This is your TL/DR (too long, didn’t read) summary post where excerpts are taken from the best of the best when it comes to Edmonton Oilers blogs. BLH gives you his two cents on the latest posts being published in the Oilogosphere! Including those from Lowetide.ca, The Athletic, Oilersnation, The Cult of Hockey, Copper N Blue, Oil on Whyte, and more!
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The Cult of Hockey
No league to play in? Just another challenge for intriguing Oilers prospect Ty Tullio
- He and a couple of teammates from Oshawa Generals along with two other OHL players joined Liptovsky Mikulas HK of the Slovakian League.
- Tullio’s output of 19 GP, 4-9-13, -4 is reasonably impressive. What really stands out, though, is the 77 penalty minutes he compiled, an average of 4 per game.
- Not too surprising for a player who models his game after Brad Marchand.
- After his stint in Slovakia had ended, Tullio did earn an amateur tryout with Bakersfield Condors and practiced with the team for a spell but didn’t get any games.
- Expectation for 2021-22: Return to the OHL and play on Oshawa’s top line and both special teams. At some point along the way, sign an entry-level deal with the Oilers.
“Tullio looked considerably stronger on his feet and that strength showed in his game, including in his wrister (which surprised me with its pop). He can wait too long to make his play, though, which slows things down because he’s not a skater who’s going to burn anyone. That put him into some tough spots occasionally.” – Scott Wheeler, The Athletic
BLH’s Thoughts: That quote comes from Wheeler’s viewings of Tullio at Hockey Canada’s summer camp for 2022 World Juniors.
It’s nice that he’s getting some national team consideration but I’m not sure he’s got a realistic chance at making the club unless the coaching staff thinks he’s the perfect fit for a specialized role on the team, something we’ve seen happen in the past…
As for his professional aspirations, he’s got to improve the boots or else risk being the next Tyler Benson and have your NHL potential questioned every season you don’t make the jump to the NHL whilst destroying the AHL year after year.
I mean, the fact that before the pause he was a point-per-game player for Oshawa with the skating “issues” says a lot for the rest of his game and his toolbox. Are we looking at another Josh Archibald or perhaps the next Andrew Mangiapane?
Oilersnation (Gregor)
Oilers Fans Should Prepare to be Vaccinated
- A source confirmed to me the Oilers Entertainment Group (OEG) will likely announce that fans attending games this season will need to be fully vaccinated. The OEG has been working on a strategy of how it will implement proof of vaccination and once that is established, expect the announcement.
- The challenge for the OEG, and other teams, will be how to accurately and conveniently enforce proof of vaccination.
- Fans under 12 years of age will be exempt since they are ineligible for a vaccine at this time, however, they would need to be accompanied by an adult who is vaccinated.
- The other option for fans, I’m told, is they will need to provide a negative COVID-19 test result from a healthcare provider taken within 48-72 hours of the game’s scheduled start time.
News & Notes
- I wrote a few weeks ago that I won’t be surprised if Bouchard is eventually skating with Darnell Nurse this season. He won’t start there, Tyson Barrie will, but I expect Bouchard to slide into that spot during the season.
- Tippett surprised me a bit when he said Bouchard is going to be killing penalties this season.
- I feel Bouchard can match, and surpass, Bear’s offensive game and outlet passing. I think he will fill that void at 5×5.
- I could see them bringing a right-shot veteran D-man to camp on a PTO. They don’t have much RD depth so bringing a vet on a PTO makes sense to me. Current right-shot UFAS include Sami Vatanen, Jason Demers, Erik Gudbranson, Paul Ladue, Nate Prosser, Michael Stone or Cody Goloubef.
BLH’s Thoughts: Ladue seems like an interesting name because we know he’s willing to play in the AHL and he can fill in at the NHL level if pressed plus he’s got a ton of experience playing against Bakersfield after all those years in LA’s system.
I think that Demers, Vatanen, Gudbranson, and Prosser might be more inclined to sign something that’ll keep them in the NHL and with better financial compensation.
So, here we are on the verge of heading into season three of the COVID era. The local football team has already had their season disrupted by a number of positive tests, I wonder if there will be any hockey teams that get shut down in 2021-22 for the same reason?
I’m very excited to see Evan Bouchard’s career get started full-time as the expectations are quite high for him. It’s sort of been a long time coming too, eh? I can remember back to his draft and folks were saying that as a teenager that he was already the club’s best passer. That blew my mind! And then I started to watch him closer and he reminded me of Al MacInnis so much with his shooting style. Fact of the matter is, Bouchard’s shooting might be more akin to Ray Bourque seeing how 77 could find gaps of any size and fit the puck through at whatever velocity he chose.
What’s dogged EB in the past is his lack of “assertiveness”, so I’m hoping that a summer of training with Darnell Nurse in combination with increased strength will release his inner beast and what we see in September really is a 2021 version of MacInnis.
As for the PK stuff, I’m not concerned about that. Bouchard is already one of the smartest players on the team. He’ll catch on in no time and getting in the shooting lane will not be a problem for him like it was for others.
NHLRumors.com
- David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period: Training camp is a month away and multiple sources have said that Buffalo Sabres forward Jack Eichel still hasn’t had any surgery to repair a herniated disc. It seems doubtful that he’ll get clearance and won’t be available for the start of the season.
- “Multiple sources have confirmed that (Jack) Eichel has still not undergone surgery to repair a herniated disc in his neck, and it’s looking likely that he will not be medically cleared and available for the start of the regular-season – regardless of what team he’s on.” – TFP
- Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times: Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman said after acquiring Tyler Johnson that he would be their third-line center. That would move Dylan Strome to the wing, a position he hasn’t played well at.
