Edmonton Oilers: Center Depth Then and Now
Seems like just yesterday that the Oilers were heading into training camp and Dallas Eakins stated that he only had two NHL-calbire centermen. While such a statement was a little too brutally honest for my liking, he wasn’t wrong. The Oilers’ management entered that 2014-15 season with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Boyd Gordon as the only bonafide NHL-calbire players down the middle, leaving Eakins with a handful of prospects (Leon Draisaitl, Anton Lander, Bogdan Yakimov) and some older, perhaps borderline NHL players (Mark Arcobello, Will Acton) to chose from for the other two spots. So, how does the Oilers’ center depth compare a year later in the 2015-16 training camp?
Let’s start with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
I think I was better at finding the balance between the offensive side and the defensive side [last season]. If you worry too much about one or the other, it hurts the other one… if you play more solid at both ends of the rink, it creates more offence for everyone, and I started to find that last year. – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (via Sportsnet)
Despite only being 22-years-old, Nugent-Hopkins is really starting to make a name for himself around the league as a #1 center. By that, I don’t simply mean a team’s first-line center. What I mean, however, is a center who embodies that golden 200-foot game we always hear about, while still contributing at rates expected and required of a top-six role. The 2013-14 season was the first season I really noticed Nugent-Hopkins’ particular dedication to the defensive side of the game, which I then saw follow over into this past 2014-15 season.
Through these two seasons, he has itched all the clichés of a sound defence into his game – that is, being the first one back, supporting down low, having your man covered, and so on. He is, in other words, a third defensemen in the defensive zone. But what separated this season from the last was Nugent-Hopkins’ offensive game. As Sportsnet’s Mark Spector pointed out, though accumulating 56 points for the second year in a row, 41 of the 56 scored this year were done so while playing on even-strength; five points behind Jonathon Toews, one point ahead of Anže Kopitar, and two points ahead of Patrice Bergeron. Nugent-Hopkins was also second in the NHL for ice-time minutes per night, managing a whopping 20:38. So it’s clear Nugent-Hopkins is making huge strides towards being an elite and complete NHL centermen. It’s been really exciting to watch a young, offensively skilled rookie take steps towards a more mature and fully developed game. After all, Nugent-Hopkins did top the 2011 NHL draft year with his elite play-making ability, vision, and offensive game at the forefront.
And speaking of elite…
Jul 2, 2015; Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; NHL draft number one pick Connor McDavid takes part in the Edmonton Oilers rookie camp at the Rexall Center. Mandatory Credit: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports
Enter Connor McDavid, who, according to the general NHL scouting community, is better than Sidney Crosby when he was McDavid’s age. Whether it’s from TSN hockey analyst Ray Ferraro, from hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, or from two-time Maurice “Rocket” Richard trophy winner Steven Stamkos, there is a consensus around the hockey world that McDavid is ready for the NHL.
But with all the losing the team and the fans have endured over the past five or so years, some fans err on the side of caution when it comes to setting expectations for McDavid. These fans, only trying to avoid more heart break, argue that the 18-year-old will need some time to settle in to the NHL, as most rookie centermen do. They point to the Montrèal Canadiens and Alex Galchenyuk, or the Colorado Avalenche and Nathan MacKinnon, and urge the Edmonton Oilers to start the rookie’s season on the wing instead of center.
While I strongly disagree, I understand, mainly because I myself can barely comprehend all the incredible scouting reports, statistics, and comparable NHL players behind McDavid’s name. His reputation, quite frankly, is elite across-the-board. So we’re not talking about a regular 18-year-old here. We’re talking about an 18-year-old that Gretzky calls the greatest prospect in 30 years. An 18-year-old that Stamkos claims is better than him right now at 25. And Nugent-Hopkins, a fellow 1st overall pick who made his own debut in 2011, agrees too, stating that “…he does everything at top speed. One of the biggest adjustments coming into this league is just how little time you have with the puck. You’ve got to do everything at top speed. He already does that so well.”
When there’s this much smoke, there’s gotta be a fire.
So to me, starting McDavid on the 2nd line is perfect. He’ll still be insulated with skilled wingers (something the Oilers’ top-six is jam-packed with) while generally facing opposing teams’ 2nd offence lines and 2nd defence pairs. No problem.
