Well, there it is. The Oilers have gone out and picked up the right-handed puck-moving defenseman we’ve all been clamoring for. Chris Wideman is the newest Edmonton Oiler after being acquired from the Ottawa Senators for the draft pick that Edmonton received from the Blues for Jakub Jerabek.
https://twitter.com/phillyphilstl2/status/1065739588633804800
Now if Patty’s brother likes Wideman, then we’re in the money! But where’s the catch?
Well, he’s not the most proficient defender defensively. He’s a smaller fella (5-foot-ten 183 pounds) who tends to get knocked around a bit when facing larger forwards but if he’s as good at getting that puck out of the d-zone as Phil Maroon says he is, he won’t have any problems.
My concern is where Ken Hitchcock is going to have Wideman draw in? Will he play the Will Butcher role and be a 3rd-pairing dman who plays on the top PP unit or will he be used even more and slide in on the 2nd-pairing with Darnell Nurse and QB the 2nd PP unit?
Another thing is, who is he replacing? The Oilers have 8 defenders on their roster right now, right?
- Klefbom/Larsson
- Nurse/Russell
- Gravel/Benning
- Garrison/Wideman
Someone is going to have to move and if it were my choice, I’d probably work with Jason Garrison and see if he’d be willing to go to Bakersfield and work with the kids down there because, from my viewings of the Condors defense, I think they need work on their positioning and timing. They’ve been caught on quite a few bad pinches in their last 3 games.
I don’t think the moves are over for the Oilers. Remember, Chiarelli is super loyal to his coaches and will move mountains to try and get the players they want or don’t want. I’ll be curious to see if Ken Hitchcock makes any requests to bring someone in or move a player out.
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Max from TPE Hockey is back with his November draft rankings and I must apologize for dragging my ass on getting this posted. It’s been super busy recently with the Oilers that I simply haven’t found the time to get Max’s rankings up.
1) Jack Hughes C (USNTDP, USHL) – 179cm, 73kg
Jack Hughes has been the most dominant force in international U18 play so far this season. Over 4 games he scored 6 goals and 10 assists for 16 points and was +14. Hughes has been an unstoppable force in every game he’s played this season. Against collegiate teams he lit up the best in the NCAA, leading the NTDP to defeat teams like the Univ. of Michigan, Harvard, and Dartmouth. Jack Hughes is the pivotal piece on the best NTDP team we have ever seen.
2) Kaapo Kakko RW (TPS Turku, Liiga) – 186cm, 82kg
Early in the season, Kakko was causing a real debate about who could go 1st overall. He was a point per game in the Finnish Liiga and looked like one of the best Finnish prospects we’ve seen. Since then he’s fallen off a little bit. He is still the consensus 2nd pick, but he now holds 3 goals and 7 assists for 10 points in 17 games. This is still impressive, but it’s not up to par with what he was doing earlier this season.
3) Kirby Dach C (Saskatoon Blades, WHL) – 192cm, 84kg
Dach is this month’s top performer outside of Jack Hughes. He sits at 4th in WHL scoring as he lights up that league. One of the keys to Dach’s early success has been his recent tendency to shoot the puck more. Last season Dach was a pure passer that had a great shot but he just didn’t use it. He scored 7 goals over 52 games that year. Now, Dach has 12 goals in 22 games. While he still hasn’t shot as much as I’d hope, the improvement has been substantial and a major key to his individual success thus far.
4) Anttoni Honka D (JYP Jyväskylä, Liiga) – 179cm, 77kg
The time for Anttoni Honka is now. Despite the lack of production, Honka has been a player ranked highly for me. He shows all the abilities of the best defensemen in this draft, but the points haven’t been racking up. He has now been demoted to the Mestis (Finnish 2nd league) from the Liiga. JYP said in a statement it is to give him more ice time. His Mestis team, KeuPa, will heavily rely on Honka as he will be a top pairing defenseman for them. This is Honka’s opportunity to show he’s a top 5 pick or risk falling out of that grouping.
5) Alex Turcotte C (USNTDP, USHL) – 180cm, 88kg
Right now there isn’t a lot to say about Turcotte. He’s sat out most of this season with an injury. Turcotte is a smooth skating two-way centerman for the NTDP. He is the best skater in the draft other than Jack Hughes. He’s shown the ability to take over a game and put momentum in his team’s favor.
6) Dylan Cozens C (Lethbridge Hurricanes, WHL) – 191cm, 80kg
Cozens has so far played up to expectations going into the season. The only problem is that everyone else has been exceeding expectations all year. Cozens has suffered a bit being played on the wing rather than at center where I’d like to see him play. I’d also like to see him score some more goals this season, but he has good enough linemates as to where he doesn’t need to score as much as before.
