The Need for Speed

by Lowetide

Who is the fastest forward prospect in the Oilers prospect pool? Ryan McLeod might be the right answer and his boots give him a different possible career trajectory. How different? Jason Chimera scored 15 goals and 28 points in the AHL at age 20. He was a burner. He played his first NHL game in 2000-01 and his last one in 2017-18. Ryan McLeod is going to get several chances to find the range. Offense is going to be the issue.

THE ATHLETIC!

The Athletic Edmonton features a fabulous cluster of stories (some linked below, some on the site). Great perspective from a ridiculous group of writers and analysts. Proud to be part of the group, here’s an incredible Offer!

  • New Lowetide: Oilers end summer still shy on first-shot scoring wingers
  • Lowetide: Connor McDavid and optimal line chemistry: The Oilers need to abandon enforcer fixation and add a skill winger
  • Lowetide: Jesse Puljujarvi’s biggest hurdles: Bad timing and the indifference of the Oilers.
  • Lowetide: Projecting the Oilers 2019-20 Opening Night Lineup
  • Lowetide: Revisiting the Oilers’ 2016 draft and the opportunities missed
  • Lowetide: Examining the potential waiver-wire opportunities at hand for the Oilers
  • Lowetide: Cooper Marody’s utility gives him an edge for an Oilers roster spot in 2019-20
  • Lowetide: Ken Holland’s roster construction options for the Oilers over the next seven months.
  • Lowetide: Kailer Yamamoto has the talent to win a job with the Oilers on merit, if he’s healthy.
  • Jonathan Willis: Jesse Puljujarvi still has upside and the Oilers’ patient approach is the right one
  • Daniel Nugent-Bowman: Q&A: Dave Tippett on rounding out his coaching staff, fixing Oilers’ special teams and using Connor McDavid
  • Lowetide: Handicapping the Oilers’ young defencemen and their chances of replacing Andrej Sekera
  • Lowetide: Is Kirill Maksimov progressing as the Edmonton Oilers’ next great hope for a true homegrown sniper?
  • Jonathan Willis: Oilers ease pressure on crowded defensive pipeline by trading John Marino to the Penguins
  • Daniel Nugent-Bowman: What the 2021-22 Oilers might look like after their steady build toward contender status
  • Lowetide: Joel Persson is ideally situated to win an opening night roster spot with the Oilers
  • Jonathan Willis: Projecting the Oilers’ opening night lineup, line combinations and more.
  • Lowetide: Oilers’ acquisition of James Neal could add badly needed scoring to the top two lines.
  • Daniel Nugent-Bowman: Ken Holland puts his stamp on the Oilers with first big move in Lucic-Neal trade
  • Jonathan Willis: Ken Holland ends an ugly situation for the Oilers by trading Milan Lucic for James Neal
  • Jonathan Willis: Which Oilers defencemen can make an outlet pass?
  • Lowetide: Looking ahead to Oilers training camp: 35 players for 23 jobs
  • Jonathan Willis: Josh Archibald won’t fix the Oilers’ biggest problems, but he’ll help with some key issues.
  • Lowetide: Oilers top 20 prospects summer 2019.

NHLE

McLeod didn’t dominate the OHL offensively at 19 and it’s a concern. His NHLE at 18 (25.83) and at 19 (24.7) reminds me of previous draft picks who were shy offensively all down the line. Marc Pouliot (NHLE draft year: 22.6), Riley Nash (NHLE draft year: 16.3), Magnus Paajarvi (NHLE draft year: 17.1), Tyler Pitlick (NHLE draft year: 15.4) were all shy offensively on draft day. McLeod had a solid NHLE on his draft day but didn’t build on it. Important season ahead. Paging Dr. Woodcroft! A Jason Chimera fix is required. I’m not down on McLeod, but rather believe his speed and two-way acumen is badly needed. He needs to have enough of a bat to play No. 3 center, not there yet.

I ranked him at No. 119 for the 2014 draft and am pleased the Condors signed him. You never know, and Oilers scouting of college talent has been solid in recent seasons. Perhaps he’ll be the latest in a line of AHL deals that blossomed (Mark Arcobello, Josh Currie, Logan Day).

JESSE PULJUJARVI

I’m not sure if this is a new surge in the online efforts of Mr. Puljujarvi and his agent or just another outlet grabbing the original story. Either way, the latest item has JP looking for more of a feature role and 15 minutes a night (here). Prepare for a day of “entitled!” and “earn it!” It’s all a real shame, but these tactics won’t put more pressure on Ken Holland. I wrote about it here.

