January 31, 2020 /

2019/20 Edmonton Oilers GM51: Oilers @ Blues – 3P2W – Local Star to Make his Debut for Oilers

It’s going to be tough to play up to the quality of the last hockey game that the Edmonton Oilers played, but I wouldn’t be shocked at all if tonight’s game against the St.Louis Blues was as entertaining from more of a hockey purist’s standpoint. I can’t see this match getting as physical as Edmonton’s previous one, I think this one will be much more of a chess game than an MMA event.

The Blues have taken the two previous games outscoring the Oilers 7-3 in the process and with seven different goal scorers no less. Connor McDavid, Zack Kassian, and James Neal have been the only Oilers to beat Jake Allen so far.

Edmonton will need their newly-formed second line to step up for them tonight and for their defense to shut any sort of offense down that the Blues mount. I’m hoping Mikko Koskinen gets the start since he was in net for the 2-1 loss and hasn’t started since before the Oilers bye-week/all-star break.

Just before we get into the Oilers most recent roster moves, I want to direct your attention our latest draft post. Keith Fries and I do up a 2020 midseason top-15 mock draft in addition to Keith giving out his top 100 prospects for the 2020 NHL entry draft. Check it out here draft geeks!

The Call-Ups

It’s finally happened and unfortunately at the sacrifice of Joakim Nygard and Kris Russell. The Oilers have called up local minor midget superstar and their AHL team’s leading scorer Tyler Benson as well as one of my favorites, William Lagesson.

Congratulations to Tyler! He’s come a long way in his young career and he deserves this chance.

Now, if you follow the blog or me on Twitter, you probably have seen me say that we should temper our expectations with this player. He’s not going to blow you away with offensive skill. Meaning, he’s not a dangler or a sniper per se. He’s a very clever and intelligent playmaker. A point producing predator of sorts I’d say. He’s got really outstanding vision in addition to his smarts.

The reason I tell you that perhaps we should not get overexcited for him is that his boots aren’t quite at the NHL level yet and he tends to get quite a few points on the PP. Case in point, this YouTube clip below of his hat-trick from a couple of months ago. Two PP goals and an empty netter.

I don’t know if he’ll equal his point totals from last year as he’s already played 42 games and he’s only up to 35pts (9g 26a). In 2018/19, he had 66pts (15g 51a) in 68 games. If I’m being honest, I think that production might’ve been propped up by that massive winning streak the Condors went on in addition to some AHL players playing way above their level thus benefitting Benson. With that in mind, you cannot take away what he’s accomplished to date.

Could he survive in the big leagues? Absolutely. He’s got what it takes between the ears and he can play a grinding role if need be. But after watching what Jesse Puljujarvi did down there or Kailer Yamamoto and comparing it to Benson, he’s a step behind those players skating-wise and in today’s NHL, you’ve got to be able to skate and if you can’t, you’d better have an elite skill elsewhere.

Alls not lost for him in the skating department. If Ethan Bear and Leon Draisaitl can make massive jumps over the course of an off-season in their skating, so can Tyler Benson and from what I’ve been told, this guy is one of the hardest workers out there in the off-season. My source (former NHL player) was emphatic in his praise for his training habits and said his comparison to Chris Kunitz was “very fair”.

I’m rooting for this guy! There’s no better story than a local lad working his way up the hockey ladder!

*UPDATE* Not a minute after I hit the ‘publish’ button on this article did I realize that Benson wouldn’t be in the lineup for tonight’s game. My apologies!

Three Players to Watch for the Blues

  • #18 Robert Thomas – Centering a line with vets Alex Steen and Tyler Bozak on his flanks, Thomas has 6pts in his last five games played. He’s fast and shifty and very intelligent. I do wonder what the Blues have in mind for him because he’s kinda blocked from moving up the lineup with O’Reilly and Schenn playing on the top two lines.
  • #27 Alex Pietrangelo – I can’t believe they haven’t re-signed this guy yet. The offers he’s going to get this summer if he makes it to July 1st will be mind-blowing and no doubt Toronto would be at the front of the line. I wonder if Edmonton would get it on him?
  • #33 Jordan Kyrou – The Blues’ top youngster is getting TOI on the top line with Schenn and Schwartz but hasn’t been able to produce much. He’s a fantastic skater, lots of speed, and can really rip the puck. Only four points this season so far though and this is a player that some had connected to a Jesse Puljujarvi swap… No way I’d do that deal today.

This is St. Louis’ lineup for the last game. I haven’t seen any chatter saying that it’s going to change and a new one hasn’t been posted.

