5X STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS

Don’t see an “official” one so I guess we can use this?

Anyone else think we need to just cut the shit and buy out Campbell already? I don’t understand why they are dragging their feet on this. No one is gonna trade for an (aging)AHL goalie whom they would have to pay at least 2.5M for and we get more immediate cap space with a buyout anyway(likely).

Our top 6 is starting to age(Kane, Nuge, Hyman) and our D needs to be filled out with some depth. That doesn’t even include all the players we need to re-sign. The team needs to be ready on July 1 to go after an Top 6 forward and try to re-sign Vinny for our 3rd pair so at least one of a Campbell buyout/Ceci trade should have probably happened by now. We know that A LOT of deals happen on July 1 and a lot of players come off the board tomorrow so expecting to have a few days to sign someone isn’t realistic.

I usually don’t get too concerned and I may be overreacting but is anyone else a bit concerned that the Oil haven’t made any additional cap space yet with fee agency just hours away? Talk me off the ledge here!

The picks:

Draft grades

• Pronman (The Athletic): C
• Wheeler (The Athletic): "OT losers"
• Peters (FloHockey): C
• Stumbaugh (Bleacher Report): C

Excerpts & comments

The Oilers had holes to address at pretty much all positions thanks to one of the worst prospect pipelines in the league. O’Reilly should help up front. Goaltending was another need. They used their second-round pick, 64th, to select netminder Eemil Vinni. Vinni backstopped Finland to a bronze medal at the 2023 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup last summer. The Oilers didn’t pick again until the fifth round where OHL Flint left winger Connor Clattenburg was their first of five more selections. — Daniel Nugent-Bowman

...

Edmonton made an aggressive play to come up to get Sam O’Reilly. I didn’t have him rated as high as the Oilers did, but if, like a lot of London players before him, he continues to develop well, I could see myself revising that stance a year from now if he has a big offensive season in the OHL. Eemil Vinni is the most athletic goaltender in the draft and has a real chance to play games for an organization that desperately needs goaltender talent in the system. — Corey Pronman

...

The Oilers’ pick supply has been, and will continue to be, depleted in their push to win, but I thought they did fine with what they had. Sam O’Reilly with the final pick of the first round was a little higher than where I landed on him, but also where he was projected to go. He’s a smart player who could become a third-liner with some intellect. Eemil Vinni was one of the better goalies in Europe in this class, and while I wouldn’t have used a second-round pick on him (I’ve always found him a little leaky), it’s fine. ... Dalyn Wakely was my ninth-ranked overager and had a 100-point season in the O this year. He’s a player I believe was hurt by COVID-19’s lost season in Ontario. He doesn’t have dynamic elements but he works, he’s a good athlete, he can shoot it, he’s got good instincts and he was a top PKer and faceoff guy in the league this year. — Scott Wheeler

Oilers amater scouting director (Rick Pracey) comments

O'Reilly

We valued Sam extremely high and we thought there was a probability he’d be late first round,” said amateur scouting director Rick Pracey. “It was time to make a move. It was aggressive, yet we think Sam’s worth it.

Vinni

He was another prospect we were tracking quite heavily. We spent time in the playoffs watching him, tracked him for a couple years as the late birthdate (Dec. 18, 2005). We believe he has high-end athleticism, we like his read and react, his competitiveness and we believe he has a chance to be a national league goaltender. At that spot, we … that one got anxious. That was the tightest one all day, so we were quite pleased to get him.

Clattenburg

That was a player who brings something different to our organization. He plays this game hard. He’s thick, he’s strong, he’s competitive. He was a development event player, he got traded to Flint and he just took off.

Sundin

An older player, he got a late call-up. Another developmental event. He played a significant role in the Swedish Hockey League playoffs, the highest league in Sweden. Six-foot-two, competitive.

Wakely

That one scored 17 goals as a 17-year-old, he scored 30 goals as an 18-year-old and multiple playoff runs. North Bay had some quality teams and once it was his chance to be a feature player, he took the No. 1 centre role and he provided offence, 104-point level. He excelled in the playoffs and he was another pure target.

Nicholl

He’s a player that’s a little underrated. Played deeper in the lineup in London. We like his skating, we like his edges, we think there’s untapped offensive potential.

Berry

With our last pick, we’re going on niche. We went after some size, we think there’s a growth period there. We have a long runway, the play is to spend another year in the USHL and then head to college. Those bigger defencemen take time, and we had that luxury.