LOWDOWN WITH LOWETIDE

At 10 this morning, TSN1260, lots to talk about. Jays talk with Cam Lewis at Jays Nation, we’ll check in on the Pittsburgh Steelers with Jacob Klinger of Penn Live, and Scott Wheeler will tell us about the impressive 2020 draft as well. 10-1260 text, @Lowetide on twitter. Talk soon!

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Chelios is a Dinosaur

russ99,

Certainly this is better than last year. (Trying to recall what I thought of Toby Rieder this time last summer…)

Nygard CMD Neal
Drai Nuge Chiasson
Granlund Brassard Archibald
Khaira Gagner Kassian

russ99

Chelios is a Dinosaur,

Tippett is so going to run a shutdown line of Granlund – Brassard – Archibald.

CallighenMan

Harpers Hair,

Troll be gone!

BornInAGretzkyJersey

ArmchairGM,

Will be interesting to see the gap between Pronman and Steve Kournianos if the Oilers aren’t the next team listed. Kournianos ranked the Oil pipeline at #14 in his recent writeup at sportingnews.com. With respect to LT’s 24 hour rule I won’t quote in detail.

Basically he rips us for the slow or lack of development with recent first round picks in JP and KY, but also goes on to say we have some draft steals in Benson and Lavoie. Kind of goes out on a limb and suggests Broberg could surprise and contribute in a third pairing capacity as early as this year. Makes me wonder if he even knows Broberg’s is committed to play with Skellefteå this season.

https://www.sportingnews.com/ca/nhl/news/nhl-farm-system-rankings-best-worst-prospect-pipelines-for-2019-20-from-1-to-31/2zt8xqvu30h4z980q9nwm89d

I noticed a fair amount of editorial license with his ranking of some prospects or draft picks (strategically speaking), and even some factual errors, so it’s really up to the reader to parse his words with an understanding of his style as a scout.

jp

Georgexs:
Now that we know the median scoring mark for each forward position, let’s look at our current roster and see if we have a name for every slot.

1F, 80: CMD

2F, 69: Drai

3F, 56: RNH

Now it gets tough.

4F: 47:

Has to be Neal, right? He has the history.

5F: 38:

Chiasson did it last season. Unrealistic that he would repeat. Kassian has never hit that mark. But he might get to play with CMD and Drai. It’s a contract year. I understand he recently became a father. Who else? One of the young guys or one of the Europeans getting an opportunity and never giving it up? That’s hope. Don’t know if I can call it a reasonable expectation. Gagner? That was 3 years ago working some PP magic in CBJ. Anything left in the tank? Out of all that, I’d probably have to go with Kassian. Most to gain and lose.

6F: 34:

OK. This is really tough. If Chiasson doesn’t get the minutes he got from last year, how does he get to 34? Can Gagner still get to 34? If it’s neither of these guys, then we’re counting on someone who hasn’t hit that mark before to get there next season, right?

7F: 30:

Wow, this is not easy. I’m going to stop. Here’s to some breakout performances from the new guys with no real record in the NHL.

Great stuff. And your point is well taken. It definitely does get dicey after Nuge.

I do think though that it’s not a stretch (almost reasonable even?) to project 6 guys at 30+ points. Exactly which players depends on who sticks in the top 6.

Neal isn’t a stretch. Plus 2 of Kassian, Chiasson or Gagner (Brassard?). Kassian if he sticks with McDavid. Chiasson if he keeps getting PP minutes (he’ll regress, but can clear 15-15-30 with PP time). Gagner is removed from 50 Pts, but scored 31 in 17-18 and was on pace for same in limited minutes this past season. Brassard, well we don’t know he’s an Oiler yet even.

Glass half full, but I believe in 6 X 30 point Oiler forwards.

ArmchairGM

Seventeen teams listed on Pronman’s farm system ranking countdown, still no Oilers content. Although I really want to see them in the top-5, I’m also getting impatient to read Corey’s take and ranking of our kids!

ArmchairGM

Georgexs,

Excellent and insightful comments the last few days. Thank you and keep it up!

Chelios is a Dinosaur

Drai CMD Kassian
Granlund Nuge Neal
Nygard Brassard Chiasson
Khaira Gagner Archibald

I don’t know how this comes together but its looking like a very different F group.

Ribs

Georgexs: 7F: 30:

Wow, this is not easy. I’m going to stop. Here’s to some breakout performances from the new guys with no real record in the NHL.

You’re looking too hard! See, you gotta kinda squint sideways and stick a finger in your eyeball…Now turn your head 30 degrees to the left… Now hop on one foot. That’s better! Go Oilers!

BornInAGretzkyJersey

Pescador,

Sooooo… Halloween?

Foege Foegele Torpe

Reja: It’s a large wagon which a vast majority of folks will be jumping on come Christmas time in Edmonton.

