Tag Archives: David Musil

Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Prospects

David Musil Gonzo?

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David Musil most likely done in the Oilers Org.

Oilers figure he needs a change of scenery. Drafted in 2011, he has had ample time to develop and they’re disappointed by his slowed development. We’ve also got guys coming from recent drafts. Caleb Jones, Ethan Bear and William Lagesson to name a few.

Those are the words I was passed on this evening re: David Musil. I can’t say I’m surprised one bit. The boots were just too much of an obstacle to overcome and being a lefty on the backend did him no help either. Maybe it was just one too many Edmonton Oil Kings as well…

If you’re not aware of David Musil, here are a few quotes to give you an idea of what the Oilers were looking at in previous seasons:

Shoots: L Height: 6-4 Weight: 203
Born: 1993-04-09 Hometown: Delta, BC, Canada Drafted: 2011 by Edmonton, 31st overall

 

 

 

 

PRE-DRAFT

  • David has excellent size and strength and plays a rugged brand of hockey with a bit of a mean streak. He reads developing plays well and uses anticipation to break up plays before they become dangerous. He’s got good hockey sense in all three zones, but his offensive upside is limited due to his mediocre point shot.

    Maintains great gap control and always squares up to the puckhandler. Has good poise, plays solid, mistake-free game in own zone and is excellent positionally. Reads and anticipates developing plays well. Good laterally, but 1st step and straightaway speed are average. Is not good as either a PP quarterback or trigger-man— has weak shot and makes poor decisions in puck distribution. – Red Line Report via Oilers Nation

  • A physically imposing defender, Musil needs to develop more before he could be a serious addition to the Jackets lineup. His style, by his admission, is that of a Chris Pronger type. Of the current Jackets, Musil would be comparable to a Marc Methot type. Strong on playing the body, and while possessing the ability to move the puck, that’s not necessarily his strength. – Jackets Cannon
  • Another aspect of Musil’s game we have heard troubling things about is with the intensity and desire — some NHL evaluators have said that he is the product of hockey coming very easy to him early on and the natural physical advantage he enjoyed at a younger age. Now, his peers are catching up to him and surpassing him, and he’s not consistently bringing the kind of intensity you want. – Lighthouse Hockey

POST-DRAFT

  • With ~300 major junior games on his resumé and another 50 or so in a variety of international events, it’s time to turn him loose in the pros. Variously listed at 6’3 or 6’4 and over 200 pounds, Musil needs to show that he can continue to dominate physically when matched up against older and occasionally larger men. He also needs to prove he can skate with them. For all the outstanding fundamentals of his defensive game, it is his sluggishness afoot that may hold him back from making the bigs, at least for awhile. – Bruce McCurdy, Cult of Hockey
  • In an era where speed is king, David Musil is bucking the trend. Make no mistake about his potential, we’re talking about a player who—if everything breaks right—will play in the NHL as a pure defender and PK man. That’s a third pairing defender, along the lines of Ladislav Smid or Eric Gryba. – Lowetide

So there you have it. The overwhelming consensus is that Musil doesn’t have the footspeed to keep up in today’s NHL and the day of the pure shutdown defender are probably coming to an end and with it, these kinds of players are finding it harder and harder to make it to the NHL.

That said, one could argue that Adam Larsson is a pure shutdown defender. True, but he’s got much better wheels and his hockey IQ, in my opinion, is ridiculously good. He’s also got some of the sweetest hands for a defensive dman. And to add to all of that, he’s got ice in his veins. Perfect for playoff hockey.

I wish David Musil good luck as these AHL loan deals usually mean that the player’s time with their club is over, not helping is Musil’s pending free agent status.  I enjoyed watching him in his cup of coffee with the Oilers a couple of seasons ago. Hopefully, he’ll catch on with a club who isn’t as stacked on the left side and he’ll make an NHL career out of it yet.

What do you think? Should the Oilers be moving on from Musil or should they keep him around? Let us know in the comments below!