Nothing too in depth, but some aerial shots of rogers, shots of Nickelback members skating in old jerseys at Northlands, mentions of Oilers fans in jerseys at concerts.

https://preview.redd.it/jg6r810h9j9d1.png?width=1716&format=png&auto=webp&s=6b2a34310b7f6b7cb105b2dab58d13f2eb61a3b7

Sorted by new to keep discussion fresh.

Okay so I’m a new hockey fan. Can someone tell me how draft picks work and did you loose and get any new players.

So initially I was confused about this move because I figured the 2025 1st is more valuable being held in reserve until a rental makes itself apparent at the 2025 TDL, but after giving it a think I started to see a logic to it that might serve as a bit of a gambit to strengthen the hand for the TDL.

Essentially O’Reilly was shoved down the depth chart on a stacked London Knights team so his potential to pop off like Easton Cowan did is there and that seems to be a prevailing wisdom among some observers and he already performed very well for the time he was given. So if he pops off, he’ll become an appreciating asset for the Oilers and depending on how they wanna plan things at the TDL his value might rise to be higher than what the 2025 1st inherently would have been (Assuming all goes well we’ll probably be around late 20s to early 30s with the 2025 1st) and we’re no strangers to immediately flipping our recent prospect at the TDL like we did when we flipped Schaefer for Ekholm. If we keep him that’s a good cheap ELC value contract to help survive the McDrai and Bouch cap crunch too.

Idk where to ask this. But did my hearing fail me or did Jackson say he's confident that we get all our pending UFAs signed during his interview with Friedman?

I feel like that's a huge deal but no one is talking about it so now I'm wondering if I misheard.

Congratulations on your team drafting forward Sam O’Reilly. I’m a London Knights fan who watched him quite a bit this year, and thought I’d share my scouting report.

Strengths: Sam was a terrific addition to the Knights this year, he worked his way up the lineup to finish as the second line center on a really, really good London team.

Sam played most of his minor hockey as a defenceman, and this shows in his attention to the defensive side of the puck. He is one of the more reliable draft eligible forwards I’ve seen defensively. He played heavy minutes at both 5 on 5 and on the penalty kill, as London used a short bench for a lot of the year. Sam has a fantastic stick, and uses it in passing lanes, stick checking, and wins a lot of faceoffs as well.

O’Reilly was also a very solid offensive contributor, and scored a number of timely goals in the Knights’ long playoff run to the memorial cup final. He’s not overly ambitious with his attempted deking and stick handling, but does have good hands when he decides to take defenders on. Sam has a good wrist shot, particularly from close areas, as he can get a lot of power on shots with little time and space.

He’s a great forechecker, and uses his size very effectively. He can cycle pucks below the goal line, is a solid passer, and laid some thunderous body checks at times.

While his offensive production wasn’t mind-blowing, keep in mind that he was hardly ever featured on the Knights top ranked power play, so almost all of his production is even-strength. In the future, I could see him operating as a net front presence, or in the bumper spot.

Weaknesses: Sam is a pretty complete player for his age, but I think some might question his ability to be a top end offensive contributor at the NHL level. This is a fair critique in my mind, as we simply have not seen consistent stretches of Sam being relied heavily upon for offensive production. He could improve his skating, but he often didn’t need to skate fast due to good positioning.

If Easton Cowan makes the Leafs next year, O’Reilly will likely have a large role with London, and be featured on the top power play, which will truly test the limits of his offensive creation.

At times Sam’s physicality caused him to take some penalties, but a bit more discipline often comes with age.

Honestly, Sam is so well rounded that I couldn’t come up with anything else

Summary:

I think this is a safe pick at the end of the first round, or in the second round. I’d be very surprised if he doesn’t make the NHL team at some point.

He does have a limited ceiling to me as a solid middle six forward, who can play some center and kill penalties. I don’t see him as an NHL power play guy, or point per game player (I could be wrong, I just don’t see it).

Because of the Knights connection I would imagine he will get comparisons to Easton Cowan, but I don’t think he has quite the same offensive potential.

Overall, I believe after another year or two of Development in London, and potentially an AHL year, O’Reilly will be a solid middle-six contributor, and a pain in the butt to play against for years.

Player comparison: Calle Jarnkrok, Mark Stone (as a ceiling)

Feel free to ask any questions! Seems like a great kid from all accounts

Note: Love the fit with Edmonton!

Would be a good upgrade to the defense

Edit: I guess it’s a bad idea 😂😂

I hope he stays on for at least another season but with his family in New York I could see a world where he might not.

If anyone is watching and wants to chat?