7) Alex Newhook C (Victoria Grizzlies, BCHL) – 180cm, 83kg
The Boston College commit is the most dominant player in Junior A Hockey. His speed, skill, and IQ make him unstoppable with the puck. He only sits at 4th in BCHL scoring, but 1st in points per game. While the BCHL isn’t as competitive as Major Junior hockey his level of play in the league is still impressive.
8) Ryan Suzuki C (Barrie Colts, OHL) – 183cm, 78kg
Ryan Suzuki’s success this season was foreseen by many. Last year we saw his magical playmaking abilities and hockey sense. Unfortunately, the pucks just didn’t go in the net for him or his linemates. This year, Suzuki was handed a much larger role for the Barrie Colts. He is now the 9th player in OHL points per game and a key payer for Barrie. Suzuki is one of the top 3 playmakers in this class, but also has a very underrated shot and scoring ability that he should use more.
9) Bowen Byram D (Vancouver Giants, WHL) – 183cm, 81kg
After a slow start to the year, Byram has really taken off this month. He’s established himself as one of the best two defensemen in the draft class. Byram has flashy offensive abilities but has developed a better defensive game this season. Of the defensemen in the class, Byram is the most skilled and most fun to watch.
10) Peyton Krebs C/LW (Kootenay Ice, WHL) – 180cm, 78kg
Krebs has been consistently impressive so far this year. All year Krebs has dazzled scouts with unreal abilities to create space and opportunities for his teammates. He isn’t a major goal scoring threat, but his puck handling skills make him a dangerous player. He compares very closely to Johnny Gaudreau.
11) Mikko Kokkonen D (Jukurit, Liiga) – 180cm, 86kg
Kokkonen is up there as one of the most underrated eligible prospects this year. As a mostly 2nd pairing defensemen in the Liiga, Kokkonen has produced and thrived. In terms of point production adjusted for his league, he is the top defender by far. Notably, Kokkonen was the youngest player to play in the Liiga as a 15-year-old back in the 16-17 season.
12) Jakob Pelletier C/W (Moncton Wildcats, QMJHL) – 175cm, 72kg
The QMJHL’s top prospect has now become Jakob Pelletier. His quick feet and quicker thinking have made him one of the most valuable players on the QMJHL’s top squad. When you face off against the Moncton Wildcats, you can’t take your eyes off Pelletier.
13) Raphaël Lavoie C/W (Halifax Mooseheads, QMJHL) – 193cm, 87kg
Lavoie is the biggest dropper on this month’s list. Lavoie is still an impressive player, but he lacks the game-breaking abilities that his competitors in his draft class have. He is one of the “safer” picks in the draft as he has the size and build for the NHL. Although I don’t see as high of a ceiling for Lavoie. In my mind, he is a high floor, low ceiling type of player.
14) Cole Caufield RW/C (USNTDP, USHL) – 168cm, 70kg
The NTDP’s sniper comes in at number 14. Caufield has greatly benefited from being on a line with Jack Hughes. He is great at finding open space and receiving a pass, and when he gets that pass he doesn’t miss. So far in international competition, he has shown he is simply too good for the U18 level. He’s also dominated collegiate competition in the NTDP’s NCAA series. Caufield is easily the best pure sniper in the draft class. I’d put a high likelihood on the possibility of him being named to the USA World Junior team.
15) Trevor Zegras C (USNTDP, USHL) – 180cm, 72kg
Zegras has arisen as of late as a Jack Hughes lite. He plays a lot like Hughes but isn’t as good. I’d compare his style of play very closely to that of Patrick Kane too. I detailed his success in a previous article on some of this year’s NTDP talent.
16) Vasili Podkolzin RW (SKA St. Petersburg, MHL) – 181cm, 75kg
The title of the most volatile and hard to predict prospect goes to Vasili Podkolzin. In the Hlinka Gretzky Cup he was the best 2019 eligible performer. He showed capabilities in all zones and areas of the game, and put up massive point totals. But in the regular season he has failed to produce at the junior level or Russian 2nd league. Podkolzin has been a massive disappointment in terms of production. Despite this, he did get a shot in the KHL where he got his 1st KHL shift in the 3rd period of that game.
17) Cam York D (USNTDP, USHL) – 180cm, 75kg
York remains as the number one defensemen on the best NTDP team ever. He’s the vital blueliner that is the glue to his team. I detailed him, Zegras, and one more (mystery) NTDP player in a recent article.
18) Matthew Boldy C/W (USNTDP, USHL) – 183cm, 79kg
This month’s buzz has centered around Boldy. He started off with an amazing performance at the All Americans Prospects Game where he earned the game’s top player award. Since then, he has lit up every team he’s played against. Boldy is one of the draft’s top power forwards.
19) Arthur Kaliyev LW (Hamilton Bulldogs, OHL) – 188cm, 86kg
The OHL’s 9th leading scorer is one of the surprise top performers this season. Kaliyev followed up a very weak Hlinka Gretzky Cup by lighting up the OHL. He still ranks outside of the top 15 where his point totals might argue he should be because he doesn’t show the high-end talent and IQ that other players in this class do.
20) Nathan Légaré F (Baie-Comeau Drakkar, QMJHL) – 182cm, 89kg
Légaré continues his rise up the rankings. He is the QMJHL’s 5th leading scorer and is outperforming any expectations set for him before this season. Of 2019 draft eligibles coming out of the “Q”, he is the leading scorer. Légaré will continue to rise these rankings if he continues with these point totals.
21) Pavel Dorofeyev W (Stalnye Lisy/Metallurg Magnitogorsk, MHL/KHL) – 184cm, 74kg
After a promotion to the KHL, Dorofeyev failed to put up any points in his very limited role over 9 games. Still, Dorofeyev is one of the top players coming out of Russia. He is one of the hardest working players his age and shows tons of talent.
22) Nils Höglander LW (Rögle BK, SHL) – 174cm, 84kg
The prospect out of Rögle in the SHL has spent his entire season in the Swedish top league. Höglander has also competed for Sweden in international tournaments at the U20 level rather than the U18s. In his 3 game stint with the squad, he has 3 goals and 3 assists for 6 points.
23) Philip Broberg D (AIK J20, SuperElit) – 190cm, 90kg
Broberg, despite his high talent, has continued to struggle with AIK in Sweden’s 2nd league. It has become very clear that Broberg isn’t the player he was hyped to be at the Hlinka tournament. He has to become more of an impact player in Sweden before he can be considered as a top-15 player that some believe he is.
24) Albin Grewe C/RW (Djurgårdens IF J20, SuperElit) – 182cm, 80kg
The commanding force in Swedish junior hockey has been Albin Grewe. He played well enough to earn a small role in a few SHL contests. While he was unable to register any points, he showed he can hang with the pros and even laid a few huge hits.
25) Alex Vlasic D (USNTDP, USHL) – 196cm, 86kg
Going into this season we knew Vlasic was a very solid defensive defenseman much like his cousin Marc-Édouard Vlasic. Although he has now exerted some new found offensive abilities. Vlasic has always had a scary shot, but his vision and playmaking have improved greatly.
26) Moritz Seider D (Alder Mannheim, DEL) – 192cm, 83kg
Seider is the youngest player currently competing in Germany’s pro league. He only has 1 goal over his 15 games, but his role has been severely limited on the DEL’s top squad. Moritz Seider was also the subject of a profile piece I did on him before this season.
27) Spencer Knight G (USNTDP, USHL) – 191cm, 90kg
Knight has now established himself as the draft’s top goaltender. He broke into this spot, for me, after his play in the NTDP’s NCAA series where he shut down the nation’s best collegiate athletes. Spencer Knight was the 3rd player featured in my NTDP feature piece.
28) Victor Söderström D (Brynäs IF, SHL) – 181cm , 80kg
Brynäs’ two-way defender is a very dependable talent. Söderström is a smooth skating, intellectual defender. He reliably makes great decision in any situation you need him in. Söderström is a prime candidate to be a player that makes a huge jump up in draft day because one team is really fond of him.
29) Tobias Björnfot D (Djurgårdens IF J20, SuperElit) – 183cm, 85kg
Björnfot is currently a player that could be entering a free-fall down the rankings. He’s showed very little improvement over the summer, and in fact has regressed in terms of points. Björnfot needs to make a change to stay in the 1st round.
30) Bobby Brink RW (Sioux City, USHL) – 178cm, 75kg
Brink is the biggest riser so far. He was unranked (outside of the top 70) going into the season, but now sits at 30. He is 2nd in USHL points, goals, and assists. Brink is a high drive athlete with phenomenal abilities to create offensive off the rush. Few players can insight zone entries and distribute the puck off the entry like him. He is also a great shooter with high end puck skills including his puck handling and stick checking.
31) Dustin Wolf G (Everett Silvertips, WHL) – 183cm, 73kg
No player has been as consequential to their team as Dustin Wolf. He has played the most games of any WHL goalie as a 17 year old, playing 21 of 22 games. He’s been granted no breaks so far, but continues to hold very good numbers compared to his peers.
