Round seven - Matt Copponi, 216th overall
Copponi is an interesting case. He's taken by far the most unorthodox developmental path I've ever seen, starting with a graduation in 2019-20 from a midget AAA team to a US High School prep team - and the transition was quite a success as not only did Copponi equal his numbers but beat them by eight points while playing only one more game during the transition - and managing to crack the 20-goal mark in the process.
He then moved on to the US College System, where he put up nine points (25 games), then 29 points (37 games), then managed to crack the PPG mark as he put up 32 points in 30 games. It's also worth noting as well that he's already grasped good defensive play as he has put up 0, +8, and +4 so far in his US College career. He has a nasty streak as well, as his PIMs have gone from 14 to 30 to 48 last season, all for Merrimack College. I suspect what the Oilers will do is let him play one last season for Merrimack College and then bring him into the Condors two seasons from now.
His scouting report indicates that he is a bit of a project which explains the seventh round pick, but for a seventh round pick, this certainly seems like a good bet. I'm impressed as it's looking more and more like the Oilers might have a diamond in the rough here and a legit power forward in the Mark Messier fold - not that I'm comparing him exactly to Messier but he's that player type.
Trending up or down? Up right now. I can't wait to see what he does in one more year of college and in transitioning to the pro ranks after that. Unless of course he completely implodes between now and then. Copponi has no contract yet but is on the reserve list and the Oilers have until Aug, 15, 2025, to sign him.