User D722 from Reddit posted some of the things heard from Bob Nicholson at the most recent Edmonton Oilers season seat holder reception. You can click here to read them without my comments if you wish.
Development of Prospects:
– Bob admitted it was a mistake to bring up Yamamoto this year and Bear last year. Players need time to mature. They weren’t doing that in the past.
– Believes 7-8 defenseman in Bakersfield could be NHL ready.
– Brought up that Evan Bouchard will have to start off in Bakersfield and earn his strips before playing an NHL full time. This is part of the new philosophy for development.
We’re starting things off with a bang. Of course it was a mistake to bring up Yamamoto this year. I’m not sure I’d agree with Bear. I think it was fine to give him a taste, just as it was to give Jones a taste earlier this season. No word on Jesse Puljujarvi though. That’s interesting. I think most would feel he was also brought along too quickly but maybe his name simply didn’t come up and that Nicholson felt it was unnecessary to bring him up.
If I list off the dmen in Bakersfield right now, do you think they’d all be NHL-caliber players?
- William Lagesson: Sure.
- Ethan Bear: Questionable.
- Caleb Jones: Sure.
- Brandon Manning: As a no.7, sure.
- Ryan Stanton: Refer to Manning.
- Logan Day: No.
- Keegan Lowe: Refer to Manning/Stanton
- Jake Kulevich: No.
So I don’t get where he’s saying there are 7-8 defensemen in Bakersfield that could be NHL-ready. Was he including Kevin Gravel and Alex Petrovic in that group?
I love the idea of forcing Evan Bouchard to earn those stripes. That’s an organizational philosophy I can get behind. The same should go for any other new defenders who are under the age of 25 who are joining the club.
Darryl Katz:
– Not involved in any hockey decisions. 100% Nicholson.
If this was a comment in the present tense, I might believe it. But if it’s one that covers the span of time that Nicholson has been employed, then it is a very questionable comment to make.
Finding a GM:
– Main characteristics for the newest GM: Analytics, scouting and development
– GM needs the right “eyeballs” aka the right scouts to assist him
– Advised that a lot of top GM candidates are not available for interviews until the club is out of the playoffs
– Interview process to start soon. No interviews to date.
– Has a list of around 34 candidates. Will trim to around 10 to 12 soon.
– There is no guarantee he’ll have a GM by the draft. Advise its necessary to have a GM for the draft for trades. To clarify trading picks and assets
– Bob will be patient because you might not know who will be available in the near future. He brought up of an example from Shanahan. Shanahan was going to appoint Dubas or another name (I forgot…. Hunter I believe. Don’t remember really) as GM of the Leafs until Lomoriello was suddenly available.
– Keith Gretzky wasn’t on his list of candidates. Gretzky is now on the list. Based on the strong scouting, recent decisions and communication (Communication with the fans, media and players).
– One of Bob’s questions for the next GM: Where will you be buying your house in Edmonton and which two Charities you’ll support in the Edmonton area? Bob is emphasizing culture fit for the next GM.
It seems as if the Oilers are going to go balls deep into the analytics with this next hire. I’m not opposed to it but I hope they don’t overcompensate for all the time they missed not using them.
I’ve said before that the Oilers should have a massive network of scouts across North America and Europe scanning the arenas for talent. That means pro scouts and amateur scouts. Don’t leave any stone unturned in the hunt to make the club better at every level of the organization.
Plucking talent away from playoff-bound teams sounds like the search for the next GM is starting in the right places and I don’t mind if the Oilers are without a new GM at the draft. I trust Keith Gretzky’s judgment in that area but where I’m a bit leery is if the Oilers are going to be making trades there. But if I’m reading the comments correctly, perhaps if the new boss isn’t installed by then, no trades will be made.
That said, I think there’ll be a new general manager before the draft.
As for Gretzky’s future, my belief is that he’ll stay on as AGM and take over for Craig MacTavish. I’m hearing quiet rumblings that MacTavish and Howson won’t be returning next season… So that will allow Keith to slide into MacT’s chair and run the farm team. Which is more or less what he’s been helping out with anyhow.
