Edmonton Oilers Player Grades from Games 21-30

The Edmonton Oilers are now at the 30-game mark of the 2014-15 season. At each 10-game interval, I will assign grades to each player who has played at least 1 of those games, using the following key:

A = Exceeding Expectations
B = Meets Expectations
C = Below Expectations
D = Immediate Improvement Required
F = Demotion Imminent

GAMES 21-30

DEFENCE

Mark Fayne. A. The free-agent signing is the only defenceman on the Oilers that, when the opposition is attacking against them, I don’t wince and expect the worst. Fayne has been such a calming influence back there, one shudders to think how much worse this train-wreck could have been and would have been without Fayne on the ice. Much deserving of the 20+ minutes of TOI he is now getting, per night.

Jeff Petry. B. If you want to pick the biggest off-season personnel miss for Craig MacTavish, Petry’s 1-year contract has to rate right up there. As Petry matures, his 5-alarm mistakes have become fewer and fewer. He has been much more physical and is lugging the puck quite well. The real problem now is that surely Petry wants to become a UFA. Sigh.

Oscar Klefbom. B. The youngster has come on strong the last few games, sometimes leading the D-core in TOI, and displaying a cool, calm first pass out of the zone. His size and strength are affective in breaking up cycles, and his quickness back to the puck in his own end is a little surprising. Has very quickly started to look like a “real” NHL D-man most nights.

Brandon Davidson. B-. Remember, these grades are based on pre-season expectations, and no one I know even expected the kid to be on the roster this season, period. But he has come in and played exactly as advertised, steady and safe in his own zone. He has not displayed much else, but on this team in its current state, Davidson will keep earning starts.

Andrew Ference. C+. When the Captain gets reasonable TOI and adequate rest, he is an above-average NHL defender. But when the coach has to lean on him too much, it shows in his 35 year old legs. At this point in the season and considering the Oilers standings, there’s no reason to play him more than 18 minutes a night, which is about right for Ference.

Keith Aulie. C. This grade is perhaps a touch harsh, but if expectations were for Aulie to be a 6-7 defenceman, then he is at least close to delivering on that. He is a useful enough player to have on the roster, which is faint praise: Even on a good night, Aulie neither wins nor loses games for you. In short, he is the very description of the kind of player Craig MacTavish didn’t want.

Nikita Nikitin. D+. To date, this signing has been an absolute failure. Now on the IR, it will be interesting to see how the big Russian fares once he is finally healthy. Some may forget that Nikitin was dinged up before the season even started, so it’s debatable if we have yet to see the real Nikki. You can see he has tools. But until such time as he proves it…a D+ it is.

Justin Schultz. D-. What a tire fire this once promising young player is turning out to be. Good god. One theory out there was that his ice-time was just too much to handle. Well, with his ice-time now reduced, he still isn’t making any fewer mistakes relative to his TOI. Except that he would not clear waivers, I’d be damn temped to send him to OKC. A shame.

Martin Marincin. F. Some of you will be all fired up over this grade, but the fact remains…Marincin has not stuck on the NHL roster. If that isn’t a fail, then I don’t know what is. At some point this season he will be back, but for now, I suggest the best place for him is on the Barons, playing upwards of 25 minutes a night.

FORWARDS

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. A-. The Nuge has consistently been the Oilers best player all season long, perhaps the only real bright spot on the entire club at this point. Indeed, I have even begin to wonder whether he is in fact the Oilers best player, period. Is he worth the price of admission? Well, on some nights, he is the only one, yes. Looks like a “real #1 center”.

Boyd Gordon. A-. If anyone was blind enough to miss how important this player was to the team up until now, then surely the games he has missed due to injury have told the tale. The Oilers are a much, much, much poorer possession team when this guy is not on the ice. His unreal face-off ability, grit, smarts and work ethic are one of my favorite things about these Oilers.

Jordan Eberle. B. Eberle has finally started to come on in the last half-dozen games, and is back to being a very effective winger. He is not quite the deadly sniper that we think he could be, but then again…I believe the entire team is gripping the stick too tightly, right now. It is a relief that a handful of the players we thought we could count on are “back”.

Matt Hendricks. B. The guy is willing to step in front of a Shae Weber slap shot. Do you really need to know more about Matt Hendricks? You get 100% effort out of a smart player, night in and night out. Yes, he makes the odd mistake, but I somehow don’t mind them as much from Hendricks, as they are almost always of the honest variety.

