Tag Archives: Tyler Pitlick

Edmonton Oilers, Lindsay Ryall, NHL

Game 4: Oilers v. Canes Post Gamer – Oilers Rebound But No Cane-ing in Tight Affair

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Talbot save

Cam Still the Man

Cam Talbot’s ears must have been burning from all the chatter around e-town if there was still a goaltending question with the Oilers.  Would he have another slow start?  Would he be able to focus with family on the way?  Unfortunately when you’ve had a fragile team, the fan base is easily rattled.

In the end, the Oilers starter silenced his critics again with a stellar outing, stopping 31 of 33 for a .939 save percentage in what was arguably his best game of the season.  And not his best game because of stats, but because of game changers, he stopped at key times in the game.  His sprawling glove save on Skinner in the first drew a well-deserved ovation from the Oilers’ faithful.  In the third, with the game on the line, Larsson sent a pizza up the middle that was picked off, but Talbot was there to do some bailing.  And in the dying seconds, the Oilers tender had Skinner calling for a review when he robbed the Canes’ top forward with slick glove snag.

When your goaltender is your best player and makes those kinds of saves, you need to win the game… Even when your top player and captain is held off the score-sheet.  Not to worry, in this game, the balanced scoring of the Oilers made the difference.

Hang On Slepy

Anton Slepyshev’s snipe in the first period was a pure goal-scorers goal and not surprising considering others I’ve seen him score in international competition.  A couple of years ago when the Oiler’s signed him, I posed the question in a Russian hockey forum, what kind of player was Slepyshev?  The answer: One of the best players in the KHL.  He’s got a ways to go to be that level of player in the NHL, but if the Oilers do the right thing and send Puljujarvi down, he may just get the ice-time to show what he can do.

 

Has Pitlick Arrived?

I don’t want to jinx him, but considering the ice-time he gets, Pitlick has been very effective.  His release is quick and his shot very accurate, who knows, he could easily move up the line-up.  At this point, he looks like a coach’s dream: lots of energy, hits, and opportunistic scoring I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you guy.

Who’s In the Doghouse?

From my viewpoint, it has to be Larsson.  He slipped and fell on his duff in the first period, giving up a prime scoring chance to Jordan Staal.  Later in the third, he threw that pass up the middle that was easily picked off.  Talbot bailed him out both times and McLellan let him work through it, but you can’t have one of your top d-men making those mistakes.

It pains me to say it but Nuge seems to be struggling.  At this point, he is getting badly outplayed by Draisaitl which may not bode well for his future with the club.  Let’s hope he turns it around soon.

Game 4: Oilers v. Hurricanes – Hang On Slepy! Slepy Hang On! by Beer League Heroes

 

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Armchair GM, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rob Cooke

Where will the Oilers right wings finish?

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After a longer than expected delay we are back with the third installment of my point prediction series. Today we are going to make some guesses and see where the Oilers right wings finish the season. We know who the four guys are more than likely that will dress the majority of the 82 game schedule, barring injuries or trades of course, with three being locks to make the team in the fall and see some major minutes. The top three right wingers for the Edmonton Oilers is obviously going to be Jordan Eberle, Teddy Purcell, and Nail Yakupov. The final member of this quartet could be a toss-up between Rob Klinkhammer and the younger and cheaper Tyler Pitlick. Young Tyler has had a rough go as a professional hockey player with injury after injury constantly delaying him from taking the next step to become a full-time NHL player. After all the kid has been through I’m hopeful he can finally put together a full season of hockey and fight for the minutes that will be Klinkhammer’s f not challenged. For my purposes, since I need to choose one for this I am going to have to go with the more experienced option and assume that Rob Klinkhammer will fill the fourth line right wingers position.

Now that we have our list let’s look at where the Oilers finished the 2014/15 season to see roughly where we are at so far in our predictions. Last season the Edmonton Oilers scored a paltry 193 goals. While not the leagues lowest scoring franchise they were definitely a far cry from the league leading Tampa Bay Lightning with 259 goals or the western conference leading scorers, the Dallas Stars. So far to date I have a total of 135 goals from only eight players. It is fairly safe to assume that I am predicting a fairly big increase in production this coming season. A lot of that increase will be the result of a vastly improved power-play under the new coaching staff. Now that we have the introductions done let’s get down to business and make some guesses.

 

Jordan Eberle

Jordan is by far the best player on the starboard side for the Edmonton Oilers and has been a very consistent producer since first joining the NHL with Taylor Hall and Magnus Paajarvi in the fall of 2010. Since his first NHL goal where he brought fans to their feet with one of the nicest goals I have ever seen.

