The 2019 NHL Entry Draft is just around the corner and I’ve got a plethora of draft guides sitting on my desktop and in my tablet just waiting to be utilized. So I thought a good idea might be to use the picks from each guide’s rankings to perform the draft for the Edmonton Oilers.
Check out the previous articles written in the 2019 series below:
Drafting with the Future Considerations NHL Draft Guide
Drafting with the McKeen’s NHL Draft Guide
Now, some guides don’t have enough players ranked to do the entire draft, so we’ll just have to do with rounds one to four in that case, but for the rest that do have enough, I’ll lay them out for you and give you the best brief reports on those players that I can. I haven’t watched all of the players and therefore I’ll be forced to go with reports from other publications and my own digging about to get a good idea on them in order to present it to you.
Today we’re going to use the HockeyProspect.com’s Black Book, which you can find here. At a cost of 54.99, this guide is 675 pages deep and includes 317 player profiles for the 2019 NHL draft as well as 151 profiles for the 2020 NHL draft AND 97 profiles for the 2021 NHL draft. It also gifts you with enough of their scout’s game reports to keep you busy until draft day this year. It’s probably the most in-depth guide out there that doesn’t just wax poetically about every prospect. It also includes some pretty scathing reports and if you get the iBooks version, it has a lot of little audio snippets regarding the players.
The Oilers have the no.8, 38, 85, 100, 162, and 193 picks in the draft but the Black Book’s rankings only go up to 108. So we’ll only be going over the Oilers first four picks. This is who HockeyProspect.com has ranked at those numbers.
No. 8 – Kirby Dach – 6’3″ 197lbs – C – Saskatoon (WHL) – 62gp 25g 48a 73pts 40PIM
Okay, let’s start with the bad. Dach has a tendency to go invisible in games and there are some questions regarding his internal drive. In addition to those things, he hasn’t quite made friends with consistency yet and for a center, he’s pretty horrid at taking faceoffs. A tad weird given how good his hands are and how big he is. Some might pick on his skating a bit but I actually don’t mind it. Once he gets going, there’s not a lot to stop him.
Now, the good. Dach’s vision and ability to pass the puck due to his ridiculous vision might be unrivaled in this draft. Couple that with the fact that he may very well be the best passer in this class and you’ve got yourself one helluva playmaker. But that’s not all with this behemoth, the way he can handle the puck and use his body to dictate the play, it reminds me of Ryan Getzlaf. He doesn’t have Getzlaf’s intensity (at all), but he does possess the ability to control the ice when the puck is on his stick.
Do the Oilers really need another high-end center? My feeling is that they do not UNLESS the plan is to move on from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins at some point. Then, in that scenario, they might be smart to draft this player.
“His tools are built for hockey, but his mindset lacks an internal-drive. This can be seen when he’s on the forecheck and loses a battle against a smaller player, or when he’s disengaged during a secondary-scoring chance. There’s been performances where he doesn’t look like he wants to win the game for his team, and instead coasts” – Hockeyprospect.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOgVdIz6mi4
BLH’s Pick: Matthew Boldy – 6’1″ 190lbs – USNTDP (NCAA/USHL) (ranked 9th)
As I said in the two previous segments of this series, if Matthew Boldy is available at 8th overall, he is the perfect fit for the Oilers. They need an elite two-way left-wing in their system as the best player they have developing at the moment is Tyler Benson and his ceiling might top out on the 2nd line. Boldy is a player that you can put in any situation and he won’t be a liability. He’s a heady player, he’s extremely hard working, he’s a better passer and would be second only to Kiril Maksimov in the shooting department amongst the Oilers’ prospects.
I’ve compared him to Ryan O’Reilly in the past whereas others have compared him to Marian Hossa. Not too shabby at 8th overall AND he’d be a safe pick there whereas Holland could be reaching with Zegras, Caufield, Krebs, or Broberg.
No. 38 – Zach Jones – 5’10” 172lbs – D – Tri-City (USHL) – 56gp 7g 45a 52pts 38PIM
When I read reports on last season’s USHL rookie of the year, I come away thinking that this player could be another Caleb Jones. He’s fleet-footed, his edgework and escapability is right up there. He’s got really decent vision, he passes well, and he likes to dangle and go walkabout every now and then. McKeen’s says that he has everything you want in a powerplay quarterback aside from his shot, that needs work. An undersized offensive defenseman to put it plainly.
If I were running the draft for the Oilers, I’m not sure I’d spend my 2nd round pick on Zach Jones. If I were going to draft a defenseman, I’d be looking for somebody whose potential is a bit higher than powerplay specialist.
