2014-15 TRAINING CAMP HOPEFULS (F)

THE LOCKS

1. Taylor Hall
2. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
3. Jordan Eberle
4. David Perron
5. Benoit Pouliot
6. Teddy Purcell
7. Nail Yakupov
8. Boyd Gordon
9. Mark Arcobello
10. Matt Hendricks

THE FORWARD CANDIDATES

1. Luke Gazdic, L. Luke Gazdic has a 100% chance of making the Oilers. Once healthy, he’ll be inserted into the lineup as a regular. The idea of a 4line featuring Gordon and Gazdic is a non-starter in my mind, the two played together at 5×5 a total of 14 minutes in 2013-14.
2. Leon Draisaitl, C. Draisaitl has a 90% chance of making the Oilers. I’d put it at 100%—especially after the Gagner trade—but there’s a chance he appears slow and ineffective in the final pre-season games. I would not bet against him making the team.
   
3. Anton Lander, C. Lander has a 75% chance of making the Oilers. He is signed to a one-way deal for 2014-15, signaling his arrival as an NHL player. The contract is for $600,000 and I don’t think he sees Oklahoma City again. If Lander doesn’t make the Oilers, I suspect he’ll be traded. 
4. Tyler Pitlick, RW. Pitlick has a 50% chance of making the Oilers. He signed a two-way deal with the Oilers recently for next season, but is waiver eligible. Based on Dallas Eakins comments on the player, the fact they brought him up (twice) last season and (most importantly) the club did not add a Daniel Winnik in summer, I think he makes the team. 
5. Jesse Joensuu, LW. Joensuu has a 50% chance of making the Oilers. He did not play well last season, but is signed to an NHL contract for 2014-15 at $950,000—it’s unlikely Edmonton will bury that contract unless Joensuu’s performance is ghastly. The chances of trading him are very good, however.
6. Will Acton, C. Acton has a 10% chance of making the Oilers. He played 30 games a year ago, and Eakins knows him—that’s a big deal for a fringe player. He was wildly unpopular among Oiler fans I talked to and his possession stats were a disaster. He spent half of his 5×5 NHL time with Luke Gazdic, so I’m not certain he is as bad as the Corsi suggests. Still, not a strong option.
7. Iiro Pakarinen, RW. Parkarinen has a 10% chance of making the team. A veteran of 230 SM-Liiga games, he scored 20 goals last season. Elite Prospects describes an interesting player: An energetic player with good
   skating and a nice frame. Possesses a good sharp, wrist shot and is a
   solid finisher. A hard worker and versatile player who can also play as a
   defenceman.
   
8. Steve Pinizzotto, RW. Pinizzotto has a 10% chance of making the team. He showed well as a late callup from the farm, and the Oilers gave up a prospect of note in Ryan Martindale to get him (although Martindale wasn’t doing much at the time). He’s 30, and that’s late to get an NHL start, but I bet he does something early to get noticed (like running over someone in the first pre-season game) and takes it from there.
9. Bogdan Yakimov, C. Yakimov has a 5% chance of making the team. The fact that he’s on the list at all may come as a surprise, but the big Russian was impressive at the WJ’s and held his own in the KHL in 2013-14. A long shot for sure, but not impossible.