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Breaking news today from Kingsway:
The #Oilers have signed 2018 second-round (40th overall) #NHLDraft selection Ryan McLeod to a three-year entry-level contract! The 19-year-old forward has also agreed to an AHL Amateur Tryout Contract & will report to the @Condors immediately. pic.twitter.com/dcdxB9gp2v
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) May 1, 2019
As noted above from the Oilers’ official Twitter account, the organization have signed 2018 40th overall pick Ryan McLeod to three-year ELC. He’s also agreed to an AHL ATO and will report to Bakersfield to augment their playoff push right away.
McLeod, a 6’3’’, plus-skating, left-shooting behemoth of a center, split time between the Mississauga Steelheads and Saginaw Spirit of the OHL, posting a respectable 19-43-62 in 63 GP this season. Without context, this appears as though it could be slightly underwhelming given his 26-44-70 in 68GP the season prior, but without that context it’s really hard to say much more.
From DobberProspects, in March 2019:
“After turning heads at the Oilers camp in September, McLeod’s season in the OHL hasn’t been as good as some had hoped. Before being traded from Mississauga to Saginaw on January 3rd, the young forward had recorded 38 points in 32 games and has since recorded 23 points in 27 games with his new team. His 61 total points in 59 games matches the 1.03 points per game that he recorded last season. As with any draft pick, the hope is that their offensive production will increase with each season so this season is a bit underwhelming. McLeod has struggled with consistency in the past and that appears to be a trend this season as well.”
McLeod finished the year with 1 additional point in his last 4 contests.
Still though, there’s room for some optimism here. Heading into this season, EliteProspects pegged him as a breakout candidate. Perhaps his acne flared up. Maybe he ate too many chocolate bars, or didn’t wash his face.
At the time of this article, the terms and conditions of the ELC have not been released. Assume they’re in line with what other ~40th overall guys get, but we’ll update you when that info goes live.