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Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

Curses, ECHLers, and More!

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The Oilers have one known curse to date, the Calder Curse. No matter how good a rookie is for the Edmonton Oilers, he just can’t seem to convince the eastern media that he’s worth the award. We could go through them individually from Gretzky to Fuhr to Arnott to Nuge to McDavid but that’s another blog for another time. Hopefully, The Sports Forecaster is right and Puljujarvi wins it this year.

But I want to talk about a different curse. It’s the Curse of the First… Overall pick that is.

The reason that the Oilers couldn’t get more for Hall is not because Peter Chiarelli is bad at making big trades involving star players, it’s because nobody in the NHL wanted to do the Oilers any favours after they draft first overall FOUR BLOODY TIMES. You could argue that it’s no fault of the Oilers, they were simply a product of the system put in place to prevent such things. But it’s my belief that they will continue to get shafted in trades unless they admit shame and lose trades that involve a high-profile member of the team OR they start winning.

I’m hoping for the latter but wouldn’t surprise me if they rid themselves of Nuge and Yak in an attempt to distance themselves from that era of the team’s history.

MATT BENNING

The Oilers signed the six-foot, two-hundred pound plus blue liner out of Northeastern to a 2-year deal today. He’s a rugged defender out of St.Alberta who can make a first pass and, here’s the key folks, he shoots right-handed. So now the Oilers depth on the right side looks as such:

Adam Larsson
Mark Fayne
Matt Benning

I believe the word underwhelming comes to mind and the problem is the Oilers won’t be able to do much due to the Curse of the First but I’m hearing that Mark Fayne has been training like a madman this summer and is coming to camp with a chip on his shoulder. He’s heard your words and he’s going to shove them up your ass… lol… I’m not really sure if that will happen or not but reading that sentence makes me laugh because, well, just envision Mark Fayne saying it.

Back to Benning…

Matt Benning is NOT a PP QB. He’s Andrew Ference to a lesser extent. Bob Stauffer reckons he’ll get a chance with the Oilers this upcoming season but you can bet, if he does, it won’t be because he’s better than Griffin Reinhart, Brandon Davidson or Jordan Oesterle.

I reckon Benning was signed simply for defensive depth on the AHL team. I can’t see him coming up for any reason in the next 2 years apart from injury call-up. He’s at best a no.4 dman in the AHL right now and it’s best he plays his way up the ladder at this point. If he surprises, great! But let’s keep expectations low.

You know what would be a solid expectation for him, top pairing minutes in Norfolk (ECHL).

His NHLe is 14 points. The same as Dillon Simpson, and three back of Joey LaLeggia… Someone on Twitter said he’s a right-handed David Musil…

Speaking of David Musil… I’ve heard inconsistent play is all that’s keeping him out of the NHL and what might send him to the ECHL.

Why not just sign Eric Gryba and get this over with. He’s a true NHL player that, from what I’ve been told, is turning other teams down because he wants to sign in Edmonton… Are the Oilers really going to tell Eric Gryba to “show them his dedication” before giving him a deal?

Last little tidbit, the Oilers are looking at a rugged right-handed centre who hasn’t been able to crack the lineup of his NHL club to date. He’s been fairly productive at the AHL level and he’s not eligible for waivers but his team doesn’t want to lose him for nothing and are looking for some depth on the back-end.

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Corey Mitchell, Edmonton Oilers, Prospects

Prospect Profile: Oil Country

My final edition of Prospect Profile is one that I’ve been waiting to put together since I started the series early this summer. I’m a huge Oil Kings fan, and it so happens that the Oilers have quite a few former members of the WHL team in their system, all of which were huge parts of the Oil Kings that won two WHL Championships in three years, and a Memorial Cup. Some have been drafted directly from the Oil Kings, and others have come to the Oilers after being drafted by other organizations. But they should all be familiar faces to hockey fans in Oil Country.

