Like so many NHL teams today, nearly all of the Edmonton Oilers good, sub-23 players are already playing the National Hockey League. Gone are the days of a mandatory two- or three-year bit in the American League, like military service.
Connor McDavid (20), Leon Draisaitl (21) and a handful of 22-year-olds dot the roster up in Edmonton, a team that is only now beginning to draft well enough to have some talent developing down on the farm.
The reasons you miss the playoffs for 10 straight years are many-fold, but one is surely a lack of success at the draft table. That impinges on your talent base, even for an Oilers team that finally appears to have its NHL club on track.
Here’s a look at what’s in Edmonton’s cupboards:
AHL
Jesse Puljujarvi, 18, RW, Bakersfield Condors
Drafted: First round, 4th overall, 2016
Season to date: 18 GP | 6 G | 7 A | 13 P | +2
Puljujarvi arrived as the youngest player in the NHL — he doesn’t turn 19 until May 7 — struggling with English and the small North American rink. After 28 games in Edmonton the Oilers figured he was confortable enough to go to Bakersfield, where he’s regained confidence with 13 points in 17 games.
He’s the six-foot-four right-winger scheduled to spend a large chunk of his career as McDavid’s triggerman, and will quite likely be called up to Edmonton for their stretch run. Scouts say his play in the AHL is on a steady rise, which could mean Puljujarvi says goodbye to the minors for good before the tulips come up in Edmonton.
Griffin Reinhart, 23, D, Bakersfield Condors
Acquired: from NYI in exchange for the 16th (Mathew Barzal) and 33rd (Mitchell Stephens) picks in the 2015 NHL Draft.
Season to date: 34 GP | 6 G | 7 A | 13 P | +5
Reinhart sits squarely at the crossroads of Late Developing D-man Avenue and Bust Street. At 23, Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli reports that Reinhart has come along nicely this season, is becoming more assertive and his game is trending towards a promotion.
But of course he says that — the Oilers GM gave up two prime picks for Reinhart at the 2015 draft, and he’s played only 29 games with Edmonton since, with middling results. Reinhart has to shed the “big but soft” label, and learn to play the game like he’s not entitled to a NHL job. Surely an entire season in the AHL at age 23 has helped him shed that issue, but if he’s 24 and starting next season in the AHL again, Reinhart will go down as Chiarelli’s biggest mistake since taking over the Oilers.
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WHL
Ethan Bear, 19, D, Seattle Thunderbirds
Drafted: Fifth round, 12th overall, 2015
Season to date: 59 GP | 25 G | 38 A | 63 P | +28
Bear is a mobile defenceman who piles up points in the WHL, with 65 points last season and 62 through 58 games in 2016-17. He makes plays and gets the puck out of trouble effectively, though at 5-11, 198 pounds, there is some question as to how he will fare in defending NHL-sized forwards.
Still, in today’s NHL game there is room for a smaller defenceman if he can bring the requisite offence to a team. And Bear is squat with a strong, low power base. He can skate well enough to maintain defensive positioning, and strength shouldn’t be an issue for the rare fifthth-round Oilers pick who looks promising.
Tyler Benson, 18, LW, Vancouver Giants
Drafted: Second round, 32nd overall in 2016
Season to date: 33 GP | 11 G | 31 A | 42 P | -3
Benson was selected in the second round after a 30-game season in 2015-16, not the first time he’s missed considerable time with an injury. The Oilers assured themselves that, had he been a 75-game player, Benson was a surefire first-rounder.
They could be right. The problem is, he’s been hurt a bunch this season too, with only 33 games played as February comes to a close. He’s a high-skilled winger with average size (six-foot, 190), but the thing Benson needs most is a full season next year, his final year of junior.
Caleb Jones, 19, D, Portland Winterhawks
Drafted: Fourth round, 117nd overall in 2015
Season to date: 53 GP | 7 G | 41 A | 48 P | 0
Seth Jones’ little brother represents another mobile D-man for Edmonton, with the potential of being a top-pairing guy years from now. Though he doesn’t have Seth’s size at six-feet, 194 pounds, he’s a very good skater who appears well fit for the new, less physical game. He’s ready to turn pro next season.
