My first FIST! A few bolded players I don't know anything about. I will have to look into that.

I don't know whether Samuelsson will still be around but he looks like a solid second round pick for the Oil.

It looks like his game will translate real well to NHL

I would not at all be disappointed if we left the draft with a top-pair calibre defenseman and Alex Galchenyuk, in exchange for Yakupov and some spare change.

The defensemen rankings have been up and down like the sun ... too risky IMO. Galchenyuk and RNH seem like an enviable 1-2 combination at C.

Short of that it's got to be Nail.

Agreed. He seems like he has the sandpaper the Oil need. I wonder if he would be a stretch at 32?

I'm very interested to see how Ryan Murray does at the WC. If he impresses, I could see the Oilers taking him at 1.

And as for Samuelsson, I agree. If the Oil could snag him at 32 I would be a happy fan.

I like H.Samuelson at 31. My thought is that the Oilers need to talk to Tbay about getting one of thier 2cd roundrs. I like Mitch Moroz just as much as I like HS. Thier games are silmilar and they would bring the size,skill and character the Oilers need going forward on thier 3rd and 4th lines.

The Oilers will be almost set in thier top 6 if they draft Yakupov. I still would like a center with more size moving forward on the 2cd line. But as has been discussed previously teams can win with a center of Gagne's size on thier 2cd line.

@ Goilers

Then I hope he falls flat on his face.

lol

I've been thinking the same thing. I started watching Samuelsson just after he joined the Oil Kings and pretty quickly decided that he was the guy I wanted the Oilers to target with either an acquired late-1st round pick or their 2nd round pick (31st probably with New Jersey having to forfeit). Ever since then, as much as I enjoy seeing what he can do, part of me is hoping that he gets suspended or does something to turn scouts off of him.

He is a nasty, unpleasant character and I have a strong feeling that he will dominate the WHL next season.

Players that I think the Oilers would do well to target are Samuelsson and Moroz, as mentioned by earlier commenters.

Another player that has stuck out to me is Cody Corbett. Whenever I see him play all I can think is "he looks like a Detroit player, simple, efficient, intelligent".

Is this the year to abandon the draft and shoot for the playoffs by dealing Yakupov ? I doubt it , with MacKinnon the prize for next years futility .

^^^Seriously? You are all ready talking about another last place finish

@ Fresh Mess

If they do trade down, with the dropoff after Yakupov, the player the Oilers get probably doesn't make the club next season/or plays a minimalist role barely making a difference. If this were to occur, they're left with the same old 29th place squad they had last year.

The Oilers best/youngest players are too young to carry the load themselves, with questionable goaltending and the veteran support on this club, it isn't worth a boatload of.....could very well be same old same old next year.

LT, how did you pick the ones in bold letters as ones the Oilers may have a strong interest in?

Nick Walters made the combine.... wow

Just glancing at each bolded player, I would guess that he took the concensus top three forwards, three defenders and then the WHL players that play on teams that MacGregor has shown an interest in over previous seasons. As for some of the others (Winther, Vesey, Sissons, and Matteau) I really have no idea, at least not without having the time to look into their scouting reports and such.

I suspect that the Oilers are going to go BPA in round one and then take a look at a heavy, offensive, nasty power forward in round two. Round three, because of the two picks I suspect we'll be seeing a forward/defenseman combination of picks (love to see them get Moroz and Corbett here, but I'm a little biased by the Oil Kings proximity).

Again, these are just my guesses based on many hours of reading LT's work and poring over the Oilers' draft records these past few years.

Okay, I had a little time, so here are the copy and pasted scouting reports on some of these "other" names.

*All were taken from thescoutingreport.com and are dated from January of this year.

LC Stefan Matteau – USNTDP (USHL)

DOB: Feb. 23/94 | Shoots: L | Height: 6.01 | Weight: 210lbs

Matteau’s game translates well to the professional ranks which makes him valuable as a relatively safe bet in this range. He has pro size as well as an effective skill set that will suit the physical rigors of the NHL. Matteau shoots well, makes the simple play with the puck and brings a physical edge to his game. What Matteau lacks in pure foot speed, he makes up with an efficient skating stride that should allow him to gain quickness as he continues to get stronger.

RC Colton Sissons – Kelowna (WHL)

DOB: Nov. 5/93 | Shoots: R | Height: 6.01 | Weight: 189lbs

With good size and a lethal shot, Sissons undoubtedly projects on the high end as a top-6 winger in the NHL. His game is not without question marks, though – as he currently has a team-worst -15 rating. Sissons could also benefit from using his teammates better as evidenced by his low assist totals, however has certainly shown a knack for being a hard worker on the ice. Sissons was recently named captain of his team for the upcoming CHL top prospects game, which proves his ability to lead by example on the ice.

