Answering the Bigos Question

The Edmonton Oilers are set to begin their 2012 Development Camp having added another wave of prospects to the system after last weekend's draft. Back for his fourth go around at the summer sessions is Merrimack blueliner Kyle Bigos, a 4th round selection back in 2009. 

The question is, with a senior season of college hockey ahead of him and an enticing August 15th, 2013 line in the sand, will this be the last visit to Edmonton for Bigos?

The Big 'Mack Attack

~
Don't look know but after a weekend that saw many of the top ranked teams suffer defeat, there should be a new program at the top of the NCAA poll on Monday. There is only one team in the country with a zero in their loss column and unless the poll makers have completely lost their minds, Merrimack will be ranked #1 for the first time in their history.

What you missed on Tuesday NIght!!

~
Tonight Guy and I chatted with prospects from 2 NHL teams, welcomed back our CHL insider, spoke to the voice of the Portland Winterhawks, and checked in with the UND Fighting Sioux. We also teed up our upcoming charity auctions where you can win a trip for 2 to Jasper Park Lodge, a Moosehead prize pack and an autographed Ryan Nugent-Hopkins jersey.

All the proceeds from our charity auctions will go towards the people of Slave Lake and here's what you can win. 2 nights at the amazing Jasper Park Lodge, 2 rounds of golf at the Stanley Thompson designed course, and a $200 spa package, with breakfast each morning. Tune in Saturday morning 10-noon MST to get your hands on a sweet prize pack and help out the fine folks in Slave Lake who were ravaged by fire this spring.

Saturday Morning Special - Feb 26th

~
A terrific edition of The Pipeline Show wrapped up at noon today that saw us talk NHL trade deadline, Oil Kings injuries, the rise of Merrimack College and the St. Louis Blues, another year of contention for the Tri-City Americans as well as another potential future NHL player for the country of Denmark.

Bigos Man on Campus

~
There have been a lot of interesting story lines in NCAA hockey this year; the return of former powers to their past heights, the tumble of the defending champions and several other perennial favorites plus the rise of a few upstart programs. The Merrimack Warriors fit that latter description to a tee.

Head coach Mark Dennehy is in his 6th season as a head coach, 5th behind the bench at Merrimack. The Warriors went 12-18-4 in 2007-08 and that is the best year Merrimack has seen under Dennehy, by a long shot. Last year the team won just 9 of 32 games and that's equal to the wins in Dennehy's first two years combined.

Merrimack was less than a weak sister in the powerful Hockey East Conference, they were an after thought. The free space on the Bingo card. Merrimack's last season where they finished with a winning record came in 1988-89 (.794%)... when they were still a Div II program. Since joining Hockey East the next year, they've been fodder for the likes of BU, BC, Maine, UNH and pretty much everyone else in the conference.

But this year... might be different.

The Mack started the year tough, on the road in North Dakota where even the best NCAA clubs aren't going in as the favorite. The Warriors dropped the opener 5-2 but came back stronger and although they lost the rematch, it was by a narrow 3-2 margin.

Since the opening weekend the Warriors are a respectable 6-3 with wins coming against Vermont (5-2), Boston College (5-3) and defending champion Boston University (6-3).

It's not all rainbows and and lollipops for the Massachusetts based program but they are on pace for 16 or 17 wins and that would be the best Div I finish for the Warriors since the 16-win campaign in 1993-94. While the Warriors are currently unbeaten at home they are also winless on the road - that will obviously have to change... won't it???

One of the reasons Merrimack is off to a promising start is due to recruiting. Coach Dennehy and his staff have had to beat the bushes more than most teams in the Conference but they've managed to lure some interesting players to the program. 12 of the 28 players on the roster are Canadian but before you jump to the very natural conclusion that the Canuck content is the lone reason for the improvement consider this: The team's leading scorer is an undersized native of Paris, France who played 3 years in the USHL (Stephane Da Costa). The team leader in assists (Joe Cucci) is a finance major from Melrose Park, Illinois.

There are a few names that might ring a bell with hockey fans in Western Canada and specifically in AJHL territory. There are 7 former AJHLers on the squad including a trio of Camrose Kodiaks - forwards Chris Barton, Jesse Todd and defenceman Karl Stollery (pictured above).

One freshman on the team this year originally hails from California but joins the program by way of the Vernon Vipers of the British Columbia Hockey League. The Vipers are the defending Jr. A National champions in Canada thanks in no small part to the efforts of defenceman Kyle Bigos and that winning attitude appears to have followed him out East.

Over the summer the 6'5 blueliner was taken by the Edmonton Oilers in the 4th round of the NHL Entry Draft, just cracking the top-100 as the 99th player selected. Bigos attended prospect camp in the Alberta capital in early July and that was where The Pipeline Show first met him.

He's an imposing figure at 6'5 and around 230 lbs, you might be a bit leery of the man if not for the beaming smile that always seemed to be on his face. Not only was he outgoing and friendly but he was more than happy to chat about how he found his way to hockey in California, what led him to the BCHL and how he felt about being a part of the Oilers organization. We also talked about Merrimack and what drew him to the Warriors. At the time, Bigos was one of two Oilers prospects that we approached about contributing to our blog this year and the blueliner appeared genuinely enthused at the thought of it.

