Oilers Prospect Update: A Closer Look at Lavoie from Willy Palov

4 years ago

When I wrote last week’s Prospect Update, inexplicably the Russian leagues were still set to go full steam ahead. Even though the two non-Russian teams in the playoff had pulled out, leaving their whole format in shambles. That all changed on March 17th when they too announced they would go on pause until further notice. So the prospect update, will stay stagnant numbers wise until the hockey world starts again. That doesn’t mean all is lost and so I have been working hard to reach out in any way I can to people who have covered these prospects up close over the years.

I heard back from one such source this week in the form of The Chronicle Herald’s Willy Palov. Hailing out of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Willy has been able to watch the growth of the Oilers freshest 2nd round pick, Raphael Lavoie for 192 of his 217 QMJHL based games so far. Here is the quick Q&A I did with Willy:

Nation Dan: “Were you shocked to see Lavoie fall as far as he did in the draft last year?”

Willy Palov: “Yes I was. He has first-round size and skill, perhaps even Top 15. The Oilers got a real steal at that position.”

ND: “You have had the chance to watch players such as @Nathan MacKinnon, @Jonathan Drouin, @Martin Frk, @Nikolaj Ehlers, and @Timo Meier up close over the years. What comparable parts of those players games would you say you see in Lavoie, if any?”

WP: “He is a first-shoot player like Marty Frk. He rarely takes slap shots but his wrist shot is already at a pro level. Both players get a lot of power on their shots but Frk might have the most velocity in all of hockey so few can match him in that regard. One quality Raphael has that the others don’t is a massive reach. It’s very difficult to get the puck off his stick.”

ND: “The Mooseheads traded Lavoie this season, knowing you understand the Q closely, what was his value compared to other players? Did the ChicouSagueneens pay a ransom for him?”

WP: “Draft picks rarely have a wow factor in trades but the Mooseheads did well to get such a generous package in return, especially since they are in a full rebuild. I’m not sure I would describe the price the Sagueneens paid as a ransom compared to what they gave up for Dawson Mercer but Lavoie is a graduating player, while Mercer will be back next year so that factors into the difference in prices.”

ND: “What did you think of Lavoie’s World Junior play this year?”

WP: “Raphael contributed well with the ice time he was given. He could have produced more in a top six role but it’s always a challenge fitting everyone into those positions on Team Canada because of the annual depth.”

ND: “What is the number one thing in Lavoie’s game to watch for?”

WP: “He is excellent at skating the puck into the offensive zone and getting the puck to the net, either with a dangerous wrist shot or as he drives the net off the wing.”

ND: “What is the number one peeve that fans would want Lavoie to work on?”

WP: “I’m always hesitant to discourage any shooter to take fewer shots because getting pucks on net is so important. So I think Raphael should continue to take a lot of shots but put in some work on hitting the net more frequently and getting shots past blockers.”

So there you have it, a view of Lavoie from someone who covered him in the Q for years. I would really like to thank Mr. Palov for taking the time to answer my questions and hope to be able to bring you similar looks in the coming weeks.

Let me know who you want to know about or maybe even who you want to hear from. I will try my best to do it!

Playoffs Suspended

Name (Active)	Pos.	GP	G	A	PTS	This week’s total
@Maxim Denezhkin – Loko Yaroslav (MHL (Russia))	C	3	2	3	5
@Anton Slepyshev – CSKA Moskva (KHL)	L/R	4	2	3	5

Name (Active)	GP	GAA	SV%	Record		This Week’s Results
@Ilya Konovalov – Yaroslav Lokomotiv (KHL)	5	3.64	.888	2-2-0		2 Starts, 4-2W with 26 saves and 5-1L with 29 saves

Bakersfield Condors – AHL SEASON SUSPENDED

Name (Active)	Pos.	GP	G	A	PTS	This week’s total
@Tyler Benson	LW	47	9	27	36
@Colby Cave	C	44	11	12	23
@Josh Currie	RW	53	22	17	39
@Sam Gagner	C/W	4	2	2	4	traded to Detroit
Joe Gambardella	LW	50	12	14	26
@Markus Granlund	C/W	20	6	9	15
@Gaetan Haas	C	2	0	1	1	in the NHL
@Cameron Hebig	C/W	31	3	4	7
@Tomas Jurco	L/R	8	4	3	7
@Brad Malone	C/LW	49	13	18	31
@Cooper Marody	C	30	5	12	17
Kirill Maximov	RW	53	5	8	13
@Ryan McLeod	C	53	5	17	22
@Nolan Vesey	LW	8	1	0	1
@Kailer Yamamoto	LW	23	8	8	16	in the NHL
@Matt Benning	RD	3	0	1	1	in the NHL
@Evan Bouchard	RD	54	7	29	36
@Logan Day	RD	48	6	10	16
@Caleb Jones	RD	14	3	8	11	in the NHL
@William Lagesson	LD	25	3	7	10	in the NHL
@Keegan Lowe	LD	56	1	6	7
@Brandon Manning	LD	21	0	9	9
@Ryan Mantha	RD	0	0	0	0	Out Indefinitely – Blood Clot
@Joel Persson	RD	24	2	13	15	traded to Anahiem
@Dmitri Samorukov	LD	47	2	8	10

Players Notes/Articles/Highlights –

Name (Active)	GP	GAA	SV%	Record	This Week’s Results
@Dylan Wells	7	3.77	.878	1-4-0	in the ECHL
@Shane Starrett	14	3.63	.874	5-6-1
@Stuart Skinner	41	3.31	.892	13-16-5

Players Notes/Articles/Highlights –

Wichita Thunder – ECHL SEASON CANCELLED

Name (Active)	Pos.	GP	G	A	PTS	This week’s total
@Cameron Hebig	C/W	20	6	10	16	in the AHL
@Ostap Safin	LW	54	16	19	35	2GP 1-1-2
@Nolan Vesey	LW	15	2	4	6	in the AHL

Players Notes/Articles/Highlights –

Name (Active)	GP	GAA	SV%	Record	This Week’s Results
@Dylan Wells	10	4.98	.871	2-5-1	1 Start, 7-3L with 26 saves
@Angus Redmond	20	2.55	.907	15-2-0	2 Starts, 6-3W with 22 saves and 4-3W with 29 saves
@Stuart Skinner	3	3.62	.894	2-1-0	In the AHL

Players Notes/Articles/Highlights –

EUROPE (regular season)

Name (Active)	Pos.	GP	G	A	PTS	This week’s total
@Matej Blumel – HC Dymano Pardubice – Czech SEASON ENDED	RW	33	6	3	9
@Maxim Denezhkin – Loko Yaroslav (MHL (Russia))	C	55	19	26	45
@Jesse Puljujarvi – Karpat (Liiga) SEASON TERMINATED	RW	56	24	29	53	3GP 1-0-1
@Patrik Siikanen – JYP (Liiga) SEASON TERMINATED	L/C	50	11	9	20	1GP 0-1-1
@Anton Slepyshev – CSKA Moskva (KHL)	L/R	54	18	27	45
@Bogdan Yakimov – Severstal Cherepovets (KHL)	C	59	9	10	19
@Filip Berglund – Skelleftea AIK (SHL) SEASON CANCELLED	RD	52	5	15	20	2GP 0-0-0
@Philip Broberg – Skelleftea AIK (SHL) SEASON CANCELLED	LD	43	1	7	8	2GP 0-0-0
@Markus Niemelainen – Assat (Liiga) SEASON TERMINATED	LD	54	1	6	7	1GP 0-0-0

Players Notes/Articles/Highlights –

Name (Active)	GP	GAA	SV%	Record		This Week’s Results
@Ilya Konovalov – Yaroslav Lokomotiv (KHL)	40	2.45	.912	14-18-6

Players Notes/Articles/Highlights –

CHL – SEASON SUSPENDED (Regular season cancelled)

Name (Active)	Pos.	GP	G	A	PTS		This week’s total
@Raphael Lavoie – Chicoutimi Sagueneens (QMJHL)	C/R	55	38	44	82

Players Notes/Articles/Highlights –

Name (Active)	GP	GAA	SV%	Record		This Week’s Results
@Olivier Rodrigue – Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)	39	2.32	.918	30-7-1

Players Notes/Articles/Highlights –

America (NCAA, USHS-Prep, Etc.)

Name (Active)	Pos.	GP	G	A	PTS	This week’s total
Skyler Brind’Amour – Quinnipiac U. (NCAA) CANCELLED	C	34	4	9	13
@Tomas Mazura – Kimball Union Academy (USHS-Prep) CANCELLED	C	39	14	62	75
@Graham McPhee – Boston College (NCAA) CANCELLED	LW	34	5	7	12
@Aapeli Rasanen – Boston College (NCAA) CANCELLED	C	34	11	13	24
@Matthew Cairns – Cornell U. (NCAA) CANCELLED	LD	19	0	1	1
Philip Kemp – Cornell U. (NCAA) CANCELLED	RD	31	3	8	11
@Michael Kesselring – Northeastern U. (NCAA) CANCELLED	RD	34	2	3	5

WORLD JUNIORS

Name (Active)	GP	G	A	PTS	This week’s total
Matej Blumel – Czech Republic	5	1	0	1
Raphael Lavoie – Canada	7	0	2	2
Philip Broberg – Sweden	7	1	0	1

Players Notes/Articles/Highlights –

Name (Active)	GP	GAA	SV%	Record		This Week’s Results
@Olivier Rodrigue – Canada

Thank you, as always for reading. Let me know in the comments below what player you’re watching for the most. Who has shocked you so far, and how amazing Brad Malone is.