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Originally Posted by AlbertaOiler72
I'm not saying they're special...I'm simply listing the youth and room to grow on the Oilers
all these haven't even hit their primes yet...some will make it, some won't
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Yes but you used it as evidence that you don't need to have a good prospect base since all your best young players are on the team already, when every team in the league has players of that caliber.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlbertaOiler72
he'll get more than Eberle IMO...he's still a good center that's growing into a two-way defender...where was Backlund at 24? not the player he is today
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Backlund was oft-injured in his younger years but still had steady progression. Starting with his official rookie year he had pro-rated point totals of 28, dip to 22, big bounce to 41, and then 42 at 24 years old. He also had/has a much better defensive game than Nuge. Nuge is stalled/regressing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlbertaOiler72
because we have no idea what the cap will be in 2 years? we don't know who will and who won't be on the team at that time?
if his performance dictates a major raise then that means the Oilers are successful...same goes with Strome, Caggulia, Nurse, Benning
again, some will get raises, some will be traded/cut/waived/buried
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Yes, but if you had a GM with competent cap management you wouldn't have to lose these players for almost nothing if the earn a raise.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlbertaOiler72
other than Nilsson who wasn't an Oiler draft pick, every one of those players are still in the NHL
seems to be the Oilers can draft just fine in the 1st round (it's the other that need work)
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Yeah, they're still in the NHL, playing for other teams that managed to clean the Oiler development failure stench off them. Cogliano is a solid 2 way player for the Ducks. Dubnyk is a top tier goalie for the Wild. Gagner just had a career year for the Jackets. If Yakupov had been drafted by a team with competent development he'd probably still be a decent winger.
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Originally Posted by AlbertaOiler72
a little early to judge Nurse and Benning...how good was Brodie at 22?
these young guys got great experience pushing Anaheim to the limit in the 2nd round...I expect even more growth from them this year
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Brodie at 23 played 47 games in the NHL vs. Nurse's 44 and outscored him 14 to 11. However Nurse also had more NHL games played at the same age and only saw 4 games in the AHL vs. Brodie's 115. And what do you know, by letting Brodie develop at a nice pace he turned into a very good young defenseman. Unlike the Oilers who have probably the worst defensive group in the league but threw in a young kid who wasn't ready because they have no other option. Classic Oilers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlbertaOiler72
except Vegas never had the Oilers as Cup favorite back then...neither did most publications
so it's not just Oiler fans
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Well they should probably award them the cup then. Just like how in 2016/17 Chicago, St. Louis, LA, San Jose, Dallas, Detroit and Minnesota all had better odds in the West than Nashville.