So. The Edmonton Oilers, according to the proposed 24-team COVID Cup plans the NHL is voting on, will not be a top-4 seed and they’ll have to go through a “play-in” in order to “make the playoffs” and that short series (not sure if that’d be a best of three or five) is against a team that, in any other season, would be a lottery team, the Chicago Blackhawks. And should they beat them, they get to play a team who got a bye but had fewer points than them in the standings, the Dallas Stars…
Are. You. Kidding. Me?
This joke is getting better by the day. In an effort to stay “relevant” (as if daily hockey coverage of when the NHL draft is going to take place or when hockey might come back isn’t keeping the NHL talk alive) and to recoup lost revenues, the NHL is ready to piss off a MASSIVE portion of its playing personnel.
I’m not concerned about the Oilers losing to Chicago, if you’re wondering. Now, I can’t wait to see if the NHL “awards” Edmonton the chance to be a hub for this summer tournament because they’re f*cking them over so badly.
You know how you fix this, you take the where everybody was in the standings when the league took its pause and those are your playoff teams. “What’s that? Your team’s points percentage is better than another’s? Too bad. We’ll work something out down the road with you. Maybe give you an All-Star game or a draft to host.”
I just feel that the NHL is laughing in the face of society right now. Why is it that professional athletes get access to things like lighter travel restrictions improved “lifestyle” choices ahead of the fans? How much more stoked would fanbases all over the world be if they could fill the arenas of their favorite sports teams as opposed to being stuck in their cages watching it on the tele?
Now, if hockey returns I’ll watch it. I still love the game. I mean, they might actually find a way to make it unwatchable, but I’ll give it a shot. What I won’t do is give it the same credence a regular Stanley Cup Playoffs would get because it’s not that. It’s an abomination
BLH Hockey Interview with Jason Strudwick
Following up our interview with Edmonton Oilers winger Patrick Russell, here’s our second interview of the BLH Hockey Interview series! This time with one of the greatest shootout scorers in the history of the NHL, former Islanders, Rangers, Canucks, Blackhawks, and Oilers defender Jason Strudwick.
I did up some sweet graphics for this interview and posted them over at the BLH Hockey Instagram account! Please, head on over and check them out! Give us a follow if you aren’t!
Growing up, who was your favorite player?
I liked the more aggressive players that were physical. Mark Messier, Bob Probert and Luke Richardson all caught my attention. They were able to influence the game with their physicality and skills.
Which team was your favorite?
Growing up in Edmonton during the 80’s I was so lucky to fall in love with hockey by watching the great Oilers teams of that era. A group of HOFers running wild on the NHL and many cup runs sealed it for me.
What’s your favorite hockey memory from your playing career?
I was so lucky to play as long as I did in the league. Scoring my first goal, getting into the playoffs and scoring in a shootout were all great but playing live in front of my parents the first time is number 1. That is when it really became real for them and me. Growing up I never thought I could be an NHL player. I actually wanted to be an accountant. So when I made it I was quite surprised as were my parents!
Who’s the best player you ever played with?
Jagr was the top player I played with. I remember getting on the ice with him in training camp for the Rangers with him. I couldn’t believe how strong he was on his skates and how he controlled the play. It is true that you don’t know how good a player is until you play with him. We would be down a goal going into the 3rd period and both our team and the team we were playing against knew he was going to score the goal to tie it up and be involved in the winner!
Who’s the hardest player you ever faced?
There were so many great players to play against but I remember thinking that Paul Kariya was a blur. Let’s be honest, I didn’t get to match up against him every shift but when we did play on the ice at the same time I couldn’t believe how quick he was.
In your opinion, which trophy is harder to win, the Memorial Cup or the Stanley Cup?
I was very lucky to win 2 memorial cups. Those are great memories and it was two season of playing 100 games from the start of preseason till the final cup game. I do think that winning the Stanley Cup would be the hardest. Winning 4 rounds against the best in the world with the travel would really take its toll.
What was it like playing in the Hungarian league?
Playing in Hungary was such a great experience. I loved it. The team and fans were very passionate. I still hear from friends and teammates from there. I really enjoyed the chance to be an important player for our team. Getting lots of minutes and action reminded me of why I love the game and to keep playing it. The 2 years prior in the NHL I had been mostly used as a meat grinder and even though I didn’t mind it the reality is making plays and being on the ice at the end of a game is why we play the game. Coming back after that time in Hungary I was recharged and ready to be more then just the meat grinder. That first year after the Lockout was maybe my best year in the league and a lot of that has to do with my time in Hungary.
In order of importance, as a hockey coach today, how would you rank these player attributes, skill, smarts, heart/compete?
Wow…. These are all so important, hard to rank them. I do believe that heart/compete should be the foundation that a player is built on. If you don’t like to compete and test yourself against the best eventually you will be pushed out of the game because you are unable to keep up. Smarts is next, knowing how you can impact the game and where to be trumps the ability to dangle the whole team but being brain dead. Lastly I would put skill. Every player at the jr level and up has an amazing amount of skill so the other 2 are what create separation.
How can a younger player stand out if he/she doesn’t have elite talent?
This is something I get asked often and the answer is easy….be coachable. If the coach asks you to kill penalties become the best in your league at that skill. Listen to the advice they are offering you as to how you can improve. Trust me, at 15 you don’t have all the answer. I am still learning the game at 44!
What’s the best piece of advice given to you during your career?
If the door is locked kick it down. This means that when you go to a tryout you need to leave an impression. You can’t just be there to fill a jersey. Try to get noticed every skate. That could mean winning a faceoff, blocking a shot, throwing a hit, driving the net that results in a goal or killing a penalty. Right now everyone thinks you make an impression by toe dragging the whole team. There is more to the game and it gives players a great opportunity to get noticed and kick the door down!
A MASSIVE thank you to Mr. Strudwick for taking some time out of his busy schedule to answer some questions for us. Now, if you didn’t know, Jason runs a hockey camp for defensemen in Edmonton and he says he’s not sure if the rinks will be open in August, but if they are, his camp will be running. He takes a very straightforward approach to teaching the position. Stick and body positioning are HUGE in the game and it can save a lot of unneeded movement on the ice! Head to Jasonstrudwick.com for more information!
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Yesterday was a bit of a clown show with regards to the news on the Edmonton Oilers GM search. We were told Keith Gretzky was a front runner and then at the end of the night we were told he was out. Other pundits told us that Ken Holland hasn’t even been contacted and then shortly thereafter we were informed that he’s the leading contender for the job…
And then there are these tweets this morning from Ryan Rishaug and Jim Matheson.
Morning all, Your daily GM speculation fix… Hunter and K.Gretzky right down to the wire, with the caveat that if Ken Holland wants to be a GM, he could be the guy. I’d expect things to be resolved in next 4 or 5 days barring any setbacks.
I think there’s a feeling within the club that they’ve liked how Gretzky has pulled things together and that it’s better the devil you know than the one you don’t. Nicholson has a working history with Keith Gretzky now that he doesn’t have with Mark Hunter but I do wonder if the Oilers current interim GM would be willing to work under Hunter with an eye towards being poached by another team in the future. Would Hunger agree to that? All very interesting…
More information will come but I wanted to go through and quote all these different hockey pundits from just yesterday to show you how nuts this is and how the Oilers are either loving this because they’re orchestrating it or how bad it really is in the organization right now.
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1) Let’s start at the beginning of the day (May 2nd) with the Dustin Nielson Show (TSN) who had Darren Dreger on to talk about the Oilers GM search.
On the leading candidate: I wouldn’t be shocked at all if Mark Hunter emerges as the next GM of the Edmonton Oilers.
On Ken Holland being 100% out of the hiring process: It feels close to 100% but I never box in because you never know. Everything that we’ve been told as a group at TSN is that Nicholson and Kenny Holland would’ve had a number of conversations that would’ve lead up to the Detroit Red Wings naming Steve Yzerman as the general manager and pushing Holland further up the executive ladder of the Red Wings org.Detroit wouldn’t have done that without consent from Ken Holland, but Kenny Holland loves to be in the fight. He is an active guy… Part of me wonders if Holland is going to be satisfied professionally if he’s not in that fight.
But I go back to what I said 30 seconds before about the relationship between Holland and Nicholson. Nicholson would’ve known weeks ago that Ken Holland wasn’t going to truly be a candidate for the Edmonton Oilers because they probably, loosely, because there are some legalities here, would’ve shared some information and I’d be more surprised if Nicholson hasn’t used Ken Holland as a resource in potentially vetting some of the candidates that he’s talked to.
I’m not saying it’s 100% dead but unless something’s changed in the last 5-7 days, I don’t see Ken Holland being the next GM in Edmonton.
On how attractive the Oilers GM position is and Ken Holland: It depends on where you were coming from and what you were doing. To me, I’m a glass-half-full guy, if I have a chance to run a team with Connor McDavid at my disposal with the rabid fanbase that supports your team like no other. To me, I don’t mind having to come in maybe tear some things up or burn some things down to try and make that work and put my own stamp on it because if you can make the Edmonton Oilers a winner, you know, there’s no better job in pro sports in my opinion. With the feedback and support you get from town and that community, I mean, it’s phenomenal, it’s second-to-none.If you’re Ken Holland and you’ve won three Stanley Cups and I don’t know how many presidents trophies and you’ve been in this league for 25 years, is that the job you wanna take? Is that how hard you wanna work?
On Keith Gretzky: The best thing that Keith Gretzky has done since he’s been in this role has been to bring everybody back together again. He’s done a great job of mending some fences in that front office, getting everyone on board, being the communicator and team player that I think has made him and kept him in the mix in terms of this position moving forward.
This week I expect the Oilers to get clarity now that the u18s are over on Kelly McCrimmon and Ken Holland. From what I can tell, the Oilers did not have the “official written permission” to interview Kelly McCrimmon. So they were hoping to get that this week.I’ve been on Ken Holland since the beginning as the guy I believe is no. 1 on Bob Nicholson’s list. I think they’ll also find out this week if Ken Holland is a legit contender, legitimately interested. If Ken Holland is interested, I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if they offer him the job and see what he says.
One of the things I’ve heard is that Steve Yzerman legitimately wanted Ken Holland there, he wants him there to bounce ideas off of.
