Oiler fans are a little like new puppies. Easily excited, skittish, known to chase their own tails from time to time, and bark their faces off at anything that moves within a few feet of the team. Especially during preseason. Yes, it's the time of year where the Edmonton faithful sing the praises of every nice play, cower at every miscue (often over the same player) and take to the blogosphere to yap and snarl about it to anyone who will listen.
Is there a way to block any and all photos/videos of dogs/cats on Facebook? Individuals I know are constantly posting pictures of their animals behaving like 'people'. They're not people. I even try to refrain from posting photos of my own children as they're barely people. So please stop.
The truth is though, that other than getting some perspective on minor league depth and prospect development, training camp for most teams, is about getting NHL players in game shpae for the up-coming year while allowing maybe one or two newcomers to shine through. Most roster spots are already filled by incumbents and free agents, so there really isn't many openings for a young player to knock our collective socks off and muscle their way onto the team. As bad as they are, the Oilers are no different.
As training camp opened with some 60+ players, more than half of which never had a chance of making the team barring an ability to score goals with their minds like a Jedi, I decided not to write about it until around the half way mark of the pre-season. At which point the pretenders would be separated from the contenders and thus we are now down to just 30 players plus 4 goalies with a week and a bit left to go before opening night.
OILER LINE-UP AS IT STANDS:
CENTER
1C - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
2C - Up for grabs
3C -Up for grabs
4C- Boyd Gordon
WINGERS
L - Taylor Hall R - Joradan Eberle
L - Benoit Pouliot R -Teddy Purcell
L - David Perron R - Nail Yakupov
L - Matt Hendircks R - Up for grabs
Alternate - Up for grabs
DEFENSE
Nikita Nikitin Mark Fayne
Jeff Petry Justin Schultz
Andrew Ference Up for grabs
Alternate - Up for grabs
GOALIES
Ben Scrivens Viktor Fasth
As you can see, there is only a total of five possible spots on the roster being contended for and/or are possible for a "surprise" fill. Of a typical 22 man NHL roster 16 spots are taken, leaving 18 players (now 17 due to the Tkachev debacle, but more on that later) to vie for the right to wear the Oil drop. Let's have a look to see how those battles are progressing.
CENTER: Easily the largest hole to fill and unfortunately, the one with the most question marks. Before the start of training camp, most fans that follow the team in the off-season would have told you that the likely scenario here would be Leon Draisaitl and Mark Arcobello/Anton Lander filling the void. Not an ideal situation considering the big Germans' tender age of just 18 years, Arcobello's lack of experience of just half a season's worth of games and Lander's inability to produce offense. Although Draisaitl still appears to be a lock with some decent play, both Arcobello and Lander have failed to step up to this point and separate themselves from the rest of the group. IMO, Will Acton (remember him from last years opening night line-up?) has played as well if not better than those two and if that doesn't scare you a little, you've got ice in your veins. One thing to be aware of, however is that both Lander and Arcobello are on one-way contracts and no matter what Dallas Eakins says, the Oilers will think long and hard before placing either of those two on waivers in favour of a rookie with a few good pre-season showings in their pocket.... On the positive side, Bogdan Yakimov has looked largely brilliant in the games he's played alongside recently departed Vladimir Tkachev (Damn you, CBA!). He hasn't been perfect and his game needs some work in his own zone, but the combination of his hands, feet, size and ability to finish have gotten him noticed by coaches and management alike. He's still in camp and forced himself to be part of the conversation....Trailing behind in last place is Jujhar Khaira, an excellent 4th line prospect that combines size with physical play, hasn't played much and will most likely be heading down to OKC after the next wave of cuts.
