Showing posts with label Aaron Ekblad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aaron Ekblad. Show all posts

Friday, June 27, 2014

Last Minute 2014 NHL Draft thoughts...

Not going to take much of you Oiler fans time with this post. I have been asked several times who I believe are the top priorities for the Oilers to draft should they be on the board at #3.

I believe the Draft priority will be:
#1. Aaron Ekblad
#2. Sam reinhart
#3. Leon Draisaitl

This would mean, no matter what, they will be drafting on of these three players in just over a hour and fifteen minutes.

There is a possibility of a trade to move into second round with using a prospect and/or a current player along with a later draft pick. It likely hinges on if that team makes a trade or not with another team for a current roster player.

Follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/revingev if you do not already. I will be tweeting live during the Draft. Happy to converse and talk during the entire draft.

Cheers!

Thursday, June 26, 2014

MOCK Draft 2014 NHL - who do the Oilers take?

Just finished last night my 2014 NHL Mock Draft. As promised to several of you on twitter and here at Oilersjambalaya.com, I would post the day before draft day in Philadelphia.

Here are my results……


REVS 2014 NHL MOCK DRAFT
          # Team Player
1. Florida Panthers Sam Reinhart
2. Buffalo Sabres Sam Bennett
3. Edmonton Oilers  Aaron Ekblad
4. Calgary Flames Michael DalColle
5. New York Islanders Leon Draisaitl
6. Vancouver Canucks Nick Ritchie
7. Carolina Hurricanes Hayden Fleury
8. Toronto Maple Leafs Nikolaj Ehlers
9. Winnipeg Jets Jake Virtanen
10. Anaheim Ducks Brendan Perlini
11. Nashville Predators William Nylander
12. Arizona Coyotes Alex Tuch
13. Washington Capitals Jared McCann
14. Dallas Stars Ivan Barbashev
15. Detroit Red Wings Kasperi Kapanen
16. Columbus Blue Jackets Travis Sanheim
17. Philadelphia Flyers Roland McKeown
18. Minnesota Wild Kevin Fiala
19. Tampa Bay Lightning Julius Honka
20. San Jose Sharks Dylan Larkin
21. St.Louis Blues Anthony DeAngelo
22. Pittsburgh Penquins Nikolay Goldobin
23. Colorado Avalanche Joshua Ho-Sang
24. Anaheim Ducks Conner Bleackley
25. Boston Bruins Adrian Kempe
26. Montreal Canadiens Jakub Vrana
27. Chicago BlackHawks Nick Schmaltz
28. Tampa Bay Lightning Robert Fabbri
29. Los Angeles Kings Nikita Scerbak
30. New Jersey Devils Thatcher Demko


In the meantime you can follow me on twitter www.twitter.com/revingev on more NHL talk, rumours and mostly prospect info on the NHL Entry Draft

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

'REVS 2014 Top 15 NHL Prospect Rankings' (Final Rankings)


Way back in August of last year I put out my rankings for this coming draft. It's always interesting how half way through a season people like to rip apart a ranking list but have no idea how much more difficult it is to rank players before they even start the new season going into their draft year. I was quite pleased the past 3 seasons with my early pre-season rankings (10 months in advance) out and once again am happy that I was able to still anticipate most the top selections far enough in advance.

Here was my official ranking to start the season back in August 10/13;
1.Sam Reinhart
2.Aaron Ekblad
3.William Nylander
4.Roland McKeown
5.Jake Virtanen
6.Blake Clarke
7.Nick Ritchie
8.Leon Draisatl
9.Michael Dal Colle
10.Jakub Vrana
11.Ivan Barbashev
12.Jared McCann
13.Anton Karlsson
14.Joshua Ho-Sang
15.Sam Bennett 

Honourable mentions:
Oskar Lindblom
Haydn Fleury
Nick Schmaltz

Well, the season of hockey has been completed. Tournaments are done, playoffs are finished. Combine is past us and now players are being interviewed by NHL teams this week. The draft is just over a week away and now we are ready to see whose name is called out by which team a week from this coming Friday.  I have 4 players being moved out of the top 15 with one of them being put in honourable mention while having 1 from my honourable mention last August being moved into the Top 15. 

