Edmonton #Oilers Talk: The 2016 Draft Class, Remember Nail Yakupov?, and What’s Up with Josh Archibald?

Coming from an Edmonton Oilers point of view, BLH provides you with excerpts from the latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation from all of the internet’s best sites including Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, The Athletic, TSN and more!

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LAST CHANCE FOR RASANEN

THE CURRENT STATE OF THE 2016 DRAFT

No. 4 overall RW Jesse Puljujarvi. Edmonton Oilers winger coming off his best season (15 goals) and one year away from his first significant contract.
No. 32 overall LW Tyler Benson. Bakersfield Condors winger is waiver eligible this fall, that could be the difference in what looks like a competitive battle for No. 4 LW and extra forwards. Among Devin Shore, Brendan Perlini, Dylan Holloway and Benson, it’s not clear from here who (or how many) makes the club.
No. 63 LHD Markus Niemelainen. He appeared to be a coin flip for an entry deal, finally signing his on April 30, 2020 (almost four years after he was drafted). Not much was shaking for him until he arrived in Bakersfield for the 2020-21 season. Now his arrows are headed in a good direction and he appears to have a shot at some NHL games. An absolute late-breaking 6.03 defenseman.
No. 84 LHD Matthew Cairns. He was an unusual choice on draft day, I wondered how many CHL talents were still on the board when he was picked. Answer: Josh Mahura (41 games), Victor Mete (199), Riley Stillman (56), Max Lajoie (62).
No. 91 RHD Filip Berglund. A two-way talent who probably spends 2021-22 in Bakersfield, but there’s a clear path to the NHL if he can play.
No. 123 G Dylan Wells. He posted a .909 save percentage in his first full pro season for the Condors, but in just 12 games and his ECHL totals (.912) were about the same. In 2019-20 when injuries hit the AHL farm club, it was Stuart Skinner who landed the big job in Bakersfield.
No. 149 LW Graham McPhee. Signed an AHL deal when he turned pro, but is now a free agent.
No. 153 RC Aapeli Rasanen. He had a similar early trajectory to McPhee, but last season in the Liiga he blossomed. I don’t think they’ll sign him. He’s an interesting player though. RHC, wins faceoff, scored well in the Liiga.
No. 183 RHD Vincent Desharnais. As crazy as it sounds, I could see him signing an NHL contract. He is a substantial part of the Condors defence, Eric Rodgers estimated his 2020-21 icetime in Bakersfield at 17:45 (fourth on the team among regulars).

BLH’s Thoughts: Well, this draft class almost produced a big fat goose egg until Pulju re-emerged, but still, at this point, he might be the only player drafted by the Oilers in 2016 that goes on to have a lengthy NHL career.

If I had to go out on a limb, maybe Tyler Benson’s work ethic will find him a job with an NHL team and Markus Niemelainen needs to have a really good year in Bakersfield this season in order to earn himself another deal with the Oilers.

As for the rest of the names on that list above, Rasanen could be a wildcard but everybody else is a massive longshot to play in the NHL, in my opinion.

Oil on Whyte (Lynch)

Oilers Regular Season Countdown: Nail Yakupov Days Until The Season

From 2012 to 2014 Nail Yakupov wore number 64 with the Edmonton Oilers, the team’s 2012 first overall pick was not the best player to ever skate for the team, but he did put up 111 points over the course of four seasons with the Oilers from 2012-2016.

BLH’s Thoughts: I miss Yak. I remember watching him at the World Juniors that were in Calgary and even though he was ill, whenever he touched the puck he was electrifying. That Russian team also featured Andrei Vasilevskiy and Evgeny Kuznetsov (who was head and shoulders the best player at the tournament that year).

I always thought if the Oilers hadn’t attempted to transform him into a 2-way winger, that they’d have had an excellent goal-scoring winger on their hands, but it wasn’t to be. Dallas Eakins and Todd McLellan simply didn’t have time for him and he washed out of the league after stops in Colorado and St. Louis.

This past year he found himself a champion as his club won the KHL championship.

Oilersnation (Laing)

Edmonton Oilers player review and 2021-22 preview: Josh Archibald

Last year he appeared in 52 games scoring seven goals and 13 points.
In his first year with the Oilers, Archibald got caved in analytically at 5×5 (44.43 CF%, 42.20 xGF%). This, however, saw some improvements this year. His shot attempt share rose to 46.72 percent while his expected goals rose to 47.90. His actual goals percentage rose, too, from 34.55 in 2019-20 to 43.18 this past year.
At even-strength, he contributed offence at a 10 percent rate below league average and defence at a one percent rate below league average.
Archibald is a strong penalty killer for the Oilers and spent the most time there of any forward on the team. With him on the ice, the Oilers allowed 6.36 goals against per hour
He’ll be expected to take on more of a defensive role in the bottom-six, likely starting the majority of his shifts in the neutral and defensive zones, much like has been the case the last two years.
He’ll continue to kill penalties this year but might see a bit of a reduction in that role with the acquisitions of Zach Hyman and Warren Foegele.

BLH’s Thoughts: Barring the worst season of his career, I fully expect Josh Archibald to have a really good year and earn another deal with the team. He’s one of the team’s best PKers and Coach Tippett trusts him enough to have him on the ice every time the Oilers are protecting a lead late in the game.

The Daily Goal Horn

NHL Rumors: Henrik Lundqvist back on ice; Kirill Kaprizov to KHL not an idle threat; and Zibanejad for Eichel?

Henrik Lundqvist appears to be starting his comeback. The 39 year-old netminder was ineligible to participate in free-agency because he had not been medically cleared.
- Where will he land?
- Rangers goalie Alexandar Georgiev is rumored to be on the trade block. If they trade him, there’s a growing belief the Rangers could bring back The King for one more season and give him the proper send off he deserves.
Rick Carpiniello who covers the Rangers for The Athletic decided it would be fun to tweet and run.
- “Just tossing this out there as I head for some vacation time,” he began. “DO NOT be surprised if Mika Zibanejad is in the deal that ultimately brings Jack Eichel to the Rangers.”
- Mika Zibanejad has a full no-move clause that he will not waive to go to Buffalo. Nor would the Sabres take on a player that will walk next summer in a trade for their franchise player.