This is Dragan Umicevic. A Russian tabloid is reporting that he is about to sign with CSKA Moscow of the Russian Super League. Since this is the last chance Edmonton has to sign him before he becomes a free agent, it's an interesting piece of news.Umicevic is a mid-level skill winger (I had him rated behind Trukhno, Jacques and Mikhnov in December among prospects at LW), his Desjardins' NHLE this season was 82gp, 16-19-35. The Desjardins number is a "line in the sand", letting the air out of his SEL numbers and applying math to give an idea of his success level if he had played the same minutes (PP, EV, PK) and on a top line in the NHL this past season.
Umicevic reminds me a lot of Tony Salmelainen. His numbers are always good measured with Desjardins' and other players of similar age and pedigree in the leagues he's played in.
Eliteprospects describe him thusly:
A technically skilled forward. Umicevic is very flashy and entertaining from a spectator's point of view. He likes to challenge his opponents and stickhandles smoothly through traffic. Is, however, inconsistent and lacks intensity and endurance. He is not much of a goalscorer either, but a skilled playmaker. His defensive work needs improvement. Still, Umicevic's upside is huge.
Over the past three seasons, his point-per-game total in the SEL (.40, .51, .55) has shown a steady climb, and the 22-year old would have to be considered among the better skill prospects at LW in the Oilers organization.
Umicevic was born in Bosnia-Herzegovina, but moved to Sweden as a young child. He is one of only two Serbs I know who are high level pro hockey players (Anze Kopitar).
Two other things:
- Olli Jokinen played with Umicevic on a line during the lockout and was very complimentary about him as a player.
- There has always been some concern about his willingness to come over to North America without a one-way deal.
The Oilers have a bunch of decisions to make this summer, and signing this guy to a one-way deal with the plethora of kids knocking on the door would be foolish. If we make a list of left wingers (even before they add an NHL player, let's say Hartnell) that would be ahead of him entering camp:
- Raffi Torres
- Ethan Moreau
- Patrick Thoresen
- Robert Nilsson
- Jean Francois Jacques
Umicevic is kind of the poster boy for what is wrong about the Oilers right now: sure he might be a player, but how on earth can they give him 500 at-bats to find out? They have too many prospects and too few actual NHL players at Left Wing.
And other places too.
Dragan is a year younger than Thoresen, who put up 36 points in Sweden last year to Umicevic's 28 this year.
ReplyDeleteCombine this with the fact that Umicevic is mentioned as inconsistent and poor defensively and I have no problem seeing him go to Russia. We might as well be signing guys who will MacT will play.
I'd expect to see some of the surplus moving on out, especially considering that Lowe said that the future is now Cogs, Petry and Chorney. Anyone else remember him saying that? That was a Journal piece that came out around Easter so I guess it snuck through. I just shook my head when I read it, it was pretty much an admission that guys like MP, JFJ and the rest weren't any great shakes and that the much vaunted stockpile was as much fool as it was gold. So the message was we should keep waiting for another 3 years and put off expectations. When you think about his drive for five assets with the the three picks, it all seems to fit together.
ReplyDeleteDennis: If the Oilers miss the playoffs in 07-08, Kevin Lowe is gone. I'm prepared to bet beer on that one, and I don't give up the suds easily.:-)
ReplyDeleteThe damage is already done, though, Lain. Mishandling of the 94 contract talks and a loss of his mental facilities with the Pronger fiasco.
ReplyDeleteI think he's more than likely on his way out because he hasn't been re-upped yet and Nichols seemed to be about as pleased with the Pronger return as I was and we know that carries weight.
And while I think MacT and Lowe are buddies, I'd wager that MacT's pissed enough what what he was given to work with that he's not gonna attach his future in Edm to CombDownOver. In any case, he has a longterm pact so I doubt he's going anywhere.
What worries me now though is Lowe looking to do something, angling for his next job and possibly handing out shitty contracts so that his last year in Edm was one over .500. I've been wary of this garbage forever and look at the numbers of Sizemore, Lee and Phillips for the Tribe and Reds and remember when Omar Minaya decided to fuck the future just to jazz up his resume.
Right now Lowe's got yet another fucking stockpile with his eye towards contending in '09 or 10 but if the weeks pass and he isn't extending, he's gonna be looking to save his ass.
That's just human nature.
So what I'd do is fire him right now and put another GM in place.
If Lowe is going I'd guess at MacTavish going within a year or two afterwards, most GM's typically want to bring in their own guy to coach.
ReplyDeleteAgree with Boondock - the guy was what - a 4th rounder who is a decent but non-descript SEL player and not much more. He's firmly in my "who cares" category and we could sign a better Euro UFA any day of the week. A few 14 year old girls may be crushed but that's it.
ReplyDeleteI for one will be happy when we clean out the forgotten and useless that make up most of our Euro prospect list and move on.