Carsomyr
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I'll state my reasons below, but for all you "tl;dr" people (like myself 😛) I'll try to give a short summary first: So the Oilers had a DISGUSTING draft last year, landing at least three potential top 6 players and what was supposed to be one of the best goalies in the draft (admittedly, it was a poor draft year for goalies, but still!), and they already had a couple of good prospects in the system, such as Jordan Eberle & Linus Omark... And now that the draft lottery for 2010 is done, guess who's got the #1 pick?!? 
Unless they agree to a trade, that means they will probably draft either Taylor Hall (LW) or Tyler Seguin (C) - both VERY legit 1st overall picks. With such a strong crop of prospects, who will likely all be NHL-ready within the next 3 years, Edmonton also shouldn't have a problem attracting some UFA's, seeing as the organization has a lot of tradition and since few players would give up the chance to play for one of the Canadian NHL teams.
Pittsburgh rose to greatness mainly thanks to Crosby and Malkin, Washington because of Ovechkin and Backstrom (and to lesser extent, Semin and Green). So, I ask you, is it fair to argue that the Oilers is another organization on the rise? Or are there other teams out there that are closer to reaching that level? Perhaps the Avs?
Well, uh... that was the... "summary"... 🙄 XD My personal opinion follows below. I definitely think Edmonton is the next big thing in the NHL. Colorado also has a lot of good prospects, and they too had a great draft last year, but I don't think people fully realize how INSANELY good the prospects in the Oilers system are...
I'll post "player profiles" below, but here's an overview of what I consider to be the backbone of the organization at this time: Jordan Eberle (C), Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson (LW), Anton Lander (LW), Linus Omark (LW) Toni Rajala (RW), Olivier Roy (G), as well as either Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin
See, I think they should draft Seguin to get another legit Center prospect, and that would mean that the team will have two extremely competent lines and a solid keeper. There are some decent defensemen in the system as well, but I think that's where they might need to reinforce the team with a UFA or two.
Now you may ask yourself: "Carsomyr, why do you have such a raging hard-on for these guys?" and that's a perfectly reasonable question! 😛 First of all, I just want to say that I'm NOT an Oilers fan. Never been, and probably never will be, but I love to see the league get competitive and I just so happen to know a fair amount about these youngsters. I'll post my talent analysis of them below, and hopefully that will clear things up a bit. 🙂
Jordan Eberle - C
I think those of you who follow the World Juniors will recognize this guy from the last two years; he has 26 points in 12 games at the WJC level. Sure, tearing it up against juniors is one thing, but he has also played a dozen or so AHL games this year and proven that he can score at a PPG pace against men as well. Hockeysfuture lists Eberle as the top prospect in the Oilers organization, but those guys are fucking clueless sometimes. Sure, the guy's got LOTS of talent, but he will be no higher than the #3 prospect in the organization after this years draft. A very solid player though, who definitely has the potential to be a first liner.
Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson - LW
Just like Forsberg and Backstrom were underrated in their draft years, it's the same thing with Paajarvi. This guy is so ridiculously talented that I will summarise his future with only this:
SEL = The Swedish Elite League, arguably the 3rd best league in the world after the NHL and the Russian KHL. Forsberg played during a higher-scoring era, so his points are a bit inflated, but I think the comparison is still relevant. Also, Paajarvi will probably play a couple more games with the senior national team this season, and he might even get to play in the World Championship later in May!
Anton Lander - LW
A very solid 2-way player. Lander has also played SEL-hockey since he was 16, but he has always played in the shadow of Paajarvi (they're on the same team). Lander's big idol is a certain Henrik with the Detroit Redwings, and that is also the style of play he has tried to emulate. He won't be as good, probably, but it is definitely fair to say that he could end up as a poor man's Zetterberg who helps balance out the second line. Furthermore, the guy is captain material, so it's not unlikely that he'll get the C on his jersey eventually.
Linus Omark - LW
Extremely difficult to take the puck from, and he always does the unexpected. He's a bit of a "youtube phenom", the kind of guy who loads up a slapshot during shootouts just because the goalie expects him to deke. In fact, he did that the other day in a practice game against Switzerland. Video here. Omark has the second shot in the video, the first guy just so happens to be Paajarvi who I mentioned above. It was in fact this video that finally got me to make the thread... xD
Toni Rajala - RW
He was once hyped up to be the Finnish version of Crosby, but his size issues made him drop faaaar in the draft (much like Jordan Schroeder). Very speedy skater with a great shot. So long as he puts on some weight he should be able to hold his own and be a solid 2nd liner seeing lots of PP time. Rajala was taken in the 4th round last year, which probably makes him the biggest steal of the draft... 😵
Olivier Roy - G
The kid's still just 18, which is VERY young for a goalie, but as I understand it his potential is very high. Looking at his stats he also seems to improve every year, and that's what counts at this point. He's got a decent .913 save percentage in his three AHL-games this season. Hopefully he gets to be an AHL regular in 10/11, but at any rate this guy was very highly touted before the 2009 draft. Roy is perhaps a bit of a "project", but the Oilers can consider themselves lucky that he fell to them. 🙂
Add Hall or Seguin to that list and you have 2 complete lines, where at least 3 guys have star potential and one displays peerless leadership skills. If Pittsburgh and Washington could pull it off with 3-4 really good players, I just don't see how the Oilers could fail with 7. In any case, I'm excited as hell!
My heart remains with the Caps, but I will be following the Oilers with a keen interest from now on! 
Unless they agree to a trade, that means they will probably draft either Taylor Hall (LW) or Tyler Seguin (C) - both VERY legit 1st overall picks. With such a strong crop of prospects, who will likely all be NHL-ready within the next 3 years, Edmonton also shouldn't have a problem attracting some UFA's, seeing as the organization has a lot of tradition and since few players would give up the chance to play for one of the Canadian NHL teams.Pittsburgh rose to greatness mainly thanks to Crosby and Malkin, Washington because of Ovechkin and Backstrom (and to lesser extent, Semin and Green). So, I ask you, is it fair to argue that the Oilers is another organization on the rise? Or are there other teams out there that are closer to reaching that level? Perhaps the Avs?
Well, uh... that was the... "summary"... 🙄 XD My personal opinion follows below. I definitely think Edmonton is the next big thing in the NHL. Colorado also has a lot of good prospects, and they too had a great draft last year, but I don't think people fully realize how INSANELY good the prospects in the Oilers system are...
I'll post "player profiles" below, but here's an overview of what I consider to be the backbone of the organization at this time: Jordan Eberle (C), Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson (LW), Anton Lander (LW), Linus Omark (LW) Toni Rajala (RW), Olivier Roy (G), as well as either Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin
See, I think they should draft Seguin to get another legit Center prospect, and that would mean that the team will have two extremely competent lines and a solid keeper. There are some decent defensemen in the system as well, but I think that's where they might need to reinforce the team with a UFA or two.
Now you may ask yourself: "Carsomyr, why do you have such a raging hard-on for these guys?" and that's a perfectly reasonable question! 😛 First of all, I just want to say that I'm NOT an Oilers fan. Never been, and probably never will be, but I love to see the league get competitive and I just so happen to know a fair amount about these youngsters. I'll post my talent analysis of them below, and hopefully that will clear things up a bit. 🙂
Jordan Eberle - C
I think those of you who follow the World Juniors will recognize this guy from the last two years; he has 26 points in 12 games at the WJC level. Sure, tearing it up against juniors is one thing, but he has also played a dozen or so AHL games this year and proven that he can score at a PPG pace against men as well. Hockeysfuture lists Eberle as the top prospect in the Oilers organization, but those guys are fucking clueless sometimes. Sure, the guy's got LOTS of talent, but he will be no higher than the #3 prospect in the organization after this years draft. A very solid player though, who definitely has the potential to be a first liner.
Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson - LW
Just like Forsberg and Backstrom were underrated in their draft years, it's the same thing with Paajarvi. This guy is so ridiculously talented that I will summarise his future with only this:
SEL = The Swedish Elite League, arguably the 3rd best league in the world after the NHL and the Russian KHL. Forsberg played during a higher-scoring era, so his points are a bit inflated, but I think the comparison is still relevant. Also, Paajarvi will probably play a couple more games with the senior national team this season, and he might even get to play in the World Championship later in May!
Anton Lander - LW
A very solid 2-way player. Lander has also played SEL-hockey since he was 16, but he has always played in the shadow of Paajarvi (they're on the same team). Lander's big idol is a certain Henrik with the Detroit Redwings, and that is also the style of play he has tried to emulate. He won't be as good, probably, but it is definitely fair to say that he could end up as a poor man's Zetterberg who helps balance out the second line. Furthermore, the guy is captain material, so it's not unlikely that he'll get the C on his jersey eventually.
Linus Omark - LW
Extremely difficult to take the puck from, and he always does the unexpected. He's a bit of a "youtube phenom", the kind of guy who loads up a slapshot during shootouts just because the goalie expects him to deke. In fact, he did that the other day in a practice game against Switzerland. Video here. Omark has the second shot in the video, the first guy just so happens to be Paajarvi who I mentioned above. It was in fact this video that finally got me to make the thread... xD
Toni Rajala - RW
He was once hyped up to be the Finnish version of Crosby, but his size issues made him drop faaaar in the draft (much like Jordan Schroeder). Very speedy skater with a great shot. So long as he puts on some weight he should be able to hold his own and be a solid 2nd liner seeing lots of PP time. Rajala was taken in the 4th round last year, which probably makes him the biggest steal of the draft... 😵
Olivier Roy - G
The kid's still just 18, which is VERY young for a goalie, but as I understand it his potential is very high. Looking at his stats he also seems to improve every year, and that's what counts at this point. He's got a decent .913 save percentage in his three AHL-games this season. Hopefully he gets to be an AHL regular in 10/11, but at any rate this guy was very highly touted before the 2009 draft. Roy is perhaps a bit of a "project", but the Oilers can consider themselves lucky that he fell to them. 🙂
Add Hall or Seguin to that list and you have 2 complete lines, where at least 3 guys have star potential and one displays peerless leadership skills. If Pittsburgh and Washington could pull it off with 3-4 really good players, I just don't see how the Oilers could fail with 7. In any case, I'm excited as hell!
My heart remains with the Caps, but I will be following the Oilers with a keen interest from now on! 
