Edmonton Oilers: Drafting with the McKeen’s Draft Guide

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.

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 continue with the McKeen’s draft guide, which you can find here. What you do with them is you pay $12.99 for a 3-month subscription and that includes three digital magazines in a PDF format (2019 IIHF World Juniors Guide, McKeen’s NHL Draft Guide, and McKeen’s Hockey Yearbook) plus exclusive online content and updates according to their website. The subscription is recurring though, so you can cancel that anytime through your McKeen’s account or by emailing them.

The Oilers have the no.8, 38, 85, 100, 162, and 193 picks in the draft and this is who McKeen’s has ranked at those numbers.

#8 – Peyton Krebs – C – 5’11” 180lbs – Kootenay (WHL) – 67gp 17g 37a 54pts 40PIM

When I first started looking into this player, I have to be honest, I wasn’t impressed. But that was before I learned about the quality of his teammates and before I’d gotten a chance to watch him a bit more. Now that I’ve done that, I wouldn’t be disappointed if the Oilers selected Krebs.

The things I  like about his game are things like his ability to make plays in an unorthodox manner. He’s an unpredictable playmaker and what I mean by that is that just when you think you can predict the sort of pass he’s going to make or how to beat the defender 1v1, he does something completely different. He’s got a tricky little backhand dish that he likes to use that really fools the opposition.

Other aspects of Krebs’ game I think are outstanding are his skating, his defensive awareness, and his tenacity. The Ice captain plays a 200ft game very soundly and he’s like a little waterbug out there, so fast, slick, and elusive. This is definitely the kind of player you put out with a minute left and you want to protect a lead or conversely, try to score a late one.

It’s not all good though, Krebs does have some flaws. Sometimes he tries to do a bit too much on the ice and maybe that’s a product of playing for such a poor team in Kootenay. His shooting can sometimes be erratic despite how lightning-quick his release is and then there’s the issue of the sliced Achilles tendon. Better than a torn one mind you, but are we looking at the next Claude Giroux or the next Robbi Fabbri?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMJjAj3v8ks

BLH’s Pick: Matthew Boldy – LW – 6’1″ 192lbs – USNTDP (USHL/NCAA) (ranked 12th)

As I said in the first segment of this series, I’m a HUGE Boldy fan because I love his all-around game. He’s the most complete player in the draft and the Oilers need help on the wings, especially the left wing. He’s bigger and smarter than Krebs but not as quick and flashy.

“There have been USNTDP classes in recent years wherein a player the class of Boldy would have been the top player around. Most of them actually. He has the size of a burgeoning power forward, but the overall game of a skilled one. There isn’t anything that he doesn’t do well, making him a legitimate five-tool winger.” – McKeen’s

#38 – Nolan Foote – LW – 6’3″ 190lbs – Kelowna (WHL) – 66gp 36g 27a 63pts 62PIM

Nolan Foote is your typical power forward. His skating is, at best, average but he’s a very powerful hockey player with a deadly shot. He’s an industrious worker who is tough to knock off the puck but is pretty much a north/south player due to his skating.

I’d say for a team that loves to implement the cycle down low, Foote would be a good addition to their squad.

This season the brother of Tampa’s Cal Foote and son of Ex-Av Adam Foote played through a hand injury and some have wondered if that is the reason why his production wasn’t as high as expected. His team unexpectedly missed the playoffs as well, so there’s that to consider in addition.

BLH’s Pick: Nils Hoglander – RW – 5’9″ 185lbs – Rogle (SHL) (ranked 41st)

This little whippersnapper would be a fan favorite due to how he plays the game. He LOVES to lay guys out despite being so small and he’s pretty good at it too. He’s so very quick and dangles defenders out of their jocks regularly. He’s just the kind of guy that’ll provide the depth scoring a good team is looking for. When they’re paying the boys in their top-6 the big bucks, they’ll have Hoglander on the cheap down the lineup providing offense and entertainment.

It would behoove the Oilers to add as many exciting players to its organization as possible I feel. Hoglander isn’t just electrifying, he also works his ass off and in a blue-collar city like Edmonton, the fans would really appreciate this little Swede.  

#85 – Vojtech Strondala – C – 5’7″ 155lbs – Horacka (CZE 2) – 33gp 8g 15a 23pts 14PIM

Right off the bat, I’ve got reservations with a 155lb centerman but let’s set that aside for a moment. Strondala is VERY quick. He’s got some of the quickest hands in the draft as the puck is never on his stick for long. He likes to make rapid passes to get the puck up the ice and that’s where his tremendous motor, and dogged determination kicks in. He’s not the most offensively gifted when it comes to scoring goals. Most of them come from goal-mouth scrambles apparently, but he’ll work his ass off to do what it takes to either stop a goal from being scored against or produce one for his team.

Unless he puts on 20 or so pounds, he’ll probably never be strong enough to make it at the NHL level. But where there’s a will, there’s a way and Strondala’s will isn’t the question here.

BLH’s Pick: Danil Gutik – LW – 6’3″ 179lbs – Yaroslavl (RUS-JR) – 38gp 5g 8a 13pts 12PIM (ranked 90th)

Folks from Alberta might remember this fella from the Hlinka/Gretzky and the WJAC tournaments where he and Vasili Podkolzin ripped it up. One of the younger players available in this draft, he put up eight points in 11 games combined at those tourneys. The hands, the shot, the passing, the stickhandling, it’s all there… The line on him is that he’s extremely talented, one of the most talented in this draft class actually. 