I’ve probably seen that goal a few thousand times by now and it still amazes me. The skill needed to pull off something like that are just astounding. I don’t care what anyone says, that is still the nicest goal that I have ever seen a Oilers player score. Back to the topic at hand though. Since that amazing first NHL goal Ebs has been a very consistent point scorer for the Edmonton Oilers. Other than his first season as a pro Jordan has proven to be an extremely durable player missing a grand total of seven games over four seasons of hockey. So we generally know that Eberle will play unless he absolutely can’t. Another thing that we know about Ebs is that he has excellent shooting skill. He will usually opt to pass the puck if he doesn’t get the perfect shot that he wants. That can be both a good and a bad thing as even the imperfect shots sometimes find the twine.

Last season Jordan led the team in scoring with 63 points. That included 24 goals and 39 assists. HIs third season of more than 20 goals in fact, and he did it while posting a below career average shooting percentage. His career average is 14.0% and last season he dipped slightly to 13.1%. Still a very solid number and a reason to be hopeful for slightly higher numbers next season.

The addition of Connor McDavid will affect everyone on the team as we all know. At home the Oilers can gift the McDavid line with easier competition, which would ensure the Nuge line would in effect be fed to the wolves, but on the road no such luxury exists and the opposition would likely run out their top players against Hall and McDavid. This is when the trio of Pouliot-RNH-Eberle will make them pay for it too. Their chemistry together last season was excellent and I think unless they are split up, which I don’t foresee happening, that they will continue right along putting pucks in the net. My prediction for Jordan is that his shooting percentage will take a slight bounce upwards but his even strength minutes will drop slightly. This will mean that his totals from last season are fairly close to where he will likely finish the season. 27 goals ad 41 assists. That is a pretty solid number, even more so after you see what the rest of the right side will bring to the table.

 

Teddy Purcell

Teddy Purcell was acquired last summer for the overpaid and under-performing Sam Gagner. The trade was, in essence, a swap of bad contracts. Purcell had more experience but was thought to be heading toward a buy-out from Steve Yzerman and his Tampa Bay Lightning. Definitely not a ringing endorsement from his former club, but it isn’t like we didn’t know that he had warts to his game. Anytime you swap two bad players you know they are coming with some baggage. Teddy may not be the most physical or the fastest guy on the team but does bring things to the roster that  few other forwards can say that they do. He is a real veteran forward, one with nearly five hundred games on his resume. He is a dependable two-way forward with a good defensive conscience. He is one of the few if not the only player that will play in the top six that can say that. He may not provide amazing numbers points wise but having him on a line with Taylor Hall and Connor McDavid gives the trio a defensively responsible forward that will be able to cover somewhat for the other two when the play beats them back up ice.

There is a veritable cornucopia of posts and tweets arguing the idea that Purcell should have been headed for a buy-out instead of to training camp this fall. My question to them is who takes his spot then? Yakupov? He isn’t ready for that yet. His game is still far too much chaos in his own end and other teams would quickly take advantage of that fact. Purcell is the best available option to play second line minutes to start the season. He is spending the summer training with the inhuman Gary Roberts. You know, the guy that broke his neck had surgery and still came back to be an effective pain in the ass in the toughest league in the world. Yeah that guy. Roberts will kick his ass all summer long, along with Connor McDavid, and Purcell is going to come to camp in 6 weeks in the best shape he has ever been in. Don’t be surprised to see a bigger but faster player than we did last September.

Last season Teddy had an atrocious shooting percentage, 8.2% to be exact, but not actually that far below his career average of 9.4%. That isn’t really any difference when you think about it. Over the season if he had been at his average it would have added two more goals to his total. Teddy did manage 12 goals and 22 assists last season. Not bad numbers but definitely not the offense I would expect from a guy making 4.5 million this year. One other thing to remember when we are projecting this player is that he is in a contract year. With the number of players that are being left unsigned year after year one has to think that is weighing heavily on the minds of players that are in the same position as Purcell.

I predict that Purcell comes into camp in better shape than he has ever been in and he takes the bull by the horns to earn the second line minutes that he is best suited for. My hypothesis for Purcell is that he will be on McDavid’s right side until roughly Christmas when Yakupov will take over the spot. In his time with the franchise player Purcell will definitely make the most of it and will capitalize on his quality linemates. After being shifted off this line I still see Teddy being an effective forward aiding Anton Lander in his development. This coming season I see 15 goals and 23 assists for Purcell. HIs slick hands will ensure that he still sees his share of power-play time.