As expected, settling into College life took some time but now that he's gotten used to his academic and athletic schedule, we are able to present the first entry to "Bigos Man on Campus". We started off in a simple Q&A just to get the ball rolling this season but we expect the next edition of BMoC will be completely 'Bigos on Bigos' and 'Life at Merrimack'...
---------------------------

The Pipeline Show: The last Oiler fans saw from you was at prospect camp in July. How did you spend the rest of the summer before heading down to Merrimack?

Kyle Bigos: The rest of the summer I was training at a gym in Oak Hills, CA with TSR trainers and had a pretty progressive time with them. I was also skating a lot anywhere I could, but mainly at these two rinks in Ontario, CA where I grew up. I would go to a lot of beer league games as a ringer with a lot of other good players and play for free with teams that needed us. There was a bunch of Jr. A guys and some college players Div. I and Div. III. it was a fun time with all of us. I would also hang out a lot with my brother and family since I don't see them to often.

TPS: We've asked you this question before but knowing that there were a few different NCAA schools that had approached you this past season, can you comment on why Merrimack was the right hockey program for you?

Bigos: Merrimack College was the right program for me because they came forward to me first. They saw my potential and found out about my character and work ethic and were willing to invest in me with a full ride,. I knew from talking to the players and the coaches that [Merrimack] was ready for something big and were getting the guys to do it, and that the culture [in the program] is perfect for developing players in all aspects of the game. Merrimack doesn't have the big name to it yet, which leads a lot of people to mistake it for a bad program and that's the biggest mistake.

TPS: what are you studying?

Bigos: Right now I am majoring in Business and taking the courses for that.

TPS: we've spoken with a lot of players who went the college route and they all say that it took them some time to get comfortable fulfilling the demands on and off the ice. How do you balance academics with your hockey schedule?

Bigos: At first it was pretty hard to juggle all the workouts, video, skill work, and ice time, but once you get into a grove with your studying and hockey its not too bad. I had to cut out a lot of down time to make it work, which isn't a bad thing at all, but it's certainly different than what I was used to in juniors.

TPS: Merrimack is off to a pretty impressive start. It's still early but you've beaten some traditional HE powers in Vermont, BC and BU. To what do you attribute your team's early success? Do you feel like Merrimack is underrated and that you are catching teams a bit by surprise?

Bigos: We're off to the start we wanted. We lost two games to North Dakota on the road, which were pretty tough to swallow as we were still trying to establish our identity and get our feet under us. But then we had the chance to get some teams at home and get going and then head back out to the road against some other HE teams.

Our success comes from hard work and discipline; I've noticed that when we start trying to play fancy and trade chances we let other teams into the game. We can play that game, but we feel we are stronger and better than other teams when we play our puck possession game.

Our road games we're losing by a goal or two, and have yet to break out of our shell and play our best but we're taking the steps to fix that. I feel we are underrated but since we do not have the big names like other HE teams we have to prove ourselves more than any other team which is fine by us... as long as we win. I don't think we're catching teams by surprise but I feel that we have a couple of huge pieces that we didn't have last season which is making us very effective and able to pull out the wins.

TPS: There is a large Canadian Jr A contingent on your roster, especially with 7 AJHL guys. I imagine the team as a whole is pretty tight but do you have some inner Canadian/American friendly rivalries as well? Maybe play some inter-squad scrimmages for international bragging rights? If so... what side do you play for as an American that played in junior hockey in Canada?

Bigos: We do have a lot of Canadian guys on our team and whenever we have the ice or time for ourselves we play U.S. vs. Canada (plus Da Costa!) . We have a great time doing this and it will always be for bragging rights. I played for team U.S.A. even though the captains told me I could play for either team but... U.S.A. was short on defense.

TPS: As one of the older guys with the RBC Cup winners in Vernon last year (above) you were a key guy that the coach would play in every situation and you'd get a ton of ice time. I know at some NCAA programs, the ice time and roles are basically handed out according to seniority. What's your role this year at Merrimack and is it different than what you were used to in the BCHL with Vernon?

Bigos: My role on the team is to be as physical as I can and establish a presence on the blue line. I love to move the puck and and play 5-on-5 with the team we have, but I am also getting the opportunity to play on the PP. We have a couple different set ups but I am not the quarter back on them, I'm mainly just used as a shooter. I also get to play PK which is a blast! I think to go out and block shots and try and stop the talent filled teams in HE is a great challenge and a lot of fun. In the BCHL I would play a similar type of role, just a lot more put on my plate and more of the focus on me, but still an almost identical role here at college.

TPS: Has there been much difficulty for you making that transition up to the NCAA level? What words of wisdom would you bestow on our younger readers who might be considering following the same path as you towards a career in pro hockey?

Bigos: The transition up to the NCAA level is what was expected for me. The speed here is very fast and the players are a lot stronger than juniors. Another big difference I found was just the way the players are so disciplined within their systems and that their abilities to read and react with the play is very good.

All of these things stem from how hard you prepare yourself physically. I felt I had a good off-season and that I have had great improvement even with the team in the weight room and on the ice before the season started. When the season did start and I noticed all of these things, it was pretty easy to adapt. I'm still learning and working on the things I need to, and I feel I'm making good progress and being as effective as I can during the games.

TPS: Who are you playing with on the ice?

