Angelo Esposito
Riley Nash
Max Pacioretty
Jonathon Blum
Mikael Backlund
Patrick White
David Perron
Brendan Smith
Nick Petrecki
Jim O’Brien
Nick Ross
Player
T.J. Brennan
Brett MacLean
Taylor Ellington
Josh Godfrey
Tommy Cross
Joel Gistedt
Stefan Legein
Billy Sweatt
Simon Hjalmarsson
Michal Repik
Kevin Marshall
Eric Tangradi
P.K. Subban
Aaron Palushaj
Colby Cohen
Theo Ruth
Dana Tyrell
Antoine Lafleur
Trevor Cann
Nico Sacchetti
Keven Veilleux
Oscar Moller
Will Weber
Jeremy Smith
T.J. Galiardi
Akim Aliu
Mike Hoeffel
Nick Spaling
Drew Schiestel
Ruslan Bashkirov
Wayne Simmonds
Be prepared to hear “Jamie Benn” a lot when Khaira gets to OKC.
He went:
2011-12 Prince George Spruce Kings BCHL 54 29 50 79 69
He scored .537g/gm and Benn scored .79g/gpm, but they’ll be compared.
Probably insistently by Spector who craves large men in the middle enough to trade Gagner for Brower straight up.
That’s ok.
He can play on my team.
Unfortunately the 3 traded will be the established players and these prospects will all be thrust into the NHL above their heads at once.
“Team balance and veterans – a fool’s goal”
– K. Lowe 2007 while unloading the team
Woodguy,
You can’t deny teams pick talentless guys like Moroz because they want a Lucic. Problem is, there’s been only 1 Lucic this generation (maybe 2 with Clarkson) . Like chasing a pot of gold at the end of an imaginative rainbow; it won’t happen. And then some people would say well there’s not a lot of odds of getting an NHL’er in the 2nd round anyway: that’s exactly the kind of attitude that makes it even worst. Some people are happy to blow picks on guys who can’t play because it’s low-odds, but team who do great in the draft somehow get players out of those rounds. It’s not wizardry, they just use their picks on actual players.
I’m all for picking tall guys who score in lesser league tough like Khaira (BCHL, USHL etc)
Woodguy,
Are you implying Khaira = Benn because of the point totals and similarities in size and style?
Riley Nash scored more. Maybe (and I’m really not sure) not as physical, but scored more. Took more PIMs, too.
Or do you have other arguments?
It sounds like he’ll be very lucky to even reach MAB levels defensively.
This is what Pronman had to say:
“His main weakness is his physical game, which is below replacement level. I’ve seen him listed at 5’10″, which is generous in my opinion as he looks pretty small on the ice, and he is not effective at all when he’s engaging. Despite his hockey smarts, I don’t see him as being effective defensively to any notable degree at the pro level.”
I also remember reading somewhere (sorry, don’t recall where) that the Denver coach was saying he was happy with the progress Laleggia was making defensively this year. Something to the effect that Laleggia was trying to physically battle with opposition less and rather using his smarts to gain possession and get the puck out of his end.
Learning to deal with your shortcomings (no pun intended) is nice and all, but the take home message for me was that this guy is completely unable to physically compete with players at the college level (I think there was more in the article that led to this conclusion). And at 20 years old, he’s not going to grow much more. All this doesn’t translate very favorably to playing defense at the NHL level. Maybe he’s the 1 in a million, but I don’t have a lot of hope for him “making it”. He was just a 123rd overall pick though – you’re not getting a player you “expect” to make it. He sure does sound like he’s got some skill and a good head for the game. Maybe even a little dash of poise to give him a push.
FPB94,
You can’t deny teams pick talentless guys like Moroz because they want a Lucic. Problem is, there’s been only 1 Lucic
Lucic is an outlier.
Benn is a franchise talent drafted in the 5th round.
Benn is more rare.
I used to call Lucic the ultimate outlier, but Benn is miles better than Lucic.
Those two are like walking along the beach in South Africa and finding a 2lb diamond.
I’m not making that argument.
I’m saying that people will compare him to Benn as he becomes a more visible Oiler prospect.
Or walking along the beach at Skeleton Coast:
http://www.kuiseb-verlag.com/product_info.php?products_id=105
Woodguy,
Ah, my mistake.