After I wrote the list of guys who interviewed, I forgot to add someone. Bill Zito interviewed for the Oilers GM job. (Sean Burke, John Ferguson, Mike Futa, Ross Mahoney, Scott Mellanby). I left out Bill Zito. That’s a name somebody told me.
What somebody told me is not everybody suggested a quick recovery. Apparently, there were some people there that said, ‘You’re gonna have to take some more pain if you want to do this right.’ Maybe more than one (candidate) said this. ‘The way you get yourself into trouble is you try to trade your way out of these problems. You may have to take a couple years more pain to get better.’
You take a look at Ken Holland. He’s done it both ways in Detroit, right? Like, Detroit’s way was. ‘We’re going to keep our playoff streak alive.’ So he made moves to keep their playoff streak alive.
But if you take a look at it now, Larkin looks like he’s a player. Athanasiou looks like he’s a player. Mantha is up and down but he’s still there, Bertuzzi looks like he’s a player. They are stocked with picks and prospects. I know there are people killing Holland in the interim but when this team is good again, a lot of his pieces, whether they’re draft picks or prospects, are gonna be part of it. People are going to notice that. So he’s done it both ways. I’m curious to know what he’s going to say.
If I really believe that the guy who says two more years is right, I go there. Now I realize I’m not sitting in that chair, but if you bring somebody in and they make a bunch of trades that go badly, they could go well, but if they go badly, that’s always tied to you. That’s one thing where you have to go to McDavid and say, ‘This is what we’re thinking.’
But I think it’s really interesting that guys would go in there and say, ‘Okay… It’s gonna take some time.’
4) The Jason Gregor Show had a few guests on that chimed in on this including Gregor himself, former Oiler defensive legend Jason Strudwick, and Ryan Rishaug. Here are some quotes from Gregor’s show yesterday.
Gregor:Holland isn’t really in from what I’ve been told.
Strudwick: Keith Gretzky, who I’ve said in the past, has an advantage over other people, not that he’s ahead, but he’s got an advantage on people because of the fact that he has a plan in place here and now.
Strudwick: This idea of a 3-headed monster where everyone has equal say, why would he (Hunter) do that?… If Mark Hunter is here, I believe he’s the GM.
Gregor: Rishaug said that Sean Burke is out of the race. Like I’ve said all along, I’ve thought it was Mark Hunter. Now here’s the thing, a lot of people think it’s Hunter and Keith Gretzky.
Gregor: Do you think the Oilers, the reaction to season ticket holders, and at this point, no offense to non-season ticket holders; because right now when you have renewals for season seat holders, that’s your priority today. Once season seat renewals are up, now it changes and it’s open to everybody.I’m curious if they’re leery of that impacting season ticket renewals where it looks like you didn’t make an actual change and you’ve kept somebody from within.
Strudwick: Who is the best candidate and do we truly feel that this is the best choice? And if it’s Keith Gretzky and you feel he’s the best one, then it might hurt you in the short term, yes Gregs, there’s no doubt about it. But with the name association, I think it would hurt the team. But if you firmly believe that long-term that he is the right guy, I think you win those fans back by the success that happens under his regime and that’s Keith Gretzky’s regime.
Strudwick: Keith Gretzky has a plan in place now. He has the plan. If he’s hired in 5 minutes, his plan starts at 4 pm. Boom! ‘Thanks for hiring me!’ and he starts making adjustments to the group whatever he feels on the ice, off the ice, whatever it is.
Gregor: I’ll say this for Keith Gretzky, he wasn’t here for the Hall and Reinhart trades. I spoke pretty candidly about the Caggiula trade, that had numerous people tell me that I trust that that was more of a GM with a little bit of input from the head coach and no one else.
Rishaug on Holland resurfacing: The wildcard is Ken Holland and a change of heart from Ken Holland to me. Then you look at Pierre LeBrun’s tweet, his understanding that Holland is currently taking stock of what lies ahead for him. Edmonton remains a possibility. Seattle is of intrigue or he could stay on in Detroit. But it seems like Holland will want to resurface at some point as a GM somewhere.So, a Ken Holland change of heart that felt like a wildcard a number of hours ago based on that tweet from Pierre LeBrun I think becomes a bit more realistic. I would say, I don’t know what the chances are, I don’t know how to handicap it, but I guess what I’d say is that I believe that if Ken Holland wanted to be a general manager, he would be a prime candidate for the Oilers that Bob Nicholson would have extreme interest in him and it’s just a matter of if Holland wanted to be here (Edmonton).
So with the news that he may be interested, it definitely shakes things up quite a bit and he would move into the pole position in my opinion, IF he’s interested.
Rishaug on Sean Burke: I think he was close. I think Burke was a darkhorse that really impressed and it wouldn’t surprise me if moving forward he’s not in the mix if he wants to be, for some other positions that become available. I think he raised some eyebrows and impressed and there’s an appetite to potentially have him part of things and maybe he’s a, not necessarily the guy in this moment, but maybe the guy in the making.
Rishaug on Keith Gretzky: I think they’d worry a tremendous amount about the optics of it, but I think that if they feel he’s the best man for the job, they’ve got to hire him. I don’t think that you don’t hire Keith Gretzky because you’re worried about optics. If you go through this whole rigamarole and this whole process if you’re Bob Nicholson, you bring in all these people and you talk to them and you decide that Keith Gretzky’s presentation and his vision is what the organization needs, you gotta hire him. That’s the hardest decision Nicholson would have to make to hire Keith Gretzky in that role.
