Tracking Russian prospects is easier than it was 20 years ago but it’s no picnic. I can tell you Maxim Denezhkin is a lefty center, with great passing skills and an idea about the complete game. He’s undersized, his skating is good and he plays for a fine club (Yaroslavl) in the MHL.
The MHL is a junior league that contains 34 teams over four countries. You can’t be 20 on Sugar Mountain, or in the MHL.
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 Athletic, check it out here.
- New Daniel Nugent-Bowman: Projecting the Oilers’ black aces and how much they’ll play
- New Jonathan Willis: Projecting the Oilers’ lineup for their play-in series versus the Blackhawks
- New Lowetide: Could the Oilers draft a defenceman in the first round?
- Lowetide: Why the Oilers should extend Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as soon as possible
- Lowetide: Oilers farmhand Josh Currie’s small window of opportunity
- Lowetide: Oilers coach Dave Tippett’s track record in developing young players
- Jonathan Willis: Misguided priorities helped turn the Oilers’ 2010 rebuild into a debacle
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: ‘It’s what’s best for the league’: Oilers accept challenge of play-in series
- Lowetide: Oilers greatest areas of need for the 2020 draft
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: Six bold (and not so bold) predictions as the Oilers prepare for the Blackhawks
- Jonathan Willis: Oilers facing a bonus penalty for 2020-21 but the news isn’t all bad
- Jonathan Willis: Multiple choice: What might an Oilers trade at the 2020 NHL Draft look like?
- Jonathan Willis: Oilers return to play guide: How the NHL’s 24-team format impacts Edmonton
- Lowetide: Mike Green’s playoff role and possible future with the Oilers
- Lowetide: Oilers’ most likely recalls from Bakersfield for the playoff run
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: ‘We rallied and regrouped’: How the Oilers won the 1990 Stanley Cup
- Lowetide: Why Kailer Yamamoto represents ‘Money Puck’ value for NHL teams
- Lowetide: Exploring hidden-gem draft options for the Edmonton Oilers
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: ‘He set his place in history’: On Bill Ranford’s Conn Smythe run, 30 years later
- Jonathan Willis: Why NHL teams should gamble on defencemen over forwards later in the draft
- Lowetide: Oilers GM Ken Holland should shop for picks at the draft
MAXIM DENEZHKIN MHL
Denezhkin was an older first-time eligible on his draft day (December 2000) and his even strength scoring is excellent but he’s in a junior league while the parent KHL club (the Konovalov-MacTavsh Torpedo band) did have teenagers (Nikolai Kovalenko) taking regular shifts. Denezhkin’s NHLE (12.5) suggests he is likely to fall shy of the NHL. Still, he’s an interesting pick, and there are miles to go.
RODION AMIROV MHL
Amirov is a big, skilled winger and a great skater. He’s 6.01, 182 but if he grows a little we might see ‘power forward’ mentioned in his bio down the line. I have him No. 24. If Ken Holland is as devoted to adding speed as I think he is, then Amirov is a possible for Edmonton in the first round of the 2020 draft.
OILERS LW DEPTH CHART, SEPTEMBER 2007
Below the LW depth chart and the verbal as it appeared intact via a post on this blog September 8, 2007
1. Dustin Penner- 06-07 numbers were ES points-per-60 mins: 1.92, PP points-per-60-mins: 4.01. His numbers are well back of Hemsky, similar but inferior to Stoll and he scores about as often as Raffi Torres at EV. His numbers are solid, not spectacular. Penner will likely play with Horcoff and Hemsky and get mammoth PP time.
2. Raffi Torres- 06-07 numbers were ES points-per-60mins: 1.94, PP points-per-60mins: 0.40. If I were defending Kevin Lowe’s moves this summer (which is exactly as difficult as jumping Snake River Canyon), I’d probably start with Torres’ oddly impressive stats. The numbers say he’s a good hockey player at EVs, according to Desjardins he played the second toughest minutes among Oilers forwards last season (Pisani the toughest). His EV scoring results trailed only Stoll and Hemsky among returning Oiler forwards.
