Oilers 06-07 Rookies Segment 1

The 06-07 Oilers had a pretty nice list of rookies. Patrick Thoresen, Ladislav Smid, Marc Antoine Pouliot and a few others began their careers and a few imo should be productive NHL players.

I like using player "comps" (comparables) because it gives us a line in the sand to compare careers. Ideally you'd like to find a comp at least 5 years removed from said player but sometimes there's a contemporary that fits better.

Best Rookie this season: Patrick Thoresen. 68gp, 4-12-16, -1 in 11:25 a night. Thoresen's EV points-per-60 total was 1.15, but even more impressive is that he gets "it". Whatever "it" is (let's call it a knack from making yourself useful in a variety of areas through some kind of intuition and physical ability), Thoresen is an intelligent player who was 22 years old at the start of the season and has an NHL future even if it's only as a utility forward. He's listed as 5-11, 185 and passed through the draft despite having a decent QMJHL season in his draft year. (Desjardins' NHLE had him 82gp, 11-17-28 as a 17-year old, comparable to MAP's 82gp, 11-15-26 in the same league as a 17-year old). It has become fashionable to piss on Oilers management and the scouting staff, but credit where it's due: this was a guy several teams had a look at and the Oilers scouted, signed and recognized him for the talent he is. I don't know that Pouliot is a good comp for Thoresen in style but in terms of numbers and secondary skills it's a fairly nice match. They're both smart hockey players with a wide range of skills. Oilers need more of this player-type.

Best Rookie Long Term: Marc Pouliot. 46gp, 4-7-11, -2 in 13:02 a night. Pouliot's EV points-per-60 total was 1.17, which is very similar to Thoresen. Pouliot imo is a better offensive prospect moving forward for several reasons, one of which is age (he's 19 months younger than Thoresen). Pouliot is a fine passer and can take a pass very well and in traffic, and for that reason alone I think he'll have a successful career on a scoring line. The two things I was pleasantly surprised about in regard to Pouliot this season is his ability to take a hit and keep battling, and he's more physical in style than we were led to believe. He's not Bobby Clarke, but if pushed he'll push back (and he has a temper, never a bad thing in a physical sport). Pouliot's comp has been Jarret Stoll through junior, and their first NHL seasons look like this:

Pouliot: 46gp, 4-7-11. 1.17EV points-per-60, .239ppg -2 in 13:02 a night.
Stoll: 68gp, 10-11-21. 1.39EV points-per-60, .309ppg +8 in 13:54 a night.

Stoll's numbers are better, but he was also on a better offensive team (I can't recall a worse Oilers' team to debut with than the current one. Actually, that's a good point to keep in mind moving forward, these men may surprise us when they play with actual NHL linemates).

I continue to like Pouliot a ton as a hockey player. He reminds me of all those good centers other teams always get: smart, skilled player possessing a wide variety of skills. It's been somewhat difficult to see him as he is going to be due to his injuries, but as Vic says in a post below it's probably going to be quite difficult to fault the Oilers over this pick 4 years from now. Stoll still looks like the right comp, although Stoll's 12-21-33 on special teams in his second season is unlikely for Pouliot unless he gets lucky with PP time. Stoll's EV numbers in year 2 (10-25-35) and point-per-hour total (2.35) the same year at EV would seem to be a tough enough test.