This morning, our own Jason Gregor announced that the Edmonton Oilers have loaned forward prospect, Ryan McLeod, to EV Zug of the Swiss National League to start the upcoming season.
Oilers loan forward Ryan McLeod to EV Zug of the Swiss National League to start the season.
Ken Holland working hard to have many of his young prospects playing games.
— Jason Gregor (@JasonGregor) September 5, 2020
Ken Holland continues to grind this offseason as he looks for places for his players to play as a result of the ongoing uncertainty when it comes to the 2020-21 season. Even though the AHL announced that December 4th is their targeted start date for the new season, not much more has been said about what that might look like, so it makes sense that Holland would want to get his players back on the ice as soon as possible. Like a handful of his Condors teammates, McLeod will make his way over to Europe to start the season and get some at-bats in while we wait for a better idea of what North American sports are going to look like in the fall.
“The Edmonton Oilers and the EVZ agree that appearances in the highest Swiss league are very beneficial for the development of a young player, especially since nobody knows at the moment when the next AHL/NHL season will start.” -Reto Klay, EV Zug’s Sports Director
McLeod becomes the latest in a handful of Oilers that have already been loaned to European teams for the start of the 2020-21 season:
- Gaetan Haas loaned to Swiss League
- Joakim Nygard has been loaned to the SHL’s Farjestad
- Raphael Lavoie appears to be heading to play for the SHL’s Rogle BK
- Phillip Broberg was loaned to Skelleftea AIK of the SHL
- Theodor Lennstrom was loaned to Frolunda HC in the SHL
- Dmirti Samorukov was loaned to the KHL’s CSKA Moscow
In 56 games played with the Bakersfield Condors in 2019-20, McLeod registered five goals and 18 assists for 23 points in his first pro season after being selected 40th overall at the 2018 NHL Draft. How many more Oilers/prospects will we see head to Europe in the coming days/weeks? We’ll have to wait and see, but one could imagine that this list will continue to grow.
MCLEOD’S PRO CAREER SO FAR
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PGP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018-19 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
2018-19 | Saginaw Spirit | OHL | 31 | 7 | 17 | 24 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 4 |
2019-20 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL | 56 | 5 | 18 | 23 | 22 | 0 |
