Edmonton Oilers: Top 8 prospects worth getting excited about
The Edmonton Oilers have an interesting prospect pool. Let’s look at their top prospects.
Today, I am back again with another top eight prospects review, this time on the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers were a team for nearly a decade that everyone always said had tons of great young and upcoming prospects but never seemed to turn out. Thankfully for the organization and its fans, it appears they are finally turning things around.
This season, the Oilers easily made the playoffs, as they finished second in the Pacific Division with 83 points in 71 games. Considering they have two of the game’s top players in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, it seems likely they will continue to be a solid NHL team for years to come. On top of that, they also still have a very solid prospect pool. Here are their top 8 prospects.
Players who appeared in more NHL games than any other league during a season, regardless of which season, are not included on this list. Because of this, players such as Kailer Yamamoto, Caleb Jones, and Jesse Puljujarvi are not included.
8. Ilya Konovalov
The Oilers had a bit of a surprise pick at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft when they selected goaltender Ilya Konovalov 85th overall. The pick wasn’t a surprise in terms of play, as Konovalov had just finished up a spectacular season in the KHL which saw him post a 1.89 goals against average (GAA) along with a .930% save percentage (SV%) and a 25-15-1 record. The reason the pick was somewhat of a surprise was that he was already 20-years-old at the time.
Regardless, Oilers fans certainly haven’t complained about the pick, as Konovalov is the top goaltending prospect in the team’s system. The 2019-20 season saw his numbers decrease to a 2.45 GAA and a .912 SV%, but the entire Yaroslavl Lokomotiv team struggled as a whole, so it isn’t fair to blame it all on the now 22-year-old.
He will remain in Russia for the 2020-21 season but is eligible to come to North America after that. If he decides to, he will have a shot to earn a spot out of camp with the Oilers.
7. Cooper Marody
After a fantastic rookie season as a professional in the 2018-19 season where he put up 64 points in just 58 games, many thought Cooper Marody had a chance to make the Oilers this past season as their third-line center. That never ended up happening, as he failed to make the team out of training camp, and was expected to build off of his fantastic rookie season in the AHL.
Unfortunately, he took a major step backward instead. The 23-year-old struggled to stay healthy throughout the season, and when he was in the lineup he struggled to produce. In 30 games, he had just 17 points.
While many may disagree with him being on this list at all anymore after his poor season, I believe he has a chance to bounce back and still become an everyday NHLer, but the clock is ticking.