Perron - only because he plays physical and puts in more effort - and apparently doesn't like the way Edmonton has been playing. I would welcome anyone from Edmonton that actually calls out that team.
Yakupov - I still think he will be a very good player (and a RW to boot). Decent speed, physical and a fantastic shot. Plus, I would say he is the hardest working out of their wunderkids who actually TRIES to play defence. He looks lost more often than not, but at least there is some effort there. I also think he is young enough to not have been 'ruined' yet. Put him with a good coach for a couple of seasons, and I bet he helps you win more often than not.
Nurse and Draisaitl for the obvious reasons that they aren't ruined yet. I also like Yakimov (thought he would be a complete bust, but I do think he will be a decent bottom 6 NHL'er with fantastic size, though he needs to get better at skating or it will never happen for him). I also like Khaira (sp?). Physical, hard-working forward with good size. Good bottom 6'er in the long run I bet. I would also like Brossoit back - liked the kid, but think his ceiling is that of a backup (but who knows, right?). I would like him (and Horak) back just so that they don't get ruined long-term, as they were both 'good kids' (and besides, he is life-long best friends with Wotherspoon).
I like RNH - I do think he is incredibly skilled and has good IQ - but wonder about his long-term health a bit. I would rather keep a bigger (especially after bulking up in the next couple of years) and faster Sam Bennett and a bigger and much better 2-way center in Monahan as the 1-2 punch.
Hall - I would only trade for him if there was another trade lined up to get even more assets for him right away. Has the IQ of a brick, though blazing speed and elite ability. Looks like he won't have a long career with his lack of positional awareness, and I bet he would drive Hartley crazy with his 'drive-bys' on defence.
Eberle - Wouldn't want him for free, actually. Yeah, the kid is a 30 goal scorer, and scoring is difficult in the NHL. How productive would he be if he actually even tried to play a complete game instead of just offence? 15 goals? 20? Maybe? Kid is soft, selfish, defensively unaware and unmotivated. This might be an exaggeration, but to me Eberle is the biggest farce on that team as one of their 'elite players'. Maybe he would prove me wrong after he gets traded and another coach has a year or two to try and change his game, but at this stage I wouldn't touch him for free. If I saw him at least TRY on defence - even just pretend he is trying - I would think there is something there. Kid just doesn't seem to think he needs to do anything south of the red-line, much less in the defensive zone. You don't win with guys like Eberle in today's NHL, and he is nowhere near talented enough offensively to make up for it like at least Ovechkin is (and OV has taken a LOT of flak for his defensive game over the years).
I will include Shultz here as well. Kid is not good enough offensively to even start making up for his defensive game. Does he have a defensive game? I don't think so. I have to occasionally check the official roster to make sure that there is in fact a 'D' listed to his name. Kid doesn't seem to know the first thing about playing defence, and when he gets caught on a bad pinch (which is often) I see him skating slower to get back than when he was trying to enter the offensive zone.
Just what I think with every one of my viewings of the Oilers, which is about every time they play the Flames, and an occasional one roughly once every two weeks or so. Definitely no expert on them or their kids, but that is what stands out to me.
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