“The Edmonton Oilers Have Been Looking for this Player for 15 Years!” Exclaims One Pundit

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 Athletic (Mitchell)

Lowetide: Did the Oilers find the new Fernando Pisani when signing Derek Ryan?

Ryan displays a range of skills, including efficient offensive numbers at five-on-five, strong faceoff success and impressive penalty-killing ability.
I believe Ryan could be the much sought after third-line forward who can help the team outscore opponents at five-on-five while also mentoring young forwards as they arrive in the NHL and find their way.
The Oilers have been looking for just that player since Fernando Pisani patrolled right wing for Edmonton 15 years ago and helped develop youngsters like Jarret Stoll and Raffi Torres into productive NHL players.
At five-on-five, his points per 60 (1.91), shot differential (58 percent) and goal differential (62 percent) are exceptional.
His faceoff percentage last year (52 percent) is a positive although shy of his career average (55 percent).
On the penalty kill, his shots-against per 60 (41.12) ranks No. 20 among forwards who spent 50 or more minutes in the discipline during 2020-21.
His goals-against per 60 on the PK (5.53) ranked No. 47 among qualifying forwards via Natural Stat Trick.
Ryan made his NHL debut on March 1, 2016 — he was 29.
Pisani was also older when he played his first game in the league at 26.
In both cases, as rookies, Ryan and Pisani played on lines with fellow rookies who were much younger.
If he can mentor young forwards like Kailer Yamamoto, Jesse Puljujarvi, Ryan McLeod, Tyler Benson and Dylan Holloway while doing it, Ryan will be the first man in an Oilers uniform to fill the Pisani role since the man himself.

BLH’s Thoughts: I love a good story and the story of Derek Ryan is a fantastic one for young hockey players everywhere. I hope that he can fulfill the gigantic shoes left by Fernando Pisani all those years ago and become a cult hero for Oilers fans. It’s been a long time since we had one of those…

That said, he’s got to perform. If he doesn’t, the young players will lose faith in him and all that mentorship talk won’t be worth much… Just ask any veteran who was on the Oilers in the Hall/Eberle era…

The Cult of Hockey (McCurdy)

Edmonton Oilers netminding prospect Ilya Konovalov faces tall odds to make the modern NHL

Enter Ilya Konovalov, who at just 5’11 is a throwback to another era. Specifically, the 20th Century. Can he find his way in the 21st?
The percentage of goalies under 6 feet tall has nose-dived from 63% in the ’80s and ’90s to just 10% in the current century.
Let’s take one last step forward to 2021, in which 98 goalies saw NHL action. Among them, just three stood under 6′ tall, all of them the same 5’11 as Konovalov. All are fine goalies including Anton Khudobin and Jaroslav Halak, both now 35+ and nearing the end of the line. The last of a dying breed?
The third guy on the, ahem, short list is closer to a contemporary for Konovalov. Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators has himself beaten tall odds to make it in The Show.
Expectations for 2020-21: A short period of adjustment to the narrow ice and different flow of the North American game while also acclimating to a new language and culture. But his primary job remains the same as it ever was — stop the puck. Reasonable to think he will get a regular opportunity to do just that in Bakersfield. If he can maintain a save percentage close to the 92% range in yet another league, notice will have been served.

“Konovalov basically has all the tools except size, which isn’t his fault, without any of them particularly standing out. He’s quite athletic although he does not play a really “acrobatic” style. He deals with the angles well and has good reflexes. I would say that his main strength is that he has few, if any, bad habits…” – Patrick Conway (Conway’s Russian Hockey

BLH’s Thoughts: After reading Mr. McCurdy’s full post where he tosses in some fine statistical research regarding shorter goalies and their success from year’s past, my hopes are high for Konovalov.

I’m a big proponent of players who buck the odds and the netminders have been getting taller, thicker, and more boring for years. It would be a lot of fun to see a shorter more electrifying goalie have some success, wouldn’t it? I mean would you rather watch Andrei Vasilevskiy or Dominik Hasek?

Bring back the entertaining goalie!!!

The Daily Goal Horn

On David Krejci and Tuukka Rask

David Krejci went into “retirement” by heading home to play hockey in the Czech Republic. Bruins GM Don Sweeney told the media that Krejci can comeback any time he likes, calling it an “open-ended” situation.

“I will be staying with Olomuoc all season.” The 35 year-old pivot noted he will honor his one year deal and that “returning to Boston in the spring is definitely not in my plans.”

Rask is currently doing well as he recovers from hip surgery. He is expected to be out for the next five to six months as he rehabs in preparation to return. The UFA has only one place he wants to be.

“I’ve been so lucky to be part of only one team in the NHL, and for me it’s about that,” Rask told Greg Hill. “I have no reason to chase the money anymore. I feel the Bruins is my home and Boston is my home, and I want to stay here.”

On Evgeny Kuznetsov

The Seattle Kraken currently have Alex Wennberg as their number one center, and need to upgrade at the position. It been rumored that GM Ron Francis has been talking with teams about trying to acquire more centers. At one point there was talks of them trying to trade for Ryan Strome, however there also rumblings regarding Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov.

“He’s a good player, we like the player and I don’t know, we’ve never said we’re trading Kuznetsov. I said we’re open to discussions with most of our players for the trade market,” he said. “It’s never been, we are moving Kuznetsov.”