Omark My Words

Linus Omark was drafted in the 4th round (97th pick overall) of the 2007 entry draft. He did not take part in the Oilers' rookie camp, nor has there been much talk about him in the Oilogosphere.

This past Saturday, his Luleå Hockey played in Stockholm and I had the chance to scout him, so-to-speak.

Omark is listed as 175cm (5'9") and 76kg (168lbs) so by no means does he dominate the play. That said though, he has built his game to counter his size. He was often in good position, creative and made solid passes.

He led his team in scoring after 14 games, but has since tailed off. His team is not that strong offensively, and on this night his linemates were journeyman Finns Tommi Miettinen at center and RW named Jussi Tarvainen.

Johan Harju is another young Luleå player who has received more prime ice-time together with Luleå's marquee player, Lubos Bartecko and even some national attention when he was selected to play for Sweden in the recent Channel One Cup (Russia). What's more, Harju was also selected in the 2007 Entry Draft, going a full 2 rounds and 70 players later than Omark, to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Omark's style and play reminds me of the likes of Mike Comrie or Theo Fleury. He doesn't mind being a bit scrappy, in fact he often has to, as was the case in this match. The ice seemed in bad shape and led to a lot of missed passes, turnovers and choppy plays.

The above video is some powerplay time and shows a short but clever series that led to a shot at goal (though was blocked).

I don't know what to make of the Oilers' selection of Omark. He certainly could be an interesting fit some day à la Martin Gelinas, Todd Marchant or Ray Whitney style. His spot amongst a mediocre Luleå team in what was an uneven, scrappy game make it hard to evaluate who Linus Omark is as a player. I would've rather had the Oilers draft Harju, but hindsight is, as they say, 20-20.

In the very least, now the Oilogosphere has a short clip to see what young Omark looks like.

SCOUTING NOTES: Good news on the Willie Quister front. The big boy from Tingsryd scored two goals while playing on the fourth line in a 7-0 rout of Örebro.