Prospects

Edmonton Oilers Prospect Roundup: Fanti improving as a netminder

The Edmonton Oilers’ prospects saw plenty of action this past week. With a some strong individual performances across all leagues, we had to give this week’s spotlight to Ryan Fanti. Let’s dive right into it!


Welcome to the TOR Edmonton Oilers prospect update. Each week, we’ll take a dive into how the Oilers’ prospects have done in their respective leagues. We have defined a prospect as a skater who has played fewer than 65 NHL games, and is younger than 25 years of age. All data is from EliteProspects. We also use an NHLe calculator built by Christian Roatis (@Croatis) which is used to estimate a player’s equivalent point total in the NHL based on how they are performing in their respective league. The calculator uses the difficulty of the given league combined with the ease at which a player puts up points to determine the NHLe.


It was a big couple weeks for goalies in the Edmonton organisation, Stuart Skinner’s becoming a father, illness, and All-Star nod, Jack Campbell rediscovering his game, and EBUG Matt Berlin seeing some NHL action (the Chicago Blackhawks should feel embarrassed by themselves for a number of reasons, Berlin’s appearance is not one of them).

Meanwhile Olivier Rodrigue has exceeded expectations for the Bakersfield Condors, carrying the load as a starter for much of the season. Calvin Pickard has returned, reclaiming the net, but Rodrigue’s performance holds up quite favourably to the veteran’s.

Ryan Fanti had some strong moments at the AHL level, but was hung out to dry during some lopsided losses. Fanti’s current stretch at the ECHL level gives the Oilers a lot to feel good about throughout the entirety of their depth chart at the sport’s most important position.

Stopping 42 of 43 shots to seal the win, Ryan Fanti seems to be settling into the pro game in the second half of the season. This stop is as good as it gets with time winding down and the Fort Wayne Komets nursing a one goal lead.

Here we see Fanti making another dangerous, grade A save look routine. There have been some ups and downs, including bouncing between the AHL and ECHL, but ultimately the fact that we’re seeing this much composure from the rookie is a great sign for the Oilers goalie depth.

These highlights both came in wins on back to back nights. While projecting save percentages from one league to the next can be precarious, it is a huge positive to see Fanti’s results improve as the season progresses.

This and that

AHL

In a bit of housekeeping AHL forward Filip Engaras was traded to Utica representing the end of his time in the Edmonton-Bakersfield system. Though not signed to an NHL eligible deal, some fans might have stopped to check in on Engaras over the season.

With that said it was a productive week for the Condors, who went 2–1–0 in their games. Goalie Rodrigue won his lone start, stopping 25 of 28 against the San Diego Gulls. Meanwhile the newfound combination of Tyler Tullio and Raphael Lavoie continued their dominance.

Tullio has really come on since the calendar changed to 2023, continued here with some poise on a cross ice pass.

Speaking of strong starts to the calendar year, Lavoie fires a shot from the blueline, where Tyler Benson is able to get a piece of it.

More strong work from Lavoie, making some nifty moves near the net. The Condors work it around, Tullio getting it to the point where Yanni Kaldis puts on a spin move.

Lavoie has shown a great deal already in this article, here incorporating a quality one-time shot. It is not a stretch to say that this has been the most consistent stretch of strong play that Lavoie has put forth in the AHL. At some point this production will be too hard to ignore and talk of an NHL call up will be very much in play.

Tullio shows us some success from the flank spot he played in junior. Moving the puck around the perimeter is nice, but heading to the tough ice, picking up the rebound in stride.

Some nice work on the penalty kill from Michael Kesselring, who takes the puck off the line and blocks the follow up shot. Of course a shoutout to Xavier Bourgault who is a part of this unit. Both Bourgault and Kesselring have had nice moments on offence this season, but to see contributions without the puck is vital to their prospective chances at a call up.

Noah Philp heads to the net off the rush, making no mistake off a great setup. Unheralded compared to other rookie forwards on the Condors, understandable as a 24-year-old, Philp is improving his impact in recent weeks.

WHL

This isn’t exactly the flashiest highlight, but Max Wanner should provide some functional offence at the next level. While dazzling offence will not be his calling card at higher levels, it continues to be impressive how he has been able to hold down the number two offensive role on the blueline for a very strong Moose Jaw Warriors team, behind 2022 first round pick Denton Mateychuck.

Jake Chiasson drops his shoulder and drives the net, getting into the tough ice more than usual. This is a good sign, as is the quality finish on the backhand. Chiasson has done well since his mid-season trade to the Saskatoon Blades, despite not scoring at quite the rate he was on the Brandon Wheat Kings.

OHL

Matvey Petrov works as the pivot in a give and go goal, sending a soft area pass across the blueline. This is top quality passing from the OHL’s third leading scorer.

USHL

Shane Lachance makes a nice move in the slot before finding a teammate with the backhand pass. Known more for his goal scoring, this is a nice display of playmaking ability.

