mightyreasoner wrote on Fri, 20 September 2024 12:17

..I do feel like the local media hype of young players (but especially young defenseman) way too much. It wasn't long ago we were hearing about how Samorukov and Niemelainen were the next pillars of defense for years to come. Neither can crack the NHL lineups with regularity. David Musil. Griffin Reinhart. Guys like Caleb Jones, Ethan Bear, and William Lagesson seem unlikely to clear 300 games. Jury is out on Vincent Desharnais, Philip Broberg, and Michael Kesselring. So we will see about Wanner and Akey. I'm not down on their prospects, I just don't really hold the local media's assessment real highly. Speaking of Wanner, he's another image rehabilitation guy for them.

I actually feel positive on Akey.. I saw him at the prospects last year at 18, and he was the Oilers best D prospect there.. kid has awesome wheels and mobility.. has the hands to go with it.. high puck IQ.. his on-ice play actually distanced himself from the rest.. including the Jets, Canucks, Flames prospects.. best D man I saw.. I can't say the same about Wanner.. definite disconnect from the media to what I see on the ice...

On the other thread (Minors), I mentioned Marc Lajoie (camp invite, playing for U of A this season) as the best defenceman I saw for the Oilers at the prospects tournament (IMHO) .. he's the size of Desharnais (6'-6") but more agile, better skater, and very puck smart.. was the WHL's leading goal scorer for defencemen last season with the Oil Kings.. I think he's got a great chance of being an NHL'er.. not sure why they didn't bring him up for training camp..

[Updated on: Fri, 20 September 2024 15:59]

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