Needs for Next Season and Cap Management:
– On Defense: Need a top one or two defenseman this off-season. However, the Oilers organization believes there are 7-8 defenseman in Bakersfield that are close to being NHL ready. Still evaluating on the direction for the defense corp.
– Oilers are anticipating the cap to go up by 4-5 milion next year. Using that cap to sign a couple of wingers to support the centres (McDavid, Draisaitl and Nuge). If I remember the key word was serviceable forwards.
– Drafting. Needs players in the 2 round and later to pan out.
– Yakupov was brought up. Essentially the top draft picks in the that year didn’t really pan out…
Good luck procuring a top-pairing defenseman without trading a massive chunk of the team’s future or one of its main players. That said, do not be surprised if Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ name starts to come up in trade rumors. I know they did this year in connection to Colton Parayko but is Parayko a top-pairing defender?
Serviceable forwards eh? That’s pretty cryptic. Toby Rieder was a serviceable forward this year but he didn’t score any goals. Alex Chiasson was a serviceable forward that scored goals but isn’t a great skater.
If they’re anticipating having only $4M-$5M available to add multiple wingers, I’d say we’re in for another season of H.O.P.E baby! Just because that basically puts them out of the running for the top available players (Panarin, Lee, Dzingel, Ferland, Skinner, Simmonds, Pavelski, Nyquist, Zuccarello). So are they looking at Pat Maroon, Richard Panik, Carl Hagelin, Magnus Paaajarvi on the left side? What about the right wing? Do players like Jordan Eberle, Joonas Donskoi, Brett Connolly, or Brandon Pirri hold any interest?
I would say they’re probably hoping Jesse Puljujarvi takes the next step. They’re hoping Tyler Benson can jump in and contribute next season. They’re hoping that a player like Daniel Carr can be signed for under a million dollars and he does the opposite of Rieder and actually scores goals. I think they’re hoping Chiasson will re-sign on a cheap deal.
Yes, the Oilers need to do better after the 2nd round with their draft picks.
If they’re going to bring up Nail Yakupov, why not do it in the vein of possibly bringing him back? I’m not 100% sure but is he not represented by someone different or is Larionov still his agent?
Head Coach:
– Hitchcock only until the end of the year. Status is unknown
– Next GM to decide who is head coach
– The head coach is critical for free agency to attract players.
Good Christ. Get these old dinosaur coaches outta there. It’s time to bring in someone who can connect with the younger talent in the league and capitalize on that relationship like Jar Woodcroft is in Bakersfield.
Is it too much to assume there’ll be an onus on hiring a head coach whose reputation precedes him? Rocky Thompson is well thought of in the coaching fraternity and if the Oilers hire Kelly McCrimmon, that would make sense right? Thompson coaches Vegas’ farm club in Chicago.
Culture:
– Bob believes that team chemistry is as good as it was two years ago. He admitted the loss of Matt Hendriks was significant to the team culture. However, he compared the recent acquisition of Sam Gagner has significantly helped the locker room and culture. Comparing Gagner similar to Hendriks as veteran leadership.
– Oilers looking to take pressure off McDavid and Draisaitl for next year.
This was a major point of contention yesterday and I love how Jason Strudwick talked about it on the Jason Gregor Show. I’m paraphrasing but basically, he said that it’s not about the stats so much but about the effect that a player has on the club. If one player can come in and bring the club’s performance and attitude up by 1% or 2%, then that’s worth it.
Did you notice vs. STL, Sam Gagner stirring the pot behind the net in the 2nd period? What happened not long after? Zack Kassian got in a spirited scrap with former Oiler and one of my favs, Pat Maroon. Then Edmonton scored a couple of goals.
That’s the kind of magic players like Matt Hendricks works and if you’re still on the fence about it, why would a team like the Winnipeg Jets go out and re-acquire a player like that instead of trading for a more skilled player?