 

Nail Yakupov

Some have called him enigmatic. Some say he is a victim of the “Russian” factor. For myself I prefer not to jump to conclusions about this young potential star scorer. Nail has had a rough start to his career to this point. He started out under Ralph Kruger and his development seemed to be heading the right direction. He wasn’t asked to do what he wasn’t accustomed and he equated himself very well He had 17 goals and 14 assists for 31 points. Very solid numbers for a rookie, but keep in mind that Yak did that all in 48 games. His rookie year was the lock-out shortened season. After his freshman year Craig MacTavish was given the role of general manager after Steve Tambellini was released from his duties and he decided that the correct path of action was to remove the coach that finally seemed to be moving the team in the right direction in favour of the AHL flavour of the month. In what could have been the worst mistake of his career as GM, MacT decided to let Kruger go, via Skype no less, and hire Dallas Eakins. We all know how that worked out for this team. Right back into the sewer we went and we are just emerging now.

Yakupov had his minutes cut and seemed to lose all his confidence under Eakins. The pair never seemed to be able to mesh as a coach and player and as such it really hampered Yakupov’s development. Once Eakins was finally put out of our misery Nail seemed to flourish under the tutelage of Todd Nelson. After the coaching change Yakupov seemed to come alive and we got to see the free and easy smile return to this young mans face that has helped this fan base make him an icon!

Predicting Yakupov’s points is a little harder than most, just because there is so much chaos to his game that one never knows just how things will transpire when he is on the ice. That is precisely why I see him starting on the third line this fall. Adding that much defensive chaos to an already pressure filled season for McDavid to start just isn’t a smart thing to do. I do think that McDavid will rise to exceed expectations just like he has at every other stage in his career and will prove capable of handling a little additional chaos in his game. For his part I think that Nail will take a huge step forward in his development this season and while he won’t ever be the most reliable player in the defensive zone he will likely be more predictable in his habits and less of a liability.

His point totals should rebound this season as well. After such a promising start to his career it isn’t hard to envision future years of 30 plus goals for this sniper. And let’s be honest, there is no one on this team that likes to score more than Nail. Remember the greatest celly in Oilers history? Here it is.

https://youtu.be/tfysDNnuX64

How can you not cheer for a guy like that? His enthusiasm for the game is the best thing about this humble and kind-hearted young man. Well actually the best thing about him is that he can be an Oiler for the next 15 years still! Okay so we know that the start of last seasoning was really just a continuation of the season before under Eakins so point totals from last season are for the most part irrelevant but we will look at them anyways. Last season Nail played 81 out of the 82 games possible but still only managed to net 33 points, 14 goals and 19 assists. Not good numbers for a first overall pick but we have already established that  there were extenuating circumstances involved that did nothing to help the situation. This season I think we will see a rebirth of Nail and that he will finally take steps forward under proper coaching and mentorship. Don’t get me wrong, Derek Roy seemed like a tremendous mentor to the young man and it helped make the second half of his season a lot better than the first half.

My prediction for Nail is that he will finally reach the 20-goal mark this season and that his point totals will exceed forty for the first time in his short career. I see 21 goals and 24 assists. Just think that has the potential for 21 more celebrations for the fans to adore and other teams to hate this season! Sounds like magic to me!

 

Rob Klinkhammer

How can you not root for a guy with Klinkhammer for a last name? Colonel Klink joined the Oilers part way through last season as part of the David Perron to Pittsburgh and filled the role he was acquired to fill. He is a fourth line defensive minded player that will never pot a lot of points but brings intensity and dependability to the bottom half of the roster. In his 40 games with Edmonton last season he only managed 3 points, including his only goal in the blue and orange. He is not a goal scorer that is for sure. He had a grand total of 5 goals last year split between the three teams he suited up for. To be fair though his shooting percentage with Edmonton was abysmal for lack of a better word. While his career average is nothing to scream at with a mediocre 9.2% but in his 40 games with Edmonton he could only muster a pathetic 3.2%. That is really bad, I mean insanely bad! Obviously his percentage almost certainly will revert back to closer to his career average but he does have more than one season with a lower than average shooting percentage. So how much he will bounce back is up for debate.

He will likely be on the opening night roster but should he falter at any point through-out the season he will quickly see himself sitting in the press box or sent down to Bakersfield. My guess is that he will see roughly 50 games this season and will eventually be replaced with a younger and cheaper option. Not that Rob is that old but at 28 he definitely won’t be a part of the McDavid cluster in the future. It is hard for me to rip on the guy too much as I’ve watched him play since his days with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. I like Klinkhammer and I like what he can bring to the bottom six but unfortunately this isn’t a popularity contest and there will likely be better options available before the end of the year. That being said I will venture to guess that the Colonel will play admirably  while he gets the chance and will contribute 5 goals and 6 assists to the cause. Solid numbers for a fourth line player.

