Edmonton Oilers prospect pool takes a major hit before trade deadline
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The Edmonton Oilers are a team in contention for the Stanley Cup, and by nature won't have the best prospect system - but their overall stock took a significant hit in new prospect rankings.
Top prospect Matthew Savoie is making waves in the Oilers AHL system currently,, potentially even earning a call up, but he's still developed no favour in new rankings.
Oilers prospect stock takes a hit in new rankings, Matthew Savoie bumped down from last year
Analyst Scott Wheeler of the Athletic released his mid-season list of the top 100 prospects under 23 not fully established in the NHL, and the Oilers had only Matthew Savoie appear on the list - and he fell from ranked 9th to 46th.
Savoie's game has the potential to thrill when he's at his best. He's on the smaller side, though, and there have been questions about whether his offense will translate at the NHL level - and if it doesn't, what his role and position are as a natural center who many believe is an NHL winger I remain a believer in him becoming a high-tempo, top-nine forward.
- Scott Wheeler
- Scott Wheeler
Although Savoie did fall significantly in the prospect rankings, it had more to do with new prospects entering eligibility than the Oilers prospect playing poorly. Wheeler commended Savoie's skill and projects him to become at least a NHL winger on the third line or above.
Wheeler highlighted that Savoie has the raw skills to be a producer at the NHL level - he's got speed, quick hands, a great shot, and great playmaking ability.
His speed and awareness allow him to be explosive and get to open space before his opposition. Despite being smaller at 5'9, he plays with a chip on his shoulder.
Earlier this season, Oilers prospect expert Bruce Curlock called Savoie the Condors best defensive forward too. Also near the team lead in scoring on an offensively challenged team, Savoie is displaying impressive two way play. Despite being bumped down in rankings, Savoie still has plenty of promise.
Savoie down in prospect rankings, only Oilers prospect to appear in top 100
Savoie was the only Oilers prospect to appear in the top 100 NHL prospects though, which is a sign the Oilers system has very little established talent coming up.
While that shouldn't be surprising for a contending team, good scouting staffs can still identify under the radar talent. The Oilers also don't have much draft capital, so developing decent prospects becomes more important.
Not only that, when the Oilers try to float their prospects in trade this season, other teams may not be interested in much beyond Savoie.
There's other quality prospects in the Oilers system - Beau Akey, Maxim Berezkin, Paul Fischer, Olivier Rodrigue - but none grab the attention of the NHL. The Oilers need to restock the cupboards, badly.
| POLL | ||
FEVRIER 13 | 251 ANSWERS Edmonton Oilers prospect pool takes a major hit before trade deadline Do you think the Oilers prospect system is among the worst in the NHL? | ||
| Yes, it's bottom 5 | 196 | 78.1 % |
| No | 55 | 21.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
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