Bigos: My D-partner right now is Karl Stollery, from Camrose. He's a great guy- quiet but has a tremendous work ethic and is a great skater. We feed off of each other really well and I learn a lot from him. We click very well on the ice because its very easy to play with him. Our chemistry is very good so far and we're only getting better.

TPS: When the team is on the road, who are you roomates with?

Bigos: I'm roommates with Stephane Da Costa from France. He's a great guy and one of my best friends here. Off the ice he's a very, very funny guy and really down to earth. We always have a fun time and we get along great. I couldn't be happier with my linemate or roommate.

TPS: finally, tell us a bit about Stephane Da Costa... a kid from France, has played last 3 years (maybe longer?) in North America and is having a big freshman season already including a huge 5-point game against Army back in October. Like I asked you in a text a while ago... is he for real?

Bigos: Stephane is the real deal. He's just so smart with and without the puck and he has so much skill to go with it. He reminds me of a little kid around the rink; just so excited and eager to be there and ready to just get on the ice and work. Its something that everyone has in them but we sometimes tend to get away from it at the higher levels as you go up but he brings that to our team and its infectious. Our whole team is at the ice rink and on the ice as much as we can be and it's great.

[Da Costa] is a great skater and great stickhandler and has good speed. He is so smart that its like he has such an advantage with his ability to see the ice and read and react. He controls the play so well as a puck possession guy and sets up so many scoring chances as well as score goals. He is very strong on his skates as well. I cant find anything bad about this kid every time I watch him. He's going to have a great career in the NHL.

Kyle Bigos was a 4th round selection of the Edmonton Oilers in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He scored 33 points in 58 games with the Vernon Vipers of the BCHL for whom the native Californian played two seasons. He is now a freshman member of the Merrimack Warriors and currently has 6 points in 11 games played with 32 penalty minutes and one game winning goal.

(Photos Courtesy: Vernon Vipers, BCHL, Hockey East, Merrimack Athletics and Gil Talbot)

Wednesday Re-Set

~
If you missed The Pipeline Show last night, well let me be your guide as I lead you through what you missed...

Dean and I started the night off by talking about the free agent crop that still waits to be signed at the American Hockey League level. As the Springfield Falcons hope to ice a stronger team, the free agent list is rapidly thinning out and Edmonton's farm club so far isn't any better than it was a year ago. Why? We talked a bit about that and through out some names of guys we think would fit the bill. (Dean and Guy HERE)

TPS made its on-air debut back on February 13th, 2006 and one of planned guests that night was Kyle Chipchura. For whatever reason, that planned interview fell apart but we finally got around to giving him another call and the Alberta product updated us on his summer. Montreal can be an intimidating market for Habs players and Chipchura described it from the perspective of a young guy trying to crack the roster. (Kyle Chipchura HERE)

Obviously with Oilers prospect camp underway in Sherwood Park we spent much of the evening with that in the spotlight. Earlier in the day we spoke with Johan Motin, William Quist, Olivier Roy and Toni Rajala. (Prospect Camp)

We also had extended interviews with a pair of new Oiler prospects in Kyle Bigos and Troy Hesketh - two defencemen that originally caught Edmonton fans off guard at the draft but are starting to change minds as people get to know more about them. (Kyle Bigos and Troy Hesketh interviews)

NEXT WEEK: Our annual show that examines and compares the NCAA and CHL paths to the NHL. Is one really better than the other? We'll speak with a Canadian who is currently playing for a premier NCAA program, a former WHL player who just wrapped up his CIS career and is ready to turn pro, a local media voice who is very staunch in his stance plus another guest who will offer up his/her thoughts on the subject. It should be another beauty show.

Who's Who at Prospect Camp

~
The Edmonton Oilers are set to begin their annual off-season Orientation Camp this weekend at Millennium Place in Sherwood Park. The on-ice sessions will run in the mornings from July 6th to 10th and as always, are open to the public.

Many of the onlookers, of which there are very few for these sessions, don't know much about who they will see. Most will assume that since it's a prospect camp, they might get a glimpse of the elusive Rob Schremp. That won't be the case this year as the organization has made some changes to the format.

First, there will only be a small number of pro players in attendance - players with more than one year pro under their belt already will not be here so no Schremp, Ryan O'Marra, Devan Dubnyk or Ryan Potulny.

Second, because the camp has been moved back to June from the previous late May or early June, players who were just drafted have all been invited.. more on that in a minute.

Finally, in years past the Oilers have invited several young free agents or undrafted players to have a closer look. There will be a smaller number of those players here this time including a few names that Oiler fans will recognize from the past.

Here is a look at the 25 players who will be attending the prospect camp: [EDIT: the official release from the Oilers omits two forwards who I was told would actually be there, I've made notes in the write up below.]

Goalies (3)

There will be three netminders at the sessions starting with 2006 draftee Bryan Pitton and his Stockton goalie partner Andrew Perugini (pictured). The duo combined for a 30-32-6 record with 21 of those victories belonging to Perugini. Perugini was a free agent invite to main camp last September and earned a minor league deal with the Oilers which he has made the most of.

The third masked man is Olivier Bellevance-Roy, Edmonton's 5th round pick a week ago in Montreal. The Cape Breton netminder will be making his first appearance in Edmonton. He posted a 35-12-3 record with a 2.84 GAA and .905 save percentage in the QMJHL last season, his second as a starter in the league. The goalie will turn 18 shortly after the camp ends on July 12th.

