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Olivier Rodrigue

Prospect Notes: Krebs, Roy, Rodrigue, Vehvilainen

at CDT | by 5 Comments

Draft prospect Peyton Krebs tore his Achilles during offseason training, reports Corey Pronman of The Athletic (Twitter link).  Scott Cruickshank, also of The Athletic, tweets that he underwent successful surgery on Friday.  The injury is likely to keep Krebs out of training camp and could carry over into the season.  The forward is widely projected as a top-ten pick in the upcoming draft after averaging more than a point per game in his sophomore season with Kootenay (now Winnipeg) of the WHL.

Other prospect news around the hockey world:

  • The QMJHL had their annual draft today with forward Joshua Roy being selected first overall by Saint John. The 15-year-old averaged over two points per game with Levis of the QMAAA.  He is eligible for the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.
  • As is often the case at the QMJHL draft, several trades were made. One of those involved Oilers prospect Olivier Rodrigue, who is on the move to Moncton, per a team announcement on Twitter.  In return, Drummondville receives a pair of second-rounders (one is conditional) plus a first-round pick in 2020.  Rodrigue is already under contract to Edmonton and will likely be entering the final season of his junior career before turning pro in 2020-21.
  • Blue Jackets goalie prospect Veini Vehvilainen has won the Urpo Ylonen award for the top goalie in Finland for the second straight season, the sm-Liiga announced (Twitter link). The 22-year-old posted a 1.58 GAA with a .933 SV% in 38 games with Karpat and recently signed his entry-level deal with Columbus.  With Sergei Bobrovsky’s future with them uncertain, Vehvilainen could find himself in the mix for an NHL spot fairly quickly.

Edmonton Oilers Sign Olivier Rodrigue

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The Edmonton Oilers have inked another top goaltending prospect, this time signing Olivier Rodrigue to a three-year entry-level contract. Rodrigue played this season for the Drummondville Voltiguers, and could return to the CHL next season to continue his development.

Rodrigue, 18, was a second-round pick of the Oilers in 2018, the fifth year in a row they selected at least one goaltender. He follows the likes of Stuart Skinner, Dylan Wells and Shane Starrett into the pipeline, creating a depth chart that is actually quite formidable, as prospects are concerned. That pipeline will have to prove it can start producing polished NHL talent, but the Oilers have loaded up at a position they’ve struggled at recently in hopes that they can find their next star goaltender.

It very well could be Rodrigue, who went 35-9-1 for the Voltiguers this season before suffering a core muscle injury and being forced out of the lineup for six weeks. He returned in time to help Drummondville push the Halifax Mooseheads to six games in the QMJHL semi-finals, but was unable to get them a shot at the championship. Still, it was a positive season for the young goaltender, who lowered his goals against average and posted that excellent record despite a small decrease in save percentage.

Given his age, Rodrigue will not be eligible to play in the AHL next season meaning he’s likely ticketed back to the junior ranks. The Oilers will hope he can take another step forward physically and really dominate the league before they get him into the professional minor league system, but there is still a long way to go before he can be a contributor at the NHL level.

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