Rishaug on Holland Pt.2: By going back to someone who’s had success in the past, there is some risk in that.A couple of the things that would draw you to Ken Holland were Detroit’s absolute iron-clad reputation as an organization that handled development extremely well. They didn’t rush people. They had lots of home-grown talent. Their attitude towards development was solid and they were known for that and I think that’s very attractive if you’re the Edmonton Oilers based on what their problems have been.
I think there’s also a willingness to be open and work with different people and not be somebody who’s just going to go in there and close your office door and do everything yourself. I think he would be an inclusive type of guy. I think that’s a draw for them.
The other thing he’s shown he can do is develop good people underneath him. He’s developed some exceptional people underneath him and maybe that’s part of this as well. You want a guy that can do it now for sure but there’ve been a number of guys, the Jim Nills of the world, Steve Yzermans, and people like this. Maybe it’s a tandem type thing. Maybe it’s Ken Holland overseeing everything but then it IS a more increased role for Keith Gretzky developing into that role eventually. I don’t know.
I think maybe Nicholson after McCrimmon falls off the board, maybe it’s about circling back and making sure and double-checking. Maybe increasing an offer before going down the path of the next candidate.
Nicholson has to be careful here. This is dragging out and people need answers too.
Rishaug on Keith Gretzky pt. 2: I think Keith Gretzky is a good candidate for this job and I know that’s an unpopular opinion to hold in this city because people tend to get irate over it and I’m sure the Oilers take notice of that. But Keith Gretzky has been around this game a long time and he’s got lots of experience and he’s done things on his own. Nevermind the name, people need to get that out of their head that if he gets the job it has anything to do with his name, it doesn’t. It has everything to do with his accomplishments.
5) Next is a clip from yesterday’s TSN Overdrive that involves mostly Bob McKenzie and Gord Miller discussing Ken Holland with Jamie McLennan chiming in briefly. The feeling here that I got listening to this is similar to what you’ve already read, IF Holland wants the GM’s job in Edmonton, he can have it but there’s no indication (yet) that he wants it.
This just in! According to former Oilers defender Jason Strudwick and ex-Flames GM Craig Button, Evan Bouchard can now begin to be compared to failed 4th overall pick Griffin Reinhart… Wow! Just when you think Button couldn’t dig himself into that hole any further, Strudwick hands him a new shovel…
Forgive me, this post is going to be a bit jambled. I had a lot of quotes to use and had quite a bit to say but I’ll be honest, the organization of the post is f*cked… But it is what it is. I just want to get this out to the masses and you fine folks can do with it what you will.
No new trade rumors to report btw. Zuccarello is the reported target at the moment.
On to the ridiculousness!
Jason Strudwick: A guy like Griffin Reinhart. He could do it in junior but once you get to the NHL you have to have some snap. You gotta get there and get there quick. Griffin was never able to raise that. Is that kind of a fair comparison to maybe what a guy that was never able to get that bar up high enough to play at that quick tempo. It doesn’t mean you’re skating fast, it means you’re doing things quickly.
At first when I’d heard that there were Reinhart/Bouchard comparisons done on Jason Gregor’s show, I didn’t think it would’ve been coming out of Strudwick’s mouth.
Reinhart’s career best point total in junior was 36 points in 2011-12. Bouchard has already had an 87 point campaign and is on pace for 90 points this season… He also has an actual NHL goal to his name, something that the Reinhart boy has yet to achieve, but I digress.
Do you remember back in 2014, there were some rumblings that the Oilers should trade the 3rd overall pick for Griffin Reinhart? Jonathan Willis wrote on it at the time and what I was shocked to find out was that Craig Button was one of the pundits that was also advocating that trade.
Bob Stauffer had two guests on his show bring up the subject recently – TSN scout (and former NHL G.M.) Craig Button and the Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson. Terry Jones wrote about the possibility in the Edmonton Sun, and David Staples riffed on that in a follow-up piece on the Journal’s website.
The Oilers did eventually trade for Reinhart but if I had to choose between this proposed deal and the one that actually happened, I’ll take losing out on Barzal, Chabot, Boeser, etc. instead of Leon Draisaitl anyday.
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Craig Button: Jason, it’s a perfect, perfect description and it’s a really good example about Griffin. Griffin was a smart player, and I love the term “snap”. You use a great phrase and one that I totally agree with, “getting there quickly”. Getting there quickly with the best opportunity to make the best play, not to make a survival play, not to make a play, “Oh boy! Now I’m stuck, I’m gonna fire it off the glass”,,, It’s about giving yourself the opportunity to make the best play. Like I said, the NHL is fast. It’s fast offensively, it’s fast defensively. It demands you not only play fast but you gotta think fast. It’s developmental, he (Bouchard) doesn’t have an inherant weakness in his hockey sense or an inherant weakness in his skating. He’s just got to play faster and get his pace up. That’s true of 99% of young players trying to enter the league. It’s not unique to Evan, it holds true to 99% of the players trying to get into the league
Griffin Reinhart couldn’t survive at the NHL level because he couldn’t skate at that level! He was being compared to Colton Teubert for crying out loud! As a result of his poor skating, of course his pace and tempo were affected. I mean who uses Griffin Reinhart as a comparable to Evan Bouchard?
