Is anybody else as happy with this new style of hockey that the Oilers are playing as I am? The days of heavy hockey and off the glass and out are seemingly over, right? I mean, how did we go three seasons without this change? Another “feather in the cap” for the HOF coaches Edmonton hired in that time I suppose.
Perhaps the change in how the Oilers move the puck is part of the motivation for bringing in forwards like Tomas Jurco, Joakim Nygard, Gaetan Haas, and now Anton Burdasov. What will be a concern though is how these players perform along the boards and in the trenches or how quickly they adjust their skating angles.
Do you think we might see some players bump into each other a bit more often now that they’ll be required to be a lot closer in proximity? As long as their English is good, it probably won’t matter, right?
Anton Burdasov
Burdasov doesn’t speak English. Communication might be a challenge. He will skate today with the second unit at 12:30.
— Jason Gregor (@JasonGregor) September 18, 2019
Uh oh… No English? That’s going to cause some issues in with the ultras in Edmonton. His agent did say that he understands but that there’d be some challenges.
But can he play the game? This quote from Mark Spector’s piece should really tell you all you need to know,
“His skating is OK. He’s not the best skater out there, but he can skate,” said Eronko in a direct message on Twitter. “His biggest weapon is a wrist-shot. In that he could be compared to Tarasenko. It’s really lethal. He’s a very talented guy, he just needed different work ethics. And more than a year ago he decided to have a diet, not drinking beer etc. I have a real doubt he could make it in the NHL, but talent wise he sure should be in Oilers’ Top 6. And I hope he gets it.”
Skating is only okay… Has some work ethic issues… On the other hand, this player is driven to achieve a dream of his. With the right motivation, a person can damned near do anything. So we’ll see on that front how badly he wants this.
I’ve written about Burdasov in the past and my opinion hasn’t changed even though I’ve heard that he might have a top-ten shot in the NHL. Coming into training camp on a PTO after it has started isn’t a lot of time to get acclimated to anything let alone make a good enough impression that it convinces the Oilers coaching staff to cut one of the players that have been there the whole time.
Word has it, he’ll get into a preseason game later this week. Unless he scores a hat-trick, I don’t see him being an option for Edmonton. Mind you, his North American agent, Rich Winter, said on Oilers Now this morning that they were talking to six other NHL teams. No doubt they will be watching his progress.
Today's podcast is up!@brianlawton9 on signing European players.@dstaples discusses McDavid's recovery, the #Oilers through two exhibition games and more.
And @EdmOilKings G.M. Kirt Hill talks ahead of the regular season opener on Sat.
Listen: https://t.co/cnsj91yxW0
— Oilers Now with Bob Stauffer (@OilersNow) September 18, 2019
Will he strike out by the weekend or will a team take a chance on him? We wait…
Six Cut and Sent Down
The #Oilers have assigned the following six players to the Bakersfield @Condors.
• Vincent Desharnais
• Luke Esposito
• Jake Kulevich
• Ostap Safin
• Beau Starrett
• Nolan Vesey— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) September 18, 2019
I’m a bit surprised that Safin didn’t get a game. He was better in the rookie games vs. Calgary than a few others that are still in camp. The others that were sent down look like ECHL/AHL tweeners at this point save for Esposito. Mark Messier’s nephew will play an important role for the Condors I believe.
The boys are back in Edmonton for their next game tomorrow night and it’ll be a re-match against the Canucks. I reckon there’ll be a few more veterans in the lineup for the Oilers in this one.
A quick Jesse Puljujarvi update! He assisted on Karpat’s game-winning-goal last night and had TEN shots on goal with over 18 minutes of TOI. He’s still producing at a point-per-game place if you combine both stat lines from his games in the SM-Liiga and the CHL.
What do you think about this Burdasov character? How about the Oilers cuts? Let us know in the comments below!