NOTE: Some may question Sam Bennett in the ranking and that is fair, but last August you would be hard pressed to find any rankings with him in the top 15. I have moved him from #15 to #6. Blake Clarke was my biggest disappointment and scouts were shocked his season provided a move backwards rather then forward. This year's Nick Ebert? Time will tell. The biggest change for me was putting Nikolaj Ehlers at #4 when he was not on my last August radar. Truth is, he was a player, I just plainly missed and didn't follow or hear of him much before this season coming into Halifax. Many of his points were provided without Jonathan Drouin so his point totals are not misrepresented IMO. William Nylander dropping had more to due to the lack of point production he was able to show this year but in fairness to Nylander he still has great skill but was tossed around several club teams in Sweden.

The lists I put out are based on "Best Player Available" on NHL Draft day. That is the criteria  for my selection in the Draft Rankings

FINAL RANKINGS for REVS 2014 - Top 15 NHL Prospect Rankings:

1. Sam Reinhart
2.Aaron Ekblad
3. Leon Draisaitl
4.Nikolaj Ehlers
5.Michael Dal Colle
6. Sam Bennett
7. Jake Virtanen
8. Nick Ritchie
9. Brendan Perlini
10.Haydn Fleury
11.Kasperi Kapanen
12.Ivan Barbashev
13. William Nylander
14. Rolan McKeown
15. Jared McCann

Honourable Mention:
Joshua Ho-Sang
Kevin Fiala
Alex Tuch

Questions, comments? Disagree, agree? Let me know, always willing to dissect the players bit by bit. After all, isn't that what makes this so fun? 

I will be posting a NHL MOCK Draft next Thursday the night before the Draft. I still think the Oilers will be selecting one of Aaron Ekblad or Leon Draisaitl this NHL Entry Draft and it is very likely they will be playing the 2014/15 season full time with the Oilers past the 9 game mark.

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

What to make of the 2014 NHL Draft Top 4 Prospects?

The city of Edmonton and Oiler fans everywhere are buzzing about this years NHL Entry Draft coming up at the end of June. Granted there is not much else to be focusing in on with the exception of the hiring of Craig Ramsey yesterday as a assistant coach.

The difference this year is the unpredictability of who the Florida Panthers and Buffalo Sabres will be picking and what will be left for the Edmonton Oilers. From the best information I can gather the Oilers so far have the players ranked in this order if they could select their Top 4 rankings. They will select the highest ranking player they have listed and be happy doing so.

#1. Aaron Ekblad
#2. Sam Reinhart
#3. Leon Draisaitl
#4. Sam Bennett

The only thing that may stand out different for the Oilers from most of the NHL is where they rank Draisaitl. Very few teams rank him in their top 3 and would much sooner have Bennett in that slot. Until recently I was pretty sure needing offence the Panthers would for sure select Reinhart or Bennett but a recently posted article here may tell us different. Ekblad may be a risk but Florida even last year did not go with the high offensive output of Drouin instead selected the big man-child from Finland. It is very likely this could be the situation this year and a franchise defensemen is not such a bad prize to grab.

Buffalo is up next. On their website they specially linked this video to their site evaluating players at the draft. Reading too much into this? I don't think so. There is lots of other opinions and this video could be a tell they want Sam Reinhart. Should he be off the board then it's highly likely a low scoring team like Buffalo will go with Bennett. 

So if the Oilers do have their rankings as listed above by me, it's almost a certainty that Reinhart will be gone in the top 2 picks regardless. That leaves their list as they pick up Ekblad at the #3 spot if Florida takes Reinhart but if Ekblad goes to Florida and Buffalo takes Reinhart, then the Oilers will select Aaron Ekblad.

I am pretty sure when the Oilers walk to the podium June 27th they will be selecting a large, skilled and smart franchise Defensemen in EKBLAD or a potential #2 large bodied, strong, skilled Center in DRAISAITL. Either way, the Oilers will be getting bigger and more skilled in one of their most desperate needs moving forward. It's a good year and Oiler fans have something to be excited about.

NEXT UP? My Year End 'REVS 2014 Top 15 NHL Prospect Rankings'

Saturday, June 7, 2014

It's time to decide on "Leon Draisaitl"

Ok, before you slaughter me here, I am interrupting my weekly article here at oilersjambalya.com on the Oilers breakdown by position in light of the upcoming draft. Take a look here  to understand my reasoning on why we should take Leon Draisaitl with the #3 pick. Right now we will not have Sam Reinhart available at the #3 spot regardless of what your hearing, he will be gone. Maybe, just maybe we have Aaron Ekblad available. I believe he is a potential #2 d-man and that is hard to come by but our problem is we can't wait for the 2-3 years it takes for him to grow into being a star a=in the NHL. The fans will have none of it. We also need a #2 center and we need it now. Nothing seems available without giving up a valuable part of this franchise and we need a larger bigger centermen to take on tougher centre's in this league. Could Leon Draisaitl be that man and start this coming season? I believe he is ready and at worst he has one more year to develop if not able to shine in training camp and in 9 exhibition games.

