Category Archives: Lindsay Ryall

Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, Lindsay Ryall, NHL, Rob Cooke, Sunday Night Pint

BLH Sunday Night Pint #4

Welcome back to another edition of Sunday Night Pint!

This week we’ll have Rob Cooke (@cooke_rob), a hungover Lindsay Ryall (@lindsman77), and myself, BLH (@beerleagueheroe) rattling off some value bombs for you fine folks!

The Topics:

  • Pacific Division predictions!
  • Oilers enforcers!
  • Raising the dead!
Let’s Get This Party Started!

 

1. Pacific Division Predictions

BLH- I think it’ll go down like this: Anaheim, Los Angeles, Edmonton, San Jose, Calgary, Vancouver, Arizona.

I’m not sold on San Jose as a functioning squad this year. Their goaltending is unproven, the lack scoring from the wings and their new coach has done nothing to prove that he’ll take the Sharks any further that where they stand now, out of the playoffs. I’m also convinced that Calgary is going to hit the wall this season. Too many years now of lucking out. Either their young guys, their goaltending, or the coaching dries up this year. Vancouver and Arizona will be in competition for Auston Matthews, Jakub Chychrun, and Jesse Puljujarvi so who cares about them.

L.A. should be good for 2nd place but then again looked what happened to Boston last year…

Edmonton on the other hand is trending up. They’ve improved their roster immensely since last season. I’d say they’re on the opposite end of the spectrum as San Jose. Their top 6 has the potential to be the deadliest in the league and Talbot is entering the prime of his career after putting up some deadly numbers last year in New York. The secret weapon won’t be a player but an aura called The McDavid Effect.

LR – Ducks: The Ducks core is in their prime and they keep getting reinforcements on a maturing D and in goal. Getzlaf, Perry and crew easily have the talent and experience to easily push for another final four appearance and maybe even another cup as Chicago suffers under cap restraints. Finish 1st, 108 pts.

Kings: Many would see the Kings problems as a sign of potential implosion, but the bulk of their core remains intact and the addition of Milan Lucic means they are tougher and heavier in their top six. They could use more depth on D but finishing out of the playoffs will provide tons of motivation for this veteran-laden team only two years removed from a cup. Finish 2nd, 102 pts.

Flames: I hate the Flames, but I have to admit they have the best D in the Pacific and defense gets you wins and points in the NHL today. Look for highly touted rookie Sam Bennett to suffer a severe upper-body injury by mid-season but the rest of the forward group are serviceable if unspectacular and play very well within Bob Hartley’s system. Finish 3rd, 98 pts

Sharks: I predicted this team’s erosion a couple of years ago but they have stubbornly remained relevant… Until last year when they missed the playoffs. Not even Logan Couture’s daunting overbite can save them now. Unproven in goal and leaderless they will continue to drift. Finish 4th, 88 pts.

Oilers: After the draft I took a sip of the Kool-Aid and I liked the taste. Nonetheless, I’m not ready to label this team as playoff bound just yet, still too inexperienced on D and it’s not certain what impact Nurse and Reinhart will have. Nevertheless, they will take a huge step forward and position themselves to challenge the following year. Look for a 75 point season from the Nuge to go with 65 – 70 points from McDavid as he becomes the Oilers’ first Calder Trophy winner. Finish 5th, 84 pts.

Canucks: The Canucks have done nothing to help themselves and continue to drop in talent even further. The Sedins are well into their 30’s and aren’t magicians, so no playoffs for Vancouver. Finish 6th, 82 pts.

Coyotes: The Coyotes have the makings of a very exciting team… In about 3-4 years. Besides OEL they don’t have an impact player and it’s unsure Mike Smith can bounce back from a disastrous season. Missing the playoffs by a lot and being in the thick of the Auston Mathews sweepstakes. Finish 7th, 62 pts.

RC – Anaheim, Los Angeles, Calgary, Edmonton, San Jose, Vancouver, Arizona

2. Who’s Your Favorite Oilers Tough Guy?

McDavid SMASH!

BLH – My favorite Oilers tough guy is the team’s all-time leader in penalty minutes (1747) Kelly Buchberger. He lost more fights than he won but there was no backing down when push came to shove. The list of guys he fought is legendary: Probert, Pronger, Neely, McSorley, Kordic, Grimson, McCarty, Tim Hunter, Brashear, Kocur, and Odjick just to name a few. #BraveMan

LR – Dave Brown: This is a close call as I’m also a big Georges Laraque fan, and who could forget Semenko, but Brown was just so devastating. He didn’t just beat people up, he destroyed them.

RC – Dave Semenko without question. I grew up watching Cement Head take on all comers and I loved the epic battles of Alberta even more when Semenko and Hunter would go at it!

3. If You Could Bring Back Any Hockey Player From The Dead To Play For The Oilers, Who Would It Be?

BLH – I’d bring back Maurice “The Rocket” Richard. I remember reading a children’s illustrated book when I was small boy that featured The Rocket and I can’t remember what the name was but the message was about tenacity. I didn’t know what that word meant but by the end of that short story I knew all I needed to know about the word and the player! This man played the game with as much honesty as you could ask for and never asked for anything in return. Not only that but he managed to get an entire city to riot after he was suspended.

LR – Eddie Shore: Shore was much more than a footnote in the movie Slapshot, he was the original two way defenceman. Shore could beat you with toughness and scoring from the blueline, both of which the Oilers could use on their team today.

RC – This is a really tough one for me because the vast majority of the players that I grew up watching are still alive today. I decided that rather than select a former all star from another organization that I would select a player that left us way to young and had a ton of potential. Kristians Pelss was an Oilers prospect when he tragically died in a swimming accident in 2013 in his home country of Latvia. I have always wondered what he could have become had we not lost him.

Well that wraps it up for us here. Let us know in the comments below your Pacific Division predictions, who your favorite tough guy was or who you’d bring back from the dead to play on the Oilers.

As always you can catch up with us on Twitter @beerleagueheroe or on Facebook!

And if you have it in your heart, please share this post and tweet it out! Thanks guys and gals!

Take Care!

-BLH

 

Edmonton Oilers, Lindsay Ryall

Being Candor on Lander

In many ways, the emergence of Anton Lander in the second half of the 2014 – 15 season was the best part of a very bad season for the Edmonton Oilers.

In one fell swoop the Oilers had shown they could develop a true top nine forward (not drafted in the top five) that had a combination of grit and skill, could win faceoffs, and possessed some natural leadership abilities as well as character. Once Dallas Eakins was fired, and Lander became Todd Nelson’s chief reclamation project, the player gained momentum and confidence and finished the season with decent numbers (.52 ppg for 20 points in 38 games last season.

As should happen, Lander was rewarded with a modest, but appropriate 2 year $1.975M contract and suddenly a player that was on waivers at the beginning of the year had etched out an important niche on the team.

But in spite of that success new challenges loom on the horizon for 2015 – 16, hurdles that Lander will need to overcome if he wants to maintain forward momentum. The coach that helped him get on track is no longer with the organization, and with numerous off-season upgrades, (both in trades and player development), Lander could indeed slip back if he doesn’t find a way to keep pace.

Mark Letestu – Columbus Wired

And a rival emerges . . .

The first person Lander will need to impress at training camp is his new hockey boss, Todd Mclellan. Coaches generally speaking, favor veterans and Oiler’s GM Peter Chiarelli’s off-season signing of seasoned center Mark Letestu provides motivation for Lander, but also a threat to his ice-time.

Especially when you consider Letestu has four season’s where he has played an average of 64 games and is an Alberta boy to boot, hailing from the town of Elk Point (also Sheldon Souray’s hometown) in Alberta’s Lakeland region. Letestu will be considered a reliable veteran. He has been a plus player the majority of his seasons in the NHL and coaches tend to favor defensively sound skaters. Lander for his part has never really been close to being a plus player in the two seasons  he has played 20 + games with the Oilers. Of course that needs to be tempered with the fact the Oilers have been among the worst NHL teams in the last 10 years, but nonetheless, it doesn’t help his case.

Lander can overcome the challenge to his number 3 center spot but he will need to continue to improve on what he does well. Topping that list would be face-offs. In today’s possession game, things are a whole lot easier when you start with the puck, and last season Lander emerged as true duelist on the dot. You would have to think Lander’s faceoff development gave management the confidence to deal Boyd Gordon and free up some cap space.  And while he became a leader on that regard he could certainly improve. Through 38 games last year Lander had a faceoff percentage of 50.1% based on an average of 15.01 minutes TOI. When we balance that number against other centres on the Oilers, he looks ok, almost halfway between Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (45.7%) and Boyd Gordon (55.9%). However Lander needs to keep his eye on Letestu who sports a very nice 52.9% for face-offs. Realistically, to maintain his pecking order, Lander will have to at least match a faceoff win percentage of 52 – 53%.