Taylor Hall. B-. If I were to diagnose what is wrong with this incredibly gifted player, I would say “A very frustrated young man who is playing on one leg”. He has not been close to the same, since returning from injury, and he has hurt it again since. I believe that he’s trying so hard to compensate and to will his way to results, that he’s running into brick walls. Concerning.

David Perron. B-. Clearly Perron’s injury was worse than most thought, as I have only seen the “good” Perron again over this last stretch. His puck possession skills and tenacity in the offensive zone and near the net are returning, and he is finally enjoying some puck luck, as his shooting percentage rises. I hope they don’t trade this guy, he brings elements that few other Oilers do.

Tyler Pitlick. B-. Through the game in Anaheim, Pitlick followed a predictable track for a marginal NHL prospect: He started off strong, but once the adrenaline had worn off, Pitlick started to fade fast. Then, bam, he plays the best game of his short NHL career to date. He’s NOT a 1st Line player, that has to stop. But I’m beginning to think he may have a shot.

Luke Gazdic. B-. This guy worked hard at making himself into a real hockey player, and he has come back from injury a much better version of Luke Gazdic. He is using his legs well, and has been (mostly) responsible in his own end. Gazdic is clearly better than a 2-3 minute per night enforcer. But the question is whether even this is good enough for the team to contend?

Benoit Pouliot. B-. A real shame, as I believed that we were just starting to see the player we signed in the off-season. He was an important piece of the forward ranks, and so don’t discount how much his absence has contributed to this ugly slide. No sense rushing him back, but we may not see him again until late January. It’s “next-year” country anyway.

Leon Draisaitl. C+. Progress rarely follows a straight line. Draisaitl had been trending very nicely until the home game against Anaheim, when the wheels came off. But at the risk of sounding like an apologist for the young German, that will happen to any 19 year old. I saw Aaron Eckblad play an atrocious game earlier this season, too. Breath deep, the kid is all right.

Teddy Purcell. C+. 30 games in, I’ve come to believe that what you see with Teddy Purcell is what you get: A slightly quicker Dustin Penner, but with less finish. Considering how some Oilers fans chased Penner out of town, I don’t like Purcell’s long-term chances here, either. This was a case of two GM’s hoping that a chance of scenery may benefit both him and Sam Gagner.

Nail Yakupov. C. I fear that Dallas Eakins, in his efforts to instill in Yakupov a reasonable amount of defensive discipline, has wrung the offence right out of him. I would argue that he has regressed more with the puck than he had progressed without it. I’d say let the kid gallop the rest of the year and see what he can do, but until he has a real NHL center…meh.

Mark Arcobello. C. The story here is really not an indictment of the player, for the real problem is that the Oilers continue to lean far too heavily on Arcobello to be a better player than he actually is. I admire his effort, most nights, and he has some useful skills. But this team will be good enough to compete once Arco is the club’s 13th forward, playing 50+ games a year.

Steve Pinizzotto. C-. I mean no real disrespect to Pinizzotto, who brings an honest effort most nights. A have time for a guy who sticks with it and at 30, starts getting a regular shift. But if he is still playing games for the Oilers in January, instead of some of the real prospects currently in OKC, something is seriously wrong. Career AHL-er.

Jesse Joensuu. F. What a rapid descent for Joensuu, who looked so good at the start of the season with Gordon and Hendricks on that 4th line. It was often the club’s best unit. But, as we have seen with this player before, he faded hard and fast…which is no doubt why the Islanders had given up on him. Chalk up another one for the Oilers Pro Scouts. Enjoy Switzerland, Jesse.

Iiro Pakarinen. F. A harsh mark, to be sure, but again like Marincin, if you cannot stick on the NHL roster, you have failed to make the grade. I was a little surprised that Pakarinen was not re-called again, and going forward, if this team plays a 30 year-old rookie ahead of this kid over the next 50 games, they should have their collective heads examined. Arrows pointing up.

GOALTENDING

Ben Scrivens. C-. Like his partner in crime, Scrivens has alternated between the goaltender who can steal a game for you, to one who will allow inexplicable goals at inexplicable junctures. A career back-up before he was acquired, perhaps that really is all that Ben Scrivens is. I see enough there to not give up on him just yet, but the clock is ticking until the Oilers need to bring in a “real” #1.

Viktor Fasth. C-. I expect that Fasth is as good as gone, come Spring. Scrivens is under contract for another year, whereas Fasth is going to be a UFA. And, while his play has not been that much different than Scrivens’, I have seen nothing that would suggest he is the answer and therefore worth signing to a new contract. And I don’t think they’ll get much more than a low draft pick in return.

Sure hope the next 10 are better than the last 10.