I asked a veteran OHL scout about what Button’s comments and he had this to say,
Button is a f*cking moron. I honestly ignore everything he says. Bouchard plays with great pace and tempo. He also slows things down and can play a patient game. Defensive intensity is an issue. Just kinda floats defensively but transition game and offensive game are elite.
You can see he’s trying a bit harder defensively. Certainly whacking guys more, trying to pin guys up against the wall more. He needs to hit the gym to get bigger and stronger that will help him too. AHL is perfect for that.
His first step is a bit slow but once we gets going he’s fine. Part of it is reads too. When he gets the puck he’s immediately looking to make a pass with head up. I dunno, Button is f*cked.
Bottom line is, you can’t teach some of the sh*t he does with the puck offensively. That shot is so hard and accurate and he is a good skater despite what people think especially in transition game. IQ is very high, poise is there. He has a lot of tools just needs to continue to get stronger and work and efensive game. But what defensive prospect at age 19 doesn’t?
I really want to know how Button came to the conclusions about this list of 50 best-affiliated players and it was addressed in the show as well.
The list of the 50 best nhl affiliated players is about who today factors into that category of best players who are affiliated with their team. It’s not about potential, there’s another hundred players who have lots of potential, Evan Bouchard included amongst them.
You look at a player and you look at what players have to do, I like Evan Bouchard, I think he’s got lots of capability but I know one thing that’s essential to success at the National Hockey League level, and that’s a pace and tempo that Evan Bouchard has to improve. It has to be much better.
You evaluate over a period of time. This isn’t a static operation for me, it’s not an evaluation that I just look at him once. I’m looking at it over time and Evan’s a really good prospect but when I look at it and I do it, it’s not about points.
It’s about, okay, I’ve just watched him in a best-on-best tournament, I just watched him against his peer group as a 19-year-old defenseman and you factor that in. You factor in to what I’ve seen this year in London and so those all go in hand-in-hand in terms of the evaluation.
Ah… I think I’ve found the issue here. Button is upset about Bouchard’s performance at the World Juniors. It has to be. He’s based in Calgary for the most part and so I have to question how often he gets out to London Knights games.
I didn’t think Evan had a good tournament either but that didn’t force me to come to the conclusion that Gabe Vilardi, a player who hasn’t played a full season of hockey for 3 years now, is a better player for the Kings than Bouchard is for the Oilers.
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This isn’t about him not being a good NHL prospect…. Connor Timmins, last year as a 19-year-old defenseman, had the same exact developmental issues as Evan Bouchard and at the World Junior tournament, and I don’t just put this at the World Junior Touranment, but make no mistake about it; it’s a significant tournament when we’re talking about the best players outside the NHL and Connor Timmins excelled, Evan Bouchard fell far short of excelling at that tournament and I still think he’s got great, awesome potential but he needs work on his pace and tempo because if it doesn’t improve, he’s going to have a tough time playing in the National Hockey League.
So Button goes on about Timmins here and how he had a good tourney and how Bouchard didn’t but Eeli Tolvanen was invisible for Finland for most of the tournament. Filip Zadina had 1 point the whole time!
But maybe we should use defensemen as a better comparable.
Quinn Hughes (USA) – 2 assists – ranked 8th
Evan Bouchard (CAN) – 3 assists – unranked
Noah Dobson (CAN) – 1 assist – ranked 18th
The person ranked 19th is Alexander Romanov. He has ZERO points for his KHL club but at least he lead the scoring at the world juniors for dmen.
I mean is Alexander Alexeyev really a better prospect for his club today than Bouchard is for Edmonton? C’mon Craig! Get your head out of your ass.
This is a report from Button that came out a few months before the draft in 2018 and he had some pretty glowing things to say about Evan Bouchard and had him ranked as high as 5th in the draft.
Funny, nothing about his lack of pace or tempo though…
Sometimes it takes me a little bit longer to get my senses about myself and my wits. I’ve watched Evan Bouchard for four years. The OHL Cup has been going on this weekend, I saw him first in midget. Three years in London, over 50 times in all different kinds of games, playoffs, events. I can only tell you this, after a while you just go, “Wait a second, he’s this good.” He’s not sexy. There’s not end-to-end rushes and flashes of brilliance but what there is is this great intelligence, this great ability to impact the game, great with the puck, and he reminds me of Hall-of-Famer Larry Murphy. I’m not saying he’s Larry Murphy but that’s the kind of game he plays. We’re talking about a guy that had 87 points, lead his team in scoring as a defenseman. – Craig Button (3/20/2018)
Has anybody considered that perhaps the reason that Bouchard appears to play slower is that he’s trained himself to do that due to playing so many minutes for London the last couple of seasons?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OqPvFQRX1s
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Another long-form today folks. Set some time aside.
When listening to Oilers talk radio or reading different Oilers blogs and the topic is about Jesse Puljujarvi you’ll hear a lot of “Don’t get me wrong, I like the kid but…” talk or “He’s got lots of potential but…” and I have to wonder why that is. Why is there always a “but”?
