Nation Radio – June 9, 2012

Might the Oilers pass on Yakupov and Grigorenko to select defenseman Ryan Murray?

Before you know it, it’ll be draft day and hockey fans across the country are wondering: who will the Oilers select with the first overall pick? Will Lowe, Tambellini and company select speedy winger Nail Yakupov or highly touted centre Mikhail Grigorenko (whose stock seems to be taking a hit of late)? Or, might the Oilers reach and take a guy like Ryan Murray who may not have Yakupov’s pedigree, but would address an area of need for the club?

Allan has plenty of draft talk on the docket this week. He’s joined by former GM and player agent Tom Lynn and prospect experts Corey Pronman, Michael Spidel and Kirk Luedeke. Cam Charron stops by to talk a bit about the Calder Cup Finals, and Jeff Krushell joins Allan as well to talk athletic performance and player injuries.

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Up first is Tom Lynn, a player agent with Veritas who has years of experience working in the Minnesota Wild front-office. Tom drops some serious wisdom on upcoming CBA negotiations between the league and the players association, gives us his unique perspective on the mechanics of free agency, and throws in some amusing draft day anecdotes for good measure.

Next up Lowetide is joined by Corey Pronman of hockey prospectus. Allan and Corey discuss Edmonton’s "list of 5," and Corey talks about why he’s higher on Mikhail Grigorenko than many other scouts in the industry.

Kirk Luedeke of Red Line Report joins Allan for more prospects talk. Luedeke breaks down how the rash injuries to top prospects will impact this years selections, and sheds some light on a handful of top prospects from Girgensons to to Vasilevski.

Cam Charron, the new overlord of TheLeafsNation.com drops in to chat draft day trades, flukey over-time goals in the Calder Cup Finals, and his new gig.

Michael Spidel of Hockey Symposium drops by and savages the notion of taking defensemen with top draft picks.

Allan and Michael also discuss whether or not Justin Schultz, the highly coveted defenseman out of Wisconsin who seems to be bound for free-agency this summer, might ultimately be draft eligible on June 22nd.

To finish off the show, Allan is joined by Jeff Krushell. Jeff breaks down the impact of injuries on draft eligible players, and talks about how even a common ailment like Mono can derail a prospect’s development.

Here’s the full show!

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