I love it!
I usually ride on that wagon at least until the wheels fall off

defmn

OriginalPouzar: Which shows exactly how much camp means as far as NHL readiness for high draft picks in their draft plus 1 – 3 years (or so).

I agree this is the most likely explanation but some guys do play better with the structure that characterizes the professional game rather than the more freewheeling junior style.

jp

rickithebear: Bling: last seasons age NHLE equivalency for this yr AHL forward Prospects .
Total goals, assists, points. Ev, PP, PK

Maroody ( 21yr season) 13G 29A 42P
Benson (20 yr ssn) 9G 32A 41P
Maksimov
18-19 (19 yr ssn) 20G 20A 40P
17-18 (18 yr ssn) 21G 29A 50P
Safin (19 yr) 14G 21A 35P
Mcleod
18-19 (19yr) 13G 27A 40P
17-18 (18yr) 16G 27A 43P

Does it seem wrong that the age NHLE for a 0.98 PPG age 19 CHL forward is basically identical to a 0.97 PPG age 20 AHL forward?

defmn

Georgexs:
Take each team’s top scoring forward by total points from last season. What’s the median number of points scored in this 1F group?

80. And CMD, our 1F, had 116, good enough for 2nd place, 36 points better than the median.

If we complete this exercise for the top 12 forwards, we get the following:

Forward Group, Median Points, Median Player, EDM Points, EDM Player, EDM Rank

1F, 80, Tyler Seguin, 116, Connor McDavid, 2
2F, 69, Cam Atkinson, 105, Leon Draisaitl, 1
3F, 56, Brock Boeser, 69, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 10
4F, 47, Josh Anderson, 38, Alex Chiasson, 23
5F, 38, Boone Jenner, 26, Zack Kassian, 31
6F, 34, Danton Heinen, 20, Milan Lucic, 30
7F, 30, Colton Sissons, 18, Jujhar Khaira, 31
8F, 25, Lawson Crouse, 11, Tobias Rieder, 31
9F, 23, Kyle Turris, 11, Ty Rattie, 31
10F, 18, Christian Fischer, 11, Drake Caggiula, 31
11F, 15, Warren Foegele, 10, Sam Gagner, 31
12F, 12, Kiefer Sherwood, 9, Kyle Brodziak, 27

Going into last season, who would we have picked to be the Oilers’ 4th highest scoring forward. Lucic? Strome? JP? Rieder? Probably not Chiasson. The only one who had a history of scoring around the 47 point mark was Lucic and we saw his confidence and his game was shot. Strome would have had to stretch to hit that mark; he’d been closer to the 6F mark in his last few seasons. JP started injured and didn’t have the confidence of the coach. It’s fair to say the rest of our roster, based on history, all had very long odds to reach the median 4F scoring total. So the problems started at 4F and sort of compounded from there. Failing to develop JP, who really should’ve been ready to play top 6 in his draft+3, and losing Lucic sunk TMac and PC.

Let’s repeat the exercise for the playoff team with the lowest points from last season: COL

Forward Group, Median Points, COL Points, COL Player, COL Rank

1F, 80, Tyler Seguin, 99, Nathan MacKinnon, 6
2F, 69, Cam Atkinson, 87, Mikko Rantanen, 5
3F, 56, Brock Boeser, 75, Gabriel Landeskog, 6
4F, 47, Josh Anderson, 49, Carl Soderberg, 12
5F, 38, Boone Jenner, 42, Alexander Kerfoot, 11
6F, 34, Danton Heinen, 32, J.T. Compher, 22
7F, 30, Colton Sissons, 27, Colin Wilson, 22
8F, 25, Lawson Crouse, 26, Matt Calvert, 14
9F, 23, Kyle Turris, 26, Tyson Jost, 9
10F, 18, Christian Fischer, 23, Matt Nieto, 6
11F, 15, Warren Foegele, 17, Sven Andrighetto, 9
12F, 12, Kiefer Sherwood, 8, Gabriel Bourque, 31

Competitive throughout. Soderberg stepping into the 4F spot, a nice uptick from his previous season and really not unheard of given his career numbers to the start of last season. Kerfoot basically hitting his numbers from the previous season. With an answer for 4F and 5F, COL was able to push other players down where their results compare favorably with their peers.

