2024 Edmonton Oilers prospects
#4 Maximus Wanner
- Previously: #4 in 2023
- age 21, 6’3, 185 lbs, drafted #212 overall in 2021
Over the past decade or so, Edmonton Oilers have had success in finding some decent defencemen in the “Hail Mary” portion of the NHL Draft beyond pick #150. In each of four consecutive drafts 2015-18, the club found a rearguard in either the sixth or seventh round who would later make it all the way to the Show, although not necessarily with the Oilers. All had NCAA roots.
- John Marino was uncovered in the sixth round in 2015. He never did sign in Edmonton, but after his rights were traded to Pittsburgh he was able to make the jump directly from NCAA to the NHL where he has already logged 328 games.
- Vincent Desharnais was a seventh-round prayer in 2016 who signed two AHL contracts with the organization while gradually working his way up the depth chart. He finally made it all the way to the bigs in his Draft +7 season, playing 114 games as an Oiler before signing as a free agent in Vancouver this past off-season.
- Philip Kemp was another seventh-round selection in 2017. Now in his eighth year on the Cult of Hockey‘s prospect rankings, he currently stands as Edmonton’s most-seasoned prospect. He did manage to make his NHL debut in 2023-24, and remains a serious candidate to work his way into the mix.
- Michael Kesselring was the Oilers seventh-rounder in 2018. An up-and-comer in Bakersfield, he was eventually dealt to Arizona at the deadline in his Draft +5 season and soon thereafter made the jump to the NHL where he has now played 74 games.
Edmonton went away from drafting blueliners in the 2019 and 2020 Drafts, but in 2021 took another late-round swing on a rearguard, this time from major junior. Maximus Wanner seemed like an afterthought, a raw-boned 18-year-old who had mustered just 22 games of WHL experience over a pair of pandemic-shortened seasons, placing him far below the radar.
As usual, under the player’s statistical profile we present a scouting report from his draft season. This one comes from Allan “Lowetide” Mitchell, the man who literally wrote the (terrific!) book on the subject: On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Edmonton Oilers at the NHL Draft. Wanner is literally the last entry in that tome, which covers the 400 draft choices made by the Oilers between 1979-2021.
- At 6’3, 185 pounds, Wanner is a two-way defender with good speed and excellent passing ability. He didn’t get much exposure (22 games, 17 in 2020-21) due to the pandemic and should be regarded as a sleeper pick with great potential.
Mitchell’s take of Wanner as a “sleeper pick” picked up steam the following season, when the rangy right-shot rearguard started to thrive as a regular in Moose Jaw. He then took a major step forward in his final junior campaign. First he impressed at Oilers rookie camp, playing in his first NHL exhibition game. He was signed to an entry-level contract on Sep 30 before being reassigned to the Warriors, unusually early for such a low pick to ink a big-league pact. He followed up with an excellent final season, posting solid boxcars of 10-27-37, +29 in 54 regular season and playoff games. He certainly caught the eye of our panel here at the Cult of Hockey, where he soared from #21 in our rankings all the way to #4.
Colleague David Staples wrote the equivalent post in this series a year ago, wrapping up with our standard look forward to the season to come:
- Expectations for 2023-24: Taking a regular shift in Bakersfield on the right side and a regular turn on the PK there. Getting a handful of points and holding his own in team plus-minus. Stepping us as the season goes along, starting to dominate on defence with his physical edge and maybe busting into the Top 4 by the last stretch of the year.
A very realistic set of expectations, it turned out. The 20-year-old essentially checked off every one of those boxes, earning a spot in the line-up for Game 1 and for all 67 that followed. Playing primarily with AHL vet Cam Dineen and occasionally with experienced minor-leaguer Alex Peters, he soon worked his way into the top four as well as the penalty kill unit. He produced a respectable 7-10-17, while his plus-minus of +13 didn’t merely hold his own but tied with the far more experienced Kemp for the team lead. League-wide he ranked among the top 10 rookie blueliners in both goals and plus.
