2021-22 Oilers Vs. Flames Rookie Game 1: Three Players to Watch

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Edmonton Sun

Saturday night, Edmonton Oilers vs. Calgary Flames: Enough said

The first official piece of business in Edmonton’s quest for a breakthrough NHL season begins here, with the likes of Raphael Lavoie, Dmitri Samorukov, Philip Broberg and Xavier Bourgault leading the Oilers out.
For players who’ve had their seasons shortened, rearranged or totally wiped out by the pandemic, 60 minutes of meaningful hockey feels like Christmas. Sure, the runway into this game is desperately short, but nobody cares.
Lavoie (38th overall in 2019) is someone the Oilers will be watching closely. After playing 51 games in Sweden and 19 in Bakersfield last year, the six-foot-five forward is one of the most seasoned players out there.
The first injury of rookie camp came 20 minutes into Friday’s session, when winger Jake Chiasson (116th overall in 2021) left the ice favouring his arm or shoulder. He didn’t return.
Russian goalie Ilya Konovalov (85th overall in 2019) comes to camp with good Kontinental Hockey League numbers (2.29 goals-against average and .923 save percentage) and high expectations. But like Jesse Puljujarvi before him, isn’t especially fluent in English.

“I think his English is better than he’s given credit for,” he said. “And we have a few Russian players in rookie camp as well as main camp. I’ve also gone over to Russian 10 summers in a row working with younger players, so I have an understanding of ‘hockey Russian’ and can get my point across.” – Jay Woodcroft, Bakersfield Condors Head Coach

BLH’s Thoughts: Gonna do an abbreviated “Three Players to Watch” blog right here instead of dedicating an entire post.

I don’t know if all these players will be in the lineup, but for argument’s sake, let’s say they will be.

Edmonton Oilers:

Rafa Lavoie – Bob Stauffer said he’s built more like a pro now and his performances during rookie camp show he’s performing more like one as well. It’ll be hard not to notice the 6’5″ winger.

Dmitri Samorukov – LOTS of hype from the local media going into this one. He’s sized like Adam Larsson and he plays a similar style now.

Ilya Konovalov – We’re finally going to see just how good this goalie is. As an older player in this game, he shouldn’t struggle, but we should be aware of the transition from Russian ice to North American. So that’s going to be something to keep an eye on.

Calgary Flames:

Jakob Pelletier – Pesky Brad Marchand-type. Sized like Kailer Yamamoto but faster and stronger on his skates and a better goal scorer.

Yan Kuznetsov – Big Russian dman who has a reputation for being very physical if you get too close.

Dustin Wolf – Just a little guy, but made the WHL his bitch during his time there. A very athletic netminder and one of the best puckhandling goalies playing.

I don’t know if the Oilers have the offensive chops to take this one tonight, but they do have the defense to take it. If they can avoid turning this game into a shootout, they’ll have a good chance of winning it.

The Flames have a lot of annoying little guys on their squad like Pelletier, Ryan Francis, Martin Pospisil, but they’ve also got really skilled players like Connor Zary and Dmitri Zavrgorodniy, hulking players like Mark Simpson, and high-end puck movers like Cameron Whynot, Jeremie Poirier, and Johannes Kinnvall.

At any rate, hockey’s back and that’s enough for me!

Calgary Flames Blow Shirt — Flames Suck. Click the pic and get a shirt.