BlacqueJacque, the thing you are missing with nash is that even though he was 6’3 he was 165 lbs. Lowetide used to refer to him as “pencil shaped”. He was by no means expected to be any kind of power forward. He is and was macGregor’s biggest mistake although no doubt Moroz is looking to be a close second. Paajarvi not looking too hot either for 10th overall..
http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Dee-Karl/Visnovsky-Tomorrow-is-the-First-Day/129/49153
Visnovsky reports to the Islanders tomorrow. I’d feel a lot better about our D with him in our lineup for the rest of the season.
You would think that Tambo would look at the Oil Kings line up and say that’s how you build a team just with older NHL Caliber Players in their places. That is one nice looking team got a bit of everything.
I think the Oil King they wanted to draft last summer was Samuelsson. That guy is exceptional.
-Steve Tambellini could make that trade right now, today.
I’d take a mulligan on that trade
Where’s traktor?
Good teams do use vets in depth roles. The Oilers break rookies in by the 1/2 dozen.
How’s Cheechoo’s foot speed?
I really wanted to see the Oilers draft him.
Of course Maloney got him.
He’ll actually be a power forward in the NHL.
But’s he Euro so many won’t count him as one.
I loved watching Vis skate.
One of the few things worth watching when he played here.
I hate that Quinn Barbra Anne Scotted him and he rarely skated with the puck in his last bit here.
Woodguy,
While getting franchise guys like Benn doesn’t happen very often, having hockey players out of the latter rounds can be quite common (if you don’t piss them away).
Last 10 years in MTL: Jaroslav Halak (2003, 9th Round), Mikhail Grabovski (2004, 5th round), Mark Streit (2004, 9th round), Sergei Kostitsyn (2005, 7th round), Matt D’agostini (2005, 6th round). Gabriel Dumont (2008 5th round), Brendan Gallagher (2010 5th round).
1 top pairing D, 1 N1 netminder, 2 forwards who led their team in scoring, one 3rd liner with some punch and a some good prospects.
Looks like not a lot, but if we compare the same time frame with the Oil it’s these guys vs Teemu Hartikainen and Kyle Brodziak
Note on the Oil Kings: Tristan Jarry with ,939 save % ? At 17 ? WOW!
I’m not sure why everyone thinks the Oil are only looking for a Lucic. I’m hoping for a Grier or three. I miss that guy. He was fast, could hit, PK, and score 10-15. That’s who I hope Moroz becomes.
dulock,
Mike Grier scored 43 points in 22 games when he was drafted =P. A lot of ”Mike Griers” in this world were top scorers in Junior.
FPB94,
Interesting – it seems that Montreal’s main problem isn’t finding useful players in later rounds, it’s that they don’t keep them.
FPB94,
MTL had certainly drafted some gems in the later rounds.
Gainey pissed many of them away.
Its a shame.
Game day, just a few hours to puck drop and no post. put the pancakes down and get writing LT!
I’ll have it up at 7:30. Bastards!
Does anyone know how cbc intends to handle this hockey day in canada doubling up at 2pm EST?
the edm-det game is on cbc at the same time as the win-ott game. I gather they will region blackout or something… here in Ontario I’m probably going to get the shaft.
To pick up on some earlier talk… all three Lucic, Benn and Khaira are all coming out of the relatively obscure BCHL.
The remarkable thing about Benn is he is from Victoria. not exactly a hockey town — nhlers from vic are few and far between.
He’s liable to reach Steve Nash status in Vic if his career continues to explode.
They’ll split the network, with the west getting the Oilers game. Probably both will be on the HNIC website though.
that’s what I assumed too.. I like that CBC streams their games… but it would be nice to watch one or two on the tv! (I only have an over-the-air antenna… so cbc is my only source for real hockey on tv).
wasn’t 2007 still in the KP wheelhouse?
don’t forget that draft had 3 in the top 21… Plante is in there too.
I find it odd to hear people say someone has had a slow start when they’ve never even seen him play. I guess if someone is drafted primarily as a goal-scorer, i.e. Zharkov, it makes some sense, but it’s kind of like someone who never watches the Oilers say Hartikainen is having an awful year. Rieder has been playing well all year.
Also, Rieder has been playing centre for the past several weeks I believe — he was moved there shortly after world juniors and I don’t think he has been moved back since.