On Monday afternoon, it was announced that forward prospect Raphael Lavoie got claimed off waivers from the Edmonton Oilers by the Vegas Golden Knights.
The 24-year-old, drafted 38th overall in 2019 by Edmonton, had 131 points in 202 games with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors. Before that, his junior career was even better. 227 points through 217 games in the QMJHL for the Halifax Mooseheads and Chicoutimi Sagueneens. His strongest attribute as a player is his hard shot, which a part of me imagined could be added to the Oilers as an extra powerplay weapon if he ever made the team. But his biggest question mark has been his footspeed at the NHL level, having only dressed in 7 NHL games just last season and not registering a point. He had a decent showing at training camp and preseason before the start of the 2024/2025 regular season. But he still couldn’t book time as an Oilers regular. Whether or not he still makes Vegas’ roster remains to be seen.
I’ve tried to have a more neutral opinion on Ken Holland’s tenure as Oilers GM, and I don’t hate him as one-half of the Oilers fanbase does. But for some of the things I may defend him on, drafting is not one of them. His prospect pool since 2019 is looking thinner and bleaker with each passing day. I stated in an article about Holland this summer that his draft selections required a wait-and-see approach. But between trading prospects that had no chance of making the NHL roster or losing them to offer sheets, you may now stop waiting and seeing. Perhaps Matvey Petrov, Max Wanner, and Beau Akey becoming decent NHL players would be a small victory for Holland’s choice of prospects, as well as his signings of James Hamblin and Noah Philp. But Jeff Jackson served as Edmonton’s GM for only one month, and his prospect list already looks more promising. One other issue with this franchise’s drafting isn’t even the prospects themselves. It’s been over a decade-long problem that the Oilers have an age bias for who gets a roster spot or who gets more ice time. If Corey Perry wasn’t re-signed, or if Edmonton didn’t trade for another team’s struggling first-round pick of their own. I think Lavoie would at least be looked at as being a 13th forward option. It’s vital to have some players on entry-level contracts contribute to a salary cap league. But if they’re not put in areas or given opportunities where they can play to their strengths and learn as they go along, I’m beginning to not see a point in hanging onto draft picks or using them.
All the best to Raphael Lavoie, I wish he’d panned out with the Oilers. But we may now see him as a division rival instead of as a teammate. May he wind up having a serviceable NHL career, except when he’s playing against us.