The importance of Lander’s faceoff percentage is likely linked not only to his ice-time, but his time on the PP where Lander netted almost half of his season total. Last year he saw a lot of duty on the #2 powerplay where he could win the faceoff and pull a Craig Simpson or two in front of the net with some ugly goals. If he isn’t able stay strong in the faceoff, not only will his ice time suffer, but the precious time he receives on the powerplay as well. So his focus on this aspect of the game is key.

The other elephant in the room is Lander’s skating, which most feel is labored and can use some work. Letestu by comparison is considered a strong skater, so Lander should be taking some direction from Oilers skating coach David Pelletier in the off-season. As far as I can observe, Lander gets to where he needs to be and survives with Hockey IQ and anticipation, but I’m not a hockey scout either.

But the one intangible that may just allow Lander to leverage a spot on the Oiler’s core is not a skill but definitely an asset, and that is his leadership abilities. Lander and a C on the crest have been a pairing for a good chunk of his hockey career. He was a captain of the Tre Kronos U-18 team in 2010 and for Sweden’s WJC U-20 team later that year. A few years later in 2013 he would earn the C for the Oilers affiliate in Oklahoma, and would keep the captaincy for two years until he was promoted to the Oilers in 2015, no easy task for a Euro player in North America. Do we see a pattern here? Lander is a leader and the Oilers have very few natural leaders in the core, or on the team.

So at the end of the day Lander can ensure his spot on the team, and ice time are consistent by simply shoring up his game. Make improvements on what he does well (faceoffs) as well as what he doesn’t (skating) and everything will fall into place. Draisaitl could emerge and challenge Lander for the no.3 spot but most feel he is a top six skater and will either shift to the wing or maybe get more seasoning in Bakersfield. As for Mark Letestu, he’s a useful addition for the Oilers, and should only be positive motivation for Lander.

 

 

Corey Mitchell, Edmonton Oilers, Lindsay Ryall, Rob Cooke, Ryan Robinson

Beer League Heroes Sunday Night Pint

3 Comments

Welcome to the inaugural Beer League Heroes Sunday Night Pint! What we’re going to attempt to do is dazzle you on weekly basis with our vast VAST knowledge of the Edmonton Oilers in a Q&A format. A hotstove without the hot or the stove. Just dudes sitting around a keyboard, beers in hand.

How Much Does Cam Talbot Actually Improve The Goaltending This Fall?

Will Cam Talbot really help the Oilers that much?

Ryan Robinson (@ryandlace) – Significantly. The sad thing is, Talbot will only need to be average to accomplish that. Scrivens and Fasth don’t exactly leave huge shoes to fill. The good news for the Oilers is that Talbot will have plenty of motivation to excel. He is being given an opportunity to establish himself as a #1 NHL goaltender and he’s in a contract year. There are skeptics who claim they have seen this movie before, but the re-runs in Edmonton ended when Bob Nicholson took over. Talbot will be solid.

Corey Mitchell (@corn_cwm) – My opinion is that after the disaster that was Ben Scrivens last year, almost anyone brought in was going to be an improvement in net for the Oilers. And when it came to finding a backup tender that looked ready to make the jump to starter, Cam Talbot was always first on my list. There was lots of love for both Martin Jones in LA, and Eddie Lack in Vancouver, but the biggest selling point for me was late in the season. Talbot carried the Rangers on his back when Henrik Lundquist went down with a neck injury last February, going 17-4-3 over a 24 game span, while the Rangers cruised to the Presidents Trophy. Granted, the defense Talbot is going to have in front of him this upcoming season pales in comparison to the one he had in New York, but like I said, after last year, things can only go up.

Lindsay Ryall (@lindsman77) – This is a tough one to statistically qualify with wins because defence and goaltending mutually support each other.  I do believe Talbot will benefit from a much improved defence and would put that improvement at two games over .500 Talbot’s stats next year:  26W – 24L – 4 Overtime wins.