CENTER: Easily the largest hole to fill and unfortunately, the one with the most question marks. Before the start of training camp, most fans that follow the team in the off-season would have told you that the likely scenario here would be Leon Draisaitl and Mark Arcobello/Anton Lander filling the void. Not an ideal situation considering the big Germans' tender age of just 18 years, Arcobello's lack of experience of just half a season's worth of games and Lander's inability to produce offense. Although Draisaitl still appears to be a lock with some decent play, both Arcobello and Lander have failed to step up to this point and separate themselves from the rest of the group. IMO, Will Acton (remember him from last years opening night line-up?) has played as well if not better than those two and if that doesn't scare you a little, you've got ice in your veins. One thing to be aware of, however is that both Lander and Arcobello are on one-way contracts and no matter what Dallas Eakins says, the Oilers will think long and hard before placing either of those two on waivers in favour of a rookie with a few good pre-season showings in their pocket.... On the positive side, Bogdan Yakimov has looked largely brilliant in the games he's played alongside recently departed Vladimir Tkachev (Damn you, CBA!). He hasn't been perfect and his game needs some work in his own zone, but the combination of his hands, feet, size and ability to finish have gotten him noticed by coaches and management alike. He's still in camp and forced himself to be part of the conversation....Trailing behind in last place is Jujhar Khaira, an excellent 4th line prospect that combines size with physical play, hasn't played much and will most likely be heading down to OKC after the next wave of cuts.
MY PREDICTION TODAY: Draisaitl will slot in as the number two center and as witnessed already in pre-season, will be insulated by veteran wingers like Pouliot and Perron. Mark Arcobello will be named the number three center for two reasons: 1) Losing a player like Arcobello on waivers (one of 29 other teams WILL pick him up) for an unknown rookie just coming over to North America seems highly unlikely. No, instead Yakimov will be patted on the back for a great showing and will be told how excited everyone is to have him in the organisation as they send him down to OKC for more development . On his way out the door, Mac-T will slip a free cell phone into his pocket as a direct line to get a hold of him as the first call-up should anything go south up the middle. 2) Mactavish always talks about the "human element" of the game and based on that, for right or for wrong, he'll feel they owe it to Arco for jerking him around last year when he deserved better.
WINGERS: A position of depth and strength for this team, the only spots open here are for the physical/penalty-killing/pugilist type depending on who the opponent that night is. This would create a possible two man rotation system with one player being inserted for defensive acumen and the other for the ability to intimidate and protect team-mates from "liberties" being taken. In the mix for the former are Tyler Pitlick, Jesse Joensuu and the aforementioned Anton Lander. For the latter we have Kevin Westgarth, Luke Gazdic and Steve Pinizzotto.
Pitlick seems to be getting the push from Coach Eakins, having been put on the top line with Hall and Nuge in the Winnipeg game on Monday...Much like last year, Joensuu has had a decent pre-season banging and crashing bodies, but how long before the injury bug bites him again?...as for Lander, he's always demonstrated his ability on the defensive side of the puck and is a great asset on the penalty kill, but he just seems to be on of those 'non-factors' at the other end of the rink...Luke Gazdic is still recovering from pectoral surgery and isn't likely to be available on opening night which really leaves the pugilist spot between Westgarth and Pinizzotto until Gazdic returns. Pinizzotto is both physical and capable of playing in his own end where as Westgarth is a tougher fight opponent who might as well be a tree with a stick planted in the middle of the ice during play...
MY PREDICTION TODAY: It's a toss up between Pitlick and Joensuu and both are going to be given plenty of opportunity in the upcoming exhibition games to separate themselves. Steve Pinizotto will earn himself the tough guy role until Gazdic returns, at which time both will get ample opportunity to take over the position full time. Lander may be added as a second utility player, again just to prevent him being snatched up on waivers.
DEFENSE: Four players here make 4 million or more dollars per season and the fifth one is the current team captain, so none of them are going anywhere. At least to start the season, anyway and therefore only one regular starter position is available. The Oilers do have however, a wealth of defensive prospects pushing to fill that gap.
Last year, Martin Marincin played well for a half a season worth of games and had it not been for the acquisition of veterans Fayne and Nikitin in the off-season, he'd surely be on the team without question but he hasn't to this point been outstanding in any way... Also showing well in a much smaller sample of games in the same year, Oscar Klefbom earned himself a good long look in camp this time around. So far he's outshone Marincin and its possible he supplants him as the new defensive rookie... Coming up from junior is last years 7th over all pick, Darnell Nurse who has all the tools to surpass both Klefbom and Marincin in the future but needs some time to file off the rough edges of his game. His talent is undeniable, but it comes in flashes and his mistakes could be amplified when playing against full NHL rosters. Another year in Junior wouldn't hurt his game...
