EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers have a plethora of needs coming into the 2019 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver.
This draft is special due to Ken Holland taking the general manager reigns in early May and is looking to make a lot of changes to fulfill his objective of making the Oilers a playoff team next spring. 
Edmonton initially looked like they had some potential early into the year, but fell off in horrific fashion due to key defensemen being out long term and newly signed players not producing.
When healthy, the Oilers’ defense was actually good. With Oscar Klefbom and Andrej Sekera given the time to heal and top prospect, Evan Bouchard, given a chance, the Oilers don’t need nearly as much help on the blueline as most of the other teams who pick before them.
Offensively the Oilers were 20th in the league in scoring and were near the bottom of the league in shots on net. The 2018/2019 Oilers roster lacked anyone to pair with Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl and they are looking to add someone who can fill the wing.
Peyton Krebs is Edmonton’s best option at the eighth pick.
While there is a lot of speculation where he will land, Krebs is most likely going to be an Edmonton Oiler. While he is listed as a center, it is pretty much a consensus that Krebs will be put on the wing at the NHL level. Krebs is described as a play-making forward with a really good skating ability.
His main selling point is his game-sense and awareness. Peyton Krebs is a solid play-maker and will have plenty to work with in Edmonton. For the duration of his WHL career, Krebs was the lone bright spot on a Kootenay Ice team that was near or bottom of the standings for the past four years. In the three seasons that Peyton Krebs played, he was able to manage just short of a point per game for his entire stint in the WHL.
On paper his stats don’t necessarily pop out, in Peyton Krebs’s first season, he played only six games but was able to manage a goal and five assists.
His next season was much better production wise because in 67 games, Krebs scored 17 goals and 37 assists.
Last season Krebs had highs with 19 goals and 49 assists in 64 games.
The big downside on paper is that he never had a positive plus minus in the WHL.
While that can be attributed to horrific defense and goaltending, Krebs went -50 in his final season; something that cannot happen at a pro level. The best goaltender on the Ice had a goals against average of 4.41 so take what you will with that.
Krebs is a good prospect and will need to have a team with a chance at making the playoffs in the recent future. There is a possibility that a lot of his skill and potential was buried under the dumpster fire of Kootenay so there is a lot of room for Krebs to be a much better prospect than advertised.
He may need a year in juniors but unless he goes to Bakersfield or has his rights traded to a contender his development could stagnate.
“With the eight pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, the Edmonton Oilers select, from the Kootenay Ice, Peyton Krebs.”
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