G Malcolm Subban – Belleville (OHL)

DOB: Dec. 21/93 | Catches: L | Height: 6.01 | Weight: 188lbs

With his style of play in net, Subban seems a lot like a throwback QMJHL goalie from the 90′s with his lightning quick reflexes and athleticism in goal. After playing Midget hockey as a 16-year-old, Subban has finally started to fill out his lanky frame and the increased strength has made a big difference in his play. Subban has very good lateral ability and does a great job of making recovery saves on 2nd and 3rd chances. He has great hands and does a good job of making saves in traffic and using his quick reflexes to make saves that few goaltenders can make.

LW Tanner Pearson – Barrie (OHL)

DOB: Aug. 10/92 | Shoots: L | Height: 6.00 | Weight: 200lbs

While his pace has slowed slightly, Tanner Pearson continues to be an offensive threat every night. A classic late bloomer, Pearson found chemistry early in the season with the rest of his team and has not looked back since. Pearson thinks the game on an extremely high level; he consistently makes great decisions with the puck and is able to thread passes through traffic with ease. He also does a great job in putting himself in great position, he is a player who the puck just seems to find time and time again. While Pearson will be eligible for his 3rd time this season, he has emerged as a legitimate NHL prospect and with no glaring weaknesses in his game, he’s earned his spot in our rankings.

RC Mike Winther – Prince Albert (WHL)

DOB: Jul. 9/94 | Shoots: R | Height: 5.11 | Weight: 175lbs

Mike Winther is the kind of competitor that every coach loves to have. With an excellent shot, second to-none work ethic, and excellent two-way play, Winther certainly has all of the tools to be a very strong player at the next level. The biggest issue in Winther’s game right now is simply strength – standing at 5’10” and listed at 170 pounds – Winther will certainly need to get stronger to compete at the next level. Even with his small stature, however, Winther plays a fearless kind of game as he goes into the hard areas and competes with players much larger than him. As the season has worn on, Winther has seemingly only gotten better and been a shining star on a generally poor team.

RW Henrik Samuelsson – Edmonton (WHL)

DOB: Feb. 7/94 | Shoots: R | Height: 6.02 | Weight: 195lbs

Samuelsson was a mid season pickup for the Oil Kings from Modo in Sweden after spending last season playing with the US U17 Team. Samuelsson is a gritty forward who wins board battles and excels at maintaining offensive zone puck possession. He can play center or the wing equally effectively and is at his best below the hash marks where he uses his size to his advantage. It was a rough first half of the year for Samuelsson, but after a quick start with Edmonton, don’t be surprised if you see the big power forward as a big riser in the Final rankings.

LD Cody Corbett – Edmonton (WHL)

DOB: Dec. 14/93 | Shoots: L | Height: 6.00 | Weight: 210lbs

Corbett has been a big-time addition for the Oil Kings this season and has improved considerably already throughout the first half of the season. He has a tremendous shot and does a great job quarterbacking the power play. Corbett is strong positionally and for a two-way player, does a good job of battling in the corners and handling physical forwards. Corbett continues to be a player who has flown under the radar a bit in the shadows of his teammates Griffin Reinhart and Mark Pysyk, but his blend of intelligence and physicality makes for an enticing package moving forward.

As for Jimmy Vesey there really isn't much out there on the interwebs (out of respect for LT I won't call it the Al Gore). I found a link to an East Coast amateur hockey site that had a list of local products and their NHL Central Scouting ranking where Vesey was listed as a B rated LW out of Belmont Hill school. He is 6'1", 200 lbs and was ranked 77th of NA skaters by Central Scouting back in early April. This could be the Oilers pulling a bit of sleight of hand and counter-intelligence, or they may really feel that they have got a Boston-area stud forward here. The Oilers have seemed to like to take an unknown Eastern product in the last couple of drafts but we all remember Troy Hesketh so we shall see.

If LT is right and these are the names that the Oilers are most interested in it would certainly appear that Center and Wing are their two most obvious areas of focus for this draft, and understandably so. They have a glaring need for depth center prospects that can develop in junior (or overseas) for another year or two and be insurance to the development of Pitlick, Hamilton and Hartikainen.

The only other name on that list that stands out to me is Tomas Hertl as a possibility. MacGregor hasn't put much into the Czech leagues lately, but then again he had never drafted someone from Germany before last year and Rieder looks alright.

Artur Gavrus might be intersting, he was 5'9" and 150lbs when he was drafted in bantam last year. He might be a good pick for Montreal or Calgary.

One last thing, I don't see any Slovakians on the list, so can we assume that the Oilers are at the very least hiding their next Slovakian tall-tree defensive dynamo?!