Rob Cooke (@Cooke_Rob) – The simple answer here is a lot. Talbot may not have played in a ton of games so far but he is the real deal. When you look at his stats no matter how you slice it this guy is a keeper. His adjusted save percentage last season was .935, good for 11th in the league. The season before last his numbers were even better when he posted a .942 adjusted save percentage. That put him fifth in the league. Over those two seasons there were only two other goalies that had played at least 950 minutes and managed to be in the top 15 both years, Carey Price and Jonathon Quick. Price is without a doubt the best goalie in the league, if not the world. Anytime you are on an exclusive list with him you know you are on the right track.

All my stats and info are from a terrific Oilers blog run by Darcy McLeod. It’s called www.becauseoilers.blogspot.ca. Go check out his 3 part series on the goalie situation in Edmonton. It was excellent.

Who are the defensemen that will be on the opening night roster?

Will we see these two causing havoc in the NHL next season?

Robinson – I’ve never been so happy to not know the answer to a question. For so many years, the Oilers have barely been able to ice an NHL calibre defense corps. This year, they may not have a lot of high end guys, but they have nine players who are capable of playing at the NHL level. As much as I’d love to see Reinhart and Nurse play the entire season in the American Hockey League, I think one of them will crack the opening night roster. My guess is that on October 8th in St. Louis, Sekara, Klefbom, Fayne, Schultz, Gryba and Nurse will be manning the blueline

Mitchell – It’s been a few years since there have been positive questions to ask in regards to the Oilers defense corps. With pretty much everyone from last season, save Keith Aulie and Martin Marincin, it was already going to be a tall order for any youth to crack the line up this year. Add into the equation two proven NHL players in Andrej Sekera and Eric Gryba, along with blue chip (yes, I’m that high on him) prospect Griffin Reinhart, and it’s going to be a really interesting training camp. Unless there are a few more moves made, I’ve got Sekera, Schultz, Klefbom, Fayne, Gryba, and Ference all making the opening night roster. I’m really ok with the idea of Nurse and Reinhart starting the year in Bakersfield, preferably on the same pairing. Brad Hunt is probably my 7th to start the year, with Nikitin either buried, or just gone altogether.

Ryall – While I believe Nurse will have secured a roster spot by the end of the season, the starting spots will be: Andrej Sekera, Oscar Klefbom, Mark Fayne, Justin Schultz, Andrew Ference, Eric Gryba, Griffin Reinhart

Cooke – The easiest way to answer this is to first figure out who are locks to be on ice opening night. We know for sure that newly acquired Andrej Sekera will be on the team, likely out there for the opening draw. His most likely partner will be Mark Fayne. Fayne excelled when he was paired with a solid puck mover in New Jersey. He will be better this year.

The second pairing will be young Swedish stud Oscar Klefbom and the defensive liability, Justin Schultz. Klefbom sure as shit deserves the top four minutes but Schultz will get his by default. There are no better options on the right side right now so we will use what we have.

Now for the third pairing there are quite a few possibilities on who will suit up in St. Louis. On the left it will be one of Nikitin, Ference, Nurse, or Davidson. On the right it really will come down to Gryba and Reinhart. The right is easier to figure out, with Reinhart having only played 8 games in the NHL to date he will have to be light years ahead of Gryba in camp to earn a spot. On the left 2 or possibly even three out of the final four will make the team in October. Ference will be here for sure, although I have my doubts to how many games he will actually see this year.

The other three are a little trickier but if I was a betting man I would say that Nikitin will come to camp healthy and in a lot better shape than last season looking for a bounce back season after the disaster last year. Davidson will stay up with the big club as a healthy scratch as his development likely won’t be hampered as much by sitting for long stretches. Nurse and Reinhart will both start the year in Bakersfield and will most likely be the top pairing down there until they get their call ups. Before Christmas for Nurse is my guess there. Reinhart will depend on injury I think.

Are the Oilers done making moves this summer?

Is Petey C all done making moves this summer?

Robinson – Unless he can find a taker for Nikitin or Ference, then I think Chiarelli is done. The management team should dedicate the first quarter of the upcoming season to evaluate their group. Several players regressed under Dallas Eakins, so I believe it is wise to give them an opportunity to prove their worth under a savvy, veteran coach in McLellan. If individual players do improve, they will either contribute more to the team or boost their trade value.