As for “stepping up as the season goes along” the AHL statistical record is pretty sparse, primarily traditional boxcars, plus/minus, and shots, not exactly the best ways to measure a stay-at-home blueliner. Still, there were very clear signs of progress as the season went along:
- 2023: 25 GP, 1-1-2, -3
- 2024: 43 GP, 6-9-15, +16
He hit the turn of the calendar on a 20-game pointless drought, but thereafter became a consistent producer of about a point every three games in each of the final four months, pretty decent for a blueliner with no powerplay time. His shots totals also continued to ramp up, averaging about 1.5 per game from February on.
As for playing with a physical edge? Here’s where an eyewitness account is needed. Once again we asked the Cult of Hockey‘s own “sleeper pick”, Ira Cooper, for a report. A diehard observer of both Oilers and Condors and a contributing member of our panel, Ira coloured between the somewhat sparse lines of the AHL’s statistical record.
- What a rookie pro season for Max Wanner. Its fairly rare for a non-elite prospect to come out of junior and make an immediate impact in the American Hockey League as a 20 year old. Its even rarer for a d-man to to make such an impact let alone one drafted in the 7th round of the NHL entry draft.
He didn’t need months to adapt to the pro game and learn how to play against big, strong and fast men who are playing for their livelihoods. Max Wanner “belonged” from his first pro game. I don’t want to overstate, he did have an up and down season, struggling with consistency and showing signs of fatigue in stretches but, from day 1, he was a physical force for the Condors.
Opposition beware as they try and gain zone entry off the rush – If the opportunity is there, Wanner will step up and he’ll do so with purpose. Opposition beware if you are in front of the Condors’ net, Wanner will ensure its an unpleasant stay and you likely won’t remain on your feet. He is a very physical and intimating defender and, while he’s not without some puck skills and offensive instincts, his NHL calling card is hard and aggressive shutdown defence.
The fact that Wanner was able to take a regular shift from his first game as a Condor, play a decent amount of high leverage minutes as the season progressed and go on a real roll on the PK in his 20-year old rookie pro season is a very encouraging arrow.
While he is likely a good year away from a serious shot an NHL employment (Keith Gretzky did use the word “raw” about 5 times when describing Wanner earlier this off-season), he is the exact type of player that the Oilers need roaming the 3RD on the team for the next decade. Wanner skates well for a big-man and isn’t shy to put the puck on net. Think a young and raw Jason Smith.
Still with miles to go, but he could be the top right shot shut-down d-man for the Condors’ by year’s end – passing some real competition in Phil Kemp and Josh Brown.
Listed as our #4 prospect a year ago, Wanner remains in the #4 position this year, bucking a longstanding trend in this series that many prospects appear to take a step back when transitioning to the professional ranks. His quick adaptation to a higher level with and against older players is indeed a very encouraging arrow.
Expectations for 2024-25: Make another strong impression in camp, perhaps earning multiple preseason games. Wanner will almost certainly be reassigned to Bakersfield for another developmental stint, where he can file away some, though preferably not all, of his rough edges. It’s not impossible he gets his first taste of NHL action before the season winds down.
2024 Cult of Hockey prospect rankings
- Goalies: #8 Olivier Rodrique | #14 Eemil Vinni
- D-men:#11 Philip Kemp | #15 Nikita Yevseyev
- Wingers: #6 Roby Jarventie | #7 Raphael Lavoie | #9 Maxim Berezhkin |
#12 Shane LaChance | #13 Matvey Petrov - Centres: #5 Noah Philp |#10 Jayden Grubbe |
- Introduction + long shots #s 26-33 | Depth prospects #21-25 | Depth prospects #16-20
- Background: Edmonton Oilers prospect pool takes a beating from NHL draft insiders
- Rankings are the average of those submitted by our panel of voters including the Cult of Hockey’s homegrown trio of David Staples, Bruce McCurdy and Kurt Leavins, Edmonton Journal colleague and long-time Oilers scribe Jim Matheson, and friend of the blog and AHL follower Ira Cooper.
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