Although he will be drafted for the offensive game he supplies from the backline, Jones is a competent defender as well, with tight gaps on zone entries and good technique defending against odd-man rushes. – McKeen’s Draft Guide
BLH’s Pick: John Beecher – 6’3″ 210lbs – C – USNTDP (NCAA/USHL) (ranked 45th)
I LOVE THIS PLAYER! The first time I saw Beecher on the ice I thought Mike Modano 2.0 due to how fast he was skating and the jersey whipping around as he flew around the ice. I don’t think he’ll last until the 2nd round because of this skating ability. but not only that, he’s got pro-size and he’s not afraid to go into the mucky areas to get the job done. Beecher could be considered a bit of a throwback player considering how willing he is to sacrifice his body to stop a play/shot. Chris Kreider comparisons are cropping up now and I think that’s fair, but I’d say he’s less dirty than the Ranger. Unlucky for him that this year the USNTDP program was stacked or else he would’ve been centering one of the top two lines and would’ve had some more offensive-minded wingers.
If I were the Oilers and Beecher was still available late in the first round, I’d definitely be exploring the possibility of trading up to select him. If Holland wants to get faster, Beecher has speed in spades!
No. 85 – Michael Teply – 6’3″ 197lbs – LW – Benatky (CZE2) – 23gp 4g 6a 10pts 8PIM
This big Czech winger has some sweet silky mitts on him and he has a fair bit of speed in his boots, but his skating is a bit wonky. He kinda looks like he’s skating in sand for his first few steps. Once he gets going it’s okay, but he’ll need some drastic improvement there. Another thing that is a bit troubling with this player is that even though he’s got a pretty zippy wrist shot, he doesn’t score a lot of goals. Tends to play the role of passer more often than not.
I’m not sure this player is one that would interest the Oilers. He’s not a great skater and they’re trying to acquire better skaters (ie: Joakim Nygard). And I’m not all that convinced Teply will make it past the AHL.
BLH’s Pick: Robert Mastrosimone – 5’10” 158lbs – LW – Chicago (USHL) (ranked 93rd)
Mastrosimone has been on my radar all season. He’s just a tiny fella but he’s fearless and he’s got a massive motor that doesn’t stop. Sort of in the same vein as the Oilers 1st rounder a couple of seasons ago, Kailer Yamamoto. He’s so tenacious on the puck and despite being 50lbs lighter than some of his opponents, he often comes away with the biscuit. Mastrosimone is a bit of a sniper too (31 goals in 54 games). The release on this kid’s wrist shot is very good. On the downside, he’s not really that fast nor is he a dangler. So when he tries to put on a puckhandling clinic, he is prone to turnovers. He likes to use the toe drag quite a bit and at the next level, that’ll get stopped. I imagine he might develop into a real asset for someone’s powerplay with the way he scores.
A speedy forward, Mastrosimone can get a lot of mileage out of streaking down the wing and ripping a shot high on a goalie. He has a quick release and can whiz one by a goalie’s ear without a lot of wind-up. His north-south game is when he’s at his most effective. While he does flash some moves from time to time, he’s just as likely to have a puck roll off of his stick as he is to finish the move successfully – Hockeyprospect.com
No. 100 – Tuukka Tieksola – 5’9″ 146lbs – RW – Karpat (FIN-JR) – 51gp 15g 45a 60pts 26PIM
Is it me or are there more and more little guys making their ways to the pro scene? Tieksola is all of 146lbs but he’s a wizard with the puck. I wonder if he’s got a bit of the Vladdy Hockey (Tkachev) in his game? From all the reports that I’ve read, he’s got insane vision, is uber creative and very smart with the puck, and he can shoot the pill to boot. At that size though, he’s going to have problems as he progresses. Just look at how Kailer Yamamoto fared in his first pro season, but apparently, he’s a fan of the rough stuff. He’ll get his nose dirty if need be.
This fella might be one wildcard to keep an eye on for the next couple of years and maybe the Oilers would be smart to take a chance on Tieksola if the mandate is to draft more skilled and entertaining players.
https://youtu.be/gKxIQhMhneA
BLH’s Pick: Alex Beaucage – 6’1″ 193lbs – RW – Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL) (ranked 101st)
Some scouts say that Beaucage has a better shot than Hamilton’s Arthur Kailyev and what differentiates the two is that Beaucage works harder. He’s a naturally gifted offensive player with outstanding work ethic. The one thing that stops him from being a first rounder is his skating. He’s got to get faster or he’ll struggle as he moves on from major junior.
Alex Beaucage is a pretty raw prospect but despite that, he had his fair share of points this season. He has an NHL release. He has good size. He will need to work on his skating. He is not flashy and isn’t the most physical player. He has good hockey IQ and a good compete level – QMJHL Scout
What do you think of these players? Would you take the Blackbook’s selections or mine? Let us know in the comments section below!