Mitchell – The logical answer to this question is no, the Oilers aren’t going to be making anymore moves. The goaltending is (hopefully) solved with Talbot, Scrivens, and Anders Nilsson all signed. The Oilers really don’t need to add any forwards, be it top or bottom six. And with the number of signed defensemen on the team right now, adding another one doesn’t make sense. That being said, it’s the Oilers, and logic has been thrown out the window by this team a long time ago. If it were me, I would be calling teams day and night in a hope to unload Nikitin, even for a late round pick. Ference would be on my to do list as well, making room on the  for either a Cody Franson signing, or a long shot home run trade for a minute eating defenceman, possibly from Chicago.

Ryall – I think there may be maintenance moves but I don’t think anything significant.  The Oil don’t seem to want to get into a bidding are for Cody Franson’s services and that’s long-term smarts.

 Cooke – Barring a trade right now I would have to say yes. I know most Oilers fans are clamoring to add one of Christian Ehrhoff or Cody Franson and I know that it is possible with a little cap creativity but it isn’t in the cards I fear. I think Chiarelli wants to see what he has with the ten defensemen heading to camp that are realistically competing for the big club’s eight slots. The forwards are fairly well set right now, although I wouldn’t mind a solid scoring winger to join the team on the cheap. Goaltending is miles better as we already discussed tonight so outside some minor league moves to bolster an already impressive AHL roster we are likely done. With the one caveat being that I think that the Oilers will have Oscar Klefbom re-signed to a long term deal before the end of August

There you have it folks! I hope you enjoyed our very first Beer League Heroes Sunday Night Pint! If you have any comments or questions there are three options:

– Leave them in the comments below!
– Follow us on Twitter (@beerleagueheroe) and let us know there!
– Hit us up on Facebook!

Lastly we’d really love it if you took a short trip over to the BLH T-Shirt shop where you can get the official BLH shirt and also our vintage 16-Bit NHL Superstars T-shirts! They come in all colors, sizes and styles and priced low at $20! Help us keep this little blog trucking!

Click on the pic to check out the Beer League Heroes Official T-Shirt!

Thanks for reading!

-BLH

Edmonton Oilers, Lindsay Ryall, Prospects

The Russians are Coming!?

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It was during the 2013 – 14 season when the Edmonton Oilers added Ilya Bryzgalov along with Denis Grebeshkov that an ever expressive Nail Yakupov was asked his thoughts on having some countrymen around.

“Yeah, it’s the Russian mafia,”  Yakupov joked, and added his satisfaction in being able to communicate in his native language around the rink.  Unfortunately for Nail, Bryzgalov and Grebeshkov weren’t destined to be Oilers for long.  Grebeshkov was clearly outclassed and no longer an NHL player, while Bryzgalov looked for opportunities elsewhere.

Just a couple of years later, Yakupov still has one countryman to play Durak with on road trips, but low and behold there are several more on the horizon and the future Edmonton Oilers may someday have the highest Russian content this side of the Alexander Ovechkin’s Washington Capitals.

Who Likes Borscht on the Team Right Now?

Nail Yakupov: Yakupov still hasn’t found the consistency he needs to have as an NHL player, especially a former first overall draft pick.  Nonetheless, he rebounded nicely when Dallas Eakins was fired and Todd Nelson took over.  He also responded well when paired with Derek Roy,  so even though he is teetering on the brink of being a bust, there is a strong belief that this will be the year Yakupov will establish himself with a solid 25 goal 50 point season.  Yak has jam, a world class shot, and can deliver a serviceable check when needed.  For the time being he will be an Oiler and have the opportunity to fulfill the promise of a number one overall pick.

Nikita Nikitin:  Nikitin has arguably the biggest bullseye on his back affixed by Oiler’s fans and has been roundly criticized for indifferent and downright poor play.  Amazingly he has survived the trade and buyout deadline and may very well be an Oiler come October.  It is quite possible that the tandem of Mactavish and Howson still have some influence and have convinced Chiarelli that he has some value.  In fairness, Nikitin does have some skills.  He easily has the hardest shot on a team that is looking for a cannon from the blue line to help the powerplay.  Nikitin is going into a contract year and that’s typically when most NHLers magically turn it around.  Maybe he’ll be a reclamation project . . .

