Draft day needs

[J.R.]

Primary need: No. 1 center
The more things change, the more things stay the same in Edmonton. Once again, the team needs a No. 1 center and they should be able to land somebody of quality via unrestricted free agency. The Oilers may make a play for the likes of Peter Forsberg (unlikely), Pavol Demitra and Jason Allison, but could also try to bring back veteran center Doug Weight if a trade can be worked out with the St. Louis Blues.

Secondary need: Right-wing depth
The Oil have a solid player in Radek Dvorak on the right side, but more help is required. Fellow Czech Ales Hemsky should make the team this time around, but Finnish wingers Tony Salmelainen and Jani Rita are still on the outside looking in. In fact, Salmelainen has left for Europe and may not return to North America anytime soon. Therefore, GM Kevin Lowe should add more right-wing depth via the draft this weekend.

Potential surprise
Former captain Mark Messier is a possibility for Edmonton, though he would not be expected to take on a top-six forward role upon his return. Instead, ?Moose? would fill a fourth-line role in Edmonton and provide his customary leadership. It?s a long shot, but Messier could return to his hometown team this off-season.Via: The Heartland of Hockey (http://oilers.mostvaluablenetwork.com/?p=6) blog.


Nothing new really. Just some content to discuss before the draft.

[TimmyTabasco]

Forgot one from that list...

A new goalie :rollover:

[PDO]

Forgot one from that list...

A new goalie :rollover:

Yeah, Markkanenn was only goalie of the year against the likes of Nabakov and Khabibulan in their home country. Meanwhile, Conklin only won the best goaltender award over Luongo at the World Champs. Dubnyk was a one man team in Kamloops, and JDD is still a wild card.

Anyway...

We got the scoring winger ;)

[PDO]

Don`t want to forget about this..

I`ll edit this post later with all our picks, this is some info on our 4th rounder; Chris VandeVelde.

http://www.hockeysfuture.com/prospect/chris_vandevelde

Alrighty.. here they are, your newest Edmonton Oilers:

1st Round, 25th overall, Andrew Cogliano (C)
2nd round, 36th overall, Taylor Chorney (D)
3rd round, 81st overall, Danny Syvret (D)
3rd round, 86th overall, Robby Dee (C/W)
4th round, 97th overall, Chris Vandevelde (C)
4th round, 120th overall, Viatcheslav Trukhno (C)
5th round, 157th overall, Fredrik Pettersson (LW)

Interesting draft to say the least.. we drafted 7 players, with our first 2 both being under 6' tall, and with only our last pick not being a center or defenseman. Moving into next year our defensive prospects will include Greene, Lynch, Woywitka, Syvret, Tesliuk, Roy and Chorney.. to go along with the young guys we already have in Brewer, Semenov and Bergeron.. wow!

I'll look around tonight when HFBoards is back up and running and snag some scouting reports. So far I know Cogliano is a a generous 5'10" with speed to burn and amazing offensive potential. Chorney and Syvret are very similar players. Dee/Vandevelde are both power forwards.. and that's about it.

[TimmyTabasco]

Yeah, Markkanenn was only goalie of the year against the likes of Nabakov and Khabibulan in their home country. Meanwhile, Conklin only won the best goaltender award over Luongo at the World Champs. Dubnyk was a one man team in Kamloops, and JDD is still a wild card.

Anyway...

We got the scoring winger ;)

Obviously you missed the sarcasm. Perhaps I should place the same sig ak-47 uses all the time :laughing: ;)

Agreed on Markanenn. You know I'm a fan of his. But not sold on Alaskan Boy. He won that at what years world champs?

[PDO]

Obviously you missed the sarcasm. Perhaps I should place the same sig ak-47 uses all the time :laughing: ;)

Agreed on Markanenn. You know I'm a fan of his. But not sold on Alaskan Boy. He won that at what years world champs?

'04... he was USA's MVP.

Totally forgot there Timmy, my bad..

A few too many trolls wandering these parts lately ;)

[Newfie John]

'04... he was USA's MVP.

Totally forgot there Timmy, my bad..

A few too many trolls wandering these parts lately ;)

That can be resolved.

1-800-555-NEWF

[PDO]

Cogliano had "Maple Leaf" written all over him by a lot of people as a "homer" pick.. while it would of been an iffy pick for the Leafs considering their needs, it lead to a lot of fun write ups on him!

Ajax, Ont.: When will Andrew Cogliano go?