 

Griffin Reinhart

Connor McDavid wasn’t the only exciting addition to the Oilers on draft day this year. To go along with the 1st overall pick, the Oilers also had the 16th overall, which was acquired from the Penguins in the David Perron trade. As the Oilers were on the clock to draft a player, it was announced that the 16th pick, along with the 33rd pick, had been traded to the New York Islanders for Griffin Reinhart. Drafted 4th overall by the Islanders in 2012, Reinhart was a key piece on the blue line for the Oil Kings, captaining the team to consecutive WHL Finals appearances in 2013 and 2014, winning in the latter year before going on to capture the Memorial Cup. Prior to that, he helped the Oil Kings win the WHL Championship in 2012 as well. There are many who feel that if not for Reinhart being injured in 2013, the Oil Kings very well could have won three consecutive championships.

Following his Memorial Cup Championship, Reinhart turned pro, playing a majority of his games with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, before making his NHL debut with the Islanders late in the 2014/15 season, picking up his first NHL point in those 8 games. While there are many who have criticized Reinhart’s first year as a pro, you only need to compare his AHL numbers to his WHL numbers to see that, while he didn’t light the world on fire, he stayed consistent along his career. His AHL totals were 7-15-22 in 59 games. In comparison, Reinhart’s best season with the Oil Kings was in 2011-12, were he went 12-24-36 in 58 games.

It’s going to be an interested camp for Reinhart in somewhat of a home coming. While it’s expected he’s be around until the final cuts are made, more than likely Reinhart debuts in Bakersfield this season. Not a bad thing at all. My feeling is that he and Nurse should both start the year in the AHL, unless they have stellar camps. I’m excited by the prospect of Reinhart and Nurse being THE guys for the Oilers in the near future.

 

Mitch Moroz

Mitch Moroz suffers from his draft position. Taken 32nd in 2012, there seems to be unfair expectations cast upon the young forward. Be that as it may, Moroz was an emotional lightning rod for the Oil Kings, and a fan favorite as well. Not afraid to drop the gloves, Moroz was the ultimate team guy on those Oil King championship teams. His final three years in junior saw him accumulate over 400 PIM, but also over 100 points. His best season was in the Memorial Cup Championship year of 2013/14, when Moroz registered 35-28-63 in 70 games. It was this same year that saw the Oil Kings rally around the tragic loss of one of Moroz’s closest friends, former Oilers prospect Kristians Pelss, who passed away the previous summer. Moroz can be seen in the team photo holding Pelss’s jersey, who also got his name on the Memorial Cup that year.

His pro debut did not seem to fair as well as his junior swan song however. Moroz  had a tough time adjusting to the AHL game, picking up only 9 points in 66 games with the Oklahoma City Barons. Many are viewing this as a draft bust, which is truly unfair to someone in their first year of pro. Moroz needs time in the AHL to really find his groove in the pro game, as it is a different experience compared to playing junior hockey.

Like I mentioned, Moroz is a victim of draft position. His play thus far is not in line with what is basically considered a late 1st rounder. But had Moroz gone in the third round, would people be as critical? I view Moroz as a player who has a chance to become much like his mentor, Ryan Smyth. He’s not the prettiest player on the ice, but he puts the team first, and is all heart. Hopefully a few years in the minors can help get Moroz ready to step into the Oilers line up, and bleed copper and blue.

 

Martin Gernat

The clock may almost be up on Martin Gernat. Drafted by the Oilers in 2011, Gernat was another key piece on the blue line when the Oil Kings won their first WHL Championship in 2012, putting up 9-46-55 in 60 games. The following year saw his season shortened to only 23 games with an injury, but he made it back to the line up in time to help the Oil Kings make another run to the WHL Finals, falling to the Portland Winterhawks in six games, after defeating them the year before.

