Last year the Oilers invited 27 prospects to rookie camp, many of the older variety. It seemed Edmonton wasn’t interested in bringing in true ‘rookies’ but rather players who would be arriving for main camp anyway.
Older players who attended camp one year ago included Nolan Vesey, Luke Esposito, Logan Day, William Lagesson, Joe Gambardella, Dave Gust and Tyler Vesel. Will we see more of the same this year?
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 coach Dave Tippett might have to take drastic action in order to find a second outscoring line in 2019-20
- 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.
2019 ROOKIE CAMP ROSTER (A GUESS)
1 Dylan Wells, 21. He was at this camp in 2016, 2017 and 2018, so may not be on the list. Oilers site does have some rookie names, no goalies, and you’d think the team would want three. He outlasted Nick Ellis and Keven Bouchard, who were his competition at the first one.
2 Stuart Skinner, 20. This will be Skinner’s third rookie camp, time flies when you’re having fun. He had a long and winding season in the minors but finished strong in the playoffs. Maybe he’ll spike this season. One of three Oilers goalies born in 1998 (Wells, Konovalov).
3 Olivier Rodrigue, 19. This will be his second rookie camp, he is the youngest goalie prospect in the system.
LEFT DEFENSE
1 Caleb Jones, 22. He may not attend rookie camp, as Jones could make the big club in a big season. I have him here because of numbers. Edmonton needs some established blue.
2 William Lagesson, 23. Same reason as Jones, Lagesson has surely done enough to graduate from this tournament. That said, the Oilers traditionally have nine defensemen in rookie camp.
3 Dmitri Samorukov, 20. This will be his third rookie camp, but a lot has changed since last year. Samorukov is going to have a lot of eyes on him at this and main camp.
4 Jaxon Bellamy, 18. Big junior (6.03, 180) who is mobile and can move the puck, he is an interesting prospect.
5 Ethan Cap, 19. Edmonton Oil Kings defender plays an intelligent game and brings good size.
RIGHT DEFENSE
1 Evan Bouchard, 19. He will be at his second rookie camp, having provided the previous event with many of its highlights (and an ‘oh my’ goal). He has a chance to make the big club.
2 Ethan Bear, 22. He has been here many times, but the injury last spring may mean Holland and company want to have an early look.
3 Logan Day, 24. Outstanding year with the Condors got him an NHL contract. He was also on the rookie roster last year.
4 Vincent Desharnais, 23. He’s on an AHL contract, the former Oilers draft pick had a solid college career with Providence.
CENTER
1 Cooper Marody, 22. He tore up the AHL as a rookie, suspect we see him in Edmonton for as much as half of the season. Skill needs skill, he could emerge as a complementary player on a prominent line.
2 Cam Hebig, 22. He started off very well, then faded for much of the AHL season. Lessons learned in year one can lead to improved performance.
3. Ryan McLeod, 19. There will be emphasis on speed at this year’s training camp, McLeod is a speed demon. He could surprise.
4. Beau Starrett, 23. College grad and Shane Starrett’s brother, he just signed an AHL deal. Huge forward, 6.05 and 215.
5 Luke Esposito, 25. He attended last year and emerged as a useful player at the AHL level. He might return.
LEFT WING
1 Tyler Benson, 21. Like Marody, this training camp is vital for Benson. Getting a head start on main camp is a good idea.
2 Joe Gambardella, 25. He might skip over this year’s rookie camp, but if the organization isn’t inviting a bunch of rookies we could see him here.
3 Jakob Stukel, 22. He scored well after being recalled to Bakersfield and I’m looking forward to seeing him in camp.
4 Nolan Vesey, 23. He needs playing time.
5 Liam Keeler, 18. Edmonton Oil Kings winger gets an NHL invite.
RIGHT WING
1 Kailer Yamamoto, 20. A big season for the young winger, he needs to show everyone he can score (it’s likely) in Bakersfield and stay healthy.
2 Kirill Maksimov, 20. Excited to see him impact rookie camp and then see how they use him in main camp. He doesn’t have draft pedigree but does own a terrific release. Edmonton needs first-shot scorers.
3 Ostap Safin, 20. Injury has derailed him. Oilers will want to see if he can play.
4 Raphael Lavoie, 18. Sniper from the QMJHL will arrive in rookie camp with some real buzz.
If we see some more non-roster additions, safe to delete more established names like Caleb Jones, William Lagesson, Ethan Bear, Joe Gambardella and Patrick Russell. Otherwise, we may see a repeat of 2018, with very few kids who are not under Edmonton’s control coming to camp.
LOWDOWN WITH LOWETIDE
At 10 this morning, TSN1260. We’ll chat Oilers and CFL, plus Brady Henderson from ESPN to discuss the Seattle Seahawks. Jeremy Cummins from #YEGTalks will chat about the 24 hour softball game that raises money for local mental health initiatives. 10-1260 text, @Lowetide on twitter. See you on the radio!
