Edmonton Oilers Talk: What is this “Added Twist” to Edmonton’s 2021-22 Training Camp?

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!

The latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation comes from all of the internet’s top sites like Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, and TSN just to name a few!

If you’re short on time but want to keep up with the day’s Oilers news, you’ve come to the right place!

Give us a follow on the socials!

The Cult of Hockey

D corps at Edmonton Oilers rookie camp is young, promising, and GIGANTIC

#3 Philip Broberg – “Average” sized for this crew at 6’3, 203 pounds, having just turned 20 years old.
#5 Dmitri Samorukov – At 6’3, 198, he has developed a reputation as a fearsome open ice hitter, at least on occasion.
#12 Michael Kesselring – He’s currently listed as 6’5, 205, and don’t be surprised if one or both of those figures is adjusted northward after off-ice testing on Wednesday.
#14 Markus Niemelainen – Another tall man at 6’5, with signs that the former stringbean is beginning to fill out at a listed 203 pounds.
#17 Filip Berglund – He too is a solid customer at 6’3, 209, which as a frame of reference were the exact dimensions of former Oiler Adam Larsson.
#20 Philip Kemp – That commitment kept the 6’3, 203-pounder in Europe until after the AHL season started, but he did eventually make the long trip to Bakersfield where he suited up for 14 games.

“In the six decades I’ve been watching the game, big rearguards have never once gone out of style, and I don’t expect that to change anytime soon.”

BLH’s Thoughts: Of Course, click the link above and read the article in its entirety because there’s SO much more content to dig into than I’ve included here. I’m only giving you a few snippets of what Mr. McCurdy has written to save you a little bit of time.

That said, as I was reading this I remembered Bob Stauffer talking with Oilers AGM Keith Gretzky about how big Bakersfield’s defense is going to be this year. Stauffer made mention of how big Tampa’s defense was and I wondered to myself, could the Oilers have an Eric Cernak in their ranks and if so, who would it be?

Dmitri Samorukov was the first name to come to mind. He’s clincal, plays a simple game, breaks up the cycle, has a physical element to his game, and may just top out as a shutdown defender who gets some time on the 2nd pair but spends most of it on the third.

Kesselring is massive and Niemelainen is also pretty big but I’m not sure they’ve got the meanness in their games. I reckon Phil Broberg may go the Jonas Brodin route and be more of a two-way specialist than an offensive or defensive star. Berglund and Kemp, I’m not sure about. There’s a part of me that’d like to see Kemp develop into the next Ryan McDonagh but I think that’s just something in my mind connecting the two since they’re American.

The Hockey Writers

3 Oilers Who Could Surprise This Season

William Lagesson – Over three seasons of playing pro in North America, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Lagesson has shown to be a physical player that skates well and can move the puck… He ranked top three on the American Hockey League’s Bakersfield Condors in plus/minus in both the 2018-19 and 2019-20 AHL seasons… There’s reason to believe there’s an NHL player in Lagesson. But seven years after being drafted 91^st overall pick in the 2014 draft, the Swedish rearguard, for whatever reason, is yet to stick. His strengths are much greater defensively than offensively, and his best chance may be to stick on the roster as a seventh or eighth defenceman, potentially leading to an opportunity on Edmonton’s third pairing.
Alex Stalock – Stalock is ostensibly third on Edmonton’s goaltending depth chart, behind Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen. Smith Is coming off a terrific campaign and the de facto starter but will be turning 40 this season. Koskinen is inconsistent and even his best is not on Smith’s level, but the 33-year-old’s $4.5 million contract has basically forced the Oilers to keep him on the roster… It’s not at all unlikely that Stalock could outplay Koskinen, nor is it that far-fetched to think he could be better in stints than Smith. And with a modest $785,000 cap hit, Stalock is very affordable should the Oilers have a role for him.
Kyle Turris – With Edmonton adding forwards like Warren Foegele and Derek Ryan this offseason, Turris has certainly not moved up the Oilers depth chart. But he is versatile, capable of playing both centre and right wing… An added twist is that RFA Kailer Yamamoto remains unsigned, creating a void at right wing Edmonton’s second line where Yamamoto has played the last season and a half. Turris could potentially fill that spot or at least benefit from the domino effect Yamamoto’s absence has on the lineup.

BLH’s Thoughts: The writer is correct, I would be shocked if these three had themselves a good year for the Oilers. Mind you, they’re probably the three that I’d pick too. Tyler Benson might be another candidate though.

In any case, Lagesson, Stalock, and Turris seem like they’re Coach Tippett’s plan Cs at this point unless Ken Holland makes the call down to the coach’s office and says he’s looking to move somebody but the other GM needs to see a bit more.

I think that the Oilers have a plan with regards to their roster and barring injury, they’ll be sticking to it. Meaning, I don’t see Turris, Stalock, or Lagesson changing anything.

To the disappointment of Chubby Checker, there’ll be no added twists from these players at training camp this year.

The Daily Goal Horn

Morgan Rielly’s Toronto future in doubt; and will Jack Eichel report to Sabres camp

Toronto will also have goalie Jack Campbell and forward Ilya Mikheyev hit UFA status. To add to their cap woes, they have some key RFA’s to sign that include Rasmus Sandin and Nick Ritchie. It makes you wonder if they don’t opt to trade one of their top salaries to retain Rielly.
Will Rielly be back with the Leafs next season? I believe the answer is yes, but it will likely come at the cost of moving Mitch Marner or William Nylander.

Will Jack Eichel show up to Sabres Camp

Considering how contentious things have been between Eichel and the Sabres since he went down with a neck injury, some may think the answer is obvious… If Eichel fails to report, the Sabres don’t have to pay him for each day missed. Vogl works that out to about $36K per day… What will likely happen is Eichel will report, fail his physical and be sent home until a trade is worked out.