Oilers sign NCAA UFA F Drake Caggiula

Just last night, news broke that the Edmonton Oilers were the winners in the Drake Caggiula “sweepstakes.”

Caggiula is a 5’10, 185 lb Forward who scored 127 points in 162 NCAA games and was just named this year’s NCAA Frozen Four MVP after leading the North Dakota Fighting Hawks to a national title this past season. Scouting reports have shown that Caggiula is certainly a player that fits into what the Oilers are building:

A smart, skilled, and gritty buzzsaw of a winger that gets up and down the ice with focused drive. His mobility is elite, and his first three steps propel him to top speed quickly. Defensively, he is very active and can contain the opposition by limiting their chances in the slot. Offensively, he can be uncontainable, consistently displaying excellent vision and individual puck skills; can act as both the passer or the shooter in any given situation. An all-around game, rooted in his strong will to win and his ability to make the players around him better, is what he brings each and every night. Character is something built through tough situational battles and having to step up at key moments as a leader. Caggiula has the capacity to be that leader on and off the ice. [EP]

Bob McKenzie had a great write up on Caggiula last year here.

Interesting: Belief is Caggiula was down on EDM at some point during the process. But he loved his visit and was wowed by the new arena.

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) May 7, 2016

Despite originally being drafted by the Erie Otters in the OHL, he opted to take the less popular route and commit to the NCAA. He ended up passing up the opportunity to play with Connor McDavid, but now he has the chance to backtrack on it by committing to the Oilers.

The details have not yet been released, but I would imagine it is either a two-year or a three-year ELC deal.

*’tis a two-year ELC deal for Caggiula. No details have been released as of the publishing of this article. Copper and Blue are assuming that it’ll be a maxed out bonus deal as well.*

Where does he fit? Well TSN’s Frank Seravelli feels he immediately becomes the Oilers top F prospect, and has Top Six NHL potential. The Oilers have heard a similar story in the past about top NCAA’s prospects being the “real deal” when now Pittsburgh Penguin Justin Schultz was signed out of the NCAA.

At the end of the day, it is still unknown where Caggiula fits into the Oilers. His NHLE suggest he could go 22-22-44, but at this point in time he is nothing more than a solid addition to the Bakersfield Condors.

After training camp and the preseason, we will have a much better idea as to where he fits in.