By The Numbers – #14 Jordan Eberle

Moving on through the teens, we’re now at #14 Jordan Eberle.

NAME: Jordan Eberle

SWEATER NUMBER: 14

DOB: 15 MAY 1990 (21 on Sunday)

POSITION: Wing

NUMBERS:  18G-25A-43PTS,  in 69 GP

2010-11 SALARY/CONTRACT: $875,000 (+$312,000 in bonus), becomes RFA on July 1, 2013

THE SKINNY

To anyone who doesn’t faithfully follow the Oilers, if you mention “Jordan Eberle”, you might get a response about a particular goal scored in last year’s home opener versus Calgary.

Who am I kidding?  It was a brilliant goal.  Let’s watch it again.

Jordan Eberle was was Edmonton’s first pick (22nd overall) in the 2008 Entry draft.  After some pretty hefty heroics with the Canadian Junior squad, he rode into Edmonton with some pretty high expectations on his shoulders.  His numbers with the Regina Pats were phenomenal, and he was a point per gamer in his short time with Springfield in the AHL.  The jump to the NHL was almost certain, and there was that goal versus Calgary that you just saw.

Fair or not, expectations for Eberle have been set rather high. Maybe not Taylor Hall on the Moon high, but pretty high.  Eberle’s 43 points led the injury maligned Oilers in 2010-11. Eberle likely would have had closer to fifty had he not suffered a sprained ankle around New Year’s, costing him near 15% of his season.

SO TELL ME ABOUT 2011-12 WHEN HE POPS OFF FOR 85 POINTS

Not quite yet.  Eberle has shown that he’s able to play in almost any game situation.  I don’t think we can question his shorthanded abilities after his highlight reel goal versus Calgary, but he’s never a liability when he’s on the ice in any other situation.  He’s a fixture in my top six come October,  he’s a fixture on the powerplay, and with a little bit more seasoning, he can probably fix the leak in Rexall’s roof.  This is a guy where ten more games played could easily mean ten more points on his final point total.

I don’t think that 2011-12 will be a year where the lid pops off, but I’d expect him to accustom himself to the league a bit more and continue his forward progress.

54 points over 82 games. 22G-32A

Next Player: #16 Colin Fraser

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