Defence (9)

There will be much interest paid to the blueliners who are at the event, several of which will be making their Edmonton debut. Familiar names and faces include Alex Plante, formerly of the Calgary Hitmen and collegian Jeff Petry from Michigan State.

Swede Johan Motin will be here after signing on with the Oilers back in May. The 4th round pick from 2008 is expected to play in Springfield this year and after 3 seasons in the Swedish Elite League with Farjestads, Motin should make a fairly quick transition to the AHL.

A couple of pros who will be back are Cody Wild and Jordan Bendfeld. Wild had an interesting year, mostly in Springfield, where he collected 18 points in 59 games. On the other hand, Bendfeld's season was a complete write off thanks to a serious knee injury that limited him to only 17 games. TPS last spotted the former Medicine Hat Tigers captain on the ice with the Edmonton Oil Kings during their prospect camp.

Jesse Dudas is back for another audition. As TPS explained last month, the Oilers promised him another crack at it after he was injured in the main camp last fall. The big blueliner has bounced around the WHL over the last two years dressing for Regina, Prince George and Swift Current in that time. He ended last year with Charlotte of the ECHL.

Another free agent invite this year is a first timer - local boy Sean Connauton. The defenceman is a 6'2, 200 lb junior at Brown who has played very sparingly over his first two years at the ECAC school. He's dressed for only 29 games through two full seasons and has yet to register his first NCAA point.

The new guys from the 2009 draft will both be here. Fans will get their first glimpses of Troy Hesketh and Kyle Bigos (pictured) next week as the two future collegians are in town. Hesketh was the surprise 3rd round selection out of Minnesota high school while Bigos "trimmed down" to a mere 230 lbs before leading the BCHL's Vernon Vipers all the way to the RBC Cup this past year.

Forwards (13)

Denver forward Matt Glasser will take part in his first Oiler camp since the fall of 2007 thanks to the later July start time. Glasser played for Ft. McMurray in the AJHL before heading south where he will be entering his final year with the Pioneers as a senior. Glasser has 10 goals and 15 points in 92 career games with Denver. [Interestingly, Glasser is one of two players who the team ommitted from their offical camp roster, however, I was told very recently that he was to be there. Glasser has missed every summer camp since being drafted because he was tied up with exams in Denver, surely that can't be the case in July?]

Cornell's Riley Nash will be back in town as well before heading back to the ECAC for his junior year with the Big Red. Chris Vande Velde is expected to be a leader on and off the ice with North Dakota now that he's a senior. Both collegians are centers with size so it will be interesting to compare the two against each other as potential future 2nd or 3rd line NHL players.

The CHL group is led by Jordan Eberle. The Regina Pats forward is coming off a good year in the WHL that was far overshadowed by his international play at the WJC in Ottawa. He ended the year in Springfield where he picked up 9 points in as many games.

Philippe Cornet (#15) finally hung his skates up for the year in late May after Rimouski hosted the Memorial Cup. The winger enjoyed chemistry with Eberle when the two played together last fall and although the practices this week won't be game simulations, the two might play together at the World Junior Camp in August. [Cornet's name did not appear on the official release from the team which was sent out a couple of hours ago.]

Edmonton Oil Kings forward Jeff Lee gets to return for another camp after filling in for the Springfield Falcons who were in a pinch for healthy bodies. Lee had a strong season for the local team as he posted a team high 62 points in 72 games. The center stands 6'2 and weighs in at just under 210 lbs.

The newcomer from the 'Dub is Everett Silvertips tough guy Cameron Abney. The 3rd round pick up played 48 games with the 'Tips yet still collected just over 100 PIMs. The Oilers want him to work on his skating, and he'll learn plenty of tricks and techniques for that at this event.

Geoff Paukovich and Jamie Bates will be the returning pro players. Edmonton is encouraged by Paukovich's play under Rob Daum who liked what he saw from the former Denver Pioneer. Paukovich is entering his final year of his entry level contract so the 2nd round pick has a lot on the line this season. Bates had 48 points in Stockton last year.

There are two free agent invites up front - Jesse Todd from Merrimack is a guy that has caught the eye of Development Coach Bob Mancini. Todd will be teammates with Bigos next year. The former Camrose Kodiak forward scored 23 points in 34 games for the Warriors as a freshman, tied for the team lead.

The other invite is an interesting one: William Quist from Sweden. The Oilers drafted Quist back in 2007 but after unsuccessful attempts at bringing him to North America to play in the CHL, they chose not to sign him and relinquished his rights. The free agent (pictured) is hoping to get another chance with the team after failing to hook up with anyone overseas.

Speaking of Europeans, two of the headliners for prospect camp will be forwrds from Finland. It will be the first chance for Edmonton fans to see Toni Rajala and Teemu Hartikainen in person. Rajala is considered by many to be a steal of the entire draft - a 4th round pick when many expected he could go as early as the first round. Hartikainen is coming off of a terrific rookie season in Finland where he scored 17 goals for KalPa Kuopio.

And that is everyone who will be in Sherwood Park next week. Wait... you're suggesting that there are a couple of notable players not on the list? You're right.

Both Anton Lander and Magnus Pääjärvi-Svensson are unavailable for the prospect camp. I have been told that after traveling between Canada and Sweden several times in the last month for the combine and the draft, another trip would be "a bit much" before the players have to report to Timrå on July 17th.

