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WHO SHOULD GO NO. 4?
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Lowetide
Apr 29, 2016, 23:05 EDTUpdated:
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The NHL draft lottery goes tomorrow—in less than 24 hours we will know where Edmonton is slotted among the lottery teams. If the tumblers click in the right order, the internet could be down for days! If the Oilers choose second or third, most fans will know the names of Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujarvi. What about No. 4? No. 5? Who should be considered the favorite for those spots. Well, I would like to say it is difficult to identify the player Edmonton probably likes, but he is making himself very obvious. 

THE MCKENZIE LIST

  1. C Auston Matthews, Zurich Lions (NLA)
  2. R Patrik Laine, Tappara (Sm-Liiga)
  3. R Jesse Puljujarvi, Karpat (Sm-Liiga)
  4. L Matthew Tkachuk, London Knights (OHL)
  5. C Pierre-Luc Dubois, Cape Breton (QMJHL)
  6. Source

CRAIG (BUTTON’S) LIST

  1. C Auston Matthews, Zurich Lions (NLA)
  2. R Patrik Laine, Tappara (Sm-Liiga)
  3. R Jesse Puljujarvi, Karpat (Sm-Liiga)
  4. C Pierre-Luc Dubois, Cape Breton (QMJHL)
  5. L Matthew Tkachuk, London Knights (OHL)
  6. Source

RED LINE REPORT

  1. C Auston Matthews, Zurich Lions (NLA)
  2. R Patrik Laine, Tappara (Sm-Liiga)
  3. R Jesse Puljujarvi, Karpat (Sm-Liiga)
  4. L Matthew Tkachuk, London Knights (OHL)
  5. C Pierre-Luc Dubois, Cape Breton (QMJHL)
  6. Source
That is a pretty impressive consensus. Tomorrow, when we find out where the Oilers pick, it will be easy to identify the best player available. No defenders, and a nice range of skill and power in the top five.

WHO WOULD THE OILERS TAKE AT NO. 4?

With the understanding that the Oilers might trade down (there are about five defensemen with similar offense and good to great resumes who will probably be gone by No. 12 overall), I think the fact Peter Chiarelli has been very specific about the style of player he wants will answer the question.
  • Peter Chiarelli: “Even when I was in Boston it wasn’t
    about putting fighters in the lineup, it was about your team approach,
    your team toughness, your collective mentality. And that can apply to
    us, also. Having said that, there are teams in our conference and our
    division that play a certain style. You don’t have to fight fire with
    fire, but you have to be able to push back.”
The player who matches that paragraph is Pierre-Luc Dubois. Scott Wheeler of McKeens and Pension Plan Puppets wrote a fantastic report on the player—I will quote one passage but recommend the entire item.
  • Scott Wheeler: At 6-3 and over 200 Ibs,
    Dubois’ strong skating (not elite, but definitely strong) and puck
    handling has allowed him to craft a powerful, net-drive game that draws a
    lot of attention and opens up space into the offensive zone    . A physical, sometimes volatile player, Dubois has a tendency to take too
    many unnecessary minor penalties and was one of the most penalized
    players in the QMJHL as a result    . Source
A year ago, we were talking about Noah Hanifin, and then the hockey Gods rewarded Edmonton with another once-in-a-lifetime talent. Will it happen again? We will find out. Even if the Oilers end up at No. 4 or No. 5, Dubois looks like a Chiarelli-type and I expect the organization will be tempted to draft him if available.
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