Gernat would turn pro the following season, missing out on the WHL Championship rubber match between the two teams later that year. Things seemed to be on track for Gernat, as he came into his first AHL season, and posted 21 points in 57 games, including 4 goals. However, the next season saw some regression from Gernat, as he only managed 9 points in 54 games.

The writing may be on the wall for Martin Gernat at this point. He’s seen other players such as Oscar Klefbom and Martin Marincin get call up consideration before him. And now with Darnell Nurse and Reinhart in the mix, it’s going to be even harder for Gernat to move up the depth chart. As much as I would like to see him succeed and make his Oilers debut, it’s possibly time to cut ties with the Slovakian defender. Until then however, here’s hoping he has a bounce back season this year in Bakersfield, and can help mentor a couple of the young defencemen who may find themselves there.

 

David Musil

He wasn’t an Oil King for long, but it was long enough for David Musil to collect a pair of championship rings to close out his junior career. Drafted 31st overall in 2011, Musil was a member of the Vancouver Giants for three years, before an early season trade added him to the Oil Kings blue line. Now playing in the city that saw his father, Frank Musil, have so much success, Musil offered immediate stability to a team that saw so many key defenders turn pro over the summer.

Musil himself would go pro in the summer of 2014, following the Memorial Cup win. His first year saw him post 12 points in his 61 games with OKC. Respectable numbers for a shut down defenseman who saw his best totals in 2009-10, putting up 7-25-32 in 71 games with the giants. The following year saw much of the same, as Musil would go 2-9-11 in 65 games with the Barons. Again, not stellar numbers, but his play was good enough to warrant a 4 game stint with the Oilers, making his NHL debut amongst a number of injuries. Musil would pick up two assists in his brief time with the Oilers.

This looks to be a significant year for Musil. Much like Gernat, he’s going to find it hard to gain on the depth chart now with blue chippers Nurse and Reinhart in the fold. That being said, he’s had a taste of NHL hockey, and acclimated himself well to it. While I would say there is a bit of a chance he sees NHL ice again this year, depending on how player health pans out, Musil will be better served playing big minutes in Bakersfield, taking on more of a veteran leadership role.

 

Laurent Brossoit

The Oilers have long needed a top goalie prospect to call their goalie of the future. The good news was there was just such a player on the ice almost nightly in Rexall Place. The bad news was he was a Flames prospect. Cue the Ladislav Smid trade, and welcome Laurent Brossoit to the organization. Brossoit was the anchor for the Oil Kings teams that made runs in 2012 and 2013, helping win the WHL Championship in 2012, and collecting the MVP award while he was at it.

Brossoit is the real deal in my estimation. The addition of Cam Talbot this off season is a blessing for Brossoit, who should be getting the bulk of the workload this year in Bakersfield. Talbot should help solidify the crease, and keep it warm for Brossoit as her continues to develop. I expect Brossoit to be the backup on this team as early as next season, and could see split time as soon as two years from now. I’m extremely high on Brossoit as a goalie, as should the rest of Oil Country after seeing him make his NHL debut with an outstanding effort last season, despite suffering the loss.

 

And this will conclude my 8 part Prospect Profile. I hope everyone enjoyed what I had to offer over the summer. There’s not a lot of news to cover on the prospect side of things between the draft and the start of camp. As this goes up, we’ve already concluded the Penticton rookie tournament, that saw many of these players get in front of Oilers fans for the first time. Next up will be the annual Oilers Rookies vs Alberta Golden Bears game, followed by the start of the main camp. As training camp progresses, we’ll get a better idea of where this players will be during the upcoming season. Stay tuned to beerleagueheroes.com all season long, as I’ll be providing a weekly round up of Oilers prospect performances. And don’t forget to check out all the great content found on the site, including the ongoing Season Primer series, which is profiling all 30 teams. Hockey season is almost here. Enjoy it Oil Country.