The 25 players will be on the ice from 10:00-11:30 AM under the guidance of Development Coach Bob Mancini, Springfield coach Rob Daum and skating coach Steve Serdachny.

I am told that the list of participants is not likely to change but I suppose there could always be a late addition before Sunday when the players arrive.

Edmonton Oilers 2009 Draft Review

~
Make no mistake about it, it's a new era in Oilerville. A new GM, a new coaching staff and a draft that saw Edmonton do some things they haven't done in a very long time.

Edmonton entered the draft armed with 7 draft picks including a pair of third round bullets but lacked one in the 5th round. The team made two trades during the event; the first was moving roster player Kyle Brodziak and their 6th round pick to Minnesota for 4th and 5th rounders. The second deal was short and sweet - they gave Ottawa their 7th for the Senators' 6th in 2010.

Here is a review of the draft from an Oiler perspective with comments from Head Scout (Amateur), Stu MacGregor.

Edmonton went into the draft with the same assumption a lot of people did; that the top 8 was pretty much set with John Tavares, Victor Hedman, Matt Duchene making up the 3-man vanguard, Evander Kane and Brayden Schenn the next two forwards to go followed by a combination of Jared Cowen, Pääjärvi-Svensson and Dmitry Kulikov.

After several attempts at putting my glass to the wall, I had a pretty good indication ten days ago that Edmonton had narrowed it down to about 5 players who they felt would reasonably still be available when their turn came around. Forward Nazem Kadri was one but my hunch was that there wasn't a strong consensus from the staff on whether he would be the Best Player Available. There were three defencemen in the mix led by USHL rearguard John Moore with Swedes David Rundblad and Oliver Ekman-Larsson in the conversation. I was led to believe that Brandon forward Scott Glennie was considered a "wild card" who might move higher up 'the List' when the organization got back together again in Montreal.

My sense was that by the time the draft was about to get underway, the Oilers had eliminated the two Swedes from serious consideration and that Kadri probably wouldn't be available leaving them with Moore and Glennie sitting neck-and-neck with equal value to them. The only difference between the two players being that the franchise is arguable more in need of a scoring forward than a top-3 defenceman making Glennie their man.

The draft began as expected, aside from Toronto not being able to trade up, but that changed once the top 5 were gone. When Phoenix selected Ekman-Larsson that essentially pushed one of Edmonton's top 8 down to the number 9 position and one spot closer to them. With Toronto taking Kadri, Edmonton's table must have been smiling because now they knew they were definitely going to get a player they really valued highly. Dallas surprised everyone taking Glennie in the 8th slot which guaranteed Edmonton would be looking at 2-3 of their top-8 players. Ottawa's selection of Jared Cowen cinched it; With both a forward and a defenceman who they didn't expect to still be available, Edmonton did as they would have with Glennie VS Moore and chose the forward.

Magnus Pääjärvi-Svensson (LW) - Timrå Red Eagles (SEL)
Norrköping, SWE Shoots: Left
Height: 6'1 Weight: 201 lbs

The Oilers had not used a first round pick on a player based in Europe since 2002 (Jesse Niinimaki) but when the picks proceeded and MPS was amazingly available for them, Edmonton had no choice but to take him.

According to the player when he was on The Pipeline Show a couple of weeks ago, his name is pronounced "Pa-Jar-Vee" or even more like "Puh-Jar-Vee" when you hear him say it. In their combine interview the Oilers asked Pääjärvi-Svensson what he'd like his name bar to say on the back of his sweater when they drafted him and he told them "Paajarvi" which is also the way he wore it in Sweden.

Interestingly enough, "Pääjärvi" comes from his Finnish mother but unlike French-Canadian players such as Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers, the Swede opts to drop his father's last name for the back of his jersey. It may or may not mean anything but I like the choice for two reasons: (1) He's the child of separated parents so this may be a nod to his mother and (2) he's playing in Sweden and sporting a Finnish name on his uniform... is that ballsy? I don't know but I like it anyway.

Pääjärvi-Svensson is an electrifying player who has speed, hands and charisma. Given a year or two, and he won't be coming to North America before the 2010-11 season, he could make for a great match with Ales Hemsky. Who Edmonton might squeeze in between them is another story.

Oiler fans will get their next chance to see Pääjärvi-Svensson up close in international action at the 2010 WJC in Saskatoon/Regina. He'll definitely be the headliner for Sweden as that country attempts to stop Canada's quest for 6 straight gold medals.

One of the things the Oilers feel really good about with their Swede compared to the others taken in round one is that, outside of Hedman, he may be the most physically mature. While the other five first round picks all weigh between 175-190 lbs, Pääjärvi-Svensson has cracked the 200 lb plateau.

----------------------------

As the first round continued and defenceman John Moore continued to be available, Edmonton began kicking tires to see what it would take to move up into an area where they might be able to take him. Moore is a player that Oilers Assistant GM Rick Olczyk knew well from his days spent in the Chicago area where he actually coached the defenceman at a younger age. It's my sense that Moore was very likely 10th on Edmonton's list, just behind Glennie, so if they could have found a way to get back into the first round, they would have. As it turned out, the asking price was a later pick in round 1 and they simply didn't have one so they watched with envy as former Oiler Scott Howson came away with another player Edmonton valued. (Maxim Mayorov in 2007 was another).

