On Monday afternoon, the Edmonton Oilers traded prospect forwards Xavier Bourgault and Jake Chiasson to the Ottawa Senators. The return was prospect forward Roby Jarventie and a fourth-round draft pick in 2025.
Jarventie was drafted 33rd overall in 2020. He played seven NHL games for Ottawa, registering one point. In 136 games for their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators, he put up 86 points. Chiasson(116th overall) and Bourgault(22nd overall) were both drafted by Edmonton in 2021.
Chiasson was decent in the WHL, putting up 111 points in 177 games for the Brandon Wheat Kings and Saskatoon Blades. He’s only played one game in the AHL. Bourgault looked like a pretty bankable prospect, statistically speaking, when he was selected. In 197 QMJHL games, he posted 206 points for the Shawinigan Cataractes. Unfortunately, in comparison, his AHL numbers don’t equal the same type of success; 54 points through 117 games down in Bakersfield. I tried being hopeful that he might find his groove in more years for the Condors and then eventually make an impact for the Oilers. But Jeff Jackson felt a change scenery was needed, as he continues his overwhelming streak of moves while not being on the job. Judging by his last two trades and this year’s draft. He clearly has a much different perspective on the team’s prospect pool over the last few seasons.
I don’t consider this a big move or a small move. Maybe in the sense that Bourgault was a pretty high draft pick, he’s seen as a bust right now. But I’m not calling this trade a steal; my feelings for it aren’t the same as when Edmonton traded Ryan McLeod for Matt Savoie. If Jarventie plays an average role for the Oilers in the future, awesome. But there’s a very low chance he makes the NHL roster, even as an extra. We’ll see how he does on his new AHL team, as well as how our new fourth-round pick will turn out.