This team can't afford to finish worse then 20th next season without huge backlash (you can take that to the bank) and Leon may be the best option. If you read the above article you would probably agree Sam Bennett will not be the option. I personally believe he is Gagner2 in the making and on a team needing more and picking at #3 has other needs.

I predict Leon Draisaitl will be a Edmonton Oiler come the day of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. Like it or not, he is probably our best option. Got a comment , leave it in the comments section and we can discuss this more.

In the meantime, and in between time, that's it for another edition of Oilers hockey!

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

REVS Top 15 2014 NHL Prospects #12.Jared McCann

 REVS 2014 NHL Draft Prospects (August 10/13)
1.Sam Reinhart
2.Aaron Ekblad
3.William Nylander
4.Roland McKeown
5.Jake Virtanen
6.Blake Clarke
7.Nick Ritchie
8.Leon Draisatl
9.Michael Dal Colle
10.Jakub Vrana
11.Ivan Barbashev
12.Jared McCann
13.Anton Karlsson
14.Joshua Ho-Sang
15.Sam Bennett 

Honourable mentions:
Oskar Lindblom
Haydn Fleury
Nick Schmaltz

RECAP update of players we have looked at
(stats official as of March 4/14)
Sam Reinhart
6'1, 183 lbs
Kootney Ice- Games 53 Goals 34 Assists 60 Points 94
Canada U20- Games 7 Goals 2 Assists 3 Points 5

Aaron Ekblad
6'4, 216 lbs
Barrie Colts- Games 52 Goals 21 Assists 26 Points 47
Canada U18- Games 5 Goals 2 Assists 2 Points 4
Canada U20- Games 7 Goals 1 Assists 1 Points 2

William Nylander
5'10, 170 lbs
MODO J20- Games 1 Goals 0 Assists 0 Points 0
MODO- Games 19 Goals 1 Assists 4 Points 5
 Rögle- Games 18 Goals 4 Assists 4 Points 8
Södertälje Games 17 Goals 11 Assists 8 Points 19
Sweden U18- Games 7 Goals 6 Assists 3 Points 9


Roland McKeown
6'1, 195 lbs
Kingston Frontenacs- Games 58 Goals 9 Assists 31 Points 40
Canada U18- Games 5 Goals 0 Assists 1 Points 1

Jake Virtanen
6'1, 210 lbs
Calgary Hitmen- Games 64 Goals 40 Assists 24 Points 64
Canada U18- Games 5 Goals 0 Assists 1 Points 1

Blake Clarke
6'1, 190 lbs
CHL- Games 48 Goals 2 Assists 10 Points 12

Nick Ritchie
6'3, 236 lbs
CHL-Peterborough Petes - Games 55 Goals 35 Assists 32 Points 67

Leon Drasaitl
6'1, 209 lbs
Prince Albert Raiders - Games 57 Goals 30 Assists 58 Points 88

Michael Dal Colle
6'2, 180 lbs
Oshawa Generals - Games 63 Goals 36 Assists 53 Points 89

Jakob Vrana
6'0, 187 lbs
Linkoping HC (SHL) - Games 19 Goals 2 Assists 1 Points 3
Linkoping HC J20 (Superelite) - Games 19 Goals 12 Assists 9 Points 21


Ivan Barbashev
6'03 185 lbs
Moncton Wildcats (CHL) - Games 48 Goals 25 Assists 43 Points 68

The player I listed in August at #12.
Jared McCann
6'0 174 lbs
Saulkt Ste.Marie Greyhounds (CHL) - Games 60 Goals 26 Assists 31 Points 57

McCann is a consistently effective player. He has a number of offensive skills and possesses quick acceleration speed when cutting through the middle of the ice. With excellent vision and high level of hockey sense McCann reads the game at a level higher than most of his peers and it shows in his creativity and execution. He  possesses an rocket of a wrister with a lightning quick release 

