Oilers Beat Writer on Potential Free Agent Signing: “He’s exactly what the Oilers need!”

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!

From The Athletic (Lowetide)

Lowetide: Ideal targets for the Oilers on Day 2 of the 2021 draft

At No. 90, Edmonton could go any number of ways, but forwards will likely remain a target. At that number, here are three players who might be available and would offer substantial value:

RW Olivier Nadeau, Shawinigan Cataractes: Bourgault’s teammate led the team in scoring and has a skill set (big power winger with plus passing skills) that fits an area of need.
LC Jakub Brabenec, Brno: Tall and thin (6-foot-1, 167 pounds) he has plenty of room to grow. He’s skilled, a great passer and has good speed.
LW Eric Alarie, Moose Jaw Warriors: He has a power forward’s size and some scoring numbers that suggest he’ll score at the pro level.
Alexei Kolosov is a teenage goaltender who played well during a KHL audition in 2020-21.
LC Victor Stjernborg is a little undersized and will need to add strength but played in 30 SHL games during the 2020-21 season…
Watch for overage puck-mover Janis Moser, who could be a late-round steal.
His (Bourgault’s) comparable players from the past include a mixed bag of talents (Ryan Johnson, Sam Steel), but the comparable who Oilers fans might be most familiar with is Robert Thomas.

BLH’s Thoughts: Since this will be the late post today and the draft will be over by the time this gets published, I’ll just leave LT’s suggestions here.

For what it’s worth, Corey Pronman did a full seven round draft and here’s who he had slotted in Edmonton’s remaining picks with the players I’d probably like better in brackets who he has picked after his selection for the Oilers.

90 – Tristan Lennox, G, Saginaw-OHL (Liam Dower Nilsson, C, Frolunda-Sweden Jr.)
116 – Nikolai Makarov, LHD, CSKA-MHL (Manix Landry, C, Gatineau-QMJHL)
180 – David Gucciardi, LHD, Waterloo-USHL (Florian Elias, C, Mannheim-DEL)
186 – Justin Janicke, LW, U.S. NTDP-USHL (Jimi Suomi, LHD, Jokerit-Finland Jr.)
212 – Talyn Boyko, G, Tri-City-WHL (Bryce Montgomery, RHD, London-OHL)

From Sportsnet (Mark Spector)

Oilers play it safe with decision to pick Bourgault, pass on Wallstedt

(Tyler) Wright would never say it, but one got the impression that if Edmonton Oil King Sebastien Cossa had been available, they would have opted for the goaler ahead of the forward. But that’s a sense, not a for sure.
The third-round pick accrued on Saturday will give the Oilers picks in Rounds 3, 4, 6 (2) and 7. That third-rounder might be quite a study in this weird draft, a pandemic lottery conducted by scouts who had very few viewings of some of these players since March of 2020.

BLH’s Thoughts: Who knows why the Oilers decided to pass on Wallstedt? I imagine that Holland has some very good sources in Sweden that’d be able to give him all the information he needs. I mean Wallstedt lived down the street from Niklas Lidstrom…

I will be very interested in how the rest of this draft pans out. I wonder if Holland will continue to trade down and accrue more picks? It wouldn’t be a terrible plan at all considering the uncertainty of this year’s class.

From Lowetide.ca

OILERS AT 22: XAVIER BOURGAULT

I had him No. 14. This is the kind of selection Edmonton badly needed, and continues the run of six skill forwards we saw one year ago. His goal-scoring ability (20-20-40 in 29 games) is clear and he is a volume shooter (3.7 shots per game). He posted 1.38 points-per-game and has an NHLE of 32.1 points-per-82 games.Red Line Report: Smooth, fluid skater is very deceptive with the puck on his stick. Excellent speed and puckhandling ability. Soft hands for both giving and receiving passes. He’s a finisher from the circles in – accurate shot and doesn’t need much time or space. Can beat defenders off the rush with slick moves that he makes at top gear. Thinking man’s attacker.

BLH’s Thoughts: LT is a man of the math and whereas I’m not so much, I do trust the work that Lowetide puts into his forecasts and prognostications.

The fact of the matter is, the Oilers need more skilled forwards in their system and GoGo (that’s what I’m calling him now) is just that.

From the Edmonton Sun (Rob Tychkowski)

Polarizing moves part of Edmonton Oilers master plan

The organization is at a fork in the road that everyone knew was coming, and it’s not a subtle one. This deep into the careers of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Darnell Nurse, the only two paths left are Stanley Cup contention and abject failure.
Hyman’s deal with Edmonton is either seven or eight years, which, of course, is too long. Everyone knows that.
But who cares what it looks like in seven or eight years? If the Oilers win a Stanley Cup or two between now and then, it won’t matter.
Hyman is exactly what the Oilers need. He plays with intensity. He plays both ends of the ice. He can score. He shows up in the tough games and hard areas. He gives the Oilers a formidable top five with all the size and skill needed to succeed in the post season. And he actually wants to play here.
This won’t please the legion of armchair general managers who hate everything Holland has done so far. They would rather Holland build his team around the army of underpaid, overachieving talent willing to flock to Edmonton and sign short term deals at below market value.
At six-foot-one and 205 pounds, and coming off a stellar college season, all indications are that (Dylan) Holloway could be the kind of sleeper who makes a difference.
Tyler Benson is another candidate after putting up 138 points in 151 AHL games over the last three seasons.
The Oilers need a big, physical shutdown right shot defenceman to replace Adam Larsson and Barrie doesn’t exactly fit that mould. As good as he is offensively, a right side with Barrie, Ethan Bear and Evan Bouchard would never hold up in the playoffs.

BLH’s Thoughts: Some dark horses like Holloway or Benson are going to have to emerge every year in order for the Oilers to make this run to Lord Stanley’s cup a reality.

Funny, another reporter takes a shot at the Oilers fanbase.

At this point, I’m sold on Hyman. I understand the risk involved but I love that he’s hitting his prime as he enters his 30s and I hope that he can carry that until he’s at least 34 or 35. Even if it doesn’t though, he can easily be transitioned lower down the lineup as Edmonton’s skilled prospects get better and better.

This is how Pavel used to tell you who was #1 back in the day! Click the pic and grab a shirt or a mask!

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