Unfortunately, he might fall into the “enigmatic” category which tends to scare a lot of teams away from Russians, the compete level isn’t really there. The other thing that might scare folks away is his skating. Apparently, Gutik’s skating mechanics are not there, so you have to wonder if he could get his that portion of his game to at least an acceptable level and if he brought up his compete level just a bit more, what kind of player the team taking him would have; because he’s the kind of player you will see on highlight reels making asses out of defensemen that give him too much respect on the ice. Imagine that on Leon Draisaitl’s wing? I mean, when’s the last time Edmonton had a real dangler on the wing? Eberle? Hemsky? He might be the ultimate gamble. 

“He’s an elite puck handler and he completely dictates the play with possession. He’s difficult to hold to the outside as his spatial awareness and creativity are off the charts.” – Future Considerations

#100 – Antti Saarela – RW – 5’11” 183lbs – Lukko (FIN) – 24gp 2g 8a 10pts 20PIM

Saarela spent half of this season playing for Luuko’s junior team and their men’s league team where he scored at nearly the same rate (7g 8 15pts 21PIM for Luuko jr).

He’s a positionally flexible player but has spent most of his time playing centre or right-wing. Saarela plays with a lot of energy and urgency in his game, he’s a fantastic forechecker, he skates well, and he’s someone that you can play in all situations. A responsible and supportive player defensively he is as well.

Aleksi’s brother is not a line driver though (not sure who’s expecting a line driver at this point in the draft anyhow), his shot velocity isn’t amazing, he lacks strength, and he’s a bit undisciplined. I reckon we’ve got the makings of a solid bottom-6 winger who can contribute on the PK.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ2MyCd-zoQ

BLH’s Pick: Shane Pinto – C – 6’2″ 192lbs – Lincoln/Tri-City (USHL) – 56gp 28g 31a 59pts 63PIM (ranked 105th)

From all the reports I’ve read, it’s a shame that Pinto wasn’t included on this season’s USNTDP squad. He’s a very balanced player in that he does a lot of things well and none very poorly. Some of the attributes that one might notice right away with him is his anticipation. Pinto is a really smart player that can see the way a play is developing before it does. His wrist/snap shot is pro-ready, he’s got the strength, hockey IQ, and positional flexibility that coaches at the next level will really love. 

He’s not the most physically engaging player, but he doesn’t shy away from it. He could probably work on his defensive awareness in his own zone. I reckon he’d be a good pick for the Oilers as he’s pretty much flown under the radar until recently, I feel like with his size and toolbox, he could turn out be at the very least a depth scorer and at best, a two-way middle-6 forward. Edmonton could use as much depth as possible. 

“He definitely has an NHL body. He’s got hands, skating ability and a good shot. He’s effective when he’s playing a power game, and he can make plays down low.” – The Hockey News

#162 – Cameron Rowe – G – 6’2″ 203lbs – USNTDP (U18) – 30gp 16W 10L 3.40GAA .875SV%

In today’s NHL, teams are looking for goaltenders that are calm, collected, and don’t unnecessarily expend energy when stopping the puck. Rowe’s game is quite the opposite of that. Fundamentally, he’s a fine netminder, and he’s got the technicals to be a good goalie, but it seems that all breaks down when the puck is shot. He played about as many games as Spencer Knight this year but let in nearly a goal more per game than him (3.05 vs. 2.21).

BLH’s Pick: Santeri Hatakka – D – 6’0″ 175lbs – Jokerit (FIN-JR) – 43gp 4g 9a 13pts 30PIM (ranked 176th)

I watched Hatakka at the U18s recently and he was a defender that stood out for me for the Finns. Apart from having a really fun name to say, this guy has a cannon for a slapper. He’s not a flashy defender like Antonni Honka or Lassi Thomson, but at this point in the draft, he’s a VERY solid two-way option. Lacks a bit of creativity, but to be honest, I’m not so worried about that. If he can make low-risk plays consistently and he has the skills and tools to be an effective defenseman at the next level, great! 

“He’s not a defenseman with a super-high upside, but he does just about everything well on the ice. He’s solid at both ends of the rink; in his zone he can play a physical game and be tough to play against along the wall and in front of the net. He has good speed going forward when rushing the puck or jumping into the play.” – Hockeyprospect.com

#193 – Ethan De Jong – RW – 5’10” 170lbs – Quinnipiac (NCAA) – 38gp 10g 15a 25pts 8PIM

I’m going to be honest here, I couldn’t find any scouting reports for this player online or in any of my draft guides for this year, but from what I can gather; he’s a small skilled playmaking forward. Pretty typical for the Junior A level in Canada. He lead the Prince George Spruce Kings two seasons ago in scoring and then went on to finish this year 6th on the Quinnipiac team in scoring.

BLH’s Pick: Martin Hugo Has – D – 6’4″ 192lbs – Tappara (FIN-JR) – 37gp 9g 7a 16pts 38PIM (ranked 204th)

A project player, more or less. The right-shot Has’ best attribute is his top-end speed. He’s got a fairly good slap shot from the point but he takes his time getting it off. In terms of defense, he’s solid. When he needs to be physical he is, when he needs to be more cerebral, the Czech defender can play that way too. He’ll need to improve on the more technical aspects of his skating in order to make the jump to North America, but for now, marinating in Tappara’s system (as he’s been doing for two seasons now) is as good a plan as there is. 

I like him for the Oilers because of his skating ability, his size, and for the fact that it could be a while before he would even come to North America, thus not allowing the team to throw him to the wolves before he’s ready. 

“He has decent footwork, but still has work to do in terms of his agility and backwards skating. Once he starts rushing the puck and reaches his top speed, it can be very impressive. He has good confidence with the puck on his stick; he likes to rush it out of his zone with his good skating abilities.” – Hockeyprospect.com

What do you think of McKeen’s picks vs. mine? Do you agree? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter (@beerleagueheroe)!