JW was already wanted by the Oilers, was short by a couple picks to take him during the draft

EDM could have taken him. MN gave EDM a late 3rd to move up 2 spots to take Wallstedt.

How do you expect EDM to draft him when he was already gone by their pick? Any team could've 'traded up' if they really felt like him and the price was right.

Bourgault has a lot of high praise by NHL reporters and scouts so unless you claim to have some kind of higher knowledge / reasoning then professionals, Idk if you can make that Yamamoto comparison.

And why is Bourgault "made of glass", because he got hit in the head? Come on man

This is funny. I’m sorry, but this is wrong. Jesper Wallstedt was supposed to be top 15, and he got picked 20th. There must be something seriously wrong about him, because both of the Swedish lovers (Ken Holland, and Steve Yzerman) both passed on him. He won’t be up for 2-3 years, while Bourgault could help us sooner. He is a sniping right shot center, that will play on the wing in the NHL. McLeod will be our 3c, so Bourgault will not be there. Give the guy a chance haha, he’s not that old.

I 100% agree, but Wallstedt went 20th, and that was our pick before we traded it.

Here:



XB is a lighter player. They need a stud G big time.

So what you’re saying is you don’t know more than the scouts, he’s not that bad at all, and he just needs to bulk up a bit? Okay nice

The Oilers have several F on their roster and in their prospects. They need a stud G and they will not get one via trade or UFA. Not without paying a huge cost. It is far easier to get a player like XB via trade or UFA. The jury is still out on Skinner but I do like him.

All top-60 prospects get high praise from NHL reporters and their scouts (talking heads). They have less accountability than the weatherman does when it comes to their talking head jobs. It's not their job to be right or wrong about how these kids will turn out in 5 year. It's their jobs to get readers/watchers/listeners so the sell excitement about what a kid could be if he hit his absolute ceiling and ignore/leave out a lot of the players downside/flaws. They show highlight videos not the tape of them being out of position or getting walked by another player. You'll notice that every year this draft class is "the best/deepest since the '03 draft class".

Team needs and actual scouts for teams see/rank players differently than the talking heads for a plethora of reasons. The might not like a guy's size, they had 15 of that position already in their prospect pool, what they think he will be as a player in 5 years, etc. Goalies add an extra layer of: don't take a goalie with a 1st because it is a complete boom or bust type of pick.

There is also pretty definitive tiers of players each draft class. Some years the separation between say 5-12 is very small, and the guy that gets picked 12th is someone that "fell".

I’m basing my opinion on what I’ve watched etc. I doubt very highly that Wallstedt is going to be a bust. He was already putting up big numbers in the SHL as a 17 year old kid. This year: 1.82 GAA and 0.923 SV% in 17 games. That’s really good stats for a barely 19 year old kid.

I understand how they promote the Draft and everything.

He's looked good: big, positionally sound, doesn't seem to get rattled, etc. With goalies it's all in their heads though; that's really what separates them from a NHL starter to not in the NHL. It's not something that will be known until they start playing in the NHL. There just isn't the fallback of drafting a projected top-6 FWD than ends up as a bottom-6er that sticks around the NHL for 300 games. This is why it's a boom or bust pick. You might end up with a Vasilevskiy or you could end up with a Subban (5 picks apart in the same draft year).

Too often goalies (in-general) end up being a flash in the pan. Hammond comes in and goes 20-1-2 and is about out of the league within a year. Murray wins a couple Cups and hasn't done anything since. Binnington saves STL's season and wins a Cup, he's been average since. Good teams can't afford to let a goalie work though things if he's losing them games on a regular basis. There just isn't a spot to shelter/bury a goalie in the lineup like you can skaters.

I'm usually anti-goalie with a 1st round pick. I was okay with the Wallstedt pick because MN had an extra first so they could make a boom or bust pick.

What makes you think Holland and Yzerman are “Swedish lovers”? Most of the Swedish talent Holland drafted was mid to late round picks. For Yzerman it appears he relies heavier on their EU scouting predominantly Hakan. Hakan has already stated he doesn’t understand how to effectively scout goalies and it was rumored that Osgood scouted both Cossa/Wallstedt. Could it be old school thinking of you can’t teach size and that’s why they went one direction vs the other? The other SHL scout at the time was Carlsson and he isn’t a goalie scout either. Ironically, Holland hasn’t had the best luck of goalies.

Nice condescending comment, especially funny when you clearly forgot that oilers traded the pick to Minny that they took JW with lmao

i feel like ur really underrating Bourgault

Yep, any time could've traded up. Just like Minnesota, who traded a 1st and a 3rd to Edmonton to get Wallstedt

The Oilers trade away their pick to get the piece that Edmonton, or about 15 other teams could have had. If teams really wanted him, they would’ve tried to trade up and get him or just straight out drafted him (like Minnesota did). Easy

That's not the point though.

A bit I guess but they have enough F so why add another unless he’s a gem. Wallstedt is exactly what they need: young G with size and ability that is already performing in a pro league. Simple. Oilers F depth is solid then add Holloway and Savoie and maybe Lavoie. Their D prospects are starting to push for NHL ice time. They need a stud G.

but we don't have enough forwards. The depth still isn't good. We could easily grab a good goalie with a later round pick in a future draft (or just run with Skinner).

They have an enviable top 6+
McDavid
Draisaitl
Puljujarvi
RNH
Hyman
Yamamoto
Holloway
And maybe
Lavoie
McLeod
Savoie
I mean that’s some good players. What they need is some stalwart stay at home D but they already have several D in the pipeline.
XB maybe a decent player down the road but they already have a smaller RW in Yamamoto.
I just think Wallstedt is a can’t miss prospect.

Some of these smaller skilled prospects have standout careers in junior and then plummet in the NHL. Happens a lot. Time will tell.
You are quite right about G in your post which is why it is better to have several G in the system. Washington is a great example of this. They have produced some quality over the years.