3. Patrick Thoresen- 06-07 numbers were ES Points-per-60mins: 1.15, PP Points-per-60mins: 3.26. I have a feeling that Thoresen is going to blossom and end up playing top 6 minutes at EVs this season. With all the excitement over the kids, there seems to be a tendency to overlook a guy who played multiple roles last season, passed every test and ripped up the lesser league when demoted briefly. One night in October when Nilsson is the suck and Sanderson’s hands make him look 50, the coach is going to look down that bench and spot Patrick Thoresen.
4. Ethan Moreau- 06-07 numbers were EV points-per-60mins: 1.10, PP points-per-60mins: 3.85 in limited action. Moreau is a key player on this team, even moreso with the Pisani injury. He is not Pisani’s equal without the puck, and he still takes some dumb penalties, but he’ll be relied on heavily by MacT in all sorts of roles, including his usual mentor role for young 2-way forwards.
5. Geoff Sanderson- 06-07 numbers were EV points-per-60mins: 2.06, PP points-per-60mins: 2.45. I think they’ll use him at RW on a 2-4 (which I’ll be buying daily) rotation with Robert Nilsson until he either settles in or they go for another option.
6. Robert Nilsson- 05-06 numbers were EV points-per-60mins: 1.56, PP points-per-60mins: 3.37. It may seem like I’m down on the guy, but it isn’t really about him at all. Listen, Robert Nilsson is skilled. However, there’s just not enough clearance between him and a bunch of other kids on this roster for him to have any leeway at all. Maybe the Gods smile on him and he pops 5 goals in October, or maybe he gets a hat-trick opening night and then rolls. However, he’s not really a top drawer prospect (as some seem to be hyping him this fall) like Gagner, Cogliano and (I believe) Slava Trukhno. He’s a guy who can have a career if everything breaks right.
7. Jean Francois Jacques- Going into camp the tea leaves look like he’ll be heading to Pennsylvania. Jacques made the team last season but didn’t do enough to get into the lineup (just like Mikhnov) and unlike Thoresen never really did prove he belonged in the NHL. He has an advantage in that (unlike Nilsson) he does have some unique qualities that make his inclusion on the big roster attractive, but he’s likely headed to the AHL with the hope that he sets it on fire.
8. Slava Trukhno- Has a wide range of skills, including size, skill and grit. We don’t know if he’ll get a good shot or even if he’ll take advantage should it come his way, but the resume is pretty impressive. The most overlooked prospect by the fanbase, you’ll often see HFboards descriptions of him as “one dimensional” or that he “scored points in an inferior league.” Knowing the limitations of junior scoring numbers, imo Trukhno is a legit high end prospect.
9. Ryan Flinn- Derek Boogaard he isn’t, but Flinn is likely to play some games at the NHL level this winter. Oilers did suffer during several NW matchups because they had no answer for the opposition ruffian. If only Brad Winchester could have filled the role.
10. Liam Reddox- Spent much of the season in the ECHL last year, would have to be considered out of the running before the parade to the post.
11. Tim Sestito- Looks like an AHL role player to me, but he’s 23 and could surprise.
12. Geoff Paukovich- I put him here because center is so crowded. I imagine he’ll (like McDonald and Rohlfs) impress because of size but end up being sent down to the AHL to learn his trade.
WHAT HAPPENED 2007-08 ON LEFT WING OPENING NIGHT?
Dustin Penner played on a line with Shawn Horcoff and Ales Hemsky opening night against the San Jose Sharks. Trio won the shot share 7-4 but were outscored 1-0 at five on five.
Raffi Torres played on the second line, with Jarret Stoll and Robert Nilsson. They didn’t give up any goals but were outshot 5-2, Sam Gagner appears to have replaced Nilsson at times.
Geoff Sanderson played on a line with Marty Reasoner and Kyle Brodziak, winning the shot share 5-4 and going 1-0 goals (Brodziak). Ethan Moreau was injured and didn’t play the opener.
J.F. Jacques played on a line with youngsters Andrew Cogliano and Sam Gagner, winning the shots 2-1 and the goals 1-0. Patrick Thoresen lost the opening night gig to Jacques, but would return and then land in Philly a week after Valentine’s Day.