In the last two weeks, we’ve heard Bob Stauffer basically threaten Puljujarvi’s career as an Oiler by saying if he didn’t get any traction this year with the club he’d be getting said traction it elsewhere.
We’ve also heard Edmonton sports media folks like Reid Wilkins question Jesse Puljujarvi’s long-term upside in favor of Kailer Yamamoto’s… I mean after 9 professional hockey games you’re taking Yamamoto long term over Puljujarvi because you think he’s got that “extra spark”?
The Oilers have had plenty of players with that “spark” in the past that have come and gone… And what does that “extra spark” mean anyhow? Is that Yamamoto’s style of play? Is it his exuding confidence during interviews? Maybe it’s because his English is a tad better than Jesse’s?
It pisses me off that this always happens in Edmonton. The media find their guy and just rag on him until they’ve got a large enough swell from the fanbase that the GM has no choice but to give in.
Well, the Oilers had better not give in on this kid. He was a gift from the hockey gods and this is only his first contract in the NHL. I always have thought that these young guys should be given at least two 3-yr contracts and have them both seen through until making a final decision on the player unless it’s painfully obvious that they aren’t NHL players like Niinimaki or Bonsignore, right?
Could you imagine if the Oilers had given up on Ryan Smyth after his first year or if the Bruins had thrown the towel in on Joe Thornton after his rookie season?
Look, even though later in the post it might seem like I’m doing this but I don’t want to make this a Kailer vs. Jesse thing because they are both outstanding talents that the Oilers would be good to hold onto at all costs. Kailer is going to set up a lot of goals for the Oilers in the future and Jesse is going to score a lot of goals.
I will put some heat on the Edmonton media though because I think they’re not supporting Puljujarvi like they should be.
Most recently I was listening to the Jason Gregor Show from July 13th and Gregor wasn’t the host, it was former Oilers defenseman, Jason Strudwick. Well, in segment three of the show he had Lowetide on and they started discussing “compete” around the 20-minute mark…
Before we get going I just want to say that I like Strudwick more than I like a lot of the pundits that cover the Oilers. He reminds me of Ostreicher from American Pie a bit. But I’m simply critiquing what he’s said in that segment. I’m not trying to take shots at him, I’m just offering a take on his words and those of Lowetide’s. It’s a wonderfully insightful segment, I just think there are a few holes in their statements.
“I want people that compete, people that can try all over the ice.” – Strudwick
Fair enough, I’d like each player to go balls out for 82 games a year too but as a player himself, he knows that he’s not going to get that from all the guys on the bench 100% of the time. Injuries and slumps slow the best of players down.
“Competing isn’t restricted to your 4th liners or to your 7th defencemen or your backup goalie or that gritty RWer Justin Williams that plays you know, he’s a special game 7 guy. It’s guys that wanna go and get the puck and compete for it and when I’m looking at the Oilers roster I think they have some. I think they have some guys that can find some more and some guys we don’t know if they are or not because they aren’t doing it on a consistent basis.
For instance, I’ll give you Jesse Puljujarvi…” – Strudwick
Okay… Here we go on Jesse.
Before folks were complaining about his “processor” and now it’s his work ethic…
At what point are folks just reaching to find things to talk about this summer? I mean I’m happy we’re not talking about Lucic but shouldn’t we be talking about what Todd McLellan can do to get the best out of Jesse? Why not put a bit of pressure on the coach instead of hanging it all on a just turned 20-year-old?
Strudwick has played with a plethora of skilled yet unmotivated players in his days, so it’s safe to say that he might know a thing or two about players who illustrate excellent work ethic but when I think about a “lazy” player, I think about Patrick O’Sullivan. Is that where we are with Jesse?
“Jesse Puljujarvi to me, he is a guy that needs to be complete compete more often and that just, it should be a given because when Todd McLellan stands on his bench and he looks down in front of him and if I were him and I looked over to Jesse I’m like, “OK, what has he got tonight? First shift, he’s not going? Okay, that’s tough luck”, that’s not good enough. You gotta have guys that are on it all the time.” – Strudwick
As I said above. It’s unrealistic to think that you’re going to get 100% effort from all your boys 100% of the time. The NHL season is long, it’s hard, and just because Puljujarvi is 19 doesn’t mean he’s invincible. In fact, last year was his first real NHL season and that’s not easy for a 19-year-old but he managed to find a way to score 12 goals in that time and it’s completely possible he could’ve scored 20 had he spend the whole year in Edmonton and was afforded PP time.
It’d be nice if Strudwick or Gregor could get one of Puljujarvi’s old coaches on the show and ask him what they think of the former MVP of the WJHCs’ “complete compete”… I bet you they’d hear a different message…
The folks from Finland that I’ve talked to have said to me that Jesse needs some time to get acclimated to a new level and his surroundings but once he’s comfortable, he dominates.
We’re talking about a young man who left his family to live on his own in another city to play hockey at age 13!!! And we’ve got media members questioning Puljujarvi’s maturity and work ethic? You’ve got to be kidding me.