McCann is not afraid of corners or battles in front of the net against bigger opponents. He is also very reliable in the defensive zone. Strong in the face-off circle and hopefully if he can put on some more solid muscle, will be a strong bet to play in the NHL one day. Due to his ranking, it is unlikely Jared is even around when the Oilers select with their second pick but definitely there is not enough to be seen to select him in a top 5. A good player that will likely have a couple years to develop even more in jr hockey with some NHL club.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

REVS Top 15 2014 NHL Prospects #9. Michael Dal Colle

 REVS 2014 NHL Draft Prospects (August 10/13)
1.Sam Reinhart
2.Aaron Ekblad
3.William Nylander
4.Roland McKeown
5.Jake Virtanen
6.Blake Clarke
7.Nick Ritchie
8.Leon Draisatl
9.Michael Dal Colle
10.Jakub Vrana
11.Ivan Barbashev
12.Jared McCann
13.Anton Karlsson
14.Joshua Ho-Sang
15.Sam Bennett 

Honourable mentions:
Oskar Lindblom
Haydn Fleury
Nick Schmaltz

RECAP update of players we have looked at
(stats official as of February 12/14)
Sam Reinhart
6'1, 183 lbs
Kootney Ice- Games 44 Goals 29 Assists 49 Points 78
Canada U20- Games 7 Goals 2 Assists 3 Points 5

Aaron Ekblad
6'4, 216 lbs
Barrie Colts- Games 42 Goals 19 Assists 23 Points 42
Canada U18- Games 5 Goals 2 Assists 2 Points 4
Canada U20- Games 7 Goals 1 Assists 1 Points 2

William Nylander
5'10, 170 lbs
MODO J20- Games 1 Goals 0 Assists 0 Points 0
MODO- Games 11 Goals 0 Assists 2 Points 2
 Rögle- Games 18 Goals 4 Assists 4 Points 8
Södertälje Games 12 Goals 9 Assists 6 Points 15
Sweden U18- Games 4 Goals 4 Assists 2 Points 6


Roland McKeown
6'1, 195 lbs
Kingston Frontenacs- Games 50 Goals 8 Assists 27 Points 35
Canada U18- Games 5 Goals 0 Assists 1 Points 1

Jake Virtanen
6'1, 210 lbs
Kingston Frontenacs- Games 56 Goals 35 Assists 19 Points 54
Canada U18- Games 5 Goals 0 Assists 1 Points 1

Blake Clarke
6'1, 190 lbs
CHL- Games 40 Goals 2 Assists 7 Points 9


Nick Ritchie
6'3, 236 lbs
CHL-Peterborough Petes - Games 46 Goals 29 Assists 27 Points 56

Leon Drasatl
6'1, 198 lbs
Prince Albert Raiders - Games 47 Goals 22 Assists 45 Points 67

The player I listed in August at #9.
Michael Dal Colle
6'2, 180 lbs
Oshawa Generals - Games 54 Goals 33 Assists 45 Points 78

Dal Colle played for the gold medal-winning Team Canada U18 team in the 2013 before returning to Oshawa for his second OHL season. Playing like a a bull in a china shop he uses his natural talents well. Scouts say he has a  imposing frame and already shows great balance and strength on his skates. While 6'2 in height, his weight would be a concern for me to play at the next level and be imposing still. He does play a strong  two-way game, battles hard and shows soft hands around the net.
Many consider Michael to have High-end offensive tools to go with a great drive. Some have said he plays a style like Ryan Getzlaf but IMO it is more style then skill. Dal Colle likes to be creating his chances off the cycle and use his taller frame to an advantage. Getting to open spots on the ice well, he also utilizes coming off the wall and driving to the net with aggression. If he adds more size and strength to his frame, he's going to become a force. Michael tells a writer "I'm always looking to get faster, quicker," he said. "That was my weakness growing up. I was always a little bit sluggish. I still need to get bigger. I'm only 180 pounds, so if I want to be a successful at the next level I need to put on some muscle mass."
Michael is a left hander center and is considered a top 5-6 player for sure. If the Oilers were to select him he is more of a 2 year project likely. Another year in jr hockey followed by 1 season in the AHL should be just what the dr ordered. It's unlikely he is selected in a Top 3 pick and that is where they are sitting to pick at worst if a lower ranked team were to win the lottery draft in 2014. Good player but would fall in the second group of good players in this June's draft.

Two Guys & Hockey Talk NHL News (CLICK PIC FOR LINK)

The Faithful Followers

Oilers Jambalaya is in no way, shape or form associated with the Edmonton Oilers or the Bakersfield Condors. This is a fans blog for fans. We happen to love those teams, so we write about them.