And once more for the Champions: STL

Forward Group, Median Points, STL Points, STL Player, STL Rank

1F, 80, Tyler Seguin, 77, Ryan O’Reilly, 17
2F, 69, Cam Atkinson, 68, Vladimir Tarasenko, 17
3F, 56, Brock Boeser, 54, Brayden Schenn, 17
4F, 47, Josh Anderson, 46, David Perron, 17
5F, 38, Boone Jenner, 38, Tyler Bozak, 16
6F, 34, Danton Heinen, 36, Jaden Schwartz, 11
7F, 30, Colton Sissons, 33, Robert Thomas, 12
8F, 25, Lawson Crouse, 31, Oskar Sundqvist, 7
9F, 23, Kyle Turris, 28, Pat Maroon, 5
10F, 18, Christian Fischer, 27, Alexander Steen, 1
11F, 15, Warren Foegele, 26, Ivan Barbashev, 1
12F, 12, Kiefer Sherwood, 20, Zach Sanford, 1

STL basically stayed close to median at the top of their order and then turned up as they moved further down. Interesting.

What would you regard as an equivalent comparative for dmen?

Glovjuice

Georgexs:
Take each team’s top scoring forward by total points from last season. What’s the median number of points scored in this 1F group?

80. And CMD, our 1F, had 116, good enough for 2nd place, 36 points better than the median.

If we complete this exercise for the top 12 forwards, we get the following:

Forward Group, Median Points, Median Player, EDM Points, EDM Player, EDM Rank

1F, 80, Tyler Seguin, 116, Connor McDavid, 2
2F, 69, Cam Atkinson, 105, Leon Draisaitl, 1
3F, 56, Brock Boeser, 69, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 10
4F, 47, Josh Anderson, 38, Alex Chiasson, 23
5F, 38, Boone Jenner, 26, Zack Kassian, 31
6F, 34, Danton Heinen, 20, Milan Lucic, 30
7F, 30, Colton Sissons, 18, Jujhar Khaira, 31
8F, 25, Lawson Crouse, 11, Tobias Rieder, 31
9F, 23, Kyle Turris, 11, Ty Rattie, 31
10F, 18, Christian Fischer, 11, Drake Caggiula, 31
11F, 15, Warren Foegele, 10, Sam Gagner, 31
12F, 12, Kiefer Sherwood, 9, Kyle Brodziak, 27

Going into last season, who would we have picked to be the Oilers’ 4th highest scoring forward. Lucic? Strome? JP? Rieder? Probably not Chiasson. The only one who had a history of scoring around the 47 point mark was Lucic and we saw his confidence and his game was shot. Strome would have had to stretch to hit that mark; he’d been closer to the 6F mark in his last few seasons. JP started injured and didn’t have the confidence of the coach. It’s fair to say the rest of our roster, based on history, all had very long odds to reach the median 4F scoring total. So the problems started at 4F and sort of compounded from there. Failing to develop JP, who really should’ve been ready to play top 6 in his draft+3, and losing Lucic sunk TMac and PC.

Let’s repeat the exercise for the playoff team with the lowest points from last season: COL

Forward Group, Median Points, COL Points, COL Player, COL Rank

1F, 80, Tyler Seguin, 99, Nathan MacKinnon, 6
2F, 69, Cam Atkinson, 87, Mikko Rantanen, 5
3F, 56, Brock Boeser, 75, Gabriel Landeskog, 6
4F, 47, Josh Anderson, 49, Carl Soderberg, 12
5F, 38, Boone Jenner, 42, Alexander Kerfoot, 11
6F, 34, Danton Heinen, 32, J.T. Compher, 22
7F, 30, Colton Sissons, 27, Colin Wilson, 22
8F, 25, Lawson Crouse, 26, Matt Calvert, 14
9F, 23, Kyle Turris, 26, Tyson Jost, 9
10F, 18, Christian Fischer, 23, Matt Nieto, 6
11F, 15, Warren Foegele, 17, Sven Andrighetto, 9
12F, 12, Kiefer Sherwood, 8, Gabriel Bourque, 31

Competitive throughout. Soderberg stepping into the 4F spot, a nice uptick from his previous season and really not unheard of given his career numbers to the start of last season. Kerfoot basically hitting his numbers from the previous season. With an answer for 4F and 5F, COL was able to push other players down where their results compare favorably with their peers.

And once more for the Champions: STL

Forward Group, Median Points, STL Points, STL Player, STL Rank

1F, 80, Tyler Seguin, 77, Ryan O’Reilly, 17
2F, 69, Cam Atkinson, 68, Vladimir Tarasenko, 17
3F, 56, Brock Boeser, 54, Brayden Schenn, 17
4F, 47, Josh Anderson, 46, David Perron, 17
5F, 38, Boone Jenner, 38, Tyler Bozak, 16
6F, 34, Danton Heinen, 36, Jaden Schwartz, 11
7F, 30, Colton Sissons, 33, Robert Thomas, 12
8F, 25, Lawson Crouse, 31, Oskar Sundqvist, 7
9F, 23, Kyle Turris, 28, Pat Maroon, 5
10F, 18, Christian Fischer, 27, Alexander Steen, 1
11F, 15, Warren Foegele, 26, Ivan Barbashev, 1
12F, 12, Kiefer Sherwood, 20, Zach Sanford, 1

STL basically stayed close to median at the top of their order and then turned up as they moved further down. Interesting.