“I think you find for the most part Connor has that, Nugent-Hopkins will do that, we saw Strome get better at that as time goes on; Kassian we seen it in the past, we hadn’t seen it enough last year, I think Brodziak will bring that, Drake better bring that, Ty Rattie has no choice but to bring that or he’ll bring it right back down to the minors, Jujhar Khaira I think can bring that.” – Strudwick
So top-6 centres and bottom-6 grinders are the guys that have that “complete compete”? Shocking.
I know Strome is a bit of an outlier here because he floats throughout the lineup and Rattie is on the top line because he performed well with 97/93 at the end of last year but why wasn’t Lucic included in that group? Where was Leon’s name? Does Aberg or Reider get a mention here or do they lack that “complete compete” too?
If compete means winning possession then how can Puljujarvi be so bad when his possession numbers surely tell us the opposite. I mean compared to a buzzsaw like Drake Caggiula, whose compete is rarely in question but possession numbers are, how can you come to the conclusion that Puljujarvi lacks “complete compete”?
Just because Caggiula is McLellan’s pet doesn’t make his effort anymore existent than Puljujarvi’s.
Now this is where Lowetide chimes in and look, I don’t want to give the impression that I’m shitting on LT. He’s a hero of mine and for whatever reason recently he’s been saying some things that have put me off a bit that I don’t understand.
“When I see Puljujarvi I see a guy that has all the tools to just manhandle people, even if he’s not trying he’s a big kid and he doesn’t even have man strength yet so is that something you can… Because sometimes I think the personality of a player is to be, I’ll use the word ‘docile’, it’s not what I really mean but ‘less aggressive’ and can you coach that into a player or is he what he is?” – Lowetide
Is Alexander Barkov an aggressive player? What about Anze Kopitar? Is Patrik Laine physically assertive? What about Mikko Rantanen or James Van Riemsdyk?
Since when does an introverted personality equate to success on the ice and why would a hockey coach want to try and change a player’s personality? Was Jesse Puljujarvi drafted because the Oiler saw him playing in a different manner than he does today? When he won the MVP of the World Juniors, did we hear a lot of raving about his physical game?
Here is a list of the last 10 WJHC MVPs, how many of them are busts at the NHL Level?
2018 – Casey Middlestadt
2017 – Kiril Kaprizov
2016 – Jesse Puljujarvi
2015 – Max Domi
2014 – Filip Forsberg
2013 – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
2012 – Yevgeny Kuznetsov
2011 – Brayden Schenn
2010 – Jordan Eberle
2009 – John Tavares
“See for me though, last fall, Yamamoto won the job from Puljujarvi and Yamamoto stayed because he won more battles and Yamamoto is 5’7″. He should’ve been going down to junior like after the 2nd game of the pre-season but he kept doing things and he kept winning those little battles in the offensive zone and by ‘battles’ he came out with the puck, he wasn’t physically knocking anybody off but the idea of winning the battle means you win the puck and I just wonder, because I look at Puljujarvi and I mean, some guys run into him by accident and they hurt themselves. So, if he had that mindset a little more or went in there with that as the first option when he headed into the corner I think he could be more effective but I don’t know, we’ve seen big guys, you mentioned Colborne a minute ago, he’s 6’5″ I think; those guys don’t play big.”
Anton Slepyshev was sent down the night before game 1 on a rehab stint and Todd McLellan was still wearing his Draisaitl/McDavid combo hard on. So the idea that Yamamoto “won” the job over Jesse Puljujarvi is overstated in my opinion. Yes, Yamamoto had 7 pts to Jesse’s three but in my opinion, the Oilers had the option to send Jesse down to the AHL that they didn’t have with Yamamoto.
Even LT himself said Yamamoto should’ve been sent back to Spokane after gm 2 of the pre-season. So if that’s the case, did Yamo really earn it or were the Oilers in a bit of a bind due to injuries and a flexible contract belonging to Puljujarvi?
And did Yamamoto score his 5 goals because he took the puck off of someone?
Goal vs. Carolina bounced off his leg
Goal vs. Vancouver was a one-timer from the left circle
Goal vs. Vancouver was an empty-netter
Goal vs. Calgary was all Draisaitl, Yamo picked off a pizza and made Dougie Hamilton look like a rookie.
Goal vs. Winnipeg he basically kicked the puck in the net.
So he didn’t score those goals in the pre-season vs, other teams’ pre-season squads because he was outworking them in the corners. To his credit it though, he was in the right place at the right time.
“I think in that 2016 draft we’ve heard the Oilers really liked Sergachev but I bet they liked Tkachuk too. And I think when Puljujarvi fell to them they took him because they had him at three and you follow your list, right? But do you think they’d done their due diligence on Puljujarvi?” – Lowetide
There’s a lot of right in this quote but there’s also a little wrong. The Oilers were drafting in the top 5. Do you really think that Edmonton failed to do their homework on Jesse Puljujarvi, a player that had been on the radars of NHL scouts as a top 3 pick since he was 16 years old?