2007-08 THE NUMBERS (NHL)
Here are the five on five per 60 number for LW’s in 2007-08, from the beginning of the season through the end of December.
- Robert Nilsson 2.01 (in 32 games) [13-12]
- Dustin Penner 1.37 (in 40 games) [24-16]
- Raffi Torres 1.24 (in 32 games) [15-16]
- Geoff Sanderson 1.09 (in 30 games) [7-14]
- Patrick Thoresen 0.51 (in 12 games) [2-6]
- J.F. Jacques 0.00 (in 9 games) [1-4]
- Liam Reddox 0.00 (in one game) [0-1]
Ethan Moreau played just two games and the veterans struggled to put the puck in the net. As you can see, Nilsson was the only LW posting a strong number but the top three LW’s were on successful lines. Now the second half of the season.
- Geoff Sanderson 3.56 (in 11 games) [5-7]
- Curtis Glencross 2.99 (in 26 games) [16-11]
- Robert Nilsson 2.67 (in 39 games) [26-16]
- Patrick Thoresen 2.20 (in 5 games) [2-1]
- Dustin Penner 1.24 (in 42 games) [19-29]
- Ethan Moreau 0.70 (in 23 games) [5-10]
Lowe acquired Curtis Glencross from Columbus in a deal that worked out well (would have been a home run if they’d signed him). Torres was lost due to a knee injury mid-December through the end of the year. Robert Nilsson had a strong year, Dustin Penner a disappointing one.
The minor league team had some good stories. Two quotes in The Republican (Springfield paper) from Kevin Lowe detailed how the organization sees the top prospects bubbling under. “Robbie Schremp was the most noteworthy player – and getting 75 points in the AHL is nothing to sneeze at – but that was expected of him. Liam Reddox probably made the most improvement over what he was last season (in the ECHL), and Slava Trukhno made the most improvement within the season.”
- Patrick Thoresen 29, 13-13-26 .90 points per game
- Liam Reddox 65, 16-28-44 .68
- J.F. Jacques 38, 11-14-25 .66
- Slava Trukhno 64, 14-21-35 .55
- Tim Sestito 77, 7-10-17 .22
None of these kids made the grade, such a miserable era for minor league development. At least they all lived in Springfield and were wearing the same laundry.
Two questions: Did you enjoy this trip through the past, would you like to see it again? Second question: How does the current LW depth chart compare to the 2007-08 edition?
LOWDOWN WITH LOWETIDE
At 10 this morning, we approach the weekend like Temba, his arms wide, on TSN1260. Steve Lansky from BigMouthSports will chat about the NHL’s plan for the playoffs and what it might look like (can you make teams play at 10am and 8pm in the same week?). Matthew Iwanyk will chat about the NBA, NHL and MLB plans for opening/not opening. 10-1260 text, @Lowetide on twitter.
I never implied that Nuge would be traded – I’d be shocked to see him moved during the term of his contract.
Agree on Randorf. He has really grown into the role. Louie has always been quality imo.
Ray Ferraro would be a god send.
Harpers Hair,
Thank God if that proves true.
I heard a report yesterday that the regional contracts for Sportsnet in both Edmonton and Calgary are proving to be an issue and might end up with TSN.
Randorf has improved 100%. He and Louie are a great pair. Plus I think he gives the Oil a fair shake.
Yeah but you can’t trust those Swedes, they’ve been traumatised by living in their shit-hole of a country ?
NEWSFLASH
Swedish Journalists predict a Leafs/Oilers final…
Consensus being that Oilers take the series 4-3
Your first post on the subject was in response to Hitman asking if anyone sees Nuge or Nurse being traded.
You replied: “I see Nuge being re-signed but, yes, at some point, they need to make some moves to open up more cap space.” And proceeded to mention the possibility of Nurse being traded next summer.
You seem(ed) to believe that most probably one of Nurse or Nuge will need to be traded in the next few seasons.
I’m acknowledging it’s possible while disagreeing it’s probable.
Holland signed these 4 guys to awful contracts.
Nielsen
Abdelkader
Helm
DeKeyser
We’ll see if he can get Nuge/Larsson and Nurse to reasonable deals.
Your first sentence essentially mirrors my post that started this conversation – at some point it may need to be done or make sense to be done – now is not the time.
It’s entirely possible a veteran eventually needs to be traded, or makes sense to trade. I really don’t think it’s a given though.
Removing Russell’s contract should allow the Oilers to tread water next season with essentially the same team. Some other move would likely need to happen for Holland to spend more on a 3C.
After that replacing Larsson with Bouchard (for instance) likely creates enough cash to pay Nuge/Nurse an extra $3M. A Neal buyout can free up another almost $4M if needed.
We also don’t know what things will look like 2 or 3 years down the line. We’re projecting all the players to continue improving in straight lines. That may not happen, and maybe others pop up who exceed expectations and need to be paid (Athanasiou?). We don’t know.
I think beyond not tying your money up in long term contracts for 30-somethings it’s probably not actually helpful to worry TOO much about what (you think) is going to happen 2 or 3 years down the line.
I’m not advocating trading 2 of the players or even really advocating trading one. I don’t want to trade Nurse but the upper cap limit is going to be an issue.
$2M to $3M for those two, plus Yamamoto’s second contract plus Bear’s raises and then Klef comes due, etc., etc. Plus the desire to improve externally, maybe a 3C for example.
At some point an expensive player from a position of depth will need to be moved I would think.
If Kenny can keep it all together, and fill a couple holes, well, that will be sensational.
If the Oilers get to the later rounds, we’ll all have chipped livers…?
LT…it’s not you, just me.
Bringing up past historical Oilers seasons can be so painful. So much desert wandering & hopelessness that following the franchise became akin to sitting in a warm bath with a razor blade. I checked out a few season stats just to see how they were doing at Halloween. Some years they were great but still missed the playoffs. Other years they did badly but got in. If you could keep your choices to years that they offered hope, I’m for that. 2009-2011…yecch.
Did Maxim Denezhkin get mentioned by a single poster today? I don’t think so, though I guess we’ve collectively ‘spoken’. Poor guy.
Larsson is that type of d-man, moreso than Nurse – if Larsson is still around at a discount.
Yes, Nurse should be part of the core, I agree – that’s up to him but his history of contract negotiation puts it in jeopardy.
Nurse absolutely did get favourable term. He’s also being paid quite fairly. Holland likely could have ground him more on the 2 year deal if he’d wanted to.
And agreed Nurse won’t be taking a discount, but to be fair his last holdout was just a few days. He signed his bridge deal on day 4 of main camp in 2018. There’s lots of room for Nurse and Holland to agree on a deal that works for both parties.
On Nurse vs Klefbom, the clearest gap I see is in goal differential. And that gap favours Nurse pretty heavily, mistakes or no.
They can’t pay everyone – Bear, Nurse, Yamamoto, Nuge, etc.
I also think Holland will try and sign Nurse long term but I think its more likely that Nurse “holds strong” for more money than Nuge and, frankly, looking at organizational depth, its fairly clear where team has more cover and more NHL ready cover.
No, there is no “equal replacement” for Nurse internally, not this coming year nor the next, but there are replacements that are darn closer to Nurse than there are to Nuge – in my opinion.
I don’t imagine Nuge is going to require an $8M per year type contrat – I was thinking $7M to $7.5M for 6-7 years. Brian Lawton, formerly of Octagon and very connected in the player agent departement, opined that he thinks Nuge will come in on a deal that starts with a “6”.
Larsson has been quite the inconsisent player over the last few years, in particular since his father’s shocking passing.
With that said, when he’s playing well, he is a material player in the top 4 and the PK and we saw ALOT of that player in 2020. A player we want going to war with on our team in the playoffs.
On a high level, I’m fine with bringing him back – it would be a post expansion draft signing or a sign and leave exposed (don’t imagine Seattle would take him, never know though) and it would have to be a fairly material pay-cut from his current $4M and for no longer than 3 years.