 

Edmonton Oilers, Lindsay Ryall, NHL, Prospects

Making a case for David Musil

Reflecting on the Oiler’s 2nd Pick in 2011

David Musil (credit: Andy Devlin)

As the most anticipated NHL draft in Edmonton Oilers’ history rapidly approaches, a quiet subplot looms in the background.  Connor Mcdavid is surely a slam dunk for the number one pick and eventual generational talent, however, the concern remains: will there be any gems in rounds two through five, the ones every team needs to build a Stanley cup winner?

The 2011 draft is one that has drawn the critical eye of Oiler fans when in the second round, future impact NHL talents  Boone Jenner and Brandon Saad, were passed over by the Oilers scouting staff in favor of a stay at home defenseman with the Vancouver Giants, David Musil.

To this point David Musil has played limited games in the NHL (two, to be exact) and questions about his lack of foot speed continue to dog him.  Despite his detractors, there are enough positives to support the belief he may develop into the physical defensively sound rearguard the Oilers sorely need.

Of course you can’t argue there were better players taken after Musil, but as far as defenseman taken in rounds two and after, his development is more than comparable.  Keep in mind, if Musil does succeed in making it as a pro, an ideal stay at home defenseman doesn’t get a lot of attention with his play.  If you don’t notice him, it means he’s done his job.

And as far as progression goes, Musil’s has been steady.  He followed up a strong final year in junior with the Edmonton Oil Kings (7-16-23 points in 48 games) with an . . . okay first year at pro in 2013-14 (2 – 10 – 12 and -2 in 54 games).  And last year had a very solid season, posting 11 points in 65 games with the OKC Barons as well as improving his plus minus 12 points to plus 2.

But it was when Musil was given a cup of coffee with the big club at the end of last season that some eyebrows were raised.  Not by Musil’s flashy play, but with his steady confidence in the limited minutes he received, as well as showing the ability to do something the majority of Oiler defenseman seem unable or unwilling to do: physically stop the cycle of opposing forwards.

As for his much maligned skating ability, I didn’t notice him lagging that far behind in the two NHL games he played.  However, most agree it will be an area that requires improvement.  I’m not an NHL scout, so they’re probably right.  But the good news is that in today’s advanced athletics he can improve upon his footspeed, he just has to be willing to work on it.

It’s in the genes

Frank Musil (left) David Musil (Oilers/NHL.com)

And on that end, Musil’s bloodlines indicate he has the character and work ethic to overcome this limitation.  Not only is there father Frank Musil who toiled 13 seasons as a journeyman NHL defenceman, but also Uncle Bobby Holik who had a lengthy NHL career being one of the first euro-power forwards.  None of David’s relatives were known for their flash, but were hard-working physical pro hockey players, which Musil is on pace to be.

But if there were better forwards passed over in the second round, was there a slam dunk better defenceman available?  The quick answer to that question is, not really.  The criteria for a significantly better D-man pick would be one chosen in the second round or later of the 2011 draft, and who has played at least one full season, or 80 games.  At this point, no one really stands out significantly.

The most advanced D-man pick from the 2011 draft picked outside of the first round I could find would be Nikita Nesterov (fifth round pick in 2011) of the Tampa Bay Lighting, who has played 27 regular season games and 17 in the post-season in 2015  and will likely be promoted to full-time duty next season.  But he’s sub-200 lbs, and not likely what the Oilers need in terms of physicality.

Conversely, Musil is 6’3, 204 lbs., and has the physical tools he needs to be an effective NHL defenseman . . . as long as he can improve his skating.  Look for him to get a longer look this year, and after one more year of seasoning in the minors, a roster spot.

Several years after the 2011 draft, rumors persist that Musil Junior indeed wasn’t the Oilers scouts’ choice in the 2nd round of the 2011 daft, and that they favored Boone Jenner.  However, then GM Steve Tambellini apparently insisted on drafting a defenseman and here we are.  Four years later the Oilers are still in desperate need of physical defensemen, and while Musil is taking his time getting to the NHL, he should be just what the Oilers need when he gets there.

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The ’97