The Cult of Hockey

Huge defence crew stands out at Edmonton Oilers rookie camp

Standout player to my eyes was d-man Dmitri Samorukov who is not only taller than I remember but wider and thicker as well. Officially listed at 6’3, 198 lbs., though Bob Stauffer of Oilers Now suggests he’s more in the 215-220 pound range (and I believe it).
- More importantly, he looked fast, confident, composed. He has upgraded his game in subtle skills like boxing out opposing forwards and clearing rebounds from danger.
Philip Kemp, whose play could best be described as low-key, competent, and not particularly eye-catching (at least, not today).
An automatic pairing was the old Skelleftea duo of Philip Broberg and Filip Berglund.
- Broberg too has added some bulk to his already-imposing frame, and showed well in such details as angling opposing rushers to the outside and playing the contain game.
- Broberg displayed excellent puck protection skills along the end boards in particular.
- He was occasionally a little careless with the puck on his stick, once coughing it up into the slot after trying an ill-advised one-on-one move deep in his own zone.
Markus Niemelainen, whose calling cards are length and reach combined with surprising mobility for a man who stands 6’5.
- He was able to disrupt more than one “chase” drill from the trailing position, using that long reach to dispossess the forward of the puck before he even reached the slot.
Up front, big Raphael Lavoie caught my eye more than any other forward.
- He’s got far more polish than he did as a freshly drafted youngster back in 2019, which is to be expected given his subsequent experiences at four levels of hockey including the Q, the 2020 World Juniors, Hockey Allsvenskan and the AHL.
- Impressive size, even as he is still thickening out, seemed to have the puck on his stick a lot in the various 3-on-3 and 5-on-5 drills.
- Was more engaged in making plays rather than shooting from outside, normally his first instinct.
One of Lavoie’s linemates was 2021 first-round draft Xavier Bourgault. The 18-year-old didn’t stand out, showed a few flashes of skill here and there but a fair bit of the “boy among men” syndrome, especially in constricted areas against those massive defenders.
James Hamblin, who looked very comfortable in the role, distributing the puck efficiently and heading to the holes.
Two more young forwards who lined up together were 2020 fifth round pick Tyler Tullio and 2021 sixth rounder Matvei Petrov.
- Tullio is a smaller player who darts around the zone with and without the puck.
- Petrov has obvious skill, though his shooting eye was off as he missed the target with a couple of hard shots from good spots, then tickled the crossbar with one wicked drive from the ringette line.
Konovalov impressed with his positioning (always square to the puck), his side-to-side mobility, and his quick legs.
- A smaller goalie at 5’11, he looks around screens rather than over them, and this cost him on one occasion where he leaned to his left just as Berglund unloaded a perfectly-placed outside shot that beat him over his right shoulder.
- Seconds later and with a clearer view, he got the edge of his blocker on another well-placed blast from closer range by the sniper Lavoie.
Olivier Rodrigue, also demonstrated technically sound positioning and quick feet.

BLH’s Thoughts: For tonight’s game, I know that it’ll be hard not to keep the eyes peeled for Broberg, Lavoie, and “Go-Go” Bourgault, but I think from the forwards, I want to closely observe Tyler Tullio, Ostap Safin, and Matvei Petrov. On defense, I’ll pay a tiny bit more attention to Phil Kemp and Markus Niemelainen.

The good players will stand out regardless, but I think at times it’s more important to check out the guys in the background. Maybe in the second game on Monday I’ll pick a new group to watch.

The Hockey Writers (Rumors)

Shanahan, Keefe and Dubas on the Hot Seat

Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun notes Shanahan, Dubas, and Keefe are three names to watch this season when it comes to job security in the NHL. All could be relieved of their duties if this season doesn’t go well for the team.

Kaprizov Will Miss Start of Wild Training Camp

Even if the Minnesota Wild and Kirill Kaprizov get a contract extension worked out here in the next couple of days, the forward will miss the start of training camp. Michael Russo reports that on-ice sessions are set to begin next Thursday, but Kaprizov “won’t, at a minimum, be in camp on time due to work visa obligations/7-day quarantine.”

MacKinnon Calls Zadorov a “Bit of a Donkey”

On Thursday during the NHL media tour, MacKinnon responded to comments that he’s over the top when it comes to being a diet freak and said:

“Yeah, it got a little out of hand I think. Big Z. If you guys all know Z, he’s a bit of a donkey. People see a Russian translation and think it is the Bible, I guess. I don’t know. It’s all good. He went a little extreme. That’s what Z does. He loves a good quote.”