You have a good memory. It’s a modern take on the ‘dog ate my homework’ excuse.
Smokin Jochen with his T-Blades…..
https://images.app.goo.gl/cbk5ZgxqogGZ4MVu6
I believe he said he kept his analytics stuff on his work computer… but then his work computer was wiped.. and IT could not recover it….?
Unless I dreamt that. I mean, it is absurd enough to be a dream scenario.
Is “proprietary” code for made up in your head? Because ‘proprietary’ infers a legal trademark of, in your case, intellectual property. We’ve been asking for access to your data for years and you never respond. Until that day happens, you cannot claim ownership of any analytical model.
Jonathan Quick put up a .946 save % in the 2012 playoffs. Your statement is absolute nonsense.
Tippett did wonders for a way less talented group in the desert he’s coming in fresh and just as hungry as Leon Connor and company to win a cup Tippett is definitely a players coach and he’ll have the players buying in to his system from game 1 all the way to the playoffs.
Marody is a wildcard for the top 6.
Maksimov is turning pro this year but likely not a legit option until next year.
We have all these young defenders pushing for a spot on the Oil. There is quality but more important than that is quantity.
Imagine if we had quality and quantity pushing for jobs on our top 6. We have Benson this year and that is it.
It’s a damn shame. Shultz isn’t entirely a top 4, but that doesn’t excuse the loss of value.
HT Joe,
Mark McNeill being the exception to the rule.
It’s going to be fun to watch for the sleeper, as long as the Oilers don’t let the sleeper get away for nothing. The Oilers have been futile for my entire “adult life” (post-school), and it would be fun to watch a team moving in the right direction, season over season.
I haven’t been this negative about the organization since the Hall trade, so who knows, maybe they make the playoffs this year too…
Oilers need to test drive a bushel full of D this season and the following year. Chia left Holland with the most D prospects in our history it’s going to be fun watching who is a sleeper and forces is way onto the team for many years.
I prefer to use the term “Dy’s” when talking about the (ahem) “NHL” team in Vancouver. … 😉
Always viewed the canucks as a weak sister with fair weather fans they’ve never won diddly- squat.
Most memorable moment in their history was when Phil told them off. Do they still have those two green freaks with their skin tight suits on. I was always hoping that someone in the penalty box would simultaneously rag doll both of those nut bar creeps.
Yeah, I was thinking about him, but that almost felt like cherry picking. The offensive talents of Jultz and Petry were really obvious, but the Oilers still managed to get virtually no return for either. Gustafsson never got enough of a chance with the Oilers, but you can at least accept that Gustafsson wasn’t really glaringly obvious like the other two.
Man, the Oilers should learn to covet the players that Chicago wants…
– Gustafsson, DeBrincat, not-Manning…
Erik Gustafsson has them all beat with 17 goals and 43 assists last year.
What is super painful is that the Oilers gave away 2 top 4 blueliners (Petry in 2015 and Schultz in 2016) for virtually nothing.
– Petry since the trade (spring 2015): 314 GP, 139 points
– Schultz since the trade (early 2016): 188 GP, 101 points
Let’s provide perspective…
2015-2016 Season:
– Sekera: 81GP, 30P
– Schultz (Edmonton+Pittsburgh): 63GP, 18P
– Larsson (New Jersey): 82GP, 18P
– Petry (Montreal): 51GP, 16P
– Klefbom: 30GP, 12P
– Nurse: 69GP, 10P
2016-2017 Season:
– Schultz (Pittsburgh): 78GP, 51P
– Klefbom: 82GP, 38P
– Sekera: 80GP, 35P
– Petry (Montreal): 80GP, 28P
– Larsson: 79GP, 19P
– Nurse: 44GP, 11P
2017-2018 Season:
– Petry (Montreal): 82GP, 42P
– Schultz (Pittsburgh): 63GP, 27P
– Nurse: 82GP, 26P
– Klefbom: 66GP, 21P
– Larsson: 63GP, 13P
– Sekera: 36GP, 8P
2018-2019 Season:
– Petry (Montreal): 82GP, 46P
– Nurse: 82GP, 41P
– Klefbom: 61GP, 28P
– Larsson: 82GP, 20P
– Schultz (Pittsburgh): 29GP, 15P
– Sekera: 24GP, 4P
So, I wanted to rank their offensive output by year:
Sekera: 1, 3, 6, 6
Schultz: 2, 1, 2, 5
Larsson: 3, 5, 5, 4
Petry: 4, 4, 1, 1
Klefbom: 5, 2, 4, 3
Nurse: 6, 6, 3, 2
If I may, I wanted to add their ranks (lower is better):
Schultz: 10
Petry: 10
Klefbom: 14
Sekera: 16
Larsson: 17
Nurse: 17
In closing:
– I hope Klefbom stays healthy
– Is this the year that Nurse leads the group in offence? Man he’s really grown.