Three Players to Watch for the Oilers

  • #29 Leon Draisaitl – He took a suspension-worthy slash from Matthew Tkachuk last game and I’m curious to know how bad it caught him. The last thing Edmonton needs is for that second line to go quiet.
  • #39 Alex Chiasson – Chaser has been fantastic this year. He’s a guy that gets it. He’s given a role and he doesn’t try to do more or less than asked. He just goes out there and gets his job done. Love the net-front presence he brings on the PP too.
  • #93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Quite the tilly he got into with a player outside of his weight class in Sean Monahan eh? I give Nuge the decision there too. He’s a sneaky good fighter but I was a tad worried about that hand he had work done on earlier this season.

This is Edmonton’s roster from the Flames game but Nygard and Kris Russell are out. I think there’ll be a few changes. It’s Gaetan Haas’ birthday today, so it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility if he was inserted into the lineup. Word is, Patrick Russell will come in for Nygard and Caleb Jones will replace Russell and be partnered by Matt Benning. Also, Mikko Koskinen WILL get the start.

The Next Ten Games (51-60)

  • vs. St. Louis Blues (31-12-8) – I’m not 100% sold that the Oilers will be focused on this game seeing as they play Calgary the next night. They have played well against the league’s best this season at times though. Can McDavid and Draisaitl beat the Blues in this one like they did at the All-Star game? (WIN)
  • @ Calgary Flames (27-19-6) – If you thought last night’s game was fun with all the fights and cheap shots, this game is going to be bonkers. It always seems to be in Calgary. Losing three times to the Flames and that post-game celly by Rittich will be eating away at the Oilers. They’ll be doing their damnedest to bring home the two points. (WIN)
  • @ Arizona Coyotes (26-21-5) – The Oilers put up a touchdown on the Coyotes right before their bye-week and I don’t imagine that sat well with Taylor Hall and co. That said, they’re on a bit of a slump in their last ten (4-5-1) and Edmonton is flying high as of today (6-2-2). On the other hand, just when the opportunity presents itself to the Oilers they usually take the night off. (LOSS)
  • vs. San Jose Sharks (22-26-4) – Man, this Sharks team is bad. With Vlasic, Karlsson, and Burns on the back-end no less… Can you believe the Golden Knights fired Gerard Gallant to hire San Jose’s old coach? I think this will be a scheduled win for McDavid’s boys. Watch out for shenanigans from Evander Kane and Timo Meier. (WIN)
  • vs. Nashville Predators (23-19-7) – Since the Preds hired NJ’s old coach, they haven’t been scoring much and that’s not a good sign when you go into Edmonton. Couple that with Pekka Rinne’s game falling right off of a cliff and the Oilers should be able to walk away with two points. (WIN)
  • vs. Chicago Blackhawks (24-21-6) – The Hawks are coming on as of late and I think they could pull this one off in Edmonton. Maybe Drake Caggiula does the ex-Oiler thing and scores. (LOSS)
  • @ Tampa Bay Lightning (30-15-5) – This will be a fine test for the Oilers. Tampa has found their stride at the right time and are looking very dominant. Might we see another ex-Oiler in Pat Maroon score or drop the flippers? I expect McDavid to be flying in this one. (LOSS)
  • @ Florida Panthers (28-16-5) – This match-up is going to be a fun one. The Panthers have some really fun players to watch like Huberdeau, Barkov, and the very underrated Vincent Trochek. Which Sergei Bobrovsky might we see if he gets the call though? (WIN)
  • @ Carolina Hurricanes (29-18-3) – It’s hard not to like what they’ve build in Carolina. Andrei Svechnikov is already a scoring phenom at 19-years-old and it’s hard to overlook the wonder Finns (Aho/Teravainen), right? How will this team be sans Dougie Hamilton though? Can the Oilers sweep back-to-backs again? (WIN)
  • vs. Boston Bruins (29-10-12) – Edmonton goes from one team who doesn’t lose in OT to a team that seemingly only loses in OT. The Oilers gave the Bs a pretty sound beating last time they played and we’re close to the trade deadline here so I’m not sure what the rosters will look like. I like Boston for this one though. (LOSS)

(Standings as of January 20th, 2020)

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CategoriesBeer League Hero Edmonton Oilers NHL

TagsEdmonton Oilers NHL Tyler Benson

Beer League Hero Written by:

I'm the Beer League Hero! I am from Camrose, Alberta but I make my home in Taipei City, Taiwan. I've been through the ups and downs and the highs and the Lowes, the Bonsignores and the McDavids, the Sathers and the Eakins but I'll never leave my Oilers, no matter what! They're with me until the end and then some. GO OILERS GO!