For the 7th defense man position, it seems to be a two man race. Keith Aulie was signed in the off-season with full intention of management to employ him in this role. He's big and mean, quick on his feet and would be great to insert into the line-up when size and physicality is needed. Unfortunately, Aulie has had a terrible camp to date and has treated the puck as though it has syphilis in his few pre-season appearances. Recently moving into place to usurp Aulie is Brad Hunt, an AHL veteran who is small in stature for a defense man but knows how to play with the puck and is more than capable of filling in on a second power-play unit. In a recent game against Winnipeg, Hunt earned some high praise from coach Eakins who said Hunt is "a player. He can flat out play."
MY PREDICTION TODAY: Marincin beats out Klefbom for opening night and Darnell Nurse is sent back to Everett for another year of seasoning. Klefbom won't be gone long however, as he'll have the first plane ticket should an injury take place or someone's play falls off. Aulie should beat out Hunt, but if his play doesn't improve soon, he'll be wearing an OKC Barons sweater come October.
That's where the team sits as I see it and the next four games will certainly put some perspective on my opinions. I have to say, this is one of the most interesting training camps I've seen for a few years and the lack of open spots combined with the number of talented players battling for what's left, could be a sign of some real depth within the organisation. Or perhaps that's just me barking...
MY PREDICTION TODAY: It's a toss up between Pitlick and Joensuu and both are going to be given plenty of opportunity in the upcoming exhibition games to separate themselves. Steve Pinizotto will earn himself the tough guy role until Gazdic returns, at which time both will get ample opportunity to take over the position full time. Lander may be added as a second utility player, again just to prevent him being snatched up on waivers.
DEFENSE: Four players here make 4 million or more dollars per season and the fifth one is the current team captain, so none of them are going anywhere. At least to start the season, anyway and therefore only one regular starter position is available. The Oilers do have however, a wealth of defensive prospects pushing to fill that gap.
Last year, Martin Marincin played well for a half a season worth of games and had it not been for the acquisition of veterans Fayne and Nikitin in the off-season, he'd surely be on the team without question but he hasn't to this point been outstanding in any way... Also showing well in a much smaller sample of games in the same year, Oscar Klefbom earned himself a good long look in camp this time around. So far he's outshone Marincin and its possible he supplants him as the new defensive rookie... Coming up from junior is last years 7th over all pick, Darnell Nurse who has all the tools to surpass both Klefbom and Marincin in the future but needs some time to file off the rough edges of his game. His talent is undeniable, but it comes in flashes and his mistakes could be amplified when playing against full NHL rosters. Another year in Junior wouldn't hurt his game...
For the 7th defense man position, it seems to be a two man race. Keith Aulie was signed in the off-season with full intention of management to employ him in this role. He's big and mean, quick on his feet and would be great to insert into the line-up when size and physicality is needed. Unfortunately, Aulie has had a terrible camp to date and has treated the puck as though it has syphilis in his few pre-season appearances. Recently moving into place to usurp Aulie is Brad Hunt, an AHL veteran who is small in stature for a defense man but knows how to play with the puck and is more than capable of filling in on a second power-play unit. In a recent game against Winnipeg, Hunt earned some high praise from coach Eakins who said Hunt is "a player. He can flat out play."
MY PREDICTION TODAY: Marincin beats out Klefbom for opening night and Darnell Nurse is sent back to Everett for another year of seasoning. Klefbom won't be gone long however, as he'll have the first plane ticket should an injury take place or someone's play falls off. Aulie should beat out Hunt, but if his play doesn't improve soon, he'll be wearing an OKC Barons sweater come October.
That's where the team sits as I see it and the next four games will certainly put some perspective on my opinions. I have to say, this is one of the most interesting training camps I've seen for a few years and the lack of open spots combined with the number of talented players battling for what's left, could be a sign of some real depth within the organisation. Or perhaps that's just me barking...
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