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Already we've gone through 40% of the Top 25 Under Under 25, and now that we've reached number 15 the prospects start to become a little more real. These are still players who are far from sure things, but at this point in our rankings each player has got enough going for them that they'll be given every chance to crack the Oilers lineup. Still a long shot, but now a slightly more tangible long shot.
The man holding down the number 15 spot in our rankings this time is Marc-Olivier Roy. Wait, didn't we already see a write up for this guy? No, that was Olivier Roy, and even though I love goalies, we haven't decided to bump him up nine spots and redo his write-up. This is Marc-Olivier Roy, the player the Oilers selected in the second round of the NHL draft in June after twice trading down and acquiring more draft picks in the process.
| Rank | Player | DOB | Drafted | Alan | Ben | Bruce | DB | Derek | JW | Michael | Ryan | Scott |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Marc-Olivier Roy | 1994/11/05 | #56, 2013 | 16 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 16 | 18 |
Previous Rank: N/A
Those might be my favourite rankings ever. Our nine voters slotted Roy into eight different spots, from a high of 12, to a low of 19, and everything in between. And so it's only fitting that the rankings balance out and we find Roy in the number 15 spot.
In his post draft writeups, Scott took a very detailed look at Roy and didn't love what he saw. You should read the entire post, but I found his conclusion very interesting:
Overall, I'm not particularly optimistic about Roy's chances of getting to the NHL. The fact that none of the seventeen [comparable players] with a similar draft and scoring profile have become NHL players is, to some extent, just bad luck, but it's also indicative of the long road any second round pick faces. I was hopeful that the offense he showed might make him a better bet than most players taken at that point in the draft, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
Scott highlights what I said earlier, that players in this range are still anything but a sure fire NHLers. And unfortunately for Roy he will forever compared to the players the Oilers didn't select when MacTavish decided to traded down on draft day. It's not fair, and it has nothing to do with Roy the player, but fans love to think what if, and when you trade down there are a lot of what ifs to be considered.
But there must be something to like about Roy. He was a second round pick, and we've got a ranking as high as number 12 for him. Well, he's got decent offensive numbers; scoring 67 points in 65 games with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada last season. Those numbers aren't spectacular, but they were good enough to rank him third on the team. Beyond goals and assists though there isn't much for us to go on at this point besides scouting reports. Corey Pronman discusses Roy's upside in his recent look at the prospects in the Oilers system.
Roy is a very good skater who plays the game at a high tempo. His speed is high end, and he is agile, with good edge work. On most nights, he looks like an all-around forward, as he will combine his great speed with hits, backchecking, and some solid offensive instincts.
That sounds fantastic. In fact that sounds like the kind of player that shouldn't be available at #56 in the draft. Pronman explain why he was when he touches on the bad with respect to Roy:
Scouts have mentioned that consistency has been an issue for Roy, be it with his offensive creation or his physical play. He also needs to bulk up.
It sounds to me like Roy is a very talented player that does a lot of things right. He's got warts, as any second round pick does, but at least they're not on the skill side of the game. I'd much rather have a player struggle with consistency, than struggle to make a five foot pass. Compared to last season's second round pick - who is nowhere to be found in the Top 25 - this is a big step forward, and points to a club more interested in skill over size.
Roy is a very long way from playing hockey in the NHL, and the Oilers history with draft picks with the surname Roy has not been great. Olivier, Mathieu, and Simon all came before, and combined they've played only 30 games for the Oilers. But if a couple of things break right for Marc-Olivier he could easily be the most successful Roy in Oilers history. That's something to shoot for.
Check out the complete Top 25 Under 25 List in our