Edmonton Oilers: Sunday Ramblings With Kris Hansen
By Kris Hansen
Hello everyone, I am introducing hopefully a new series where I talk about the week that was with the Edmonton Oilers and give my two cents for each part.
It’s not a news show and tell but inspired by various sources that I have read. It’s a combination of what I’ve watched on the streams or on TV, activity on twitter and blog posts. Mostly inspired from Elliot Friedman’s 30 thoughts (although I do not have that many thoughts).
Injuries and Movement
I’d like to take full credit for Nikita Nikitin being put on waivers yesterday morning. Kidding aside, I think this is a great move. On Thursday night after the 5-2 loss to Vancouver, I posted a flaming article that targetted the blue liner. I stand by what I said in the article: Nikitin was an embarrassment to the Oilers logo and played with the urgency of a lethargic slug. His conditioning was pathetic and when you are a professional athlete competing for a spot, it’s unacceptable. Management made the right move however I do have some concerns if he plays in Bakersfield. I would rather not have him be taking up any playing time from any of our developing prospects. As Kurt pointed out here , maybe the KHL would be a likely route for him. I hope so.
The Jordan Eberle Injury is a mixed bag. He was our leading point scorer last season and losing your top producer will hurt the team. That said, I do not think the Oilers are in such terrible shape. The RW is actually deep enough with Yakupov and Purcell as our veterans but also with the additions of Draisaitl and Slepyshev. However, I think Slepy works better on the left wing and Leon on the right. Both have had outstanding pre seasons but I do worry about the lack of experience will come to haunt the Oilers.
On a positive note, Purcell looked mighty fine with Nugent-Hopkins and Pouliot. Maybe there’s a line in the making over there.
Players and Games
The Oilers played three games this week: a 4-0 win over Arizona, a 5-2 loss over Vancouver and a 3-2 OT loss against Vancouver last night.
There were several players that jumped out at me for better or for worse:
There is a lot to like about Slepyshev’s game though: He’s big, has a heavy, hard shot and is rarely out of position in the offensive zone. He’s already played some hockey professionally
Anton Lander: has had a great pre-season, although I thought he was to blame for the first Vancouver goal last night. He scored a hat trick against Arizona and has looked like a player with Yakupov and Draisaitl. He’s finally becoming that bottom six player that the Oilers have needed for awhile. Still, I thought he looked a tad slow last night.
Nail Yakupov: He’s an odd one. There’s some puzzlement to why he was playing on the third line but I think it’s pretty easy to spot: Purcell was a better fit and Slepy has had a killer pre season. That said, there are times where he looks like the best player on the ice. I know there’s plenty that want Nail to get a fair shake but give it time.
Anton Slepyshev: He’s only 21 and he’s looking like a player, although I think he makes the team I’m not sure if he will finish the year with the Oilers. There have been past instances where a player looks lights out in pre-season and suddenly disappears in the season. There is a lot to like about Slepyshev’s game though: He’s big, has a heavy, hard shot and is rarely out of position in the offensive zone. He’s already played some hockey professionally. Still, he’s 21 and I expect some growing pains. I think with the Eberle injury, Slepy has the most opportunity given to him and he’s ready to take it.
Griffin Reinhart: He’s another player that is going to be controversial and he’s going to be a player I will be defending lots this season. He looked Average to Alright last night with Gryba. I think Gryba is the problem with the pairing: he handles the puck very poorly and does not have a great pass. Reinhart has stood out for me and I think he plays on the third pairing but I already with he had a better partner. Who knows, maybe Gryba gets better.
Andrew Ference: Jason Gregor mentioned in a blog post, that it was Ference who approached management and his teammates about the captaincy. Ference is a great guy in the locker room and there’s no doubt about that and he’s a great community guy. Look at the Spider-Mable stuff. It’s great what he’s done. On the ice, there’s the grim realization that he will not be playing as much as he used to. If Ference was 4-5 years younger, he would of been a great fit on the ice. It’s too bad.
Ben Scrivens: Was put on Waivers this morning. I won’t get into it too much, but Anders Nilsson out played him completely. There were some games where Scrivens looked good, but Nilsson was pretty much perfect. Hard decision for management and Scrivens for all purposes is a great guy. I wish him the best and I hope somebody claims him.
Brandon Davidson: Is probably our 7th Defenceman but he did not look great in my eyes this pre season. That said, he’s played better than Nikitin and Ference but that is not saying too much. They looked very poor this pre season.
Justin Schultz: Has had an amazing pre season. He’s been our best defenceman hands down. He plays with a sense of urgency and is playing like a completely new player. I think a lot of people were not expecting that and are hoping it continues. He’s been great this pre season. He even wore the A last night against Vancouver.
Cam Talbot: Played a very good game last night and that’s the Talbot I suspect we will see more of. The two goals against I cannot say where really his fault: Lander blew an assignment on Horvat and the second one was flat out unlucky. He’s our number one goalie and I really hope people do not run him out of town. I’ve written about him a couple of times and I’m a firm believer that he will do well in Edmonton.
Andrej Sekera: My top free agent I wanted the Oilers to acquire, he has looked “alright” in pre season. He had some turnovers last night and I was listening to a post game show and some texters were saying he was crumbling already due to the pressure. I guess the texter failed to note that he’s played top pairing minutes before in Carolina and that it’s pre season hockey.