Paul Coffey has been hired as the new defense coach for the Edmonton Oilers under Kris Knoblauch.

The Edmonton Oilers don't exactly have a stacked cupboard as far as prospects are concerned. Xavier Bourgault, Olivier Rodrigue and Matvei Petrov are three of the top names that the organization has in their stable.

They only had three selections in this past year's NHL Entry Draft, partially due to trading futures for players like Nick Bjugstad and Mattias Ekholm. Those moves paid off as both players excelled in their roles for the rest of the regular season and into the post season.

Their 56th overall selection Beau Akey seemed like a great pick at the time. By the end of Development Camp and Rookie Camp it seemed like Akey had climbed the ranks to become the top prospect for the organization.

In the preseason Beau Akey was assigned to the OHL after an impressive game. Since being assigned he has accumulated nine points in 14 games - as a defenseman.

However Jeff Marek is reporting that Akey will not finish out this season due to injury.

Season ending shoulder surgery will happen sometime after next week. Joely Stockl, my colleague at The Hockey News who covers the OHL was in attendance for the Barrie Colts game and reported that he had an arm in a sling.

Keep tabs on The Hockey News Edmonton Oilers site to make sure you don't miss any updates on this situation.

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[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbL20_Xtcbc[/embed]

Oilers Top Prospect Suffers Season Ending Injury, Awaits Surgery