TRUST YOUR BOARD
By Lowetide
7 years agoAs a fan of the NHL, few things have more appeal to me than the draft. I became interested during the lead up to the 1971 draft (junior hockey was front page news that year) and never really left. During the period just before the draft, fans are gifted with several tools—Bob McKenzie’s list, NHL combine attendees and process—to help us follow along. How did the Oilers do? Let’s have a look.
BOB MCKENZIE
For fans, the Bob McKenzie list is a must during the draft—kind of a guide to what values we can instantly place on a selection. The Hockey News draft guide used to be that bible—when McKenzie ran it—and the McKenzie list is the single most powerful list leading up to the draft. It is a credit to McKenzie that we all follow his list despite the fact that the actual draft is on another network.
The first, easiest way to see if Edmonton drafted well is to take that list and compare it to Edmonton’s draft record this year. If they are in range, or getting extra value, all good. If they are reaching, we should look for reasons why. Remember, McKenzie’s list is 80 strong.
- No. 4 overall Jesse Puljujarvi—McKenzie rank No. 3
- No. 32 overall Tyler Benson—McKenzie rank No. 39
- No. 63 overall Markus Niemelainen—McKenzie rank No. 38
- No. 84 overall Matthew Cairns—Not ranked
- No. 91 Filip Berglund—Not ranked
- No. 123 Dylan Wells—Not ranked
- No. 149 Graham McPhee—Not ranked
- No. 153 Aapeli Rasanen—Not ranked
- No. 183 Vincent Desharnais—Not ranked
Based on the McKenzie list, Edmonton received excellent value at No. 63 and were in the range with their first two early picks. Now, getting Puljujarvi at No. 4 is an explosive result, but in pure numbers the Dubois selection was justified—and the Puljuarvi selection by Edmonton obvious and not particularly altering.
PREDICTING THE DRAFT
One of my favorite visits at this time of year is a site called Eye On the Sens. The author—since 2010—grabs several lists, tabulates, and then runs the players on a line based on the cumulative predictions. Interesting stuff, here are the new Oilers and how they ranked:
- No. 4 overall Jesse Puljujarvi—No. 3
- No. 32 overall Tyler Benson—No. 40
- No. 63 overall Markus Niemelainen—No. 47
- No. 84 overall Matthew Cairns—No. 99
- No. 91 Filip Berglund—No. 180
- No. 123 Dylan Wells—No. 106
- No. 149 Graham McPhee—No. 144
- No. 153 Aapeli Rasanen—No. 124
- No. 183 Vincent Desharnais—Not ranked
This is a guide, if your favorite prospect does not perform well it doesn’t mean the end of the earth. For instance, one of my favorite picks yesterday was Berglund, who does not score well here. On the other hand, lots of resources seem to like Dylan Wells, who many Oilers fans I have interacted with feel was a subpar selection.
THE COMBINE
For many years now (2014 the exception) Edmonton shops heavily from the combine invite list? Did they do it again this year?
- No. 4 overall Jesse Puljujarvi—Yes
- No. 32 overall Tyler Benson—Yes
- No. 63 overall Markus Niemelainen—Yes
- No. 84 overall Matthew Cairns—Yes
- No. 91 Filip Berglund—No
- No. 123 Dylan Wells—Yes
- No. 149 Graham McPhee—Yes
- No. 153 Aapeli Rasanen—No
- No. 183 Vincent Desharnais—No
There you have it. The Oilers shop the combine, heavily. Those interviews and tests and injury histories matter to the Edmonton Oilers. Next year, I will write about the combine and we will do this exercise again. Chances are the invites in May will inform the Oilers final picks.
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