Monday, September 29, 2008

BBO's Top 20 Prospects, #7 D Cody Wild

The "Forgotten One" in terms of Oilers defensive prospects, Cody Wild is behind the trio of Jeff Petry, Taylor Chorney, and Theo Peckham, but that's not exactly a shame by any means.

Listed at 6'1" and 205lbs. Wild doesn't have the size of Theo Peckham or Jeff Petry, but he does have a slight advantage over other Oilers d prospects like Taylor Chorney and Sebastien Bisaillon.

A shade over a month younger than Chorney, Wild's game isn't as refined at this point in time despite both players having seen 3 full seasons at the NCAA level. On the positive side, Wild has better size and strength than Chorney and IMO is better at jumping into the play offensively. Wild is a definite project in terms of getting him to balance a responsible game while also making the most of his offensive abilities. Wild will greatly benefit from a full season in Springfield this season doing just that under Falcons rookie head coach Jeff Truitt.

Wild had 1 memorable shift this preseason before being assigned to Springfield. It started when he jumped into the play and looked very dangerous offensively and had a few chances. A sign of what type of a game he plays. Wild's strengths are his ability to carry the puck, jump into the play offensively, and having the speed and size to play a solid defensive game.

Wild is a puck moving defenseman, however he is cut from a different mold than crisp passers Chorney and Petry. He is more along the Joni Pitkanen line of defensemen in terms of carrying the puck up ice and trying to create instead of almost always starting a play with a tape to tape breakout pass. One thing is for sure, by the end of this season he will be on Oilers prospect watchers radars if he hasn't been on them already.

With the apparent long term injury that Josef Hrabal suffered in the Oilers first rookie game against the Calgary Flames, Wild and Sebastien Bisaillon will undoubtedly get a bigger role than what they may have seen with the RSL veteran in the line-up. Look for Wild to be an integral part of the Falcons high powered offensive charge this season.

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