When you consider that the Edmonton Oilers have at least three extremely hot prospects possibly attending this upcoming seasons training camp, its no wonder fans and media are all talking exciting changes.

The bad news if you're one of the those fans, is that you may have to hold your breath or wait a little bit longer for those sweeping changes to occur.There is a possibility, a better than slight one at that, that the Oilers are and will be dressing a very similar line-up this coming season to the one that placed 30th less than a few months ago.

Knowing what we know about the new and future Oiler faces coming, why would I say that?

One would never think that with the first overall draft pick that the Oilers would choose not to insert that player into the lineup. We are hearing some rumblings that this may be exactly what happens.

With the Oilers new rebuild philosophy that no prospect, no matter how itchy management is to put them in the NHL, will be rushed before they are 100% ready for the role of a big league professional, the first overall draft pick may not play immediately.

The big asteriks here of course, is that the Oilers are looking at Tyler Seguin at #1. While nothing official has been said to indicate as such, some in the know like Robin Brownlee of Oilers Nation, Dan Tencer of 630 CHED and Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal media have now come out and all agreed on a hunch that the Oilers like Seguin based on interviews they've conducted with chief Oilers scout Stu McGregor and may be leaning towards drafting him.

The problem (if you call it a problem because your hoping the Oilers take Hall) is that Seguin is touted as a better prospect than Taylor Hall, not a better player. That alone suggests he's still a work in progess and may not be ready for the jump to the NHL like most Oiler fans are hoping. If the Oilers are committed to the new philosophy and Seguin isn't quite there yet, he might not be playing at Rexall Place on opening night.

Marc Spector of Sportsnet fame, went so far as to publicly bet that Seguin would go back to junior after the Oilers select him (which he too thinks they will), which of course drew some laughter from many Oiler fans.

Oiler fans might not be laughing if Spector is correct.

Take two that the Oilers are seriously considering giving more time to popular prospect Jordan Eberle in the AHL to see him dominate among better pros and the only real shining hope left is Magnus Svenson, who at this point hasn't even signed with Edmonton and could stay in Sweden one more year.

The word is that MPS does plan to leave Sweden for North America sooner than later, but that's no guarantee that he cracks the Oilers line-up starting in October. He's a great offensive talent, has size and speed and surprised many at the IIHF by leading Sweden in scoring after being a last minute addition, but some are finding weakness in his defensive game and he's still extremely young in terms of age.

Could it be, that the Oilers who could have MPS, Eberle and Seguin as their top tier prospects in less than a month, will not place any of them in Oiler uniforms to start the 2010 season? Sadly...yes.

If that's correct, there are a few things that have to happen for me not to be like many fans and who are bound to be completely upset.

1) If you're going to draft Seguin instead of Hall (which I have no problem with by the way), there better be some serious return from the Bruins. Everyone knows Boston wants Taylor Hall. Not using that leverage in terms of a trade to squeeze something from the Bruins is enough that I would immediately expect Tambellini to lose his job. There's no way that Boston tries to call Edmonton's bluff and doesn't give something to the Oilers for them to stay away from their guy.

2) Here's to hoping that if they don't in fact draft Taylor Hall (who is ready for the NHL), that the team stays healthy or we can say goodbye to Ales Hemsky. It's just recently that word is coming out that Hemsky likes the idea of a rebuild. I'm guessing however, he assumes immediate change. With limited time left on his current deal, change can't wait forever if the Oilers expect Hemmer to stick around

3) The Oilers need to make other non-prospect related changes. Those could include trading Souray and Moreau or buying out Nilsson or O'Sullivan, because if they don't; it will be an extremely long season for everyone.

It's likely not a surprise if you've followed it closely, but it sounds as though the Edmonton Oilers will not be bringing Jordan Eberle to the NHL at any point this season.

For fans looking for something bright in an otherwise dingy and dark season, this news comes as another one in the long line of disappointments surrounding this Oilers team. But much like looking at the bigger picture in terms of a rebuild, are the Oilers making the right decision holding Eberle back?