Next up: Anton Lander. Finally.
Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Anton Lander pulled the hockey version of the American Dream this past year. Sent down to the AHL in early October, it seemed as if Lander had officially reached a brick-wall in his development… then he was recalled back up to the NHL in late December and finished with 20 points in just under half a season played – a 40 point pace in 82 games. By the end of the season, he made a reputation for himself as a solid two-way center, a bit of a face-off specialist (finished at 50.1%), a net-front presence on the power play, and by all accounts, a real leader on and off the ice. So what changed?
Well, Todd Nelson took over as coach. Coming from the Oilers’ AHL team, the OKC Barons, Nelson knew all there was to know about Lander; the player’s personality, personal expectations, and ability. In other words, Nelson knew what the player was made of and how to properly deploy him – and that’s what he did. Lander’s ice-time rose to an average of 15 minutes a night, with a fair share of 20 minute nights sprinkled in here and there.
And as Edmonton Journal’s Bruce McCurdy astutely pointed out, Lander is built with character: he wore an ‘A’ in both his seasons in the SHL as an 18-and-19-year-old (rare for such ages), was a captain for Sweden’s U-18 team, was both an alternate (at age 18) and a captain (at age 19) of the Swedish entry into the World Juniors, and then was the captain of the OKC Barons in the AHL at age 22.
McCurdy follows by saying, “while character and leadership are admittedly nebulous things almost impossible to quantify, I’ll take a string of C’s and A’s as strong evidence that it is there, and that it’s positive.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Suddenly the Oilers are looking at the ideal 3rd line center – one who is young, gritty, defensively responsible while offensively capable, versatile, and, to top it all off, a natural leader. Oh, and he just signed a two-year deal that will pay him $925K in 2015-16, and $1.05M in 2016-17.
And last but not least, we have the recent addition of Mark Letestu.
Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
I was not too familiar with Mark Letestu when the Oilers signed him as a free-agent this off-season. But after reading up on his NHL career and reputation as a player, I quickly got the impression that Letestu will be an upgrade from Gordon as the 4th line center.
And while Gordon is one of those beloved players who gives you all he’s got on a nightly basis, his ability to contribute to the team is almost exclusively on the defensive end of things. And hey, that’s something of value, especially on a team like the Oilers whose team-defence is their death certificate. But when you see an opportunity to improve the team with little risk, you gotta act on it… especially when you just finished the year in 28th place.
So what will Letestu bring to the 4th line? Well, in his own words, “I think versatility is one of my biggest assets… I have the ability to play up in the lineup and provide some offence. But the majority of my role will be a stabilizing force in the bottom-six who provides some energy and goal scoring and support on special teams.”
On the power play, he offers three strengths: his ability to win face-offs (52.9% this past year; has never finished below 50% in his career), his cannon of a shot from the point, and his coverage in front of the opposing team’s net. Though he does have more experience on the penalty kill, as David Staples noted, having spent more short-handed time-on-ice than any other Columbus Blue Jacket forward last season. Staples also found that Letestu produced 1.22 points per 60 even-strength minutes last year, compared to Gordon who had 0.85.
Overall, it seems like Letestu adds a degree of depth to the team, able to keep up in spots higher up in the line-up and prove effective on special teams. While not necessarily the most significant upgrade, it is nevertheless an upgrade. In terms of versatility, having a 4th line center who can fill in as a winger, be effective on the power play, be relied on to kill penalties, and manage just fine on even-strength in point-production is a great thing to have.
So, that’s my perspective on the Oilers’ center depth as of the 2015-16 training camp.
Mandatory Credit: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports
Last year we entered the season with a young player taking steps towards becoming a #1 center, a grizzled veteran who was limited to a defensive game, and two question marks down the middle for the 2nd and 3rd lines.
This year, we enter the season with a young player who is at the very doorstep of being an elite center, a franchise-changing prospect sent down by the Hockey Gods with seemingly every imaginable tool in his arsenal, an ideal 3rd line center with the perfect mix of ability, and a vet who can do a little bit of everything. There is also a skilled 210 pound German center with another year of experience in the Juniors under his belt (and trophies in his showcase) knocking at the NHL’s door.