Good teams have good numbers and bad teams have bad numbers. These metrics do somewhat clearly show balance though. Wonder how the Kings show up with these metrics in their cup years.

OriginalPouzar

jp: He sure looked good last camp. Time will tell.

Which shows exactly how much camp means as far as NHL readiness for high draft picks in their draft plus 1 – 3 years (or so).

jtblack

Georgexs:
Take each team’s top scoring forward by total points from last season. What’s the median number of points scored in this 1F group?

80. And CMD, our 1F, had 116, good enough for 2nd place, 36 points better than the median.

If we complete this exercise for the top 12 forwards, we get the following:

Forward Group, Median Points, Median Player, EDM Points, EDM Player, EDM Rank

1F, 80, Tyler Seguin, 116, Connor McDavid, 2
2F, 69, Cam Atkinson, 105, Leon Draisaitl, 1
3F, 56, Brock Boeser, 69, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 10
4F, 47, Josh Anderson, 38, Alex Chiasson, 23
5F, 38, Boone Jenner, 26, Zack Kassian, 31
6F, 34, Danton Heinen, 20, Milan Lucic, 30
7F, 30, Colton Sissons, 18, Jujhar Khaira, 31
8F, 25, Lawson Crouse, 11, Tobias Rieder, 31
9F, 23, Kyle Turris, 11, Ty Rattie, 31
10F, 18, Christian Fischer, 11, Drake Caggiula, 31
11F, 15, Warren Foegele, 10, Sam Gagner, 31
12F, 12, Kiefer Sherwood, 9, Kyle Brodziak, 27

Going into last season, who would we have picked to be the Oilers’ 4th highest scoring forward. Lucic? Strome? JP? Rieder? Probably not Chiasson. The only one who had a history of scoring around the 47 point mark was Lucic and we saw his confidence and his game was shot. Strome would have had to stretch to hit that mark; he’d been closer to the 6F mark in his last few seasons. JP started injured and didn’t have the confidence of the coach. It’s fair to say the rest of our roster, based on history, all had very long odds to reach the median 4F scoring total. So the problems started at 4F and sort of compounded from there. Failing to develop JP, who really should’ve been ready to play top 6 in his draft+3, and losing Lucic sunk TMac and PC.

Let’s repeat the exercise for the playoff team with the lowest points from last season: COL

Forward Group, Median Points, COL Points, COL Player, COL Rank

1F, 80, Tyler Seguin, 99, Nathan MacKinnon, 6
2F, 69, Cam Atkinson, 87, Mikko Rantanen, 5
3F, 56, Brock Boeser, 75, Gabriel Landeskog, 6
4F, 47, Josh Anderson, 49, Carl Soderberg, 12
5F, 38, Boone Jenner, 42, Alexander Kerfoot, 11
6F, 34, Danton Heinen, 32, J.T. Compher, 22
7F, 30, Colton Sissons, 27, Colin Wilson, 22
8F, 25, Lawson Crouse, 26, Matt Calvert, 14
9F, 23, Kyle Turris, 26, Tyson Jost, 9
10F, 18, Christian Fischer, 23, Matt Nieto, 6
11F, 15, Warren Foegele, 17, Sven Andrighetto, 9
12F, 12, Kiefer Sherwood, 8, Gabriel Bourque, 31

Competitive throughout. Soderberg stepping into the 4F spot, a nice uptick from his previous season and really not unheard of given his career numbers to the start of last season. Kerfoot basically hitting his numbers from the previous season. With an answer for 4F and 5F, COL was able to push other players down where their results compare favorably with their peers.

And once more for the Champions: STL

Forward Group, Median Points, STL Points, STL Player, STL Rank

1F, 80, Tyler Seguin, 77, Ryan O’Reilly, 17
2F, 69, Cam Atkinson, 68, Vladimir Tarasenko, 17
3F, 56, Brock Boeser, 54, Brayden Schenn, 17
4F, 47, Josh Anderson, 46, David Perron, 17
5F, 38, Boone Jenner, 38, Tyler Bozak, 16
6F, 34, Danton Heinen, 36, Jaden Schwartz, 11
7F, 30, Colton Sissons, 33, Robert Thomas, 12
8F, 25, Lawson Crouse, 31, Oskar Sundqvist, 7
9F, 23, Kyle Turris, 28, Pat Maroon, 5
10F, 18, Christian Fischer, 27, Alexander Steen, 1
11F, 15, Warren Foegele, 26, Ivan Barbashev, 1
12F, 12, Kiefer Sherwood, 20, Zach Sanford, 1

STL basically stayed close to median at the top of their order and then turned up as they moved further down. Interesting.

very Interesting

jp

Glovjuice: I predict that McLeod will be ready before most think. One of those guys that performs better in the NHL viv-la-vis his junior pedigree.

