Yesterday on Oilers Now the major topic of discussion was rushing prospects and more specifically what the Oilers should do with Evan Bouchard. Should he be kept on the Oilers roster for the first couple months of the 2018/19 season or should he be sent back to a stacked London Knights team to the delight of The Oil Knight?

Before Stauffer really got into Bouchard, a caller asked him what he thought Jesse Puljujarvi would have to do turn the corner next season and Stauffer replied,

“He has to build belief in the top-end guys before he goes in and starts playing with them.”

So Bobby believes that Leon and Connor aren’t exactly enamored with Pulju on their wing? That’s what I’m taking from that quote. Which is kinda funny, because McDavid did pretty well with Jesse last season. Leon not so much.

I can’t disagree with that sentiment though. Maybe McDavid and Leon just want a guy to do the simple things for them and Jesse is trying to do too much and not letting the game come to him, a problem that isn’t unfamiliar to young players in the NHL.

But if we’re talking about rushing a prospect, Jesse was brought in a year too early. He should’ve gone back to Karpat for another season and then brought to Bakersfield to play 75% of the year there last season and he would’ve been primed to have an outstanding year this year but instead, we’re still talking about whether or not a 20-year-old 4th overall selection will realize his potential in an Oilers uniform…

I don’t have any problems with Jesse starting the year on the 3rd line with Strome and Khaira playing against 3rd pairing defenders to start the year. Toss in some cherry PP time where HE’S the trigger man and let’s see how he progresses under the new coaches. Maybe around the new year re-evaluate where his development is?

EVAN BOUCHARD

The way I see it with Bouchard today is, he had a good game against some junior players and AHL players over the weekend. He’s going to play against similar if not a shade inferior opposition tonight. If he does well again, great! If he doesn’t, whatever, it’s just a game.

What I want to know is how he’s going to do against NHL competition and we’ll get a taste of that in the pre-season schedule. The reason I want to know that is that I already know how good he is against CHL competition.

How will he do when the forwards are faster, smarter, and stronger?

It shouldn’t be just about survival here. Our bar for Evan Bouchard shouldn’t be average. It should be above average, right? There’s no way he should be playing in the NHL if his results aren’t above average and I am not 100% sure if the Oilers are in a situation that can foster that.

Stauffer wondered aloud if Bouchard could be paired up with Kris Russell, given sheltered TOI and PP minutes?

I don’t think that’s a good idea. Bouchard needs a left-handed Adam Larsson (maybe a bit better skating one). A clean-up man that can watch his back and sort things out if Bouchard screws up or is getting overwhelmed.

It’d be fine if the Oilers had Zdeno Chara on their blue line like Boston has had for McAvoy and Carlo. I think Florida had Brian Campbell for Aaron Ekblad. LA had Sean O’Donnell and Rob Scuderi for Drew Doughty in his first two years. Ottawa had Chris Phillips for Erik Karlsson.

Not that I’m saying Evan Bouchard is any of those defenders I mentioned above but do you see the pattern there?

Is Kris Russell that guy? He likes to allow the opposition to skate into their Oilers zone an awful lot and personally, I’d like to limit the number of zone entries the other team gets while Bouchard is on the ice, right?

Also, have you seen the Oilers’ October schedule?

1. NJ
2. BOS
3. NYR
4. WPG
5. BOS
6. NSH
7. PIT
8. WAS
9. NSH
10. CHI
11. MIN

Are those the kinds of teams that will offer Evan Bouchard an environment in which he can succeed efficiently? I’m not sure these are the opponents you’d want to get your “look-see” of Evan Bouchard against. Not this year when the first month of the season is of THE utmost importance.

That being said, if Bouchard is above average and holding his own, he deserves to be there and with Darnell Nurse’s agent behaving the way he is, the hockey gods might be shining down on Bouchard.

More on Nurse in a second, I just wanted to discuss one more thing about the Evan Bouchard situation. Stauffer kept mentioning that London is a “pro-style” franchise but I have no idea how that helps Bouchard on the ice when he’s not playing pro-style opponents. Because, isn’t that what it ultimately comes down to when we’re discussing where a player should be playing after he’s drafted?

NURSE HOLD OUT COMING?

I reached out to my NA source and asked about Darnell Nurse this morning. I was told that the Oilers are standing firm at $3M while Anton Thun wants $4-$4.5M… That is a massive gap to bridge and without a trade to open up more cap room, Darnell is stuck on his sofa watching his teammates get ready for the season.

Chiarelli is playing this out fine. He’s brought in Kevin Gravel, Jakub Jerabek, and Jason Garrison (PTO), so it’s not like the Oilers don’t have cover. Don’t get me wrong, none of those players are a replacement for Nurse. All I’m saying is the Oilers are ready to start the season without Darnell.

ALEX CHIASSON

Another bottom-6 player coming in on a PTO sounds like Chiarelli IS setting things up for a trade that Bob Stauffer has been hinting at all summer long.

Chiasson is basically a timid version of Zack Kassian and will probably come in about a million dollars cheaper too.

He’s spent a ton of time on the PK with Jay Beagle last year on route to a Stanley Cup and both the PK and the Stanley Cup are areas of the Oilers game that need improvement.

Toss Chiasson on a line with Upshall and Brodziak and that’s a very decent shutdown line. Chia likes a hearty 4th line on his teams eh?

So what do you think? Should Bouchard go back to junior regardless of how good he looks at Oilers training camp and pre-season? Is Peter Chiarelli doing the right thing by standing firm with Darnell Nurse’s agent? What do you think about the Oilers signing Alex Chiasson to a PTO?

Let us know in the comments below!

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Summer’s over and you may have noticed it’s getting colder. As great as it is living in Edmonton, our winters are cold and unforgiving. While most of us are protected from the worst of it, there are always many that aren’t.

Santa’s Sock Drive is made up of a small group of volunteers that aims to try to help the underprivileged of our city that struggle to keep warm in winter. This is our third year doing the drive, last year we raised $3,076 and $923.26 the year before. The money we raise is used for buying things like toques, mittens, gloves, scarves, and socks to hand out. We also accept winter gear you may have at home, all we ask is that it’s clean and in good condition (no tears or stains).

Money can be donated via e-transfer to tejveer.sangha@gmail.com or through https://www.gofundme.com/santa039s-sock-drive-2018&rcid=r01-153660451446-bafc48a6b7874cab&pc=ot_co_campmgmt_w.

You can also drop winter supplies off or arrange a pick-up with tejveer.sangha@gmail.com or gurmanjit.sagoo@gmail.com.

We are going to be handing out the winter gear ourselves on October 8th (Thanksgiving). If you’d like to volunteer, email us. Everyone is welcome to come help out!

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