2017-18 season previews: Edmonton Oil Kings

(In our ongoing series, we preview the WHLs 22 teams in order of when the joined the league. We have reached the Edmonton Oil Kings)

Edmonton Oil Kings (2016-17 record, 23-43-5-1 finished outside the playoffs)

Who they lost from last year: The Oil Kings lost several players from the 2016-2017 season. Starting with the aged out players in Riley Stadel (Playing in the EIHL for Dundee), Tyler Robertson (Playing ACAC at NAIT), and Graham Millar (Playing CIS at UBC). They also lost the likes of Anatolii Elizarov (Playing for Ufa in Russia), and Patrick Dea (Traded to Tri-City).

Possible breakout players: Brett Kemp – Kemp was a key piece of the Aaron Irving deal last season. He really came in and stepped up big time offensively. While he only managed seven points in the 19 game span, he showed promise and that could potentially be asked to carry the offensive load of his line. Kemp is a skilled playmaker who possesses vision and the ability to create from the under pressure. He is also a 2018 NHL draft prospect, who could get a lot of looks from scouts.

Nicholas Bowman – Bowman really came into his own late last season. He played a true power forward role and found himself playing a net front presence on the power play. While he only managed 14 points in the 61 games he played, I really liked what I saw from him late last season and this year’s pre-season. He’s another 2018 NHL Draft eligible who could catch the eyes of scouts.

Will Warm – Warm really broke out late last season. He posted 24 points as a rookie defenseman last season and showed the he could be a physical presence on the ice as well. Warm was an invite to the Vegas Golden Knights main camp, and has recently been returned back to the Oil Kings. He will be a key contributor to the Oil Kings’ offensive output this upcoming season, and will play a versatile role while logging big minutes.

What would have to happen for this team to make playoffs?

Offensive Improvements It’s not a secret that the Oil Kings do an outstanding job in developing young defenders. Looking at their roster this year; they have an abundance of young promising defenders. It’s the offense that seems to be the struggle as of late, they were the fourth lowest scoring team in the league and struggled to maintain consistent scoring. Guys like Davis Koch and Trey Fix-Wolansky really stepped up and showed that they can make a positive impact to this but will likely need more guys to step up. For the Oil Kings to potentially crack a playoff spot this season, they will need an offensive presence to really break out this season production wise.

Where are the roster battles?

As of right now it seems that the Oil Kings seven defenders are pretty well set, Brayden Gorda has not been seen around camp and is currently missing time due to a personal reason. If he returns, there will be a battle for that last defender spot most likely between Jayden Platz and Fedor Rudakov. Another issue seems to be who will compete for that backup role in net. Currently the Oil Kings have two goaltenders who could play in that role this upcoming season. With Travis Child being the likely starter, the battle is between ’01 Boston Bilous and ’98 Josh Dechaine has arose since the trade earlier this week that sent Liam Hughes to Seattle. The final overage roster spot also looks like a battle that may take right up until the deadline.

Belarusian Double

Both imports really haven’t impacted the game as much as I was hoping at pre-season camp. With that being said, Pavlenko did show that he possesses an explosive first three strides and that separation speed. Baltruk has that big frame and ability to use it to create offense deep. Both played together at the Macs tournament a couple years ago, and I believe the Oil Kings will have them gel on a line together to start the year..

Away at NHL Camps:

The only Oil Kings member who went to an NHL main camp is defenseman Will Warm. He earned the opportunity with a training camp invite from Vegas. Other members like Davis Koch and Trey Fix-Wolansky were invited to the Penticton rookie tournament. Defenseman Brayden Gorda also earned a camp invite to the Dallas Stars rookie camp earlier this summer.

 

Conclusion

While I outlined a lot of issues going on with the Oil Kings roster, they are also some real positive things to look out for this season. For one the Oil Kings look like they will ice a young roster this year. With guys like David Kope, Liam Keeler, Matthew Robertson, and Boston Bilous potentially making the team as rookies and showing off their skills at training camp. The Oil Kings really look like they are setting up well for the future. 2017 bantam draft picks Jake Neighbours and Logan Dowhaniuk looked solid in the Red Deer tournament. Both are almost physically ready for the WHL and did not look out of place. Goaltending also is looking like a non-issue moving forward. Boston Bilous ’01 and Sebastian Cossa late ’02 should have headline their future goaltending situation. Two ‘stud’ goaltenders in my opinion, I don’t see any issues there. They also have two first round picks going into this season, which is a major bonus with how promising this ’03 bantam draft class is looking. That offense issue that I outlined earlier could potentially be fixed with those picks in the future.