Young Guns on the Way

While there are two Russians currently on the team, the Oilers’ have two hopefuls in the development system that should make the team over the next two seasons, and will likely play in the top 9.  They bring the requisite skill set you would expect from Russian trained hockey players, and also bring intangibles that cannot be taught, namely size.

Bogdan Yakimov:  Standing 6’5″ and weighing in at 232 lbs., 20 year old Bogdan Yakimov doesn’t require any more time to fill out, in that respect he’s definitely arrived.  But Yakimov is not just a big lug, he has hands and can skate.  Yakimov also had a decent first year in pro with the OKC Barons with 28 points in 57 games, numbers he will doubtless build upon next year.  In his first pro-year Yakimov also showed a keen willingness to learn, paired with a good work ethic, spending extra time with veterans and the coaching staff to learn different aspects on the North American game.  In Russia such good behavior would earn the comment, “Mollodets” (translation: Good boy).  Yakimov is still young and comparables are never 100% accurate, but forecasting him as a more rugged Victor Kozlov is a definite possibility.  With respect to development, I would project him as an NHL player in two seasons.

Anton Slepyshev: Slepyshev has dazzled and teased the Oilers organization since he was drafted in the 2013 entry draft.  The concern with Slepyshev was whether he would actually commit to playing in North America or instead continue playing in the KHL.  However, any doubt about his commitment to the NHL was erased this year when Slepyshev signed an entry level deal with the Oilers.  Slepyshev is not a physical monster, but no slouch either, checking in at 6’2 and 187 lbs and the kid can play.  Not only does he play with all the skill you would expect of Russian skater, he’s also a gamer, playing his best in big games against the best competition.  That’s what every organization wants.  His first year at pro will be the litmus test on his potential, but he is definitely one of the most exciting young players in the system.

Danil Zharkov: Zharkov was pretty cocky when first drafted in the third round of the 2012 entry draft, 90 spots after Nail Yakupov.  Zharkov was billed as a potential power forward, and scored 23 and 25 goals respectively in his last two seasons of major junior with the OHL’s Belleville Bulls.  Unfortunately his development has not really progressed well since then and while he is playing in the KHL, he has not found much offensive production, scoring 5 points over 58 games in his career there so far.  It doesn’t look like Danil’s NHL or pro dream is going to happen, but hey, he’s only 21 years old, stranger things can happen.

Potential Additions off the grid

Vladmir Tkachev:  This diminutive offensive dynamo impressed all at the Oilers training camp last year (so much so that he was awarded a contract, that was eventually disallowed) but followed it up with a very lukewarm last year of junior in the QMJHL.  When you weigh in at less than a 150lbs. and stand maybe 5’9″you had better be putting up some gaudy offensive numbers and Tkachev did not (33 points in 33 games with the Quebec Remparts last year).  Nonetheless there may be a chance he is invited to camp again and has said in interviews he wants to join the Oilers and play with his countrymen already in the system.  It’s a longshot right now but so was his surprise camp last year, so there’s still a possibility.

Evgeny Dadonov:  Originally a third round pick of the Florida Panthers, Dadonov toiled for a short time in the AHL before bolting for bigger dollars and home cooking in the KHL.  Dadonov has played three seasons in the K and had a nicely productive year in 2014 – 15 with 46 points in 53 games.  Excellent numbers for that league.  He also paced well in the playoffs, outscoring Ilya Kovalchuk with 20 points in 22 playoff games. Dadonov  then capped his season with 11 points in 10 games for Russia at the World Championships and in my mind was their most consistent player in the tournament.   The Oilers are deep at wing for now, but if there was a buyout for Purcell or a long term injury that needed to be addressed, he could be a splendid addition.  At age 26 there wouldn’t be any seasoning required, but he would need to improve his defense, which reportedly needs work. Many of the goals he scored at the World Championships were world class and that’s where I would rate his talent.  His rights are till held by the Panthers and I am somewhat surprised they haven’t tried to sign him, nonetheless he’s worth keeping an eye on.  If he was made available, it shouldn’t take a lot to pry him out of the Panther’s organization.

How does the future look?

While it’s not likely that two years from now the Oilers will have anything approaching Detroit’s famed “Russian Five” of the 90’s, an all Russian line in the near future is a very real possibility with Big “Bo” Bogdan Yakimov at center and Slepyshev and Yakupov on the wings.  As for any other additions, it’s too early to tell, and I can’t see Nikitin sticking around that long, but overall the team will soon have an increased Russian presence.

