Will Edmonton Oilers newcomer become that rarest of all offensive beasts?

The Edmonton Oilers have employed 34 defencemen who played more than 200 regular season games with the team, led by Kevin Lowe at 1037.

And Edmonton has iced 31 d-men who scored more than 0.4 points per game, led by Paul Coffey at 1.26 per game in his seven seasons with the Oilers.

The Oilers have also had a number of smaller d-men who put up a good number of points in their Edmonton careers:

• 5-8, 170-pound Reijo Ruotsalainen, 0.81 points per game
• 5-9 180-pound Risto Siltanen 0.73 per game
• Tyson Barrie, 5-11, 197. 0.69 per game
• Ilya Byakin, 5-10 183 pounds, 0.64 per game
• Norm Maciver, 5-11, 180. 0.59 per game
• Lubomir Visnovsky, 5-10 197, 0.59 per game
• Greg Hawgood, 5-10 204, 0.58 per game
• Marc-Andre Bergeron 5-9, 198, 0.47 per game.

That is eight smaller d-men in franchise history who were solid on the attack, a few of them offensive beasts, up there with the best attacking d-men in Edmonton history.

But there is one kind of player in these categories who is exceedingly rare, a smaller d-man who can put up points but has also lasted with the team.

Of the eight smaller offensive blueline dynamos on the Oilers, only one of them, the brilliant-skating, hard-shooting Siltanen, played more than 200 regular season games for the team. The rest of them were off the team in one, two or three seasons. As good as some of them were, their careers in Edmonton were short-lived.

Perhaps Beau Akey will defy that trend. He’s Edmonton’s top ranked d-man prospect this year, edging out big man Maximus Wanner. Akey was ranked ninth last year. This year he is third overall.

Akey, who won’t turn 20 until February, was the 56th overall pick in the 2023 draft. He’s 6-feet, 186-pounds, and he’s had his setbacks, including a broken nose, then a shoulder injury that required surgery last fall. But there’s plenty to like in his game, in particular his skating and passing.

Before the 2023 draft, the scouts were bullish on the Ontario Hockey League player.

Said Steven Ellis of The Daily Faceoff, “He does an excellent job of rushing the puck down the ice from his own zone and he panic-passes the puck far less these days.”

Said Elite Prospects: “He can pivot with a single step without losing speed, explode forward with short, explosive steps, and stack his full weight over one of his outside edges to abruptly change direction.”

And The Athletic’s Corey Pronman: “He can make tough plays with the puck while also having a hard point shot that can beat goaltenders clean.”

And Kyle Pereira of The Last Word on Sports: “One of the best skaters in the draft class. He possesses excellent edges and agility, allowing him to have strong four-way mobility. His stride is also smooth, and looks effortless at times… There’s very little not to love about his skating.”

And Nick Richard of Dobber Prospects: “Potential as a top-four defenseman if he continues to improve his overall processing speed.”

And The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler: “Akey is a beautiful, flowing skater with plus-level mobility in all four directions… I like him defending the rush, where he uses his feet and stick to manage gaps and steer opposing carriers. His game defensively does lack a little polish and attention to detail at times.”

And, finally,Brock Otten of OHL Prospects: “I wanted to see more positive development in his skill/confidence with the puck and in his defensive zone decision making. Instead, he reverted into a bit of a shell with the puck and some sloppy habits crept into his game. All that said, I still like Akey and I do believe that he can possibly turn things around, I’m just not quite as confident as I was early on… He can get caught flat footed when defending because he lacks assertiveness and allows the opposition to dictate pace and direction. All of these things are extremely fixable. In a lot of ways, Akey’s raw two-way approach and lack of refinement in utilizing his mobility reminds me of TJ Brodie in his draft year.”