– For a team that doesn’t have enough offence, MacT and Chia really did a number trading away Petry and Schultz for ~ nothing.
When I was waiting for treatment at Tom Baker I sat next to a guy in a very unique flames jacket.
It was Ken King.
Mentioned I had 40+ hockey theories.
That his analytics group was likely using my “proprietary work.”
At that moment I got called in for treatment.
Looked at him and said, “you can as for xxxxxxx in the clinic after the season.
I will tell them to give my info if you come in.”
Only said that cause the guy has/had cancer.
Other wise I would have said
“You can …………. after you loose out in first round.”
Calgary has been a bottom 3 open HD shot defence going back to kippers final 3 yrs.
40% more top GA teams make final 8 than top GF teams.
Poor openHD shotbdensity def teams are destined to lose out in first 2 rounds.
Teams have won the cup with bellow average open ( scoreable) HD shot save% goalies.
The Def makes them look good by low open shot rates with real low HD density.
Cup champions in 1995, 2000, & 2003 were 6 top open HD dmen deep.
They made their goalie look briallant for his first 10 seasons.
He played games were their were 0 open HD shots if he played like a table hockey goalie.
In 05-06 cup finalist were 5 open HD dmen deep. They had a top 10 open HD save% goalie but he was hurt in the first game of the final.
They only had bottom 30 – 40 Open HD save% goalies and lost in 7 games.
The Stanley cup champion in 2012 & 2014 were 5 top open HD dmen deep and had a below avg open HD Sh save% goalie. They even won one of them with the #28 reg season GF offence.
The Dys and Flames will be awesome Cup competitors again!
Book it!
They will not. The Dys too young and small (should have taken Lucic), the Flames remain far too cocky.
The Flames are shocked that their plans didn’t work out when the chips are down. I hope they remain hypmotized.
17 years ago is crazy, I was shocked when I looked Hecht up too. Worst part is I wasn’t even young then. Frickin’ Hecht is a few months younger than I am.
No idea about Samsonov’s skates. But yeah, Buffalo would have been on the TV that spring too.
Sorry for calling out the error, I figured I missed an 80’s German Oiler and was genuinely curious.
I hear you. And you’re right, it’s egregious. At least the team got 2 of their 3 top 4 D out of these transactions too.
The crazy thing though is that the Oilers are set up far better to make the playoffs this year (with 4 top 6F) than they were last year with 5 top 6F (according to the analysis). That’s clearly “wrong”, but there’s also a clear bimodal distribution in GeorgeXS’s numbers. WTF?!
Anyway, back to your point, it is bs.
Also, errr, go playoffs!! ??
You know who you are having your discussion with, yes? DSF…I would say what it really stands for but some of the people frequenting this site are minors…. 🙂
Fuhr, in net. His fault largely the goal, never expected he would be in the net. Right?
Jimmy:
Players generate goals.
Passers recieve assists from goal scorers.
Only super elite passers cause players to have marked jump in evg/60
When chasing bottom 6 players 1 want as many top 6 evg scorers cause they generate offence.
And
Help GF.
Top 6 fwd is understood as 1st & 2nd line forwards.
Most like to go 31 x 6 top 186.
#31 1.25 evg/60 23 evg
#62 1.12. 20 evg
#93 1.00 17 evg
#124 .91 15 evg
#155 .82 13 evg
#186. .77 12 evg
but that is incorrect.
Top 3 fwd is
#31LW 1.08 evg/60 17 evg
#31C 1.07 20 evg
#31RW. 1.02 16 evg
Top 6 fwd is
#62 LW .74 evg/60 10 evg
#62 C .87 14 evg
#62 RW .73 11 evg
When looking at current forwards best evg/60 & evg seasons in last 3 yrs.
Mcdavid C 1.27 evg/60 31 evg
Drai LW/C 1.25 31 evg
RNH C 1.20 19 evg
Neal LW 1.15 20 evg
Jurco LW/RW 1.02. 6 evg
Granlund LW .98 16 evg
Archibald RW .89 12 evg
Kassian RW .78 14 evg
Chaisson LW/RW .77 13 evg
That is 9 top 6 forwards.
I see 5 that have shown top 3 fwd evg/60 performance for their position.
One that has fringe top 3 forward evg/60 & evg.
Now PPG forwards top 6 Per is 186.
#31 F 10 ppg
#62 F 7 ppg
#93 F 5 ppg
#124 F 4 ppg
#155 F 3 ppg
#186 F 2 ppg
You probably want PP 1 fwd 4 ppg.
Oilers last year.
