TOPICS WHILE WE WAIT FOR THE BUYOUT (OR NOT)

8 years ago

We’re several weeks past the draft and back stories are trickling in. From the hilarious to the ridiculous, there are a few things worth noting before we move along.

MCDAVID NERVOUS?

Connor McDavid to TSN 1050: “I was just more anxious. I mean, it’s a moment that you’ve been waiting for for 18 years now. The build-up towards it is huge and the anticipation was killing me. I
just wanted to finally hear my name called and be drafted into the
NHL.” Source

I will (and you should) long remember the tweets and comments coming out of the east on draft night from all kinds of people who should have known better. The one person who acted like an adult? Teenage Connor McDavid, who said and did all the right things from beginning to end of an exhausting two months. He appears to be that rare person who is at once truly humble while also being touched by God with a special talent. Oiler fans are so very, very lucky. Again.

A small item but good to see Nurse taking on a leadership role at a young age. He’ll be a big asset on the ice for a long time, but stories like these are worth storing away for future days. Comforting to know good players and good people are on the way.

WHO IS MIROSLAV SVOBODA?

Steve Kournianos, The Draft Analyst: An overage backup on the Czech junior national team, Svoboda seems to be
the kind of goaltender who hasn’t made the most of his few
opportunities to exceed expectations. Six seasons as a Czech junior, and
Svoboda only has one Extraliga appearance under his belt and was a
backup at both the U18’s and the U20 WJC. He may have the size, but
that’s all we can determine as a reason why he was selected over more
technically advanced draft eligibles like Kelowna’s Jake Morrissey and
Finland’s Veini Vehviläinen. Svoboda is very fidgety in net and does not
challenge shooters. Had he possessed a quick enough glove hand and was
quicker and more decisive with his reads, then his size would make him
an elite prospect. For now, he’s basically a shot-in-the-dark seventh
rounder whose is still on the lower rungs of his development ladder,
which says a lot considering he’s almost 21. But he has size, which some
(not us) will tell you it’s worth a shot. Source (Steve has a terrific review of the entire Oilers draft via that link).

Svoboda was taken in the ‘distant bell’ portion of the draft and he sure does look like a tower. At the recent orientation camp, the big man fairly blocked out the sun in his appearances in goal.

EDMONTON RECEIVED A 52% CHANCE OF A TOP 4D (REINHART) IN EXCHANGE FOR A 24% AND A 12% CHANCE AT A TOP 6F Source

Peter Chiarelli: “We’ve been hunting for defencemen and there’s a lot of intelligence
on Griffin internally. I’ve always liked him as a
player. He’s been behind a lot of good defencemen in Long Island. I’d
had discussions with Garth (Snow), on and off over the last month or so.
We just kind of ramped up those discussions. I saw him in pro a couple
times last year. I saw him in London at the Memorial Cup and he was just
a horse. Happy to get him. We had some guys at 16 we liked but this was
something we decided to act on. He’s ready to play and he’s going to be
a very good part of our D.” Source

Some are expressing disappointment in the design but let’s face it: If he stop 92% of the pucks headed this way Cam Talbot will be a major hero in this town and kids will be wearing similar designs from Leduc to Morinville. When “can we get a freaking save?” is the town motto, the new goalie is a damn popular guy.

It’s also a reasonable bet, as Darcy McLeod from Because Oilers pointed out in a series of posts earlier this year:

McLeod: Talbot it trending to be an elite goalie. By a few different SV% metrics Talbot’s peers appear to be Price, Quick, Holtby, and Rask. Pretty high end company to keep.He is available for trade this summer and will be traded. (Lundqvist’s
contract, Talbot’s 1 year contract, and NYR’s lack of a 1st rounder
make this almost a certainty) Talbot is at the age where he has miles of good road ahead of him and
shouldn’t hit the down slope of his SV% curve for at least 5 years. Talbot isn’t in a position to make a large salary and the Oilers could
have a seriously good value contract on an elite goalie for 4-5 years. Oilers are stacked at forward, but need an overhaul on D and in goal. It might hurt to pay it, but giving up the 16th overall this year is probably the right thing to do. Talbot is probably going to be magnitudes better than the other options
available via free agency (except Neuvirth, but Talbot still looks to be
better) Source

Incredible summer. Stunning.