So much for Connor McDavid not playing any preseason games eh? He’ll be dressing for his second consecutive game tonight when the Oilers take on the Winnipeg Jets and I hope to see a bit better of a performance. Something that stood out to me in the previous game vs. Arizona was that the Oilers top-6 forwards either forgot about the whole 5-man attack, 5-man back thing or they ignored it. It felt like their defense was constantly attempting hail marys. I mean, apart from that guffaw between Larsson and McDavid which is something I feel falls squarely on McDavid. Larsson was looking at him the whole time prior to making that pass, so he knew what he was going to do. Not sure what Connor was doing but this is why we have a preseason, to get all the rust off.
The battle for the remaining forward spots will be on full display as Joakim Nygard, Anton Burdasov, Patrick Russell, Tomas Jurco, and Gaetan Haas are all in the lineup. There’s not enough room for all of these gentlemen, so who’s going to force the Oilers to make a hard decision? I’m of the belief that Nygard is in already and Jurco needs waivers to be sent down, whereas Russell and Haas can be demoted to Bakersfield without having to clear the waiver wire. Burdasov is a PTO, so he either gets signed or not…
Just before we get into the nuts and bolts, the talk on Jesse Puljujarvi has picked up a bit and I wrote about that here for your reading pleasure.
Three Players to Watch for the Jets
https://twitter.com/SportsnetSpec/status/1177224269480095744
The Jets roster for the evening is a pretty even mix of players looking to crack the squad for this season and veterans who have a spot locked up. I do think there are three excellent young players worth keeping an eye on though and here they are,
Kristian Vesalainen – Last season, this massive Finn split time between the Jets’ AHL team where he scored 13 pts in 22 games and Jokerit in the KHL where he scored 17pts in 31 games. I like him because he projects to be a top-6 winger for Winnipeg in a couple of years (if not earlier) and also for the reason that he’s a big guy that plays an honest power game.
Ville Heinola – Heinola is the Jets first-round pick from the most recent draft. They took him 20th overall. He’s a very smooth operator from the back-end. He’s smart, poised, and can really move the puck effectively. I think as an outsider looking in at Winnipeg’s camp, it’s safe to say that Heinola is surprising quite a few people by sticking around so long. Personally, I thought Sami Niku would be making this team before Heinola.
Nik Ehlers – It’s hard not to pick The Great Dane, right? I didn’t want to say Jack Roslovic again though, so I reckon a safe pick would be to go with Ehlers. He’ll be the most electrifying player on the ice for the Jets tonight, easily. And this guy seems to always light the Oilers up.
Three Players to Watch for the Oilers
Jurco-McDavid-Neal
Nygard-Draisaitl-Burdasov
P. Russell-Haas-Kassian
Khaira-Cave-Archibald
(Bit of a guess on bottom two lines. Those six are playing unsure of combos).Klefbom-Bear
K.Russell-Benning
Lagesson-ManningSmith
— Jason Gregor (@JasonGregor) September 26, 2019
As with Winnipeg, Edmonton is putting out a roster that is pretty evenly spread out between vets and players looking to make the team. I really like what Coach Tippett is doing with his top-6 this evening. I’m very interested in seeing how those four wingers perform with McDavid and Draisaitl as well as how Connor and Leon perform away from each other. I know, it’s always going to be a point of contention but I feel like eventually, they’re going to have to be split up. There are definitely more than three players that I’m going to be watching closely, but here are my top three,
Anton Burdasov – Game one for Burdasov was a very pleasant surprise. He moves a lot better than I expected. Tonight he’ll be on a line with one of the NHL’s premier passers, so I’m eagerly anticipating this game just to see if some magic can be made between Leon and this Russian with the ridiculous shot. If Burdasov can pot a couple of goals tonight, he’s going to give the coaches and Oilers GM Ken Holland something to really think about.
Tomas Jurco – I think I can safely speak for most fans and say that we’re all quite stoked to see how Jurco does alongside a center like McDavid. I like the way he handles the puck and even if he doesn’t think he’s got a great shot, he really does. He just has to use it a bit more and get it on the net.
Ethan Bear – This should be Bear’s sternest test to date. He’ll be going up against some very talented forwards on the Jets. If he’s as good as he is confident and driven, this’ll be a cakewalk. I do expect challenges though for this young man. I actually kind of think the Oilers really need him to do well if Persson is out for an extended amount of time. Watch out for Bear’s excellent passing and I hope to see his wicked clapper too!
I guess we’ll be seeing Mike Smith between the pipes for the full 60 minutes, so that’s intriguing as well. Who do you like for the game, the Oilers or the Jets? Let us know in the comments below!
