Our first WHL prospect, Jake Chiasson, comes into our countdown at #12.

If you ever want the literal definition of the mid-round draft pick, Jake Chiasson is your guy. No question the player has some areas requiring improvement, owever, there are legitimate skills that flash every game. With most mid-round picks, Chiasson doesn’t flash quite as much as you like. However, if he did, he probably would have been first-night draft consideration.

Chiasson’s 2022-23 year was a story of two seasons. One before he was traded from the Brandon Wheat Kings and the other when he arrived with the Saskatoon Blades. To say that his first half was dreadful would be an understatement. His splits were 10-18-28 in 37 games and a paltry -20 on the plus/minus. Yes, plus/minus is a flawed stat, but it is reflective of Chiasson’s struggles. It goes without saying had Chiasson continued at that pace, he likely would have fallen from last year’s ranking.

So it was a blessing when Chiasson was traded to the Saskatoon Blades for their playoff run in the WHL. In his 33 games with the Blades, he went 10-20-30 and was plus 5. Chiasson looked much more like the player the Oilers drafted in 2021. Engaged, physical, defensively conscious and a player who can chip in offensively and do so in a spectacular manner. Here is a clip that surely was part of the reason why Chiasson was drafted by the Oilers that comes from before his trade.

Nothing spectacular, but a hardworking player who has enough quality skills to make a difference on every shift. Chiasson lost some of that mojo the first half of the season. When he was moved to Saskatoon, the spark came back. That was great news because as mentioned above, Jake Chiasson has some serious hands and vision. This is one of my favourite clips of the year.

Chiasson can create some serious offensive opportunities both for himself and him. This goal was no fluke. Look at some more clips below.

Jake Chiasson has the hands and the vision to put up points. What he does to often is defer to his teammates or not trust himself. Here is a great example of this issue.

In this clip, first Chiasson doesn’t trust himself to make a pass to a player in a good position. Then when the play develops and he finds himself in a good spot, he defers to a teammate in a worse spot and the play dies on his stick.

Jake Chiasson likely will take the next step this year and play pro hockey hopefully in Bakersfield. His size and skills are a fit for the pros. What the worry is whether he has the confidence in himself or the ability to trust his abilities. If he does, then the Oilers certainly have a bottom-six NHL forward prospect.