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Consider this about prospect Ty Smith: when it comes to points scoring he's super elite

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Bob Stauffer of the Edmonton Oilers has constantly mentioned Ty Smith of Lloydminster as a player interest for the 10th overall spot in the draft.

This has led to some consternation in Oil Country, as some fans worry this is the Oilers again over-valuing another Western Hockey League player, just as the team has done repeatedly in the last decade.

In 2007, Edmonton drafted Alex Plante of Calgary 16th overall. In 2010, Curtis Hamilton was taken 48th. In 2011, David Musil was drafted 31st and Travis Ewanyk 74th, in 2012 Mitch Moroz 32nd, and then came the disastrous 2015 trade for Griffin Reinhart.

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The fear is that the Oilers are again placing too much value in a good, old Western Canadian boy, especially with Stauffer’s boosting of the prospect.

“I don’t know what the Oilers are going to do (with the 10th pick),” Stauffer said on Monday’s show, “but I am telling you based on the information I’ve received, and I was in Buffalo (at the NHL draft combine) and more than one or two organizations, lots of teams like Ty Smith more than they do Adam Boqvist.”

Boqvist will also likely be available at 10th overall when the Oilers pick, and most scouting services rate Boqvist higher than they do Smith, not to mention Boqvist shoots right, while Smith shoots left, and the Oilers need right shot d-men.

On Oilers Now, Edmonton’s chief scout Bob Green said d-men prospects Evan Bouchard, Noah Dobson and Boqvist all had good years. “You’re really splitting hairs when you’re comparing a lot of these guys.”

Green said he wasn’t worried about Ty Smith’s play at the recent U18 team because the player had just been through some difficult playoff series and might well have been fatigued in the tournament. “I’m not sure how much energy he had left.”

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I don’t know enough about any of these players to have a useful opinion about which player the Oilers should take, but I will point out one thing, that when it comes to scoring points in his draft year, Smith is no slouch. In fact, he’s in the upper crust of the elite scoring d-men who have come out of major junior since 2005.

Bouchard scored 1.3 points per game this year in 71 regular season and playoff games. That represents the highest number we’ve seen from a top-ranked d-man in his draft year since 2005. Next best was Drew Doughty, who had 1.11 as a 16-year old and 0.87 as a 17-year-old. But after those two, it’s Smith, with 80 points in 76 games, good for 1.05 points per game. That’s better than Ivan Provorov, who had 74 points in 79 games in his draft year.

In his draft year, Reinhart had just 0.56 points per game. Darnell Nurse had 0.61.

Of course, points per game don’t tell the entire story of a player. There had been plenty of major junior aces who put up big scoring years in their draft years and never made much, if any of a mark in the NHL. We will all recall Nail Yakupov’s career in Edmonton.

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But if you look at the top d-men scorers since 2005, you see an extremely solid list of NHL players, save for maybe Zach Bogosian, who has disappointed somewhat.

Maybe Ty Smith is the next Bogosian, the next top-ranked, top-scoring draft age d-man who will disappoint.

Or maybe he’s one helluva good bet at 10th overall and will be a good or even great point producer in the NHL.

On Oilers Now, Green spoke highly of both Boqvist and Smith. “Ty Smith has got a well-rounded game. He’s a left shot but I like him better on the right side. I think he’s way more effective over there and that’s where he played most of the year in Spokane… He just does everything well. He’s got leadership ability. He can beat the forecheck with his feet. He can move the puck. His transition game is good. On the power play he’s more of a playmaker than he is a shooter. He doesn’t have a great shot. That’s the one part of his game that he needs to work on is his shot.

“Boqvist is very similar to a lot of these guys, maybe more with (Quinn) Hughes with his feet. He’s a very good skater. He moves the puck very well at the point. Again he doesn’t have an overpowering shot, but it’s effective getting it through and walking the line and finding shooting lanes and making plays. He likes to join the rush. He can carry the puck the length of the ice and make a play inside the blueline. And his defending needs some work.”

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So where are we now with the draft? With the sudden emergence of centres Jesperi Kotkaniemi and perhaps even Barrett Hayton as top end prospects, it’s like a strong d-man will be there to be drafted at 10th overall. There’s also a chance a sniper of a winger like Oliver Wahlstrom might fall.

But given Edmonton’s needs on defence, especially for a strong attack, and given how promising this group of d-men are, I’m cool if the Oilers take Smith or Boqvist, or if they get either Dobson or Bouchard by chance. They all represent good bets according to the scouts, and the fantastic major junior scoring numbers of Smith, Bouchard and Dobson align with that assessment.

At the Cult

STAPLES: It’s more likely a top winger will fall to Oilers

STAPLES: The good, the bad and the unsustainable with Ty Rattie

STAPLES: Laughable trade speculation surrounding Draisaitl, RNH, Talbot

LEAVINS: 9 Things about the Oilers at the draft

STAPLES: 10 unpopular opinions about the Edmonton Oilers

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