Oilers sign Fowler, Merrill

Edmonton Oilers News (July 10th 2011)
"Oilers sign Fowler, Merrill"

The Edmonton Oilers have signed prospects Cam Fowler and Jon Merrill to entry level deals. Both inked 3-year .875M deals. The two defensemen were the 2nd and 15th overall picks for Edmonton in the 2010 draft. Cam Fowler is not eligible to play for the Springfield Falcons for another six months (his birthday is December 5th), but will have to return to juniors if he is not found good enough for the Edmonton Oilers. Alternatively, he could be kept a healthy scratch until he is old enough to be sent to the Falcons. Jon Merrill, who turns 20 in February of next year is, however, eligible to play for the Falcons due to not coming from the Canadian Juniors, but from college hockey.

"I am delighted to have these two join our organisation. Both should be ready for our camp and I will not be shocked if one or both grab spots on our team. Nonetheless, we will keep a strict policy of patience with our youngsters and will not hesitate to play them where we feel it will gain the organisation the most."