Milan Lucic:
– Lucic was signed to show off that the Oilers was a destination. There were 7-8 teams interested in him and offer more money. Be listed all of the teams such as Vancouver, Montreal, Minnesota and I forgot the rest. Lucic was signed for his offense and to protect McDavid. His lack of offense has affected his leadership. Oilers organization want Lucic to be comfortable in the dressing room.
I think coming to Edmonton has knocked the shit out of Milan Lucic, to be honest. He wasn’t prepared for this fight and it’s been getting to him. Between him and Sekera coming in as premier free agents in their class, that’s a pretty good indication that the club WAS a destination for the top FAs but I’m not so sure now if that’s the case and the team shouldn’t be shopping in that aisle anyhow. They simply don’t have the credit any more, McDavid or not.
Players will not follow a leader if he can’t perform on the ice. Now, that doesn’t just mean goals and assists. It means effort and actual ability to play.
Going back to Matt Hendricks, he wasn’t a great player but boy did he bust his balls when he got his chance. Literally. When Milan plays his game, the one the fans all love, he’s effective and that’s what his teammates want. But if he can’t or doesn’t want to do that on an 82-game basis and that makes him feel uncomfortable in the dressing room, then he should be moved on from.
Old Boys Club:
– Kevin Lowe: Lowe has not been involved in the hockey decisions in the 4 years Nicholson was been with the Oilers. Lowe mainly works with sponsors, alumnis. Chia had the rights to the hockey decisions not Kevin Lowe.
– Wayne Gretzky: Only been at the around arena a couple of times this year and a few road trips.
– MacTavish: His role is to take care of Bakersfield. Look at Bakersfield now…
I have never really believed that Lowe and Gretzky were that influential in the decision making of the team. They’re busy with their own lives. That said, they have been used as sounding boards in the early Chiarelli days. Maybe their opinion was a bit stronger at the end of the 2015/16 season if you know what I mean.
Performance This Year:
– Emphasis on home games… too inconsistent this year. Needs to be better.
One of the greatest things a sports club can have is invincibility in their own castle. But what they require is the support and participation of the fans in attendance. Watch an Edmonton Oilers home game and then watch a Vegas Golden Knights home game… There’s a MASSIVE difference in the quality of “fanning” going on and I do believe that has an effect on the players from both clubs.
Analytics:
– Oilers haven’t really relied on analytics during Bob’s four years. Needs to be a bigger tool for the next GM. Analytics shouldn’t be the main tool but another tool for the Oilers to use. Especially for match ups and trades.
Duh. I think the feeling towards the new GM will be more positive if he/she can come out and cite some advanced metrics with regards to players. Make it a bigger part of the hockey conversation in Edmonton, for better or worse.
Non-Hockey Operations Question (Bob and others answered):
Some lady brought up how the ice girls have mid-drift and the guys wear track suits. Question wasn’t really answered…
Really? I guess this is important to some fans. Personally, I could give two hoots if there were cheerleaders in the stands/concourse or not. They’re not the reason I would be going to watch the game. But maybe the guys should go mid-drift too, I hear big hairy 6-packs are back in style.
Oranges / Blues jerseys:
– We are orange for at least another year and likely the foreseeable future.
– The Adidas agreement means teams have to stick to jerseys for 3 year teams. They can reevaluate after next year if they wanted.
– They wanted something that can unify the team and fans. Aka Calgary’s sea of red. The blue didn’t help. Orange it is and also fan support during the playoffs.
– New 3rd jersey confirmed in the works!
– Admits there’s a split in the fans regarding orange or blue primary jerseys
I love how the dark blue Condors jerseys look and I foresee that scheme making its way into Edmonton at some point. As for a new 3rd uni… Maybe a return to the Todd McFarlane jerseys would be fun.
At the end of the day, the team needs to add skill and speed AS WELL AS character. Culture is something that can’t be brought in. It has to be… Bear with me… Cultivated!
What do you think about these words from Bob Nicholson? Let me know in the comments below!
