The Edmonton Oilers have recently signed skilled right-winger James Stefan and he’s the son of former NHL player Patrik Stefan. All Oiler fans know the history of Patrik and it is a very funny moment. But I think it’s time Oiler fans found out who they’ve signed. They should be pretty excited in my opinion.
Who is James Stefan?
Here is a bit of a highlight showing some of the skill Stefan possesses. He is a 20-year-old, undrafted, skilled right winger who has very good hands, hockey sense, and an underrated shot. He has 48 goals and 51 assists in 62 games this season.
During the 2022 NHL Draft, he was labeled one of the top 10 undrafted prospects outside of the Western Hockey League. But, unfortunately, he did not get drafted that year. This worked in Edmonton’s favour as they now have signed him.
It seems as if the COVID-19 season really dropped his stock, which is understandable.
Here’s a good scouting report on James Stefan:
- According to Adam Kierszenblat of the Hockey Writers from 2022: “The 18-year-old led the Portland Winterhawks in scoring this season with 34 goals and finished second on the team with 79 points in 68 games. He also added six points in 11 games during Portland’s postseason run. Stefan is an offensive weapon that can burn teams with his shot and passing. He can find teammates behind the defence and string passes to them allowing for breakaways and odd-man rushes. Although not the strongest skater, he understands where he needs to be in the offensive zone to make plays and find ways to get open. He may be a late bloomer and should be snagged as a late pick in the draft.”
Fans should be excited about the signing
Based off of this report, and how his 20-year-old season went, I am very excited for this player. The most important thing is his hockey sense. Any player that has a high level of hockey IQ brings the potential to play anywhere in the lineup. The speed may be an issue but, in my opinion, skating can be remedied through great skating coaches. When it comes to hockey sense and having the state of mind to where to be on the ice, it is a skill that is not teachable and it is something a player picks up when they hit the ice.
A good example is Nail Yakupov. He had all the skill in the world, amazing speed, and a great shot. But he was known in his draft year for having questionable hockey sense as well. I believe his poor hockey IQ led to him leaving the NHL. He wasn’t able to keep up with the state of mind of other skilled players and he was not able to adjust to a bottom six role.
Stefan is a terrific add to the Oilers prospect pool and I fully believe he is a late bloomer. Since Edmonton is now going to be trying to compete for Stanley Cups, they will not have many draft picks to use since they will be trading them. This is the way the Oilers will have to upgrade their prospect pool. It is the same way the Carolina Hurricanes restock their pool.
This is essentially a lottery pick on a prospect who may be close to NHL ready in a years time due to his age.
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