Oilers’ Player Grades At 20 Games

The Oilers are now at the 20-game mark of the 2014-15 season. At each interval, I will assign grades to each player who has played at least 1 of those 10 games, using the following key:

A = Exceeding Expectations

B = Meets Expectations

C = Below Expectations

D = Immediate Improvement Required

F = Demotion Imminent

GAMES 11-20

DEFENCE:

Jeff Petry. A-. Do you suppose Craig MacTavish decided to give both Petry and Justin Schultz short-term deals, and wait until January to re-sign one, and trade the other? That’s plausible, and Jeff Petry is doing a very good impression of a “real” NHL defenceman. His detractors need to look closer.

Mark Fayne. B. As advertised. Game #1 is a feint memory, now, as Fayne has been very steady back there, on most shifts, on most nights. I’m confident that this was a very good signing by MacT, and feel comfortable with him on the ice against stiff competition, in tough situations. Lucky to have him.

Andrew Ference. B-. Ference has recovered satisfactorily from injury, and has been reliable on the back-end, the past 10 games. He has also displayed more of his characteristic grit.  It is a problem for the club, however, that Ference has been (with respect) one of the club’s best defencemen on some nights.  Served 3-game suspension.

Keith Aulie. B-. Really, he was only the victim of one, Grade-A mistake, and that was in the last Vancouver game. Otherwise, Aulie has responded to the promotion with a performance worthy of a 7th NHL defenceman. Only that’s what he is, and if Dallas Eakins is counting on him for more than that, he’s in trouble.

Martin Marincin. C+. Marincin was pretty good in Game #20, but if we counted on him to be a regular Top-6 D-pairing this season, then surely what he has done to date has been below expectations. It would appear he has played himself back into the lineup, so the arrows may be edging upwards.

Nikita Nikitin. C-. I was convinced that Nikitin’s injuries were bothering him, and hampering his play, but he appeared to be a healthy benching in the 3rd Period of Game #20. The Oilers desperately need this veteran to perform reasonably close to expectations, if they are to have a hope of pulling out of this tailspin.

Justin Schultz. D. This kid looked so poised in Training Camp, and appeared to have taken real, positive steps in the early going. But then the wheels absolutely came off in the last couple of games, to the point where he seriously needs to watch a game (or two) from the press box. Arrows pointing down, very concerning.

Oscar Klefbom. D-. Perhaps a harsh mark, as it was the right thing to send Klefbom down and let him play big minutes for the Barons. But in a very small NHL sample, he did not look ready. Why rush him? Unless he’s in your Top-6, he should stay in the AHL and ripen there. Arrows remain flat for the time being.

Brad Hunt. F. I’m not so sure we’ve seen the last of Hunt, given how well he is playing in OKC. But for now, he deserved the demotion, and it remains to be seen if he’ll be back. His lack of an extra gear doesn’t bother me, but his defensive shortcomings do. Oh, for that shot on the PP, though!

FORWARDS:

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. A-. Game-in, game-out, Nuge has been the Oilers very best player in Games 11-20. Despite this recent skid, he has demonstrated serious growth in his game, and is in the process of taking the next step. Even on his occasional bad night (more like the occasional bad shift), he is merely average.

Boyd Gordon. A-. I have a hard time imagining the coaching staff asking for more out of Gordon. What a horse this guy is, brilliant in the faceoff circle, dogged along the boards, smart in his D-zone play, and damned determined. You would think his example would rub off on a few more players than it has.

Matt Hendricks. B+. I could almost copy-and-paste the paragraph above for Matt Hendricks, who never takes a shift off, and to my eye routinely plays above what most thought the Oilers were getting than when they acquired him. An absolute gamer, excellent penalty killer, and tough as nails.

Taylor Hall. B+. A little hard to mark him much higher, as the injury took time away, and to my eye he is a half-step off of the pace with which he was playing prior to that. He’s still a star, but the last few games, he has been unable to hoist the entire team on his back, and has been “mortal”.

Benoit Pouliot. B. It’s a shame he broke his foot Friday night, as I had only recently begun to see the player the Oilers thought perhaps they were getting. Losing him hurts your flexibility in shuffling lines, but also hurts the PK, as he and Nugent-Hopkins were a steady & dangerous 2nd pairing.

Steve Pinizzotto. B. The difference between Pinizzotto and Will Acton is primarily that Pinizzotto is an AHL player who has come in and exceeded expectations. I think he’ll stick around for a while, if for no other reason than that he clearly gives a damn. That’s an ingredient the Oilers sorely need.

Leon Draisaitl. B-. I see progress in his game, albeit subtle at times. With any puck luck at all, he would have a couple more goals. And he continues to make smart, calm little plays in his own zone, and sees the ice very well. I can’t pretend to have predicted Draisaitl playing with Hall, but it may be a “thing”.

Jesse Joensuu. B-. 4th line players will sometimes get subbed out because they are 4th line players, not because they necessarily under-performed. That is the case with Joensuu, who has been better than serviceable. I imagine with Pouliot out indefinitely, Joensuu draws back in and stays in so long as he performs.

Iiro Pakarinen. B-. Exceeded expectations, albeit in a limited role. I have to think that he will be back up, perhaps as soon as this weekend, with Pouliot’s roster spot open. Appears to possess a useful 3rd Line level of grit, speed, and touch around the net. Full marks for his first impression.

Jordan Eberle. C+. I’m an Eberle fan. But I am seeing him lose more battles along the boards than I remember from other years. You would expect that with man-strength would come greater success in that area. Eberle has been “fine”, but except for one game has not set the world on fire. Somewhat concerned.

David Perron. C. Who thought 20 games in that David Perron would have a shooting percentage of 2%? I have begun to think that the hip injury took more from Perron’s game than anticipated, and his resulting lack of conditioning has been costly. The guy has game, but the results are slight. Better lately.

Teddy Purcell. C. Purcell may have scored a shade higher, but consistency seems to be his nemesis. Adept with the puck, a crisp passer and possessing a decent shot, he alternatively looks like an effective NHL-er or an average one. Average is not bad, but the Oilers need him to be good, more.

Nail Yakupov. C. A far better version of Nail Yakupov than last year, however he has precious few results to show for it. I think Yak suffers from an acute case of “center-itis”: Lack of a real NHL centerman as a line-mate. Much better on Defence, but at the same time, he’s a shooter lacking confidence in that end of the rink…which is his bread & butter.

Mark Arcobello. C-. The longer I watch Arcobello, the more I believe that he is too good for the AHL, but not quite good enough to be a difference maker in the NHL. He has been “fine” (decent defensively), but on a team where pivot is weak, the team needs better than “fine”. Ceiling limited.

Will Acton. F. Now in the Canucks system, I could never fault Acton Jr.’s effort, but he was an AHL player cast in an NHL role. I guess he was O.K. as 13th forward, but at some point, your 13th player has to actually play, and not just eat popcorn. Good luck in Utica, young man.

GOALTENDING:

Ben Scrivens. C+. Scrivens has been decent at times, but too often has not come up with the big save when his team really needed it, and has looked like an Ice Capades act a little too often for my tastes. I would have hoped that one of these goalies would have grabbed the brass ring by now.

Viktor Fasth. C. Not entirely deserving of this mark, due to injuries, but nor has he been measurably better that Scrivens when he has played. Like his counterpart, he has yet to make the case that he is anything more than quite a good NHL back-up goaltender. And they need him to be more.