Armchair GM, Edmonton Oilers, Lindsay Ryall, NHL, Rumors

Will 2015 – 16 Mark the End Of Achey-Breaky Pitlick’s Injury Woes?

credit: The Edmonton Journal

 

Not far down the laundry list of needs for the Edmonton Oilers, (just after defense and goaltending) lies the need of the team to play a heavy game.  Along with the lack of heavy play, there has also been a shortage of toughness, of size, and at times a question mark of character.

One player that has often been suggested as a possible solution to this issue is 2010 second rounder, Tyler Pitlick.  From his inaugural training camp the youngster established instant respect from not only his peers, but the seasoned vets on the team, for his most notable asset: the kid had a heavy game and was tough in the corners.  Fast forward five seasons later, the Oilers are anxious to see the budding power forward bloom, but that hasn’t happened yet.

Instead Pitlick has been hit with a barrage of injuries, ranging from the standard ankle injury in his last year of junior with the Medicine Hat Tigers, to a ruptured spleen in one of a handful of games he played in last year with the Oilers.  The steady stream of injuries begs an obvious question:is Pitlick injury prone, or,has he just had bad luck?

In fairness, Pitlick is not the first young Oiler forward to lose significant time to injury.  Taylor Hall lost an average of 17 games in his first two seasons.  Ryan Nugent Hopkins missed 18 games in his first season and eventually underwent shoulder surgery, while Jordan Eberle lost some time to a hand injury.  But while these injuries were unfortunate, they should have been expected.  Hall, Nugent-Hopkins and Eberle were playing top minutes in their teen years, ( or close to it) against big time NHL forwards, and suffered upper body injuries as a result.

Is He Just Too Fragile?

Pitlick’s situation has been different.  His injuries have been all over the place.  Reviewing his setbacks we have an ankle in 2010, a knee injury in 2013, and the spleen injury in the 2014 – 15 season.  The spleen has to be considered a fluke.  The knee and ankle injury?  Two different injuries in areas where you would expect a hockey player to get injured.  So is he really injury prone, or just needing to physically mature like a lot of young players?  I would suggest more of the latter than the former and further suggest the 2015 – 16 season could be Pitlick’s time to shine.

This year’s Anton Lander?

Pitlick goes into this year with a lot of competition on the team.  On the right side we have Eberle, Yakupov, and Purcell. New additions like Lauri Korpikoski give depth and there is no question the competition to fill any spot will be a challenge.  Add to that Leon Draisiatl will push to make the squad and may try the wing to do it, so it will be tight for Pitlick.  Nonetheless Pitlick has an intangible that no other player on the team has.  He can physically punish in the corner and make a play.  Hendricks tries his best but while listed at 6’0 200lbs., his real height is said to be closer to 5’10”.  Pitlick is 6’2″ and could easily crack the 200lb. barrier this season.  If he comes to camp and plays like a bull in a china shop,turns heads, and doesn’t get hurt, the Oilers would be crazy not to keep him with the big club.

Even better, if Pitlick and Draisaitl play lights out, start the season, and force Chiarelli to trade Purcell because he’s spending too many nights sitting in the pressbox drinking hot chocolates (because coffee is too strong for that guy), that would be ideal.

One option of gauging Pitlick’s potential long-term durability would be to look at his bloodlines and examine the pro-career of his uncle Lance who toiled for years as a journeyman defenseman in the NHL. Researching Lance’s career, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of reference to fragility.  He didn’t play 80 games every season, but that may very well have to do with the fact that he wasn’t an impact player and couldn’t make the roster every night.  So if we can make a historical reference, the junior Pitlick may follow a similar path with respect to durability, once he matures.

At any rate, Pitlick should be given every opportunity to prove his worth to the team this fall, and the Oiler’s need him to.  There’s no question that the Oilers have oodles of offence in the top six, but you don’t win in today’s western conference without defense, goaltending, and a heavy game.  And with respect to a heavy game, the Oilers are at a huge deficit.  If Pitlick can go into camp and stay healthy, and continue to do what he does best, the Oilers will take a big step in correcting that deficit, and quite possibly salvage another high draft pick while they’re at it.