McKeen’s, in their 2015 NHL draft preview had this to say about Puljujarvi who they ranked 3rd behind Auston Matthews and Jakob Chychrun:
A north-south threat who excels driving outside defenders and exploiting a heavy shot and swift shooting release. Plays a subtle power game, succeeding with a steady tenacity and compete level. Excels as a forechecking torpedo, dishing out forceful hits and winning battles down low. Pushes back defenders when driving the net ferociously with speed. Not a flashy skater, yet smooth in turns, generates deceiving power,
Misses some east/west agility as well as some balance at top speed. Not the most graceful in startup but makes up for it with a long, dynamic stride. Not a pure puckhandler, misses some in-close control, and can labour with passing accuracy. Makes up for it with his strength and power advantages. Still adding strength to tall yet rangy frame.
Projects as an elite finisher, one who uses size and strength effectively while utilizing an elite shot in prime scoring areas.
This quote from The Hockey News 2016 Draft Preview should shed some light on Puljujarvi’s “questionable” compete:
“Puljujarvi will never shortchange his team in effort. But while he’s hugely competitive, he’s far more than just a high-motor guy. Sometimes people see his competitiveness and activity, they get caught looking at that and forget what a good player he is.”
In fact, according to that issue of The Hockey News, some scouts said that you were just splitting hairs when deciding between Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujarvi after Auston Matthews.
“Well when the Finnish GM of the Columbus Blue Jackets passed on him at three I was both very happy as someone who supports the Oilers and very scared because I’m like “What just happened?” – Strudwick
“There’s not that many people in Finland. This isn’t Russia where like you live on one side and I live on the other and I’ve never seen you play. Everyone speaks to each other. So did they do their due diligence? I’m not sure about that but I know that a GM that would know him VERY well chose to go with PL Dubois who has turned out to be, at this point, a better player than we see with Puljujarvi.” – Strudwick
Yes, the Blue Jackets GM is Finnish but it’s not like he was living in Finland and getting any more of a first-hand account on Puljujarvi than the other teams, right? If I’m not mistaken, isn’t Kekalainen on record saying that he was after a centre and that they’d been scouting Dubois for quite a while?
As if the Oilers hadn’t done their due diligence on Puljujarvi being in a lottery spot like they were. Seems like a bunch of revisionist rhetoric to me. Was Pelle Eklund busy at the time NOT watching Laine and Puljujarvi tear up the SM-Liigga?
“I think this is a big year for Puljujarvi. I’m a fan of his, I love the size… I just think he could be a really good hockey player. I just hope that he is because the pressure will be enormous. You think it’s bad now on this kid if he has another year where he struggles and they’re not going to be able to trade him for anything. I don’t even want to say what it might end up being but this is a big year for that kid” – Lowetide
LT is right, it’s going to be a big year for Jesse. If he hasn’t felt the pressure yet or got a hint of it 2nd hand from watching Milan Lucic go through what he’s going through, I’m not sure he’ll ever feel it. Actually, I’m not even sure he’s the type that actually feels pressure. He’s always smiling and picking his nose with his tongue.
That being said, I’ve heard Jesse is having full conversations in English now. He’s looking very fit. Like, might give Oscar a run for best abs on the team fit. He’s training up in Oulu with his BFF Sebastian Aho and I’ve heard he’s experimenting with some new skates and a new stick setup.
We’re in for a treat this upcoming season. I hope you’re ready for the PULJU SCREAM!
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I never want to start out my Oilers posts with bad news but today it’s simply unavoidable. I’m sure you’ve heard but yesterday we lost some really special people in a car accident in between Tisdale and Nipawin, Saskatchewan. I don’t know all of the details and frankly, I’m not sure I want to. The number of lives lost is staggering. It’s a dark time for a lot of families right now and the words I’m reaching for to describe how helpless I feel won’t help but I hope they know they have the unending support of the entire hockey community.
I’m not really sure why my heart feels as heavy as it does. I don’t have any ties to the team or the players or the league. I live on a small island off the coast of China but there’s a small town just east of the accident site called Arborfield and that is where my mother’s side of the family grew up. We went there a few times when I was a little boy. Maybe that has something to do with it or possibly just the fact that as writers or fans of hockey when something like this happens, it hits us all.
Either way, that’s not important. What’s important is that the families of the victims, the billets, the people close to the hockey team, they get the support that they require. I understand that there’s a Go Fund Me that has been started and if you can afford to donate, it’s more than a worthy cause.
Edmonton Sun – Ryan Smyth greatly appreciated Sedins on his NHL farewell – “I don’t see them crying like I was,” laughed the former Edmonton Oiler winger who played his 1,270th and last NHL game against the Sedins when the Canucks were here April 12, 2014. The Sedins made sure every Vancouver player shook Smyth’s hand before he took one last sobbing lap around the rink.
Sportsnet – Golden Knights are playoff contenders the Oilers were supposed to be – How much money could you have won back in October if you’d have wagered that, in this April 5, Game 81 meeting between the Stanley Cup-favoured Edmonton Oilers and the tomato can expansion Golden Knights, that the latter would be the team prepping for the playoffs, and the former sending players to the world championships?
Oilersnation – 10 Years: Nation Rising – I had no idea what I was in for as I drove to Earl’s restaurant on 170th Street and 100th Ave. in late February of 2008 for a lunch meeting with three guys I’d never met to talk about getting involved with a website that I’d never heard of…
Oilersnation – Cam Talbot expects to rebound next season – After yesterday’s practice, Cam Talbot spoke to the media about the season that was, where things went wrong, and what to expect from the goaltender heading into next season…
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