MVN - Most Valuable Network

Burke and Lowe, Oiler Prospect Report

The feud between Edmonton Oiler GM Kevin Lowe and Anaheim Duck GM Brian Burke took another turn a few days back when Burke filed a tampering charge against Lowe for his comments about Duck winger Corey Perry.  I actually lost much respect for Burke when he did this.  The guy slags Lowe time after time and when Lowe fires back the guy runs to Bettman.  Isn’t Burke this tough guy who can take a punch? Even if it is tampering (and I have no idea if it is or isn’t) Burke’s behaviour is remarkably similar to the kid in the school yard who runs to the teacher after picking on another kid and that kid finally fights back. 

Anyways, the future of the Edmonton Oilers does look pretty good right now with guys like Gagner, Nilsson and Gilbert but there are some concerns.  For example, over the last little while the Oilers gave contracts to Marc Pouliot and J.F. Jacques, two players who I don’t think are very good.  The fact that the Oilers gave Pouliot a one-way deal means that they think he’s ready based on his performance on the final 15 games of last season (I thought the other 60 some games counted as well but I guess I was wrong in this case).  I really don’t know what the plan is with Pouliot because he doesn’t score, check, or hit.  In 78 career games he has six goals but he did put up decent numbers with the Flacons last season with 47 points in 55 games.  Jacques got a two-way deal but he hasn’t done anything with the opportunities given to him.  In 55 career games he has no points, not even a cheesy second assist.  Anyways, here are the top prospects in the organization.

1.Gilbert Brule, 21, C- Last season Brule struggle offensively with the Blue Jackets scoring only one goal in 61 games.  In junior he had a dominating two-way game but it hasn’t translated to the NHL.  In the AHL last season he had 10 points in 16 regular season games but only 5 points in 13 playoff games.  He was ranked 14th in Future Watch by the Hockey News and is still only 21 years old.  He’ll likely get a chance to crack the Oilers lineup in the fall, if not he should get called up during some point in the season.

2. Riley Nash, C, 19- I still can’t believe that the Oilers traded up to get this guy.  The guy has completed his first season at Cornell where he had 32 points in 36 games with 12 goals.  However, he is playing at a school which is not regarded as having a strong hockey program and also has a soft schedule.  Sure Cornell is Ivy League but when someone is trying to make the NHL they don’t go to school to get good grades, they go to play hockey.  The guy plays in the BCHL when he could play in the WHL and then goes to the NCAA and plays at a school with a weaker hockey program in a weak division. Got to love how this guy challenges himself. He’s ranked 58th overall in Future Watch.

3. Taylor Chorney, D, 20- The guy is a small defenseman who plays at the University of North Dakota, a hockey school. The Oilers are apparently happy with his development but his numbers slipped last season as he went from 31 points to 24.  He’s 20 years old and will be playing in Springfield this upcoming season.  He still needs to bulk up and will likely won’t be called up this season.

4. Rob Schremp, C, 21- The guy can score but MacT doesn’t feel he is strong or fast enough to make it in the NHL which is why he never gets called up and when he does he doesn’t play.  The kid had 76 points in 78 games with the Falcons last season and played in the AHL all-star game.  Schremp is still only 21 years old and should continue to develop even if he doesn’t make the club next fall.  It seems as though the Oilers drafted the guy eons ago but the kid is still a legitimate prospect.

5. Jeff Petry, D, 19- Petry played at Michigan State last season and had 24 points in 42 games as a rookie.   He’s in a good program even though he’s a ways down on the teams depth chart.  He’s a good skater, has a good shot, and makes a good first pass.  He’s 19 so he’s a ways away from seeing any time in the pros.

Here’s the rest:

Jeff Deslauriers, G, 23, Springfield, J.F. Jacques, LW, 22, Springfield, Liam Reddox, LW, 22 Springfield, M.A. Pouliot, C, 22 Oilers, Theo Peckham, D, 20, Springfield, Devan Dubnyk, G, 21, Springfield.

Dubnyk is in a tough situation because the Oilers are giving priority to Deslauriers for playing time.  The former World Junior backup to Justin Pogge is in tough.  With Reasoner and Glencross gone there are some roster spots open come training camp in September.  The problem is that besides Schremp and to a certain extent Brule, none of these guys are projected to be goal scorers in the NHL.  By the way, 15th overall pick from the 2007 draft Alex Plante (the guy they picked ahead of 19th ranked Alexei Cherepanov and St. Louis Blue forward David Perron) of the Calgary Hitmen didn’t even make the Future Watch list which is concerning.  The guy was hurt in training camp and never got on track.  In 36 games with the Hitmen last season he had two points and didn’t score a goal in 15 playoff games and had a disappointing four points.  Former first rounder Ryan O’Mara didn’t make the list either.  I wouldn’t write these guys off as they are still pretty young but right now their progress isn’t encouraging to say the least.

Edmonton native Jason Strudwick was signed by the Oilers (see, they can sign a free agent) to give them some toughness and some depth on the blueline. 

This entry was posted on Monday, July 14th, 2008 at 11:19 pm and is filed under off-season. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.