Edmonton Oil Kings: A look ahead

Edmonton Oil Kings main camp kicked off Monday, and after a perplexing offseason, including the departure of goaltender Patrick Dea and the addition of Travis Child. It’s clear that general manager Randy Hansch’s vision will now begin to play out in front of us.

Child, a seasoned WHL vet and former Swift Current Bronco and Brandon Wheat King, is the likely starter after being acquired this past May. Behind Child, a group of eager, young netminders including three who saw time in Edmonton last year, do battle as Josh Dechaine (1998), Liam Hughes (1999), and Boston Bilous (2001) all enter camp hoping to earn the number two spot. Aside from the returnees, goaltenders Lance Alm, Braden Porter and Carter Gylander, all look to make their mark and potentially earn consideration heading into next season as it will likely once again be a four-horse race in the crease. Alim is a former fourth-round pick who has spent the past two seasons in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League (SMHL). Potter (2001) is from NAX and Gylander is an undrafted goalie who impressed at rookie camp,

Camp Depth Chart:

Travis Child (1997)
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Liam Hughes (1999)
Josh Dechaine (1998)
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Boston Bilous (2001)
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Lance Alm (2000)
Sebastian Cossa (2002)
Braden Potter (2001)
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Carter Gylander (2001)

One factor the Oil King’s will have to look at is the future potential duo of Bilous and Cossa (one of the teams two second rounders in 2017). Bilous, a former NCAA commit opted for the WHL route after being selected by the Oil Kings, which raises some questions on what potential commitments EOK brass made for his 16-year-old season, whether it be games played or a full year commitment. Regardless, the two goaltenders, 2001 and 2002-born respectively have both proven to be high end goalies at their age level, and may be the core pieces to a dominant Oil Kings future.

Will Warm

Though the battle on the blue line is far less riveting than the war in the crease, there are still quite a few wrinkles left to be ironed out. With returnees Will Warm, Ethan Cap, Conner McDonald and Wyatt McLeod poised to make a jump in terms of statistics and overall ability, there’s very little room on the back end for a new defender to crack a spot.

Camp Depth Chart:

Will Warm (1999)
Matthew Robertson (2001)
Ethan Cap (2000)
Conner McDonald (1999)
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Wyatt McLeod (2000)
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Ben Wozney (2001)

Jayden Platz (2000)
Tyson Janzen (2001)
Jordan Dawson (1998)
Aidan Lawson (2001)
Fedor Rudakov (1998)
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Brayden Gorda (1999)*

The Oil Kings top-five is virtually written in stone as four returning players and (kind of) newcomer Matthew Robertson will likely be logging a good chunk of minutes. The big question is whether or not Oil Kings vet Brayden Gorda will be making his return to the team. His current omission from camp, as well as a few telling signs near the end of the season may suggest his days in the WHL are over. However as per an Oil Kings tweet, he’s simply away for personal reasons. If Gorda returns to the lineup, the Oil Kings then boast one of the strongest defensive groupings in the entire WHL. The best part for them is, not a single one of their top four defenders have a 1997 or 1998 birthday meaning they could be dominant during the 2018-19 hockey season if everything goes as planned.

The biggest change on the back end will be the full time addition of franchise defenceman Robertson. After a strong offseason showing at the Team Canada U17 camp Robertson is ready to make waves in the WHL. Warm and McDonald, both somewhat similar defenceman in their offensive minded approach will look to bolster their offensive numbers and provide the Oil with some scoring from the back end. This is something they’ve been lacking for a number of years. Cap enters his second full season in red and blue in what is his NHL draft year. Given the strength of the defenders around him, it is expected that Cap is being groomed into a role as a staunch two-way defender. He should be logging a good amount of defensive zone starts. McLeod looks to earn a spot as a regular in 2017-18, and given what we saw last season, it’s likely he sees an increase in both the stats department and confidence from the coaching staff. With only two or three spots available, the 1998-born Dawson will have to legitimize his ability to play consistently and separate him from the pack of rookies nipping at his heels. Both Platz and Wozney, originally drafted by Edmonton, will have a strong shot at cracking the roster in a depth role, but with the (camp) addition of Rudakov, one of those two may be sent back to midget for another year.

In terms of 2002-born defenders, Logan Dowhaniuk, the team’s first second-round pick in 2017 was steady throughout camp, and showed some similarities to former Oil King Cody Corbett in his physical ability, and of course, the slap shot. Undrafted defenceman Mason Mueller who spent the past season with the Red Deer Bantam AA team has been very strong as a lanky defender who has the reach and skating ability to be a very good defensive zone player.

Trey Fix-Wolansky

When it comes to the forward crop, not many surprises are expected, however early on we’ve seen signs from the 2000 and 2001-born  group that may end up making things a little more interesting. With the return of Davis Koch, the teams leading point man in 16-17, little speculation had been made on who will carry the offensive load this season. However, with Brett Kemp set to hold down the second line center spot, scoring could be dispersed a bit more across the board this season. Trey Fix-Wolansky and Colton Kehler give the Oil legitimate scoring options amongst the top six, and with returnees Ty Gerla, Nic Bowman, Tyson Gruninger, as well as (kind of) new comer Liam Keeler, the Oil Kings may finally be back to the days of three legitimate scoring lines.
Spitball Lineup:

Gruninger – Koch – Fix-Wolansky
Gerla – Kemp – Bowman
Atkinson – Keeler – Kehler
Mohr – Baltruk – Murray
Pavlenko – Harris – Fortin/Verenka/Berg/Roach/Moon
They aren’t rolling out the fire power of a cup contender yet, and in a lot of cases their offensive success will be dependent on whether or not certain players such as Gerla, Bowman, Kemp, Gruninger can be legitimate offensive threats. It’s a big year for the bottom-six as an influx of young scoring talent will likely be on display with Atkinson and Keeler logging a decent amount of offensive time. One of the storylines to keep an eye on this season is whether or not some of the “passenger” players finally emerge and fill a role (Berg, Baltruk, Mohr). Or will one of their spots be taken by a Mitch Verenka or Callum Fortin. Both of them have been impressive at camp.

It will be an interesting journey for the Oil Kings, not only over the course of the next couple weeks, but the tests they will face as a young, high-octane squad. With an influx of youth ready to make their mark on the WHL, it will be up to the veterans to push themselves to another level to not only achieve team success, but ultimately continue on with their WHL career.