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Mitch Moroz' Lack Of Offense

Mitch Moroz was drafted 32nd overall by the Edmonton Oilers, but he's not producing like a 32nd overall pick.

By Derek Zona
Didn't really need that stick for the photo.
Didn't really need that stick for the photo.
Jamie Sabau

My favorite comment about Mitch Moroz was made on draft day, by Copper & Blue regular dessert1111:

couldn’t wait another round? too worried your fourth line player 7 years down the road might have been gone?

Moroz was drafted because the Oilers wanted size and "some" saw him projecting to the NHL as the next Milan Lucic. He's big and he fights and "some" saw offensive potential. But Moroz came in at #36 (of 42) in our Top 25 Under 25 voting. Why?

Here's a comparison of a selection of players drafted in the second round after Moroz in June. The selection is limited to defensemen in the CHL and forwards in the NCAA.

Player Pos. League G P P/G
Matt Finn D CHL 36 29 0.81
Mike Winther D CHL 59 46 0.78
Nic Kerdiles F NCAA 22 17 0.77
Damon Severson D CHL 62 46 0.74
Phil di Guiseppe F NCAA 32 23 0.72
Brian Hart F NCAA 25 17 0.68
Teddy Blueger F NCAA 28 18 0.64
Dalton Thrower D CHL 48 25 0.52
Mitch Moroz F CHL 61 30 0.49
Jake McCabe D NCAA 28 13 0.46

The only player Moroz is outscoring is Jake McCabe, a defensemen in the NCAA.

Broken out by NHLE:

Player Pos. League NHLE 82
Nic Kerdiles F NCAA 26
Phil di Guiseppe F NCAA 24
Brian Hart F NCAA 23
Teddy Blueger F NCAA 22
Matt Finn D CHL 20
Mike Winther D CHL 20
Damon Severson D CHL 19
Jake McCabe D NCAA 16
Dalton Thrower D CHL 13
Mitch Moroz F CHL 13

Moroz drops below even McCabe.

And what about that comparison to Milan Lucic? Here is the post-draft year offensive comparison:

Player Pos. League G P P/G NHLE 82
Milan Lucic F CHL 70 68 0.97 25
Mitch Moroz F CHL 61 30 0.49 13

What of the other recent centre taken by the Oilers at the top of the second-round?

Player Pos. League G P P/G NHLE 82
Tyler Pitlick F CHL 56 62 1.11 28
Mitch Moroz F CHL 61 30 0.49 13

Like dawgbone said when he was drafted:

I could see this kind of pick in the 4th/5th round. They suck then too, but at least then you can say "We saw some good things offensively near the end of the year so we took a shot".

But 32nd overall?

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