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Oilers Sign College UFA Drake Caggiula
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baggedmilk
May 6, 2016, 20:52 EDTUpdated: Invalid DateTime
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Reports are circulating all over the Internet that the Edmonton Oilers have (or will be) signed college UFA Drake Caggiula to a two-year entry level contract. 
Word broke on Friday afternoon that the Edmonton Oilers beat out several other teams in their pursuit of college free agent Drake Caggiula. According to an article put together by blog-hero Jonathan Willis, Caggiula is a smaller forward that throws his weight around and also has enough touch to be able to put the puck in the net. Some compare Caggiula’s playing style to that of Brendan Gallagher in that he’s a smaller forward that battles above his weight class, and can also put the puck in the net. He probably won’t have as much offense as Gallagher, but we are talking about a player with some skills.
Chris Dilks covers college hockey and had this to say about Caggiula:
Caggiula is a smaller forward, but plays with tremendous effort and grit. He makes life miserable for the opposition on the forecheck and plays a strong two-way game. He’s having a sensational senior season as a linemate of first round NHL picks Brock Boeser and Nick Schmaltz. It’s unlikely he is the same type of scorer at the next level, but would make an outstanding bottom six energy player.
That sounds pretty good to me, right? The Oilers need more players that are annoying to play against, and adding a player of that ilk to their depth chart can only be viewed as a positive, especially as a UFA. Another nice thing about Caggiula is that he is 21-years old and further along in his development than a player might be right out of junior. Who know what kind of potential this kid has, but some smart hockey people are pretty high on him so we may have found money here. But before we get our hopes up for a diamond in the rough the aforementioned Chris Dilks also had this to say:
Caggiula is a tremendous college hockey player, but far from a sure bet at the pro level. He is a smaller player, but gets by with hustle and grit. How will that translate to the pros? His upside is probably as a fringe AHL/NHL player. He’ll have to prove himself in the minor leagues before he gets a serious look at the NHL level, but might be worth an NHL free agent contract when this season is over.
Sooooo… maybe let’s try not to Justin Schultz this one. 

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING…

CAGGIULA’S STATS

SeasonTeamLgeGPGAPtsPIM+/-GPGAPtsPIM
2010-11
Stouffville Spirit
OJHL
48
22
23
45
35
 
8
2
6
8
4
2011-12
Des Moines Buccaneers
USHL
4
1
1
2
8
3
—
—
—
—
—
2011-12
Stouffville Spirit
OJHL
25
10
24
34
36
 
23
17
20
37
38
2012-13
U. of North Dakota
WCHA
39
8
8
16
31
 
2013-14
U. of North Dakota
NCHC
42
11
13
24
52
 
2014-15
U. of North Dakota
NCHC
42
18
18
36
30
11
2015-16
U. of North Dakota
NCHC
39
25
26
51
60
46

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