With only 49 more days until the first pre-season game in the league, 50 for us Oilers fans that are interested in the split squad games against the abhorred Calgary Flames, there is going to be excitement building in the city of Edmonton and all of Oilers nation. How many people are actually going to stay indoors on what will likely be one of the last nice weekends of the year to get the chance to watch Connor play in a prospects tournament in Penticton? I know I sure will be. The Oilers first game will be on September 11th at 8:30 pm in case you were wondering. I was hoping to attend the tournament for my fourth time this year but alas it is not in the cards. Kids sports start earlier and earlier every year it seems.

In any case I will be back soon with the next in the series covering the starting six defensemen and the one or two others that will likely make the opening night 23-man list. Thanks for reading and I want to hear from all of you in the comments. I will try to get back to every comment that I see but sometimes that just isn’t possible. If I don’t respond on here feel free to tweet me, @cooke_rob. Thanks again for reading and be sure to visit the Beer League Heroes T-shirt shop. My own designs will available here soon, stay tuned for an official launch date and a couple small contests that I am going to run for you fine folks.

 

Cheers

Rob

 

 

Corey Mitchell, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Prospects

Prospect Profile: It’s Showtime

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Welcome to Prospect Profile, my eight part series looking at the players in the Oilers system. Over the course of the summer, I will present a new group of players each week, leading into the prospect camp this September. For the purpose of these features, my definition for a player to be deemed a prospect is less than 100 NHL games, and no older than 25 years old.

Part One will focus on five players that I feel have the most legitimate shot of making the opening night roster this season, although there may be one or two players exempt from this grouping, based on upcoming Profiles.

Connor McDavid
The Oilers have had 1st Overall picks before. The excitement generated in 2010 when Taylor Hall became the very first Number 1 in Oilers history is something I remember very well. But this year was something different altogether. Over the last two seasons, everyone in the hockey world has been privy to the knowledge that Connor McDavid was going to be a superstar at the level of Sidney Crosby. But as the 2014-15 Oilers season began, the team and the fans were at a level of optimism that they hadn’t been at for some time. While everyone agreed it would be nice to somehow end up with that 1st pick, no one expected it. Fast forward to the NHL Draft Lottery, and the hockey gods smiled upon Oil Country that day.

Connor McDavid is now property of the Oilers, having officially signed his ELC during development camp. Already, the atmosphere in the city is electric. McDavid is hands down playing, and excelling in Edmonton this season. He could, and should, finally be the catalyst to break the Oilers out of the perennial funk they’ve found themselves in.

While he didn’t finish his OHL career with either a Memorial Cup or even an OHL Championship, McDavid’s accomplishments last year alone are astounding. The highlight being finally helping Canada reclaim World Junior supremacy, McDavid also walked away with a bevy of individual awards, most notably his second CHL Scholastic Player of the Year, which he also won in 2014, and the CHL Player of the Year award.

As good as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has been, and continues to be, Connor McDavid is the new top center for the Oilers. Already on social media, fans are dreaming up fantasy line ups, discussing who to play with McDavid. He’s changed the entire dynamic of the team without playing a game, and given a long suffering fan base something they need and deserve; hope.

Darnell Nurse
Picked 7th in 2013, Darnell Nurse looks to be poised to crack the Oilers roster heading into this season. Nurse had an absolutely tremendous year with Sault Ste. Marie of the OHL, proving that sending him back to junior after making the Oilers out of camp was a very wise decision. Nurse dominated all season, leading his Soo Greyhounds into the OHL playoffs, and an extremely entertaining series against Connor McDavid and the Erie Otters. Prior to that, Nurse was on the same Canadian junior team as McDavid, and was a pivotal member of that blue line, taking on more of a shut down role playing against the top players in the world.

As I mentioned earlier, Nurse did make the Oilers out of camp last season, albeit for two games before returning to junior. However, that was a defense corps that looked very different from the one Peter Chiarelli has assembled this offseason. The additions of Andrej Sekera and Eric Gryba this summer brings in two more experienced NHL players. That, along with added competition in Griffin Reinhart and the recently re-signed Brandon Davidson is going to make the Oilers a very hard team to make on the back end, although there could still be moves made before the start of the season that may open a spot or two. I’m hoping if it comes down to Nurse and say, Davidson for that seventh spot, Davidson gets it. Nurse is only going to benefit from playing. I would much rather see Darnell Nurse as a staple on the blue line in Bakersfield, eating huge minutes in all situations, instead of healthy scratched most of the year.