At a season ticket renewal meeting, the question was posed to Tambellini who quickly stressed the Oilers would not introduce Eberle to a less than healthy dressing room environment by bringing him to the Oilers now. Instead, he'll finish the season with the Springfield Falcons of the AHL.

What would you like to see as a fan?

Are you ok knowing that Eberle, who sits 3rd in scoring of the WHL, will get a bit more experience in a pro league like the AHL before he makes the jump? Or are you a season ticket holder or paying fan who wants something to cheer for?

The Minnesota game was a sample of what might be for the next little while as there were some 3000 empty seats and a less than average crowd response to the game. Bringing Eberle up will sell more tickets no doubt. But is the small picture worth hindering his development?

Maybe you believe at this point, he's ready. That keeping him down where he seems to dominate and be productive in every league he plays outside the NHL is a waste of his time and he should find some chemistry with his future teammates.

I might argue, while he's produced effectively in his previous AHL time, he didn't dominate and that by bringing him to the NHL now, (a big jump from where he's currently playing) a more natural transition from one league to another, then finally the NHL makes the most sense.

I might also argue that having him get used to linemates that may not be playing with the Oilers next season doesn't help build his chemistry and that it's likely true that the environment surrounding the team is less than positive. There are bound to be changes and Eberle staying put is one of the only constants.

That said, there is somthing to be said for allowing a player to come play in the NHL, when there is absolutely no pressure to win. If the Oilers finish 30th, all the better. If Eberle gets 10 points in the last 15 games, great. If he gets 4 points, fine. The Oilers can call it the start of his transition to the pros and the fans will buy it.

What would you do?

A flashy, confident and young goal scorer. That sounds like a puzzle piece that’s been missing for a long time. But I believe that it shall go missing for awhile longer.

For the Edmonton Oilers who have many questions, Jordan Eberle is not this years answer. Moreover, if he makes the club, it will be due to the brain trust’s inability to do their job. A proven 25 goal scorer has been sorely needed for a long time in these desperate parts, but when all else fails can you really fall on 19 year old kid?

Jordan Eberle is not a wunderkind along the likes of Filatov, Hodgson and even Sam Gagner. When Lowetide ran Eberle’s numbers from this past year through Gabriel Desjardin’s NHL Equivalency it was nothing earth shattering.

Per 82 games: 14 Goals 16 Assists 30 Pts

Now before I continue, a quick snippet of Desjardin’s beauty work.

Desjardin’s NHL Equivalency (NHLE) is a comparable for a prospect’s or general player’s NHL potential based on a prior season in a different league. His equivalencies with NHL prospects from North America border on witchcraft, they’re scary accurate. Lowetide did a piece on NHLE for 07-08 and 08-09’s rookie crop and here they are:

07-08:
Patrick Kane, OHL: 26-36-62 (ACTUAL: 82gp, 21-51-72)
Sam Gagner, OHL: 16-39-55 (ACTUAL: 79gp, 13-36-49)
David Perron, QMJHL: 13-14-27 (ACTUAL: 62gp, 13-14-27)

08-09:
Steve Stamkos, OHL: 23-19-42 (ACTUAL: 23-23-46)
Drew Doughty, OHL: 6-23-29 (ACTUAL: 6-21-27)
Luke Schenn, WHL: 3-9-12 (ACTUAL: 2-10-12)
Mikael Boedker, OHL: 12-17-29 (ACTUAL: 11-17-28)
Josh Bailey, OHL: 11-24-35 (ACTUAL: 7-18-25)

*ALL CREDIT FOR NHLE’S GOES TO GABRIEL DESJARDIN AS WELL AS LOWETIDE

Now in a results driven world, that’s exactly what I’m talking about! But back to Eberle.

