Which Training Camp Battle Will be the Most Intense, LW or G?

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Oil on Whyte

5 Things To Watch This Preseason

The Rookies – This list will include the first-round picks Xavier Bourgault (2021) and Philip Broberg (2019). 2020 first-round pick Dylan Holloway and 2017 pick Dmitri Samorukov may not be skating due to lingering injuries per Postmedia’s Jim Matheson.
The New Guys – Hopefully, in the preseason we will get to see Zach Hyman play lots of time with Connor McDavid. Hyman was Holland’s biggest offseason addition. The preseason is a good time for those Hyman and McDavid to feel out each other rhythms and build some chemistry.
Bottom Six Battles – Warren Foegele, will increase the skill in the bottom six. This along with the signing of Derek Ryan will cause more battles for lineup space in the bottom six. There will be no more having to choose between struggling players to put in the lineup this year.
The Goalies – I believe Mike Smith will be going into the season as the Edmonton Oilers starter. This means he need to have good start to in the preseason. This doesn’t mean the Mikko Koskinen can take it easy. With the age of Smith, I believe that Koskinen could be getting quite a few starts throughout the season. We should also get some Alex Stalock action in preseason as well.
Connor McDavid – I don’t see him getting in many games, as they still are just preseason games, but I hope he does. He needs to work on building chemistry with Zach Hyman and needs to be on point this year if the Edmonton Oilers want to make a run at the Stanley Cup.

BLH’s Thoughts: Is anybody else wondering if Xavier Bourgault will get an extended look in the event that Kailer Yamamoto isn’t signed by the time the puck drops for game one of the 2021-22 season?

A battle worth keeping an eye on is Tyler Benson vs. Devin Shore vs. Brendan Perlini. Aside from the three goalies going head-to-head-to-head for a spot on the Oilers opening night lineup, the competition for the 4th line LW should be fierce.

Lowetide.ca

WHAT DOES REASONABLE LOOK LIKE IN BAKERSFIELD?

One of the things a team that has so many older players will need is replacements, possibly early and often often. Do the Oilers have a full parts department at the Bakersfield plant? Let’s have a look at what things once looked like and then how they look now.

G Stuart Skinner (22): Solidifying his status as a legit AHL goalie with NHL potential.
G Ilya Konovalov (23): He should emerge as the AHL starter and be the first recall.
G Olivier Rodrigue (21): A strong ECHL season and quality play if he gets AHL time.
LD Dmitri Samorukov (22): Dominating shutdown play, same as last season.
RD Filip Berglund (24): Solid two-way play in the AHL with good offense.
LD Philip Broberg (20): Deliver in all areas, impress with skill set.
LD William Lagesson (25): A shutdown and mentor role and lots of PK minutes.
RD Phil Kemp (22): More of his solid play, calm feet and good coverage.
LD Markus Niemelainen (23): More of the same things we saw in Bakersfield.
RD Mike Kesselring (21): He should grab a regular job and post solid numbers.
RD Vincent Desharnais (25): AHL contract, he’ll play top-four much of the year.
LD Yanni Kaldis: AHL contract, undersized, he is effective in support role.
LC Dylan Holloway (20): A healthy year, point-per-game if he is at 100 percent.
LC Ryan McLeod (21): Most of the year in the NHL.
LC Tim Soderlund (23): Support role, penalty kill. I don’t see him as a feature player.
LW Tyler Benson (23): If he’s in Bakersfield, he is an impact player and forcing a recall.
LW Raphael Lavoie (21): 20+ goals and an enormous shot total.
LW Brendan Perlini (25): If he’s in the AHL, Perlini should be one of the top scorers.
LW Ostap Safin (22): A healthy season, 12-15 goals.
LW James Hamblin (22): AHL contract, he can score and has utility.
RW Cooper Marody (24): Productive scorer, same pressure to get a recall as Benson.
RW Kirill Maksimov (22): A feature role, points-game around .65-.70
RW Seth Griffith (28): Pure offense and power-play production, mentor the prospects.

How many Oilers will be recalled from this assumed list? One of the goalies, Samorukov and or Broberg, McLeod, Benson, Marody, Perlini, maybe Lavoie? McLeod may spend the entire season in Edmonton and he’s the only center, so it’s a stretch from here.

BLH’s Thoughts: If you’ve been listening to Oilers talk radio this week, you’ll know that it’s starting to sound as if Holloway will have a second surgery on the scaphoid bone in his wrist that hasn’t healed correctly I guess. So he won’t be ready for hockey until around December/January depending on the recovery process.

The reason I bring him up is that I think that Edmonton’s depth at center is probably the shallowest amongst all of the organizational positions. If two pivots go down with injury or are suspended, who’s getting called up?

NHLTradeRumors.me

San Jose Sharks Set Price for Tomas Hertl Trade

According to Kevin Kurz of The Athletic, the price tag is a first-round pick and a top prospect if you want to get the Sharks attention.
One team to watch…the Boston Bruins. These two teams could construct a deal before puck drops on opening night.

“Along with a first-round pick, they would have to get at least one potential high-end prospect in return, too, and preferably someone who could play NHL games ahead of or along the same timeline as guys like William Eklund, Thomas Bordeleau and some of the other prospects who are around 19 or 20 years old (in other words, probably two years away). In a perfect world that player is probably a center, but considering Ryan Merkley’s declining stock and Brent Burns’ advancing age, a defenseman might be just as welcomed.”

Jets’ Dubois Opens Up About Trade Demand Out of Columbus

Dubois was a guest on the 31 Thoughts Podcast and according to Sportsnet’s Luke Fox and had this to say about the drama that wore him down from the deal:

“For me, the hard part was when I got traded, it was the people kinda putting words in my mouth, like why he wants out. These are people that have never met me, that have no idea who I am, have probably never even done an interview with me. It was kind of tough to deal with that. It was hard on my parents, to be honest. For my mom to see stuff like that, it was tough on her. That was a very hard part in my life, and I went through it, and I’m still alive. There’s worse things that can happen.

You know, the organization did so many good things for me. They drafted me third overall when nobody thought I’d go third overall. They gave me a chance. So, I don’t know why I’d go out there and say bad things or say things that I might regret later on. I didn’t think anybody there deserved that – the staff, the players, the fans. I thought that maybe saying less would annoy people and make people mad, but down the line, I think that’s the best way to be respectful.”

New Jersey Devils: 2 Trade Rumors Following the Team

There’s been multiple reports about Subban being shipped out of New Jersey and when you’re a right-handed shooting defenseman on the final year of your contract, it makes total sense.
Rumors have the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs as two teams who have kicked tires and look for the New York Rangers and Seattle Kraken to also be interested.

Offers Keep Coming in for Miles Wood

Rumor has several teams interested in acquiring Wood, who is a pesky forward with size, who can skate like the wind and is coming into his own offensively.
Teams to look out for are the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche.