BLH provides you with the latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation featuring some opinion regarding the Oilers and the upcoming 2021 NHL Entry Draft as well as thoughts on Jack Eichel (BUF) and the New York Rangers expansion draft list.
This is not the kind of news Edmonton Oilers fans will like.
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NHL Rumors and Speculation
Dennis Bernstein (The Fourth Period): Had this to say with regards to the LA Kings possibly trading for Buffalo Sabres captain Jack Eichel,
- “As for a Los Angeles landing place, my stance on this has been clear when you can acquire elite talent, you go in with your best offer. A player of this status rarely becomes available and what makes him more attractive is that your commitment to him is only five years, he can walk to free agency at 29 years of age so whichever team acquires him will get him in his prime years.”
Larry Brooks of the NY Post: If David Quinn remained behind the bench of the New York Rangers, forward Julien Gauthier would likely have been made available for the Seattle Kraken expansion draft. Quinn had healthy scrathed Gauthier for 24 games this season and almost the entire month of April. Will things change now that Quinn won’t be back?
On the blue line the Ranges will protect Jacob Trouba, Ryan Lindgren and Libor Hajek. Adam Fox, K’Andre Miller and Zac Jones are exempt. Anthony DeAngelo, and Anthony Bitetto will be exposed.
Up front, Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Pavel Buchnevich, Ryan Strome and Filip Chytil will be protected. Decision on the last spot will be between Brett Howden, Colin Blackwell, Kevin Rooney and Gauthier.
Pro Hockey Rumors: Now that the regular season has finally come to a close for the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks, the NHL has released it’s 2021 draft lottery odds for the first overall selection on June 2nd.
(BLH’s off-the-cuff mock selections for each club will be in brackets)
Buffalo Sabres – 16.6% (Owen Power – D – U of Mich.)
Anaheim Ducks – 12.1% (Brandt Clarke – D – Barrie)
Seattle Kraken – 10.3% (Matthew Beniers – C – U of Mich.)
New Jersey Devils – 10.3% (Simon Edvinsson – D – Frolunda)
Columbus Blue Jackets – 8.5% (Dylan Guenther – RW – Edmonton)
Detroit Red Wings – 7.6% (Kent Johnson – C – U of Mich.)
San Jose Sharks – 6.7% (Mason McTavish – C – Peterborough)
Los Angeles Kings – 5.8% (Luke Hughes – D – USNTDP)
Vancouver Canucks – 5.4% (William Eklund – LW – Djurgarden)
Ottawa Senators – 4.5% (Chaz Lucius – C – USNTDP)
Arizona Coyotes – 3.1%* (No Pick)
Chicago Blackhawks – 2.7% (Cole Sillinger – LW – Sioux Falls)
Calgary Flames – 2.2% (Fedor Svechkov – C – Togliatti)
Philadelphia Flyers – 1.8% (Zachary L’Heureux – C – Halifax)
Dallas Stars – 1.4% (Fabian Lysell – RW – Lulea)
New York Rangers – 1.0% (Jesper Wallstedt – G – Lulea)
BLH’s Thoughts: As for the Oilers, All I’ve been hearing is the name of Sebastian Cossa, the 6’7″ Mike Smith clone who plays for the Edmonton Oil Kings.
- “His athletic toolkit is very intriguing as a 6’6″ goalie who can move well for that size and cover a lot of net. He has some quick twitch in his frame in how he moves around the net, and gets in and out of his butterfuly. Cossa’s reads are typically good. He can be aggressive with his positioning and take away angles with his size well.” – Corey Pronman (The Athletic)
If he’s unavailable or the team thinks they can get him down the line, there are a couple of really good Swedish wingers in Oskar Olausson and Simon Robertsson that should be there.
- Olausson (6’1, 180) RW, HV71 – A tireless worker and very responsible at both ends of the rink. He’s got NHL speed and skill and is a shooter. His shot might be his number one quality. Number two and three would be his outside speed and quick hands. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic says he could top out at a 2nd line right-winger with the right development.
- Robertsson (6’0, 190), RW, Skelleftea – Oilers scouts should be quite familiar with this player as he played on the same team as prized defensive prospect Philip Broberg. Robertsson played the whole season with Skelleftea in their bottom-six. Dobber’s Prospects says his defensive game and pace improved greatly this year and that he has very soft hands is the kind of player who can create space for himself. They also say that he’s got a very rare shot in that it’s one that can beat goalies from the blueline…
I also wonder about one of the “Zachs” out of the QMJHL.
- Zach L’Heureux (5-11, 196), LW, Halifax – He’s a power forward who can play a physical game and has silky hands. Some have compared him to Max Domi. At his peak, he’s a physical winger with a hard snapper who skates with power and is heavy on the puck. He has some discipline issues though.
- Zach Dean (6-0, 176), C, Gatineau – An energetic forward who is as good at creating chaos in the offensive zone with his high work ethic and aggressive forechecking. He excels in the muck and isn’t afraid to take the puck to the net to score a goal. Some question if his offense will translate.
- Zach Bolduc (6’1, 175), C, Rimouski – Highly skilled playmaker who skates well. Very dangerous shot from the home plate. He’s got excellent hockey IQ and there are scouts who say his puck skills are quite underrated.
Personally, I like the idea of L’Heureux. He sounds like he could be a Brad Marchand-type but even if he didn’t reach that level, the Oilers could really use a pest in their lineup. Maybe he’d be more of an Antoine Roussel or Maxim Lapierre at the NHL level, either way he’d give Edmonton’s forward group a bit of a different element.
If Edmonton continues to struggle in the first round here against the Jets, they’re going to find themselves with a mid-first round draft pick and their target may very well change. Not only that but they’d be in a spot to pick a much better player. Somebody like Nikita Chibrikov (St. Petersburg, KHL), Cole Sillinger (Sioux Falls, USHL), or perhaps Jesper Wallstedt or Fabian Lysell falls and they have a shot at one of those gamebreakers.
A massive wildcard in this whole draft… Jesse Puljujarvi’s teammate in Karpat and a player once touted as a possible 1st overall pick… Aatu Raty. He’s had a tough year but if you’ve watched him, you can see that there is a player there. Similar to Jesse, he probably just needs some time to put the pieces together.
Sources: Pro Hockey Rumors, nhlrumors.com, The Fourth Period
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