He sure looked good last camp. Time will tell.

jp

greenshifter:
Maybe Jesse was just stating his future goals and it didn’t come across well? I’m just as upset about the situation as anyone, but I don’t believe he is demanding top 6 and 15 minutes a night his next game in the NHL.

I agree he still has to put in the work, let’s hope he understands that.

greenshifter:
Maybe Jesse was just stating his future goals and it didn’t come across well? I’m just as upset about the situation as anyone, but I don’t believe he is demanding top 6 and 15 minutes a night his next game in the NHL.

I agree he still has to put in the work, let’s hope he understands that.

I just re-read the translation and that’s my take too.

“I want to go to a situation where I’ll play 15 min in the top 6. Then I’ll be able to show what I can do”. Rather than “I need to be moved to a team that will play me 15 min in the top 6. The Oilers should have given me those minutes”

The former is something any player would say. The latter is, well, entitled.

In any case there’s a lot of room for interpretation. And I guess in either case the bottom line remains the same, Puljujarvi definitely wants out.

OriginalPouzar

That would be nice but I don’t see him in the NHL until 2021.

Glovjuice

jp: Patrice Bergeron too I suppose. I do see the comparison. It makes some sense for sure. But both of those guys had played a full NHL season at this point.

But yeah, McLeod finding his offense and heading in the direction of those other two would be spectacular.

I predict that McLeod will be ready before most think. One of those guys that performs better in the NHL viv-la-vis his junior pedigree.

jp

Scungilli Slushy:
Ryan isn’t that different than O’Reilly that way, who I feel was the driver in the Blues Cup. It’s a big hill to climb, fall off of, and climb again, like RO.

But that would be the hope for him and us.

Patrice Bergeron too I suppose. I do see the comparison. It makes some sense for sure. But both of those guys had played a full NHL season at this point.

But yeah, McLeod finding his offense and heading in the direction of those other two would be spectacular.

jp

Pescador: Nice 3C option,
Should fetch a 4th round pick at the deadline, possibly a 3rd

We’re all assuming 3C I think. Which makes this almost funny: https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/penguins/2019/02/05/Derick-Brassard-Panthers-Penguins-failed-trade-Rutherford-open-up/stories/201902050174

I wonder if he feels any different since February? And there may be a few shades of JP in there…

rickithebear

Bling:
I’m not buying this concern about McLeod’s scoring in junior.

He has plenty enough offence to be a 3C, especially with those wheels.

Jujhar Khaira was well below a PPG in his last year of junior and will probably play 300 NHL games if not more as a bottom six guy.

Ryan Getzlaf only barely cleared a PPG in his last year of junior. LT’s comp, Jason Chimera, was the same. Both those guys cleared 1000 NHL GP.

We’ll have a better idea after his first pro-season, but McLeod’s skating puts him in a different league than the Schremps, Sarnos, and Pouliots of the world.

Bling: last seasons age NHLE equivalency for this yr AHL forward Prospects .
Total goals, assists, points. Ev, PP, PK

Maroody ( 21yr season) 13G 29A 42P
Benson (20 yr ssn) 9G 32A 41P
Maksimov
18-19 (19 yr ssn) 20G 20A 40P
17-18 (18 yr ssn) 21G 29A 50P
Safin (19 yr) 14G 21A 35P
Mcleod
18-19 (19yr) 13G 27A 40P
17-18 (18yr) 16G 27A 43P

If you play 3rd line you may not see PP time.

18-19
16G = #66 C; #44 LW; #42 RW
42P = #60 C; #30 LW; #45 RW

Those forward prospects should have a chance by age 22-23

greenshifter

Yeti,

Couldn’t agree more on the agent.

jp

Harpers Hair:
George Laraque saying Derek Brassard is signing a one year deal with the Oilers.

Lowetide:
Georges Laraque
@GeorgesLaraque
·
8m
I’m hearing in Edmonton that Derick Brassard is about to sign a 1 year deal with
@EdmontonOilers
! Great signing! J’entends du côté de Edmonton que Derick Brassard serait sur le point de signer un contract de 1 an avec les Oilers! Bonne signature!

That’s a huge signing if true. Well, huge potential. Brassard will need to prove he had a down year rather than being over the hill. But he COULD be a very high end 3C, or even a top 6 winger.