There was hope as round two began on Saturday morning that the unpredictable order from Day 1 would continue. Erie Otter Ryan O'Reilly is a player the Oilers would have been excited to select in the 40 spot but he went quickly to the Colorado Avalanche. Carl Klingberg, Alex Chiasson and Chris Brown were also players who I had the impression that Edmonton liked to a certain degree. When their turn came around again, the Oilers went back to Sweden and added another forward.

Anton Lander (C/LW) - Timrå Red Eagles (SEL)
Sundsvall, SWE Shoots: Left
Height: 6' Weight: 194 lbs

The first thing you'll notice is that Lander and Pääjärvi-Svensson are teammates and that quickly had some fans jumping to the conclusion that it played a major role as to why Edmonton chose him. Not so according to Stu MacGregor who chalks that up to simple coincidence.

"That just.. happens to be," said Edmonton's head scout, "It wasn't something that we focused on. Does it hurt anything? No. They played together before and played together growing up and that will obviously help them as they try and make the transition on their way to the NHL."

The more I hear about and read up on Lander, he's reminding me a little bit of a Swedish version of Jarret Stoll who, coming out of junior was considered a heart and soul, glue-in-the-room kind of player. Lander was the captain of Sweden's U18 squad in April and could very well be wearing the same letter at the 2010 WJC this coming winter.

Asked what Lander's current areas of weakness might be, MacGregor offered up the usual response but insisted that there is no concern about them either.

"Like every player at that age he has to improve his skating and strength but that's where his game has continued to evolve in his attempt to become a second line center," said MacGregor, "Anton is the kind of guy that provides skill and that character and drive."

It should be noted that during our ISS Draft Preview this past Tuesday, we asked head scout Mike Oke to suggest a player who might fit the boom/bust category and Lander was the first player that he mentioned. On the flip side of the coin, we asked Pääjärvi-Svensson a few weeks ago to name a couple Swedes he felt were being overlooked as the draft got closer and not surprisingly the first name out of his mouth was that of his buddy and teammate.

The selection of Lander represented the first time in their history that Edmonton's first two picks went to players based outside of North America. The only other year where European born players went 1-2 for Edmonton was 1999 where Jani Rita was followed by Alexei Semenov who was playing in the OHL for Sudbury. Tony Salmelainen was Edmonton's 3rd pick that same year.

------------------

With two forwards in the bank I suspected that Edmonton would begin to look more towards a blueliner for their next pick, the first of two chances in round three. As round two unfolds, big rearguards like Brian Dumoulin and Taylor Doherty are snapped up soon followed by Brayden McNabb in round three. Edmonton's desire to get bigger and look to the blueline leads them to take a player not even among the 210 North American names on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking.

Troy Hesketh (D) - Minnetonka Skippers (MN-USHS)
Minnetonka, Minnesota USA Shoots: Left
Height: 6'2 Weight: 178 lbs

The reaction from fans online was instant and venomous as their team dared select players they, as fans, had no familiarity with:

"What an absolutely atrocious pick with guys like Rajala and Roy still on the board. Massive fail." suggested a Hockey's Future Message Board member calling himself "doulos".

"Who the [heck] is Hesketh??" was the basic sentiment from several other fans.

Despite the non-ranking by Central Scouting, Edmonton's Stu MacGregor insists that his team wasn't the only one on the hunt for Hesketh in this draft.

"He was a player that after the draft was done, other guys were coming up to us and saying 'you guys snuck one here!'" said MacGregor. "New Jersey runs their own scouting combine and we knew that they'd had him in there and a number of other teams were on the radar for him right around that area so we knew we had to step in there and get him if we wanted him."

Hesketh has good size, put up 21 points from the back end in 25 games with the Skippers but is definitely considered a long term project because he's only just wrapped up his grade 11. He's still got another year of high school hockey ahead of him but is expected to then attend Wisconsin, one of the more respected NCAA hockey programs in the United States.

"Wisconsin has been recruiting some of the finest defencemen in college hockey over the last number of years now and they are extremely excited about him as a player," said MacGregor, "His brother and father are both much taller than he is so we think there is still some physical development to come."

He's a big 6'2 right now but could conceivable sprout up two or three more inches and get into that behemoth range.

"Mike Peluso, our scout in the Minnesota area, has an extreme passion for him," MacGregor said, "He's a projection player and we're really excited that a little over a year from now he'll be playing at Wisconsin and developing under their fine coaching staff there."

I have also seen reports that suggest Hesketh isn't due to arrive at Wisconsin until the 2011-12 season which would mean an extra year at a lower level.

Some fans will wonder about the fact that Central Scouting didn't have him ranked if in fact he's such a hotly sought after prospect. According to MacGregor, there have been "many" players over the years who have been drafted without being rated by CSS and it's not something the Oilers are worried about.

The last year that Edmonton drafted anyone directly out of the ranks of US high school was 2005 when they selected Robby Dee and Chris Vande Velde from Brock and Moorhead respectively. Taylor Chorney came out of prep school Shattuck St. Mary's that same year.

-----------------------

As their second pick of the 3rd round approached the Oilers wondered if players like Ryan Howse or Ryan Bourque might still be available. Neither were but the latter may very well have been the name called had New York not swooped in two picks ahead of them. Instead of Ray Bourque's son Edmonton latched onto a player who they believe might one day fill a role on the team that they don't currently have many prospect lined up to do.

