Oilers Sign First-Rounder Jordan Eberle

The name of Jordan Eberle will go down in Canadian hockey history, regardless of what happens to him in professional hockey.

Eberle scored the game-tying goal in the dying seconds of Team Canada's dramatic shootout win over Russia in the 2009 World Junior Championships. The semifinal win set up the Canadians' relatively easy win over Sweden in the gold medal game. Now, Eberle is set to take his shot at an NHL career.

Eberle has signed a three-year deal with the Edmonton Oilers, the team that drafted him in the first round of the 2008 NHL Draft. He spent the last three seasons with the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League. Eberle had 35 goals and 74 points in 61 games for the Pats, along with his exploits at the World Juniors.

The Oilers are high on Eberle's talents, but are clear that they won't rush him to the NHL.

"We look forward to the day we can see Jordan suiting up for the Oilers but it's not a race to get there," general manager Steve Tambellini said on Monday. "There are major steps. Being on the ice for practice with a junior team or a world-junior team feels different then stepping on the ice with players who have played pro for 10 years.

"He has great puck poise, great vision, a good release. He finds seams that goal scorers find. I think he has a great hockey mind," Tambellini said. "The next step of his progession will require another level of thinking and quickness and he's going to need to figure out a way he can have success when guys are bigger, stronger, faster. More experienced. But we feel he'll be able to do that.

Watching Eberle play in the junior tournament, it's clear he has a special kind of hockey sense. Not everyone has it, and you can't teach it. He'll have to learn how to handle stronger and smarter defenders, but I think he's a good fit for the Oilers organization. Edmonton has enough talent available to them that there is no need to rush Eberle, which means he should be ready for the NHL when he gets the call.