Bling

I’m not buying this concern about McLeod’s scoring in junior.

He has plenty enough offence to be a 3C, especially with those wheels.

Jujhar Khaira was well below a PPG in his last year of junior and will probably play 300 NHL games if not more as a bottom six guy.

Ryan Getzlaf only barely cleared a PPG in his last year of junior. LT’s comp, Jason Chimera, was the same. Both those guys cleared 1000 NHL GP.

We’ll have a better idea after his first pro-season, but McLeod’s skating puts him in a different league than the Schremps, Sarnos, and Pouliots of the world.

Yeti

greenshifter: Maybe Jesse was just stating his future goals and it didn’t come across well? I’m just as upset about the situation as anyone, but I don’t believe he is demanding top 6 and 15 minutes a night his next game in the NHL.

It’s possible that he was referring to taking a Euro gig so that he could have these conditions to get his game back on track, rather than expecting it at an NHL level. But, regardless, he’s leaving himself open to bad interpretations … and his agent is really dropping the ball on this.

Reja

Pescador:
Reja,

What’s a playoff?

It’s a large wagon which a vast majority of folks will be jumping on come Christmas time in Edmonton.

Foege Foegele Torpe

Scungilli Slushy: I would wager Brassard is not a good building block for a forming team. He’s done and looking for payday. More selfish negativity IMO.

Selfish negativity?
The rumored contract is one year, likely at or around $2M
Not exactly “cashing in”

OriginalPouzar

ArmchairGM:
EW has Brassard at 3 x $4M estimated contract. His 1-year value is estimated at $1.45M. I’d be on board with the latter but not the former.

The report, one and only by a guy that is not a known insider but does know people, is for one year.

I would only be comfortable with one year in any event.

Below $2M is key, preferably in the range you cite.

Harpers Hair

Reja: Why would we trade our 3C before the playoffs?

If you have to ask the question….

Scungilli Slushy

ArmchairGM:
EW has Brassard at 3 x $4M estimated contract. His 1-year value is estimated at $1.45M. I’d be on board with the latter but not the former.

I would wager Brassard is not a good building block for a forming team. He’s done and looking for payday. More selfish negativity IMO.

Scungilli Slushy

I wasn’t going to say this, but at some point it’s about parenting or the head people have when you’re 20 or whatever.

We teach our platoon of kids ‘life isn’t fair’.

Our kids have been far more successful than JP in sports and finance, and politics.

Not, but the point remains. When you get a raw deal, what are going to do?

Even LT has had to circumvent a raw deal, or so he says ?

ArmchairGM

EW has Brassard at 3 x $4M estimated contract. His 1-year value is estimated at $1.45M. I’d be on board with the latter but not the former.

Mayan Oil

Poor Jesse, he still thinks the roads are paved with gold.

Unfortunately:
1) The roads are NOT paved with gold,
2) The roads are NOT paved,
3) YOU have to do the paving.

Has no one in his life ever told him this? Sad to see him pissing away a career because of entitlement issues.

Scungilli Slushy

defmn: I agree. He just needs his speed and size to give him enough opportunities that he can figure out how to go to the blue paint to get his 12-15 goals every season. To me that comes down to coaching and maturity so he has a chance.

For sure

There is a type of aggressiveness that is needed to be a scorer season in and out. Often these personalities aren’t ‘fuzzy and warm ‘ and have ‘issues ‘.

For those that have the aggressive drive, the question is can the org handle the person? Often not.

The question for players that have the tools but don’t have the edge, can they develop the edge?

It’s not a bad thing, I would say necessary, to have players that will do the dirty work that is so necessary in a supportive role, that all contending teams absolutely have to have.

If you can find a player that has bland two way numbers in junior and can find some offense and game in the NHL, you’re golden

Ryan isn’t that different than O’Reilly that way, who I feel was the driver in the Blues Cup. It’s a big hill to climb, fall off of, and climb again, like RO.

But that would be the hope for him and us.

greenshifter

Maybe Jesse was just stating his future goals and it didn’t come across well? I’m just as upset about the situation as anyone, but I don’t believe he is demanding top 6 and 15 minutes a night his next game in the NHL.

I agree he still has to put in the work, let’s hope he understands that.

Foege Foegele Torpe

Reja,

What’s a playoff?

Reja

Pescador: Nice 3C option,
Should fetch a 4th round pick at the deadline, possibly a 3rd

Why would we trade our 3C before the playoffs?

OriginalPouzar

At least McLeod can score pretty goals – 3 Oilers prospects in the prettiest goals from the OHL playoffs:

https://twitter.com/OHLHockey/status/1163827850073509888

Foege Foegele Torpe

Harpers Hair:
George Laraque saying Derek Brassard is signing a one year deal with the Oilers.

