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Edmonton Oilers sign college star Drake Caggiula
The Edmonton Oilers have landed coveted college hockey free agent Drake Caggiula.
On Friday, TSN’s Bob McKenzie said “indications” were the University of North Dakota forward would sign with Edmonton. McKenzie also reported the Vancouver Canucks, the other front-runner, have been told Caggiula will not sign with them.
The Oilers officially announced the signing on their website Saturday. It is a two-year entry-level contract.
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Friday morning, McKenzie reported the Canucks and Oilers were the top potential destinations for the 21-year-old Caggiula, who posted 51 points over 39 games this past season. The 5-foot-10 Caggiula won the Frozen Four’s most outstanding player award this year in leading UND to a national championship.
One would speculate that Connor McDavid’s spot on the Oilers played a factor. The 19-year-old McDavid is the top young player in the game, and his presence makes the Oilers a more attractive destination for talent, even though the organization has missed the playoffs every year since 2005-06.
The Canucks offered Caggiula the nugget of being in the same organization as UND linemate Brock Boeser, a 2015 first-round draft pick.
Wrote Cult of Hockey about Caggiula’s talent:
‘Caggiula is a smaller forward, but plays with tremendous effort and grit. He makes life miserable for the opposition on the forecheck and plays a strong two-way game. He’s having a sensational senior season as a linemate of first round NHL picks Brock Boeser and Nick Schmaltz. It’s unlikely he is the same type of scorer at the next level, but would make an outstanding bottom six energy player.’
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said teams had hoped Caggiula would sign after North Dakota’s season so they could get him into a game. Instead Caggiula took his time to make the decision.
As of a few days ago, Friedman pointed out that Caggiula visited the Buffalo Sabres, Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning and Vancouver.
In mid-April, TSN pointed out that around 20 teams were interested in Caggiula.
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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper
