After ranking the top 100 NHL prospects for 2015-16 and ranking each team by organizational depth, ESPN Insider Corey Pronman ranks the top 10 prospects for each NHL team. Here is his entry for the Edmonton Oilers. Extended write-ups on prospects ranked in the top 100 can be accessed here.
The Oilers' system is ranked first overall due in most part to Connor McDavid. They feature an above-average group of defensemen as well, but the depth thins out quickly, relative to other systems.
After several down years in the KHL, Anton Slepyshev finally broke through as a quality scorer and even got some time with Russia's senior national team. He's a highly skilled playmaker with good speed, whose all-around game and ability to win battles have been issues. He did sign with Edmonton and will be in North America this upcoming season.
Ethan Bear is a well-rounded prospect but doesn't have any standout attributes. I've seen him get burned to the outside, but overall, he's able to stay with his checks and is solid on defense. He's not a great skill player, but he can make some plays and has good offensive IQ.
Bogdan Yakimov showed well at Oilers camp last preseason but still needs some time to work on a handful of things in his game (when I saw he was called up, it raised my eyebrow, although that was in part due to the Oilers' lack of center depth last season). He's a big center with above-average puck skills and a strong work ethic, but he still needs to get a lot quicker in terms of his foot speed and two-way reads.
Caleb Jones' play improved as the season went along, including at the under-20 camp in Lake Placid, New York, where he had a lot of scouts talking. He's a gifted athlete who skates well, can make plays at both ends of the rink and creates by himself. His defensive positioning can still use some tweaks.
William Lagesson doesn't blow you away, but he's quietly steady. He is a very physical defenseman who is selective and smart with his physical play, on top of being a heady positional player. The offense is a big question mark for him, as he showed some flashes two years ago, but not so much in the USHL.
David Musil has come along slowly but steadily at the pro level. He looks to be above average defensively, but his offense is replacement level, as he lacks the foot speed to be any sort of threat in transition despite his high hockey IQ.
Noteworthy prospect
Greg Chase has been a player whose stock has gone up after being a seventh-round pick in 2013. His skill and production aren't elite, but he has pretty good offensive IQ as a passer, with solid hands. He works hard to stay on the puck and has progressed in terms of winning puck battles. His speed has also shown some improvement.
2015-16 impact
McDavid will be a top-six forward right away and could push to a higher level as the season goes on. Both Darnell Nurse and Griffin Reinhart will compete for an NHL job out of training camp. Slepyshev and Yakimov will likely get bumped down the depth chart due to McDavid and 2014 No. 3 overall pick Leon Draisaitl, but they remain deep injury options, as does Musil.