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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**NOTICE: THIS IS A POST THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE AUTO-SCHEDULED FOR THE 19TH BUT SOMEHOW MISSED BEING PUBLISHED. THEREFORE SOME OF THE CONTENT WILL SOUND OUT OF DATE BUT NOT TO ANY RIDICULOUS EXTENT. FOR THE MOST PART EVERYTHING APPLIES TODAY AS IT DID WHEN IT WAS WRITTEN. SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE AND I APPRECIATE THE UNDERSTANDING! – BLH**
Oilersnation
Monday Mailbag – Let’s Talk Line Combos
What would you consider to be a good start for the Oilers over their first 10 games?
- At 2-0 already, I think it’s reasonable to see them go 7-3 in the first 10 games.I think they can be 4-0 before they wrap up back-to-back road games in Vegas on the 22nd. – Brownlee
BLH’s Thoughts: I don’t think that it’s out of the realm of possibility for this group to come away from their first ten games with a record of 8-1-1 considering who they have to play in their next eight games,
- Anaheim(h) – Win
- Arizona/Vegas (away and b2b) – Win/OTL
- Philadelphia (h) – L
- Vancouver (a) – W
- Seattle (h) – W
- Nashville (h) – W
- New York Rangers (h) – W
It’s only been a couple of games but Hyman and Nugent-Hopkins seem to be playing well together. Do you think having them click means we’ll see more of McDavid and Draisaitl, and is that the right decision?
- I’d prefer to have McDavid and Draisaitl split up on two separate lines because I think it adds more balance to the team, but it’s clear that Dave Tippett doesn’t care a whole lot about that, so we’ll almost need Nuge and Hyman to find a way to work. – Baggedmilk
BLH’s Thoughts: I’ve always been of the belief that Leon wants his own line and one the reasons for that is so that he can get away from being considered a complimentary player. We all know he isn’t, but alphas want to be the lead dog nevertheless.
Personally, I’d like to see them split up.
What are your first impressions of the Ceci – Keith pair?
- They have been very solid. They are playing how I expected they would. I disagreed with the premise Keith was done because of a few charts. Chicago’s defensive zone structure is terrible under Jeremy Colliton. You are seeing that again this season. Keith and Ceci have been what you expected. Solid veterans who make the right plays. Ceci has made some really nice outlet passes that led to the Puljujarvi goal, and also sent Yamamoto in on a breakaway. He is a much better puck mover than Larsson and that helps the forwards get the puck in stride more often. – Gregor
BLH’s Thoughts: Ceci/Keith have been fine so far against Vancouver’s and Calgary’s heavy forecheck. What I’m waiting for is when a team that is tactically elite and those seams don’t open up for Ceci to thread those breakaway passes and the dink pass out of the defensive zone corner to the curling forward isn’t there. How will they react to a more suffocating style of play?
Do you feel like the Oilers execute the trap well enough to keep defaulting to it? And do you think the trap takes away from the Oilers’ biggest advantage: the offence/skill of their top two lines?
- Haven’t seen what I consider the trap — five men immediately dropping into the neutral zone — from the Oilers during the first two games. Didn’t think the Oilers played on their heels at all against Calgary, even when it was 3-2. – Brownlee
BLH’s Thoughts: Trap? Huh? Did Jacques Lemaire suddenly enter the room?
Facetiousness aside, what would a highly talented offensive team look like if they could successfully implement an elite defensively structured game? Is that what the mid-90s NJ Devils were all about or the late 90s/Early 2000s Dallas Stars were winning Cups with?
How can fans make a push for a better in-game experience? We have this state-of-the-art facility that is below average in showcasing itself. Vegas knocks it out of the park and it’s not even close.
- Write emails to the Oilers. Email your season ticket rep. If you don’t send it to the Oilers directly there is very little chance of change. – Gregor
BLH’s Thoughts: In European soccer, when the fans are unhappy about something, they tend to band together for some sort of sign of unhappiness. Sometimes they turn their backs to the field at a certain moment on the time clock and sometimes they come up with a clever chant that can be heard on the TV.
There’s no way in Hell that hockey fans in Edmonton could get that organized over the in-game experience though. That would require sticking your neck out a bit and going against the grain of the great hockey providers. So yeah, anybody who wants more bang for their buck at an Edmonton Oilers game, write a letter or maybe send out the boo birds.
Seriously though, email your season ticket reps if you want but it’s not going to have any impact. What fans should do is combine emails with calling in to radio shows like Oilers Now or the post-game show that Reid Wilkins hosts and complain over and over about it. Get somebody to stand outside of Rogers Place with a sign that says “The in-game experience sucks! Don’t buy tickets!” and get pictures and splatter them all over social media. Force the local media to cover the problem because there’s nothing OEG wants less than for the club to look like it doesn’t care about the fans, especially now… I mean if a local social media company wanted to make a name for themselves, this is an outstanding opportunity.
Cult of Hockey
Edmonton Oilers part ways with yet another Russian prospect
- The big right-shot left winger has been considered a solid prospect for the club since he was drafted in the fifth round back in 2017. Most recently he ranked at the Oilers’ #19 hopeful on the 2021 edition of the Cult of Hockey ‘s annual prospect series.
- Back in North America this fall, the final year of his ELC never got going. Maksimov missed both rookie camp and Oilers camp due to vaccine/quarantine issues…
- Bob Stauffer of Oilers Now speculates that he may have been ticketed to start the season with Wichita Thunder of the ECHL, and may have balked at the notion, given he just proved himself at a higher level in his native Russia.