I love Adam Larsson and I’d love to keep him but, his skating isn’t going to get any better and I’d be surprised if he wasn’t 3RD behind Bear and Bouchard by the time that new contract kicks in.
Would love him as the 3RD, priced accordingly.
Oilers might make a hell of a run this year AA , Ennis and Green aren’t chipped liver. I’m scared about the goaltending like every other fan of their team. If we add a crackerjack 3C that can win a fricking faceoff when it counts and a free agent goaltender that magically has his best years in Edmonton then ladies and germs we are styling.
I’m not sure how much Holland has to do to pay both Nuge and Nurse their UFA contracts. They’re signed to $6M and $5.6M for next season. It’s likely their next deals only total $2-$3M more than they’ll make next year. There’s many ways to make that work without trading 2 of your 4 or 5 best players.
I just don’t see that happening. We won’t have a nasty in your face Dman if Nurse is gone. The three amigos should be the core. Mcdavid, Nurse and Draisital.
This may have brought up but it would have to depend on which era they would play in. CONNOR in the 80s…mmm…doughnuts…https://giphy.com/gifs/doughnut-N04Fkkzhf9slO
There must have been a giant Sega sale that year. NHL 94 & sonic. I won many cups while babysitting. ?
I think Holland will try hard to get Nurse signed long term. If he asks for something ridiculous, I can see us trading him. I know he’s best buds with McDavid and Dry but there’s only so much cash to go around.
I don’t know what happens with Nuge. Considering that he’s more winger than center now, if his ask is $8M/yr+ then I’d consider trading him for an unprotected 1st in 2022. I believe that’s a better draft class than 2021’s.
Klef is going nowhere on that beauty contract which runs into summer of 23. Nurse is signed until summer of 22 and they probably try to work out how to sign both at that time. Bear is just off ELC so no worries and Larsson has one more year to run. Really depends on how much he wants and for how long. He’s not a guy I sign for 7 years but 3 would be fine and he’s a toal pain in ass to play against when he’s on. Eventually we run some combination of: Klef Nurse Bouchard Bear within 2 years, but I’d like to keep Larsson around for as long as possible.
Well, yes, this contract went smoother as the player gave up apx $1M per in order to get the most player favorable term and to maximize his overall earnings.
I agree that Nurse “wants to be here” but I don’t see it leading to any sort of “discount” – Nurse has shown, clearly in my opinion, that he will dig in for the most he can get.
No offence to Nurse – that’s his absolute right.
On point 2, no need to get in to a Nurse/Klef discussion, I agree that the gap isn’t massive but to me there is a clear gap and it mostly comes down to rate of mistakes.
Nope, he doesn’t “have to” but the youngsters play for cheaper and he will have to do something if he wants to pay both Nurse and Nuge – yes, the likes of Neal will be gone eventually but there is also Bear, Yamamoto, etc.
I agree. The core three IMO are Drai McDavid and Nurse. Of course the actual core is larger, but these guys are buds and will lead the team wherever it goes.
Yeah Nurse ‘fits’ the cluster in a lot of ways.
He did dig in previously though his most recent deal went smoothly (of course Holland agreed to walk him to UFA…). It’s absolutely possible he could be a problem again but I think he wants to be an Oiler so…
I don’t agree Klefbom is the clearly superior D though. There’s a pretty good argument that Nurse is better actually. I’d put them relatively even personally though if they had identical deals I’d take Nurse I think. In any case, definitely not a large gap IMO.
We’ll see. I don’t see Klefbom being gone that soon. Holland strikes me as the kind of GM who might keep all of those 3 for longer than any of us expect. He doesn’t HAVE to trade the veterans instead of the youngsters.
That’s fair.
You are throwing half our chips away blindly given no city in FLA is on the “short list”.
You may very well be “right” on Nurse – he is closer to the McDavid/Drai age group and is buddies with them.
At the same time, in my opinion, Klefbom is clearly the superior over-all d-man with “games played” the only really issue there.
Nurse is already more expensive and his next contract comes even quicker and he’s shown that, clearly, “getting paid” is important to him he will dig in – as he done already.
