Oilers acquire Vesey. No, not that one.

The Edmonton Oilers have just acquired LW Nolan Vesey from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a conditional 7th round pick in 2020. As per the Oilers twitter account:

Vesey, 23, just completed his fourth year at the University of Maine, posting a somewhat underwhelming-but-also-a-career-best 11-14-25 in 37GP.

EliteProspects had this to say about the young winger:

“Brother: Jimmy Vesey”

Powerful stuff.

HockeysFuture had this to add:

“He is an offensive oriented forward with soft hand but also plays with some grit. Vesey dominated players at the prep school and junior hockey level with his size advantage but has yet to show that same type of offensive dominance in his first two seasons of college hockey. He has time to develop the other areas of his game in his two remaining seasons at the University of Maine.

Given his freshman totals of 10-13-23 in 36GP are frighteningly similar to his numbers as a senior, it remains unclear as to whether or not he’s been able to develop those other areas. The Leafs are exceedingly deep at forward, so there’s some explanation as to why they might try to recoup anything for a player who otherwise wouldn’t have a home in their system. On the flip side, it’s somewhat worrisome that the Oilers are still out there spending actual assets for guys other teams don’t even consider part of their top 8+ left wingers.

I personally would have preferred the Oilers take a look at some NCAA FAs with a bit more offense to speak of at that level and keep the asset, but what do I know?

While it remains to be seen just what Vesey’s future holds, it’s likely that he’ll toil away in the ECHL or AHL level for some time before getting close enough to Edmonton to sniff a Bobby Nick’s burger.