Oilers Deal Penner for Picks and 'The Punisher'

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The Edmonton Oilers have dealt veteran forward Dustin Penner to the Los Angeles Kings for prospect blueliner Colten Teubert, a 1st round pick in 2011 and a conditional 3rd round pick in 2012. The LA Kings obviously get the best warm body in the trade but the Oilers certainly get some pieces to further along their rebuild.


Teubert was a 1st round pick in 2008 (13th overall) after a strong season in the WHL with the Regina Pats. The 6'4, 200 lb native of White Rock, BC played another couple of years in the 'Dub, also dressed for Canada during the Super Series in 2008 and the World Junior Championship in both 2009 and 2010.

He comes as advertised: a strong, rough and ready defenceman who is willing to engage in fisticuffs. At the junior level he was able to contribute offensively although as a pro he's probably expected to be more of a defensive force.

By no means is Teubert ready for the NHL. He's had injury problems and some have question his mental maturity.

During the second half of the 2008-09 season he was criticized for his lackluster play for the Pats. Many stories circulated the WHL at that time that described Teubert as a player who, after being signed very early by LA, was simply playing out his days in the WHL before beginning his pro career. We were told that it took a lengthy, heated phone call from GM Dean Lombardi to get Teubert's head straight and focused on developing. We asked Teubert about that back in February of 2009.

Teubert is a likable player. He's pretty well spoken and has a good sense of humor. During the 2008 Top Prospects Game he told us about how he wrote 'The Punisher' on his sticks because it represented the way he likes to play the game. (The Punisher is a Marvel Comics character known for his lethal brutality). Teubert has also been described as a bit of a loose cannon so the analogy works there too.

Boston prospect Jordan Caron experienced 'The Punisher' first hand in the fall of 2009 when Teubert hammered him in a WJC camp inter-squad game resulting in a 3-month shoulder injury. We reported on that story HERE.

Teubert is the style of player the Oilers have lacked since dealing Matt Greene to LA a few years back. Unfortunately, many people wonder if he'll get to the NHL because of his average foot speed. He was not LA's top blueline prospect as most would list Derek Forbort (North Dakota), Thomas Hickey (AHL), Vyacheslav Voynov (AHL) and arguably even Nicolas Deslauriers (Gatineau) ahead of him. However, he will compete with Alex Plante in a similar job description which should help both prospects.

Perhaps the Oilers will give Teubert a bit of a look-see in the NHL this year but no one I have spoken with this year has described him as a prospect on the verge of cracking a NHL roster.

The actual position of the 1st round pick LA gave up won't be known until after the playoffs of course but the Kings currently sit 10th overall in the NHL standings.

That would allow the Oilers the flexibility to draft a center high and follow with a defenceman later in the round or the opposite. Would Edmonton fans like a 2011 draft day of Sean Couturier/Ryan Nugent-Hopkins + David Musil or Adam Larsson + Mark McNeil?

Regardless of whether those particular players are in the sights of Stu MacGregor and his staff, the point is that the organization will have some options when it comes to their draft strategy.