Based on NHLE we can expect a fairly accurate assessment regarding Eberle’s potential. We come to the conclusion that 14 goals from a sub 6ft forward whom is not great defensively is in no short supply. Who would Eberle be really upgrading on the roster? Most people would say Robert Nilsson, but the fact remains those kind of numbers are exactly what we could expect from whipping-boy Bobby.

Eberle is a confident kid. He will come in with the expectation to be a 20 goal scorer. It's not fact and it's not feasible. At 170-180 lbs he’s not built for NHL duity, and despite a squeaky clean injury history (in regard to major injuries), he’s at risk to get hurt. Feeding him to the wolves while there are equally talented (at this point) players on the roster is not the best option.

The smart play is to send Jordan Eberle either back to Regina to star for the Pats or make him an integral part of a rebuilding Springfield Falcons squad (at his age how long that might happen is another topic for another day), but at his talent level he is bound to perform at an extremely high level anywhere except the NHL.

Allow him time to learn how to be a pro from the guys in the minors who have grinded it out for years with micro pay compared to NHL cheques. If making 65 thousand dollars a year in the AHL and staring across the locker room at a first round bust in Rob Schremp doesn’t light a fire under his ass I’m not so sure anything will.

Jordan Eberle is already thought of differently than the other rookies at camp. While a scrimmage at Millenium Place took place in Sherwood Park with the rookie camp Wednesday, one name missing from the rink was Jordan Eberle.

Where was Eberle? Golfing and bonding with the rest of the pro roster and coaches at an allumni golf tournament. One doesn't have to look far to realize, while a rookie and maybe not an Oiler just yet, Eberle is steps ahead of being classified in the same light as the rest of the squad that skated lengths and drills Wednesday morning.

Eberle when asked was the first to admit that if you take a look at the Oilers depth chart, there aren't a lot of opportunities to make spaces for him this year, and those chances got even slimmer with the suggestion of Comrie's imminent signing, but maybe, just maybe Eberle on the team this year isn't so much a stretch anymore.

Should he be undeniably what the Oilers would like to add to the roster, it could fuel even more fire to the question of who would you trade if you could to add team toughness -- an area the Oilers lack and Eberle nor Comrie won't address.

Jordan Eberle, by all accounts is saying the right things and playing the right way to give coaches and management of the Edmonton Oilers a real hard time deciding where this rookie will spend this coming season. If you ask him, he's ready to start immediately. "I feel that way," said the 19-year-old centre, Edmonton's first pick, 22nd overall, in 2008. "Even in the NHL exhibition game last year, I felt like I was capable of playing at this level."Eberle has exceeded expectations in every step of his game thus far. By all accounts, he's doing everything right. Getting stronger, faster, adding to his already impressive display of skill...but it won't be enough.

Eberle's problem isn't Eberle. It's Nilsson, Cogliano, O'Sullivan, Gagner and a host of other forwards who bring a lot of the same skills; and there simply isn't room for all of them on the Oilers. Eberle could easily make it all the way to the end of training camp before being sent back to Regina and the WHL and if he is, as he puts it, "It's a win-win situation." "I'd like to be playing here, to make that step, but if I go back to the WHL, it's not such a bad scenario either. We'd be trying to win a Memorial Cup and the(2010) world juniors are in Saskatoon."

Eberle scored 74 points in 61 games with the Pats last season, but to Oiler fans is mostly remembered as the kid to score one of the most dramatic goals in World Junior Championship history. I'm sure many of them know too, that particular team, was coached by Pat Quinn.

There is good news for Oiler fans hoping to catch a glimpse of what will be a fixture for the Copper and Blue for years to come. His age means he's stuck not being able to play a full year in the AHL. This means that he's either WHL or NHL to start the year and if he's just too good to ignore, fans may see him a bit sooner than expected and possibly at the expense of a player that to this point for the Oilers has underachieved.

This could be a real motivator for those 2nd and 3rd year guys sitting pretty thinking a spot is guaranteed for them. They should know by now, with new coaching; nothing is a certainty.