Sam Gagner: the next great Oilers draft pick, or the next great 1st round flop?

After the draft, I've been doing some reading about Sam Gagner, the Oilers 1st 1st round draft pick from this past Friday. He sounds like a decent Canadian kid, hopefully turns out to be a great player, and he seems genuinely pleased to be picked by a Canadian team.
He seems like a bit of a momma's boy, but he's not 18 until mid-August, so maybe we'll cut him some slack in the that department. Maybe.
He's not half bad looking either, he's actually sorta cute (for a 17 yr old), so he won't hurt the Oilers' "hotness" factor.




He won't be NHL ready for at least 2-3, possibly 4 seasons; but by then Joffrey-can't-buy-a-goal-Lupul will be traded to the Islanders where he'll score 468 goals in one season and the be on his way to winning the Stanley Cup, so there will be a roster spot on the Oilers open for young Sammy.

His favorite NHL player is Peter Forsberg; he patterns his game after Forsberg because "he makes all the players around him better". The Oilers could use a Forsberg type player. Like RIGHT NOW. As it always is with the Oilers, they are building for 4-5 years down the road. Every year, they are aiming for 4-5 years to be great. EVERY YEAR. Well, that team in 4-5 years isn't ever coming, because I've been an Oilers fan for 10 years, and I'm still waiting for the kick-ass team that's 4-5 years away. But that's a rant for another day. Back to Sammy.

He gives away his shoot-out move. Not the smartest thing to reveal.
He's more of a passer than a scorer, so he won't be on Hemsky's line anytime soon. Given the coaching staff's track record, he would end up on Hemsky's line and they'll just pass it back and forth to each other 5 bazillion times without taking a shot. Maybe Hemsky will have learnt to shoot by then. Or Andrew Cogliano will centre them and score 469 goals, beating Lupul by one goal to win the Rocket Richard trophy.


Is it just me, or does he look like a fortune teller without his crystal ball in this photo?





One thing is for sure, that number has got to go. 89 holds to many bitter, angry memories in the minds of Oilers fans.