That being said, as beneficial as starting the year in the AHL would be for Nurse, I don’t expect him to be there long, and definitely not after Christmas. He’s ready for the NHL now, and I expect he’s going to be a key figure for the Oilers for many, many years.

Leon Draisaitl
This is a player who, I feel, the Oilers handled in all the wrong ways last season. My personal feeling is Draisaitl should not have played one NHL game last season, let alone 37. That’s not a knock against him in anyway. I think given some time to develop and adjust to the pro game in the AHL, Draisaitl is going to evolve into a very, very good NHL player. He has the size and he thinks the game well. But he’s lacking speed. And that was something that should have been evident last year in training camp. Unfortunately, Craig MacTavish felt comfortable with what he had down the middle, and ended up burning the 1st year of Draisaitl’s ELC.

Now, I understand the situation the Oilers found themselves in, not wanting to send Draisaitl to a Prince Albert team that was going to be at the bottom of the WHL. I’m of the opinion that a trade could have been worked out earlier, even if it meant Draisaitl playing a few months with the PA Raiders. Also, I don’t recall Jordan Eberle suffering that much playing for a non-playoff team in Regina. The story also eventually came out that it was the Oilers who determined Draisaitl would not be representing Germany at the World Juniors last season. Again, a situation in which there may or may not have been a large amount of success to be had, but representing his country again would have at least given Draisaitl some confidence. And it’s not as though he was making a difference for the Oilers at the time.

But, be that as it may, Draisaitl excelled once he finally did make it back to the WHL, with the Kelowna Rockets. He helped the Rockets secure a berth in the Memorial Cup by capturing the WHL Championship, being named playoff MVP in the process. And although he came up short in the Memorial Cup championship game, Draisaitl walked away from the tournament with both the Ed Chynoweth Trophy as the leading scorer of the tournament, but also Memorial Cup MVP.

Much like Nurse, there is a very good chance Draisaitl makes the Oilers out of camp this year again. Also like Nurse, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with him starting the year in Bakersfield. With both McDavid and Mark Letestu filling in the middle along with Nugent-Hopkins and Anton Lander, there’s been talk of moving Draisaitl to the wing, which I think would be a very beneficial move.

Anders Nilsson
The battle of the goalies at training camp should be interesting. Ben Scrivens was not good last year, and Viktor Fasth has moved on to the KHL. This off season saw Chiarelli bring in Cam Talbot, who many are pegging as the new number one. If that is the case, then the back up position is going to be between Scrivens, and Anders Nilsson, who was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks, and quickly signed a one-way deal with the Oilers. However, Nilsson signing a one-way deal makes me wonder if Scrivens is being shopped. Nilsson looks to be a capable back up to Talbot, having posted some very nice numbers last year with Kazan Ak-Bars of the KHL.

That being said, last season was the only year he posted a GAA under 2.00, seeing previous action with the Bridgeport Tigers of the AHL, and a handful of games with the Islanders, who drafted him in 2009. This could be the restart he needs. My thought is he was brought in by Chiarelli fully expecting to be the back up to Talbot. Sending him down to the minors doesn’t benefit Nilsson at all, and if anything, hampers the development of Laurent Brossoit, who should be the starter in Bakersfield next year.

Tyler Pitlick
My opinion is that this is Pitlick’s last chance to prove he belongs with the big club. Although he’s suffered through injuries, he looked to be on the right track last year, scoring a couple of goals before injuries ended his season. Pitlick brings just what the Oilers need in their bottom six, which is physicality and an ability to chip in some goals. His 62 points in his only year of junior hockey with Medicine Hat is proof of that.

Pitlick could be in tough to secure a spot in the bottom six. Rob Klinkhammer and Matt Hendricks are both stalwarts for the Oilers, and the addition of Lauri Korpikoski accounts for 3 of the 4 winger positions available. Factor in that the Oilers will have to find a spot for top six players like Teddy Purcell and Nail Yakupov, and the log jam gets even worse. For Pitlick though, he may be able to come into camp, and impress enough to force out a Luke Gazdic, or at least secure some playing time as an interchangeable 13th forward.

The biggest struggle for Pitlick is going to be staying healthy. A knee injury in the 2013-14 season limited him to 49 games split between the Oilers and the Oklahoma City Barons, while a lacerated spleen resulted in Pitlick missing all but a combined 31 games. When healthy though, Pitlick has shown he can be an effective player at the AHL level. That’s something he’ll need to try and carry over to the NHL level.

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.