Nurse isn’t going nowhere I think it’ll be Larsson and Kelfbom both gone by the end of next, next season somebody has to go to make room for the cheap loaded D that we have because of Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater
Marino also had more points in quite a few less games, a materially higher P/60 and a materially better GF% at over 56%.
The gap may not be as large as ESPN implied by the rankings but, yes, I would have to give a material edge to Marino – based on numbers – only say him play a few times.
As far as what the player meant to their team’s success, I can’t imagine Marino was as important to the Pens as Bear was to the Oilers but, again, can’t really formulate a real position on Marino.
At first I was thinking Minnesota and Vancouver. Minnesota is obviously out of the running. I’m taking all my chips which is a good stack and putting half on the boring not to hot City Of Champions and the other half on the wife’s choice of beautiful Florida.
Just my opinion but I think Nurse is more core than any other Oilers D.
Related: does Holland let UFAs in their 20s walk? Seems like he finds good players and keeps good players but I’ll have to look.
That gap between Marino and Bear likely isn’t fair but Marino wasn’t a bottom pair D.
Bear actually lead the Oilers D in %TOI vs elites from PuckIQ (36.1%), so you’re right he was top 4/top pair.
Marino had slightly lower TOI vs elites (32.6%) but he was 3rd on the Penguins behind Letting and Dumolin (who only played 28 games). So Marino was borderline 1st/2nd pairing. He’s legit it seems. Too bad he didn’t want to sign.
Russia with some crazy high end talent (Radulov, Ovie, Kuznetsov, Malkin) but not the depth – 3/5 of the roster I don’t recognize and only 1 full time NHL d-man (Emelin).
I’m sure some of the players I don’t recognize are solid/great KHL players that could play in the NHL but still.
The list has 10.
There will be 2.
I’d prefer Edmonton to be one but nothing to do with the Oilers – moreso for the moral boost, the small economic boost and to showcase the province – safe for travel, etc.
As per John Shannon:
Both Oilers and Maple Leafs have ice available for players, as of Monday, if they want.
Canucks and Canadiens, with only a few players in town, won’t have ice available.
Jets will have ice available later in the week.
Flames are meeting today to discuss the timeline
Quite a few have expressed an opinion that you share on AA – that he will be a better Oiler after having a training camp and some time to learn the systems and have Coach T learn about the player himself.
Here is hoping it proves true.
If you win……
this is like click bait ….
NO WAY. NO HOW.
OriginalPouzar,
that is definitely lame …
Tiebreaks in the top-4 round robin tourney are to be decided via regular season points percentage.
Yup, they could have (should have) gone with a division format over a conference format but, to me, oh well, I’m definitely not going to get overly-emotional or worked up about it. I will leave that to you and McCurdy.
I don’t think any Oiler fan has said that its fair the the flames get the Oilers third – end stop.
At the same time, if we are being honest and unbiased, I don’t think that its “fair” that the flames just “get nothing”, end-stop.
Pro-rating is clearly not a perfect solution and it should happen.
I do see a compensatory pick to one of the teams – I think it should be the flames and the Oilers aren’t forced to move down 11 spots.
I see Nuge being re-signed but, yes, at some point, they need to make some moves to open up more cap space.
There is no point in having a swarth of promising young developing d-men if they are never used a trade currency themselves or graduating to material roles to more cheaply fill a spot.
At some point, in my make sense to trade Nurse for value and cap space. I don’t think this off-season is the time as the gap is too big between Nurse and his replacement, however, in a year, the gap may be smaller via Jones.
Totally different types of players and, of course, Jones won’t just fill the loss of Nurse but the close to $5M of savings plus asset return on Nurse…….. (and with Sammy, Broberg, Lagesson and, shit, maybe Lennstrom or Niemelainen as cover – at various stages).
Nothing to do with Geoff Sanderson but my interaction with a “famous NHL personality”.
This must have been back in 2010 or so – I was in Vancouver for meetings and was walking back in to the lobby of my hotel, face down on my blackberry when I sneezed – I got a Gesundheit from a random person walking the other way, out of the hotel – it was Brent Sutter and, yup, the flames were in Vancouver to play.
Lame story but whatever.