Cameron Abney (RW) - Everett Silvertips (WHL)
Aldergrove, BC Canada Shoots: Right
Height: 6'4 Weight: 192 lbs

The online reaction didn't get any better for the Oilers when they selected the tough guy from the Silvertips. I'm sure even Everett was pretty surprised that Abney was drafted ahead of Canadian U18 forward Byron Froese and WHL rookie scoring champ Kellen Tochkin (who somehow went completely undrafted).

"This isn't even funny." typed 'ThePerfectStorm' at HFboards.

"Wow, just an epic fail on the draft today. I am so pissed." echoed 's7zark'.

"I wanna kick a baby. In the 3rd round man? 4 points? Really? I am not a happy man right now." seethed 'Sethis'.

There was a 70-point gap between Kellen Tochkin and Cameron Abney in the Everett scoring race and 66 minutes n penalties between them too. The big winger only appeared in 48 games for the 'Tips in 2008-09 but recorded 103 PIM during that limited time. His fight highlights are already making their rounds through the Oiler fan blogs but still many supporters of the club are unhappy with the use of a third round pick on someone many would categorize as a "goon".

"Right now he's a specific role player but he's a player with the potential to be more than that," suggested MacGregor. "He's a big kid that has grown a lot in the last two years so he's still getting his feet under him. Bob Brown really believes in him and thinks he's got some potential and again, he's another player where guys from a lot of other teams came up to us afterward to say 'hey he's someone that we were looking at'."

Obviously his skating hasn't yet caught up with his growth spurt but that's not to say that it won't provided Abney puts in the work.

In order to try and gauge exactly where they rate Abney right now, I asked MacGregor if the Everett forward reminds him of Zack Stortini (a 3rd round pick in 2003) and where he may have been during his draft year with Sudbury.

"I think Zack was a bit ahead of him at that point," said MacGregor, "[Abney] was hurt at the beginning of the year and didn't get a lot of playing time so maybe a year from now he'll be closer to moving in the same lines as Zack [in junior]."

Cameron Abney, who some have already tabbed as 'Bam-Bam Cam', is the first Everett Player that Edmonton has owned the rights to.

------------

Edmonton made their first trade of the day sending Kyle Brodziak and their 6th rounder to Minnesota in exchange for 4th and 5th picks. The impact of that deal wasn't lost on Oiler fans who quickly realized that moving Brodziak left Edmonton with only one player on the roster who appears to have the ability to win a faceoff. Clearly a need which will have to be addressed via free agency or trade in the very near future.

An interesting and somewhat prophetic comment over at HF from 'Soli' read "Redeem yourselves with 101... Roy... Rajala... Someone I've heard of..."

However, first Edmonton announced their player with the 99th selection and I'll admit, this is a player that I am finding more and more intriguing as I unearth more information about him.

Kyle Bigos (D) - Vernon Vipers (BCHL)
Upland, California USA Shoots: Right
Height: 6'5 Weight: 230 lbs

This is a player that did actually come up in a pre-draft conversation that I had with an Oiler source but it was masterfully downplayed as just another interesting player as opposed to someone on the radar.

Bigos has come a long way in a very short period of time. I had a conversation early today with Vernon GM and head coach Mark Ferner and he helped shed some light on the gigantic blueliner. According to the coach, last summer Bigos was denting the scale at 250 lbs but dedicated himself to dropping some excess weight and getting into better playing shape so that he could potentially attract a NCAA scholarship. Like Dustin Byfuglien in the NHL, once he shed some pounds he became a much more effective player. He committed to Merrimack of Hockey East and is set to join the Warriors in 2009-10.

Coach Ferner spoke very highly in regards to the development in Bigos' on-ice performance over the last couple of years and told me that two years ago he was getting grilled for even having him on the team. Now though, Ferner and the Vipers are laughing all the way to the bank... or at least to the RBC Cup.

Vernon captured the RBC Cup this year and in the process Bigos was named both the Top Defensive Player and the MVP of the event as well. Bigos only scored 8 times during 58 regular season games but he struck for an absolute beauty in the RBC Cup title game against Humboldt. The game story from Hockey Canada says:

Bigos capped off an MVP tournament with an MVP-style goal late in the third, undressing three Broncos and tucking the puck around LaRochelle for the insurance marker.

"He's an extremely big guy but he skates pretty well for such a big guy," said MacGregor, "Shoots the puck well. His play really rose up as the playoffs went along for Vernon and was a huge factor for them winning the Royal Bank Cup."

Thanks to a terrific season Bigos started getting a lot more NCAA interest with programs trying to get him to jump ship from Merrimack but apparently he's stayed loyal to the Warriors.

"All the big schools were trying to get him to default but he stuck to his guns and said 'they were the ones who believed in me when I wasn't a highly regarded guy and I'm sticking with them' said MacGregor. "He's going to play against all those top teams in Hockey East and Merrimack's program is doing nothing but going on the rise."

Coach Ferner informed me that he'd been contacted by about 15 NHL teams in regards to the big blueliner so the Oilers certainly were not the only interested party.

Bigos is the first native Californian that Edmonton has drafted since former Edmonton Road Runner defenceman Jason Platt in 2000.

----------------

A lot of Oiler fans had been screaming two different names at their TVs and computer monitors since the third round and finally, with the 101st overall selection their unconventional prayers were answered.

Toni Rajala (RW) - Ilves Jr. (FIN-Jr.)
Parkano, Finland Shoots: Left
Height: 5'10 Weight: 163 lbs

If you wanted the Oilers to forget everything else and simply draft a guy for his skill and offensive potential, then you were happy when they chose the leading scorer from the World U18 tournament. The diminutive Finn broke Alex Ovechkin's U18 scoring record by collecting 19 points in Fargo, a total that was 4 points beter than anyone else in the same event.

Rajala fell in the draft simply because of his stature; his talent stuffed into an averaged size body would have been picked in round 1. Every team in the league looked past him but eventually the potential outweighs the risk of a blown pick and for Edmonton that was with the 101st selection.

"That's it exactly," agreed MacGregor, "You can't keep passing up players that have the hockey instincts and [abilities] to create the offence that he has. A lot of smaller players are playing and guys like Nate Gerbe are finding a place and with his high skill level and intelligence I think he's got a really good opportunity."

If you're small in the NHL then you'd better be a good skater and MacGregor confirms that speed isn't a major concern for their new Finn.

"He's quick, he's not going to race you and beat you up and down the ice but he's quick in small space and gets in and out of dangerous areas quickly because he's so agile," he explained.

So he's small like Tony Salmelainen but doesn't have that same breakaway speed. So is there another Oiler property that he might have a similar skating style too?

"He's like [Jordan] Eberle in a 20 foot space where he darts in and out."

Rajala would have to be considered as close to automatic as it gets in regards to the 2010 WJC. After his U18 performance where he outgunned top 2010 prospects Mikael Granlund and Teemu Pulkkinen, Rajala will likely join fellow Oiler prospect Teemu Hartikainen in Saskatoon/Regina.

-------------------

With the disgruntled section of the fanbase slowly coming back on board the bandwagon thanks to the Rajala pick, Edmonton sets its sights on adding a netminder to the organization. Edmonton doesn't currently have a goalie under the age of 21 so picking one up this year is considered, to some degree, a priority.

In all of the conversations I had leading up to the draft I could not determine if there was one goalie that had set himself a part from the pack in any way. By the start of the 5th round most of the well known keepers were gone but Edmonton product Kieran Millan may have been in Oiler sights until Colorado intervened and took the BU freshman. In the end, Edmonton got a keeper with big potential and also further satiated the bloodlust of any disappointed fans.

Olivier Bellevance-Roy (G) - Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (QMJHL)
Amqui, PQ Canada Catches: Left
Height: 6' Weight: 165 lbs

At one point early on in the year there were people who suggested the Cape Breton goalie was easily the #1 netminder for 2009. He and the Eagles got off to a screaming start before coming back down to Earth but he ended the year much like it began - on fire.

"He's not the biggest of goaltenders but he's a very competitive guy," MacGregor started, "We did some follow up on him and to us he was a guy who seems to have some real potential."

He's average height at 6' but coming in at only 165 lbs does sound extremely small considering Rajala is 163 lbs and described by many as 'tiny'. Roy went 35-12-3 this season and sported a 2.89 GAA and .905 save percentage. That's the 5th best GAA and SV% in the QMJHL amongst starters.

Roy is one of four goalies that have been invited to Hockey Canada's Summer Development camp, the first step in an attempt to play in the 2010 WJC for Canada. He is the youngest and smallest of the four invited netminders but will be channeling Dustin Tokarski's aura as a recent Canadian starter who was sub-6'.

---------------

Edmonton didn't have a 6th rounder as they moved it to Minnesota along with Brodziak. The Wild used that option to select Red Deer goalie Darcy Kuemper.

The Oilers were holding onto their final pick, a 7th rounder, and considered using it should a local product like Levko Koper still be available. Although Edmonton native Burke Gallimore ended up going un-drafted, Edmonton decided to flip their 2009 7th to Ottawa for their 2010 6th which is just a simple case of proper asset management.

With the draft officially in the books it was time to check in on the cyber-fanbase at HF:

"Sweet. Was the scouting staff drunk for the third round only? Maybe they were reading their list upside down or something. The guys we got in the 4th/5th should've been the ones we got in the 3rd. But who cares, we got 'em!" said 'ThePerfectStorm'.

"Man, EDM is putting on a clinic this draft!! MPS, Rajala, and Roy were all huge steals..." praised 'T-Cage;

Perhaps the best post as the draft wound up was this one by the always witty 'Mowzie':

"So if we just re-arrange the numbers, are we all happy with the draft at this point?

1st- Svensson
2nd- Lander
3rd- Rajala
4th- Roy
5th- Bigos
6th- Hesketh
7th- Abney"

I think he's got a point, that would have pleased many of those who were grumbling along the way.

---------------

The Oilers entered the draft with 7 picks, they chose 7 players, added a pick for the 2010 draft but also parted ways with capable utility forward Kyle Brodziak. Two defencemen, both big to very big, an intriguing netminder and four forwards - 2 skill, one 2-way/character and one ruffian.

A little bit of everything including plenty of ups and downs for the fanbase.

(Photos Courtesy: ESPN, Vernon Vipers and Edge Photo, NHL, Magnus Pääjärvi-Svensson, Everett Silvertips, Sportsline.com, and Getty Images)