Nice 3C option,
Should fetch a 4th round pick at the deadline, possibly a 3rd

Scungilli Slushy

blainer:
JP is another Yak. This player does not understand the commitment it takes to be a pro and a good teammate IMO.

From all the poison coming out of his own mouth it will be very difficult for Holland to find him a landing spot. This kid has a lot of growing up to do.

If I were another GM I would steer clear of this problem child period. I think we can all agree after all the verbal coming from the player that the bulk of his development problems did not lie nearly as much with the organization as much as they are with the player. The exact same way I felt about Yak.

Let JP find his own way in Europe until he grows up and maybe then we might find a taker for the player. He is not getting us much now that is for sure. JMO.

Thankfully JP has a lot more eye candy to other GMs. World Juniors dominance, huge and fast, and not ‘Russian’.

He’s still in lowball territory for sure. Too bad PC didn’t pick up on the issues that were it seems
were not a secret regarding cooperativeness.

OriginalPouzar

If true, the number on Brassard best be under $2M.

OriginalPouzar

PennersPancakes:

Pulju isnt the way he is because of deployment or linemates. They probably didnt help but the guy just isnt that great at hockey. At least right now. Hopefully that changes but Im not holding my breath.

I can’t get on board with the player “not being good at hockey” when 30 NHL GMs (to our knowledge) would have chosen him 3rd overall in his draft year.

He’s recently 21, was 20 the last time he played a professional hockey game, there is a player there that can still be developed and unlocked.

Of course, the player himself has to (a) allow that to happen (you know, signing and playing) and (b) work.

I don’t think this is a talent or “good at hockey” issue – yes, maybe you are getting at “hockey IQ” and I don’t buy that completely either – you don’t get labelled with such high pedigree/potential without knowing the game.

Harpers Hair

George Laraque saying Derek Brassard is signing a one year deal with the Oilers.

Scungilli Slushy

Professor Q: They could always surprise. A lot of teams fluctuate like Vegas, Calgary, Colorado, Winnipeg, etc. Even San Jose is so-so when it comes to playoffs. Nashville has really only been the static medium team as of late.

Colorado is the epitome of it. Last place to Conference Contenders, and vice versa.

Winning deep in the playoffs is a different animal than reg season. It takes a whole team willing to do what it takes to dominate other teams. And that doesn’t mean win at all costs these days, it means win at all personal costs. It’s painful, as in actually painful.

Up to now the Oilers have been shy on NHL players. Once they began icing a team of NHL players, regardless of talent issues they still didn’t play as a team or for each other. Snowballing failure is always the result for every team.

The team that wins it all each year has enough skill, but also has all the stars align, and every player gutting themselves all the way through.

The Oilers can do that, with this team, go deep I mean, and learn. It starts with the best players leading the way. And the emergence of some players that will be the ones that pay the price to dominate the other team’s best.

Connor and Leon can do that, but they both have work to do in that regard, the coach has to deploy and motivate the roster properly, and GM needs to augment what Connor and Leon need to be their best.

I have more confidence in Tip and Kenny than any other combo since Mac and Kev in 06.

Anything is possible to those that strive with correct thinking. Which is sadly one of the hardest things in the world, that correct thinking.

OriginalPouzar

jp:

I don’t mean to say who makes the playoff is actually random. And I’m not arguing that the Oilers are going to be good, but there’s a very fine line between success and failure. Team success is extremely volatile. It shouldn’t be a big surprise if the Oilers are good this season. Likewise, your expectation could well prove correct.

The fine line is often/generally made out of goaltending and top end health.

Smith and Koskinen trading off hot streaks (and both have shown to have those at the NHL level) and this team is in the playoffs.

OriginalPouzar

ptspndr: In truth he is not applying for top six forward. Speed causes mistakes and he has speed and size. He can carve out a nice career as a third line defensive centre. This will take time but a cost effective defensive third line centre would be a welcome addition. Every young player doesn’t have to be a home run to have value. We will know more after a full year in the AHL.

This is likely true about his potential but, of course, you never know. History shows its likely but there are always exceptions – shit, we see top 6 players that were never even drafted. With that, I don’t cap him at 3C but put that as a reasonable expectation if he develops.

I can’t imagine him playing in the NHL this year and my expectation is for him to solify himself as a bottom 6 center on the Condors and maybe take over the 2C spot when Marody is up in the NHL (or at some point).

We don’t know how the year is going to go but I would reasonably expect him to start 2020/21 in the Bake as well.

Of course, there is NOTHING wrong with a forward needing a few years of AHL development.