Edmonton Oilers Prospect Roundup: Shane Lachance standing out

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.

Prospect of the week

Since Boston University hasn’t played after December 2, 2023, this week will be on Shane Lachance’s most current week which was the end of November and starting of December.

Who is Shane Lachance?

Shane Lachance, the son of former NHLer Scott Lachance, was drafted by the Oilers in the sixth round, in 2021, and 186th overall. By all accounts before he was drafted, there was not much to take in for NHL scouts other than his shot (which is getting even better) and size. But the Oilers decided to take a chance on the former Youngstown Phantom and, by all accounts, he has impressed his coaches and Oiler scouts with his start.

Starting hot this season

Lachance has started the season hot. In the 16 games played, he has scored five goals and six assists. The 6’4” behemoth has gone all over the lineup in his rookie year. He has played third to fourth line minutes mostly, but he has also seen some time on the second line recently. In terms of special teams, Lachance has been in front of the net on the powerplays as well. He’s very effective at the front and he’s been great for some tips and openings for shooters to walk into. For a player his size, it is hard to box him out a the University level. Therefore, he has been very dominant in the blue paint during 5v5 and the PP. To be fair, he is also 20 years old, but his NCAA career has started off strong.

Soft hands and vision

Lachance did not showcase how soft and efficient his hands are with the puck in front of the net during his draft year. I think this is why he fell so deep in the draft along with his skating. But, in terms of skating, it is something that can be worked on. Size and skill are not something that can be worked at. Therefore, it is great to see that the young prospect has some hands in front of the net along with a killer shot.

Another quality of Lachance that got looked over is his vision and hockey sense. These are two skills that he has showcased a lot in his first 16 games. He is able to see the ice efficiently which, to be very honest, I was surprised by. His passing has been very surprising and his size is helping him in the corners. I do hope that he becomes a bit more physical against his competition since he is so big. Hopefully, he learns to use that size to hit more. He is already showing that he can use it in front of the net. In terms of skating, it is not the best but it is also not the worst. He has time to work on that part of his game.

It’s great to see Lachance get off to a promising start in the NCAA. He brings a lot more to the eye than just his size. You just have to dig a little bit deeper. The Oilers have to sign this prospect or they may lose another good one.

AHL

Ty Tullio has continued his strong start to the year as he has now scored four points in the six games he has played with the Bakersfield Condors.

Xavier Bourgault’s point totals are still not up to par as he has scored nine points in 20 games with a -1 rating. But his play has improved ever since he started being paired up with Tullio on the second line. He’s been creating chances and he just missed an empty net chance last night. The points may not be there, but they will come if he keeps creating.

Raphael Lavoie did not record a point recently but he created some chances on the rush. It wasn’t his best game as he did also take some needless penalties in the third period.

Olivier Rodrigue has been stellar in net. He came in for Jack Campbell last weekend to mop up his mess as he recorded 15 saves on 16 shots from the second period on. Rodrigue stole a game for the Condors as he stoned the Calgary Wranglers with 38 saves on 40 shots.

Jack Campbell has only gotten worse as his numbers now are 3.46 GAA and a whopping 0.888 save percentage.

Ever since Philip Broberg got sent down to the AHL, he has been a massive help. He has played 25-27 minutes a night and he has scored one goal and two assists. He has become the #1 defenceman.

Europe

Jeremias Lindewall got sent down to Brodernas/Vasby because of his poor play and has scored one goal in the two games he has played.

Samuel Jonsson has not played any games this week which is not encouraging.

Russia

Maxim Beryozkin has kept pace this week as he scored one goal in the next two games he played in the KHL. He is up to five goals and 13 assists in 38 games. That is pretty good for a 22 year old.

CHL

Matt Copponi has been keeping up with his strong play since the start as he scored another assist in his only game played this week.

Tomas Mazura did not score a point this week but he’s still up to 10 points in 14 games.

NHLe Leaderboard

Here are the Oilers’ current top five (bracketed numbers denote movement from the previous week)

1. Maxim Beryozkin: 31.2
2. Raphael Lavoie: 29.2
3. Tyler Tullio: 26.6
4. Matt Copponi: 26.0
5. Shane Lachance: 22.2

Overall regular season totals for Oilers prospect

Forwards

Defence

Goalies

Follow along to see the prospects’ development

Staying up to date with the development of prospects is no easy task. Follow along throughout the season for the latest happenings in the entire Oilers’ development pipelines!

Photo from @TerrierHockey on Twitter