- News from today’s Oilers’ practice which likely signals one more move in the next day or so. Devin Shore returned to the ice centring Brendan Perlini and Kyle Turris , a trio which had good success in the preseason.
- …while Ryan McLeod filled in the line never got much traction. McLeod himself averaged under 6 minutes per game, and is now among the extras at practice. Best guess here is that he will be reassigned to Bakersfield tomorrow to make room for Shore on the active roster.
- Dave Tippett confirmed that Mike Smith will make his third consecutive start in Tueday night’s home game vs. Anaheim Ducks.
BLH’s Thoughts: Well, I can’t blame Maksimov for telling the Oilers to shove it because he didn’t want to go to the ECHL. He’s a much better player than that, but the problem is, is he anything more than a 3rd line RW at the AHL level?
For what it’s worth, Bob Stauffer has been talking about Lawson Crouse (ARI) and Brett Murray (BUF) quite a bit lately and I’m wondering if something’s up with William Lagesson and Tyler Benson there as the rumor mill has connected Arizona and Buffalo to Edmonton in the past.
I don’t know a lot about the kid out Buffalo, but Crouse has been a wrecking ball his entire career. In junior, he was bigger than everyone, so he got a lot of production from that fact alone and as soon as he hit the big leagues, things evened out and he hasn’t produced like some projected him to. He’s a bottom-six winger that kills penalties and provides “functional toughness” as Stauffer likes to call it. Basically, in a sense, he’s Zack Kassian but perhaps down a step skill-wise and skating-wise.
I don’t mind if the Oilers want to swap Tyler Benson and Bill Lagesson for Crouse. Him and Connor go back many years and I imagine Darnell Nurse is familiar with him too. He’s another big guy who can skate and come playoff time, can you really have too many of those?
The Athletic
NHL Rookie Ranking 2021-22: Top 20 candidates to win the Calder Trophy
- Trevor Zegras, C, Anaheim
Zegras is an extremely skilled and creative playmaker who will get a lot of opportunity this season to run the Ducks’ power play and drive the offense.
- Cole Caufield, RW, Montreal
He’s an extremely skilled winger with an elite shot, and despite being undersized and not a burner for that frame, he showed he can generate offense consistently versus NHL players.
- Moritz Seider, RHD, Detroit
I think with great skating, size and physicality he’ll play real minutes, make a lot of stops, and has enough transition and puck-moving ability to put up solid offensive numbers as a rookie.
- Jamie Drysdale, RHD, Anaheim
It’s rare for a defenseman to make a dent in the Calder race. It’s even rarer for a teenage defenseman, but I think Drysdale has the goods to do that. He will get a lot of opportunity in Anaheim, and with his elite skating ability, I think he will hold up full-time in the NHL and make a difference with his great sense and feet.
- Shane Pinto, C, Ottawa
He’s a very skilled and intelligent center with size who showed in college and briefly versus men he can advance levels and continue to excel. I expect a good season as one of Ottawa’s better forwards.
- Nils Lundkvist, RHD, New York Rangers
He’s super smart with the puck and has a big shot, which will make him an asset on breakouts but particularly in the O-zone and on the man advantage. He’s a good skater, albeit not amazing…
- Bowen Byram, LHD, Colorado
…it’s hard to see Byram putting up major offensive totals. He’s such a great skater, though, and can make stops and transition pucks so well up ice that even without all the right opportunities I could see him being a very good rookie.
- Alex Nedeljkovic, G, Detroit
Nedeljkovic is a very quick and intelligent goalie who had a great season in Carolina before being traded to Detroit. Because of his size there are still some skeptics among NHL scouts about whether he can repeat that or tread water as more of an average starter…
- Jeremy Swayman, G, Boston
He’s not going to blow you away with his athleticism, but his hockey sense is extremely good. Swayman finds a way to make tough saves consistently with how well he anticipates the play and makes efficient reads.
- Lucas Raymond, RW, Detroit
You see that his tremendous skill and sense have translated immediately in the way he can navigate and see the ice in the offensive zone just like he did at other levels… I think he’ll help Detroit, especially on its power play.
- Spencer Knight, G, Florida
Knight has the size, sense and quickness to be an excellent NHL goalie with time, but realistically you’re just hoping he keeps his head above water all season.
- Sampo Ranta, RW, Colorado
He’s big and a tremendous skater, which should help him translate to the NHL well as he’s a little more physically mature and older than some of the other players listed here.
- Anton Lundell, C, Florida
He has legit offensive tools, he competes hard and he projects to be a good two-way NHL center, even without great footspeed.
- William Eklund, LW, San Jose
He’s a dynamic skater with a good work level, so I think despite his age and size he’ll hold up in the league this season.
- Arthur Kaliyev, RW, Los Angeles
The pace of his game and whether that translates to the NHL has always been the big question, but his sense and shot are high-end…
- Dawson Mercer, C, New Jersey
He’s a very skilled and intelligent center who has a high compete level, and has all the ingredients minus the pure speed to be able to handle the NHL level this season.
- Mason McTavish, C, Anaheim
He’s a very competitive player with decent size and it’s helped him win battles versus NHL players to go with his great skill and hockey sense.
- Cole Sillinger, C, Columbus
Sillinger is very physical, he can shoot the puck and set up plays, but his skating might be the one challenge over the course of a full season.
- Michael Bunting, LW, Toronto
His skating has never been the selling point of his game, but he’s shown a consistent track record of being able to overcome his skating and have success versus pros.
- Vladimir Tkachev, LW, Los Angeles
He is a very gifted puck handler who can make a lot of creative plays… I could see a solid NHL campaign.