A look at the Youngstown Phantoms lineup card shows us that Lachance is a huge part of their team as a top scorer and the team’s captain. The USHL is not the most discussed league, but Lachance has done enough that his play will be something to watch at Boston University next season.

NCAA

In the midst of a productive senior season, by far the best points per game pace of his college career, Skyler Brind’Amour does well to get to the net front operating on the power play, his spot this season.

KHL

Maxim Beryozkin continues to show strong signs as a playmaker, here taking the pass below the goal line and quickly finding a teammate out front. Because Beryozkin has some skill as a forechecker, as well as a puck protector, being able to make effective plays off the boards and into the middle like this is really encouraging.

NHLe Leaderboard

NHLe is a metric used to estimate a player’s offensive output at the NHL level from their point totals in their respective league. Here are the Oilers’ current top five (bracketed numbers denote movement from the previous week).

  1. Matvey Petrov 38.1 (1)
  2. Maxim Beryozkin 29.7 (2)
  3. Reid Schaefer 26.2 (3)
  4. Tyler Benson 25.5 (4)
  5. Raphael Lavoie 22.2 (N/A)

Overall regular season totals for Oilers’ prospects

Forwards

PlayerTeamLeagueGPGATPPPGPIM+/-NHLeLeagueNHLe
Justin Bailey (RW/LW)Bakersfield CondorsAHL2658130.526-6AHL19.9
Tyler Benson (LW)Bakersfield CondorsAHL141890.6410-4AHL25.5
Maxim Beryozkin (LW/RW)totals42415170.45124KHL29.7
Xavier Bourgault (C)Bakersfield CondorsAHL40910190.488-3AHL19.1
Skyler Brind’Amour (C)Quinnipiac Univ.NCAA261112230.88614
Maxim Denezhkin (C)totals32711180.56820totals
Seth Griffith (C/RW)Bakersfield CondorsAHL401123340.8520-10AHL33.9
James Hamblin (LW/C)Bakersfield CondorsAHL2056110.552-2AHL21.9
Mattias Janmark (C/W)Bakersfield CondorsAHL4224123AHL39.9
Klim Kostin (LW/RW)Bakersfield CondorsAHL92240.4415-4ECAC10.1
Shane Lachance (LW)Youngstown PhantomsUSHL352310330.94317USHL20.8
Raphaël Lavoie (C/RW)Bakersfield CondorsAHL291010200.69192AHL22.2
Jeremias Lindewall (RW/LW)Östersunds IKHockeyAllsvenskan272350.198-14Allsvenskan6.1
Brad Malone (C/LW)Bakersfield CondorsAHL27211130.4822-4AHL19.1
Tomas Mazura (C)St. Lawrence Univ.NCAA223690.4160
Greg McKegg (C/W)Bakersfield CondorsAHL392680.21423AHL8.4
Joel Määttä (C)Univ. of VermontNCAA2655100.3818-4
Matvei Petrov (RW/LW)North Bay BattalionOHL452045651.442422OHL38.1
Noah Philp (C)Bakersfield CondorsAHL3974110.28212AHL11.2
Carter Savoie (LW)Bakersfield CondorsAHL3283110.3416-10AHL13.5
Reid Schaefer (LW)Seattle ThunderbirdsWHL311914331.065211WHL26.2
Devin Shore (C)Bakersfield CondorsAHL5235101AHL39.9
Tyler Tullio (C/RW)Bakersfield CondorsAHL3589170.49122AHL19.5

Defencemen

PlayerTeamLeagueGPGATPPPGPIM+/-NHLeLeagueNHLe
Philip Broberg (D)Bakersfield CondorsAHL72240.570-2AHL22.7
Jake Chiasson (C/RW)totals461123340.7420-24WHL18.3
Brandon Wheat KingsWHL371018280.7616-20
Jason Demers (D)Bakersfield CondorsAHL34015150.4461-8AHL17.5
Vincent Desharnais (D)Bakersfield CondorsAHL130220.15191AHL6.0
Philip Kemp (D)Bakersfield CondorsAHL4056110.28224AHL11.2
Michael Kesselring (D)Bakersfield CondorsAHL37105150.4130-4AHL16.3
Slater Koekkoek (D)Bakersfield CondorsAHLAHL
Luca Münzenberger (D)Univ. of VermontNCAA210550.2422-7
Markus Niemeläinen (D)Bakersfield CondorsAHL152350.3383AHL13.2
Maximus Wanner (D)Moose Jaw WarriorsWHL41822300.734322WHL18.1
Nikita Yevseyev (D)Ak Bars KazanKHL475270.15118KHL9.9

Goalies

PlayerTeamLeagueGPGAASV%
Olivier RodrigueBakersfield CondorsAHL203.030.908
Calvin PickardBakersfield CondorsAHL153.080.905
Samuel JonssonRögle BK J20J20 Nationell222.520.902
Ryan FantiBakersfield CondorsAHL83.710.884
Fort Wayne KometsECHL113.170.905

Gregory Babinski

twitter: @axiomsofice

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