Drai 16 ppg
Mcd 9 ppg
RNH 8 ppg
Chaisson 8 ppg
Lucic 2 ppg
Holland signs
Neal 5 ppg 16-17 & 17-18
Granlund 2 ppg
Jurco no viable pp time
So I see 9 top 6 fwds at even and 5 PP1 ppg scorers.
Chaisson was
# 44 RW in evg same as Bailey, Keller, Donskoi, Panik
#42 F in ppg same as Benn, Eichel, Skinner, Kuznetsov, JVR
You want to get rid of that production cause he makes 2.15M
Bah hahahahaha!
The thing forgotten in all of this line of thinking is its a capped league.
Every team needs a good goalie, and the rest by definition has to change.
Signing UFAs at the top of the range doesn’t work.
Development and maximizing contracted players is the way forward.
It’s the same in non sport business in a way, now that the NHL is capped and regulates expenditure for the teams that are cash rich.
Why do you bother with the multiple accounts troll?
None at all.
The Canucks have an excess of disposable forwards currently listed on a 24 man roster.
Easy to pare that down to be in compliance.
You’ve hit the nail squarely on the head with this post.
Wait. 2006 is not 17 years ago. I thought Hecht played in the 2006 Finals against Carolina but he was on Buffalo. Much ado about his German skates that had the safety blade covers (T-Blades?) was made in the media those playoffs.
Wait. Maybe Coach’s Corner was highlighting that in the 2006 playoffs due to Buffalo’s run. This darned Mandala Effect. Did Samsonov have T-Blades?
The Oilers right now with 4 top-6 forwards.
The Oilers drafted 1st, 1st, 1st, 7th, 3rd, 1st, 4th between 2010 and 2016, and used all 6 of their top-4 or better picks on forwards. And from those 6 picks, they currently have only 3 top 6 forwards.
Positive note: Eberle was traded for Strome for Spooner for Gagner – Gagner could flirt with 34-ish points this year (I believe!)
Positive note: JP could play the year in Europe, smarten up, and be a top-6 Oiler in 2020-2021 (within that critical draft +5 year period)
Yeah, but PQ mentioned Stanley Cup Finals.
First of all, I love these posts you’re making… thank you!!
Next, this just boggles the mind. While trying not just to cheaply re-hash Chia’s failures, its crazy to think how close the Oilers forward core were to being exceptional. Hall-RNH-Eberle + Drai +(the McDavid Draft Pick) +(the Barzal Draft Pick). There… a team statistically probably to make the playoffs 3 out of every 5 years.
In 2000-2001 season Sven Butenschön appeared in 7 games being the first German born player to play for the Edmonton Oilers including the WHA
8 top 6 forwards and you’re golden. Otherwise, who the F knows?
The Oilers somehow hit the soft middle too. That’s super odd, curious what else you have to say.
I feel weird that Hecht only played one season for the Oilers. And 17 years ago. I guess I had high hopes for him?
Who was the first German Oiler? Apologies if you mean Hecht. I assume I’m forgetting someone from the 80’s.
Fuk the Canucks who boos their country against the evil Commies!
Seems to be some goalpost moving here.
On opening day, they must be under the cap or use off season LTR (or not sign Boeser). Those are not good options. The other options are…?
edit-What OP said is so much better
They would be happy to lose any of those players on waivers. It’s a non issue.
Depending on actual numbers, they may not have room to call all 3, or even 2, of them back up and may have to run with a 21 or 22 person roster. They would also likely have zero wiggle room for day to day cap management. Someone is banged up and needs IR for two weeks, well, no cap room to call up a replacement.
The also risk those three guys on waivers.
The Hockey Gods demand it.
Another German Oiler in the SC Finals. Jochen Hecht was sacrificed for Leon Draisaitl’s success.
We’re so lucky to have not only Connor but Leon as well. Both these players are winners and Holland we find the right mix to bring back the cup where it belongs.
And didn’t Smith score the SC winning goal a year or three later, redeeming himself?
Great scene and movie.
The Flames that year we’re strictly built to beat the Oilers. The Flames and the fans were so desperate and hungry to finally beat the Oilers playing in the cup final was second fiddle.
Easy to get cap compliant on day one.
Demote Schialler, Alex Biega and Tyler Motte.
$3M in cap savings.
That’s the key. If you are a champion, that’s plenty of time to save Smith and re-write the script. Credit Calgary too, men. They were no slouches.
From Das Boot:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pddW-HeHAwo
To the sweetest girl I know:
https://youtu.be/UDc3GvVq_F8?t=271
Your bang on. For me the dismantling of arguably the greatest team ever trading Mess Anderson Kurri Fuhr and various other players for straight cash. Then came the real threats of my team being moved that was hard on the fan psyche. Never seen to date someone so beloved as Peter Puck turned to pure loathing of the man.