Kyle Woodlief: I've been waiting for someone to ask this. I think he'll go right around #20 overall, despite the fact he's only 5-9, 173 pounds (which tells you a bit about how good he is). He is, bar none, the fastest skater in this entire draft class, and has loads of skill with the puck. He is exactly the type of player who will be helped if the NHL clamps down on obstruction and opens up the game. In fact, if a team were absolutely convinced that the NHL will truly become a more wide-open, offensive league, I would not consider it far-fetched to see someone jump up and grab him in the top 10, though it's not likely.

http://mgoblog.blogspot.com/2005/07/hockey-montoya-watch-upgraded-to.html

]Cogliano is a Michigan recruit and although it can be difficult evaluating players in the Ontario Tier 2 league, ISS believes that Cogliano has the tools to become a good player at the next level. His speed is incredible and his ability to find teammates makes him an attractive prospect. Although some may question his competition level at the Tier 2 level, we at ISS do not. We feel that he has game breaking abilities as was illustrated at last years World Under-18 Championship where he led the tournament in scoring. We also commend Cogliano for remaining true to his word about attending Michigan because the St. Michaels Majors of the OHL have made incredible offers to him to join the OHL but he has refused on the grounds that he has committed to Michigan. ISS would like to see more kids (and teams for that matter) remain true to their word and honor commitments.

http://mgoblog.blogspot.com/2005/01/johnson-still-2-by-iss.html

...I watched him play about 60 plus games this year and let me assure you it is my opinion that there isn't a scared bone in his body (very, very competitive when it matters most) and he regularly pays the price to score goals or to set them up. As with all offensive players, his defensive game needs some work, but I would not say it's a really weak part of his game at all. IMO, the only knock he's going to get is his size, but a lot of scouts I've talked to about him aren't all that concerned for two reasons. One, world class speed. Two, very, very strong, both in terms of strength on his skates and strength (core stability) in fending off hits and playing in traffic. Lots to learn, but he's a great kid from a great family and the upside on this kid is tremendous. If there's a draft, I'll be shocked if he's not a solid first rounder in spite of his height. Dynamic speed, good goal-scoring ability, great playmaking ability, fearless, competitive and a character player, IMHO.

http://mgoblog.blogspot.com/2005/04/hockey-another-news-roundup.html

I like it :nod:. I think he'll need to be a winger to be successful in the NHL due to his size (same could be said for Schremp due to his skating), however a first line of Cogliano - Hemsky - Schremp in a few years would be damn nice... speed, passing and scoring.. through out Torres on the second line and give Storitini the occasional shift, I really like the direction Lowe has taken this team.

[Newfie John]

Cogliano had "Maple Leaf" written all over him by a lot of people as a "homer" pick.. while it would of been an iffy pick for the Leafs considering their needs, it lead to a lot of fun write ups on him!



http://mgoblog.blogspot.com/2005/07/hockey-montoya-watch-upgraded-to.html



http://mgoblog.blogspot.com/2005/01/johnson-still-2-by-iss.html



http://mgoblog.blogspot.com/2005/04/hockey-another-news-roundup.html

I like it :nod:. I think he'll need to be a winger to be successful in the NHL due to his size (same could be said for Schremp due to his skating), however a first line of Cogliano - Hemsky - Schremp in a few years would be damn nice... speed, passing and scoring.. through out Torres on the second line and give Storitini the occasional shift, I really like the direction Lowe has taken this team.


Don't know if he'll be a sure fire top-liner, but he should be a top 6 guy for sure(Second line more likely). Top liner isn't out of his potential though. As stated, its hard to judge this kid as he's coming out of tier 2, but when you look at his skill set he's hard to ignore, especially at pick #25. I thought he'd go in the top 20. This kid is raw, but if he can surround his game a little better, he should be a good pick.

This was a big swing, we'll see in the future if it was a home run or not.

[PDO]

Don't know if he'll be a sure fire top-liner, but he should be a top 6 guy for sure(Second line more likely). Top liner isn't out of his potential though. As stated, its hard to judge this kid as he's coming out of tier 2, but when you look at his skill set he's hard to ignore, especially at pick #25. I thought he'd go in the top 20. This kid is raw, but if he can surround his game a little better, he should be a good pick.

This was a big swing, we'll see in the future if it was a home run or not.

Oh, I agree, but I prefer him on that line opposed to Torres. While speculation like this is rough, our future top 6 if everything turns just peaches will be:

Cogliano - Hemsky - Schremp
Torres - Pouliot - McDonald

A lot of people believe Schremp is much more suited to the wing, espeacilly for the NHL, and I have to say that I agree after seeing him play in the memorial cup. Similarily, Hemsky is much more suited to playing center, hence the swap. McDonald is the cloest thing to a sniper we have in the system, and is a PF to boot.. so it's tempting to play both him and Torres together and let them raise hell and fire the puck while feeding off of Pouliot's play-making ability.

While it's EXTREMELY doubtful that all 6 of these guys hit their maximum potential, it's nice to dream :).

We have 2 young who'll guys be vying for that second line LW spot between Torres and now Cogliano, however Cogliano is a good 4 years away from that (NCAA).

[PDO]

"Someone compared him to Todd Marchant, but he has hands" - Kevin Lowe on Andrew Cogliano

:rollover: :rollover: :rollover:

[Canadian26]

"Someone compared him to Todd Marchant, but he has hands" - Kevin Lowe on Andrew Cogliano

:rollover: :rollover: :rollover:

Thats hillarious, but Marchant did get hands in his last year here which was kinda intesting.

I think Edmonton did fairly well, 4 centers, 2 d-men isnt to bad. Despite having the 25th pick...

I actually cant wait for the season to start now, edmonton has alot of talent comming in, it's going to be interesting to watch how all of it gels together. Definatly going to be alot of experimenting between lines this year IMO.