Samuel Jonsson, the Oilers' top goalie prospect, appears set to leave Edmonton's farm system for Sweden this season.
That word came out Friday, when Oilers Now host Ayden Ganam pressed prospect insider Bruce Curlock for an update on where Jonsson lands.
Jonsson is 22, stands 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds. Edmonton drafted him 158th overall back in 2022.
He just wrapped a strong first season in North America, starting for the ECHL's Fort Wayne Comets.
Oilers insider Bob Stauffer ranks him as Edmonton's eighth-best prospect. Cult of Hockey has him fourth.
Curlock didn't sugarcoat it on his blog this week. He wrote plainly that he doesn't love what's happening with Jonsson's situation.
The Oilers already have Matt Tomkins locked in for Bakersfield, with rising prospect Connor Ungar sitting right behind him for that same net.
Oilers' crease traffic jam is the real problem here
That leaves Jonsson stuck behind two bodies for one job, with the ECHL as his only other landing spot in the organization.
Why would a goalie who just outplayed that level choose Sweden over another year riding the pine?
This looks like an organizational mess. Edmonton built this logjam by hoarding goalie prospects instead of managing a real pipeline.
The traffic jam isn't limited to the minors either. Tristan Jarry carries a $5,375,000 cap hit in Edmonton's NHL crease, with Frederik Andersen behind him at $2,750,000.
Curlock still believes Jonsson will be fine developmentally. He called the Swedish league roughly the fourth-best in the world, behind only the NHL and KHL.
Sending a goalie who just proved himself back to Europe is a bit like promoting an employee, then handing the job to someone else before they show up.
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Neither Edmonton nor any Swedish club has confirmed a destination yet. But if Jonsson does walk, the Oilers will have some explaining to do about how a fourth-ranked prospect slipped through the cracks.
Should Edmonton be worried about losing Samuel Jonsson to Sweden?
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