Edmonton Oilers Player Grades Games 51-60
The Edmonton Oilers are at the 60-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 51-60
FORWARDS:
Jordan Eberle. A. Currently performing near the top of his game, Jordan Eberle has 12 points in his last 10 games, without his buddy Taylor Hall at his side. A core piece of the puzzle for the Edmonton Oilers, going forward.
Nail Yakupov. A-. Nail Yakupov has finally, finally emerged from a 2-year-long funk, and has started to light up NHL goalies again. With 4 goals and 4 assists in his last 10, Yak’s entire game has been elevated since Todd Nelson & Derek Roy arrived.
Anton Lander. B+. A real shame that Lander went down with a separated shoulder in the Boston game, as he (like Yakupov) had finally started to emerge as a real NHL-er. He may be done for the season, but has probably done enough to earn a new contract.
Derek Roy. B+. Derek Roy has added an important veteran presence down the middle for Edmonton. He has developed an encouraging chemistry with Yakupov, and has been pleasantly capable on the other side of the puck as well. Not done just yet.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. B+. Perhaps a strict grade, but remember, these marks are for expectations. 4-3-7 in his last 10 is good, but if Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is a potential point a game guy, then he has not yet reached “A” level in my mind.
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Chowder and Champions
Boyd Gordon. B. Boyd Gordon gets an “A” for effort, and still puts in a remarkably strong effort each night. But to my eye, all of those crushing D-Zone starts have started to wear the player down a bit. Glad to hear MacT plans to retain him, at the deadline.
Matt Hendricks. B. He gets the same grade as Gordon, as Hendricks also brings a boatload of intangibles to this lineup, which is noticeably weaker and less gritty without him. Like Gordon, he looks to be tiring a little.
Benoit Pouliot. B-. The injury was surely not his fault, but Pouliot has not come back as effective as he had been, pre-injury. But then again, that shooting percentage was never going to hold up. He is a 2-3L on a good team.
Taylor Hall. B-. Really, this grade should be an incomplete, as Hall has been injured for most of this 10-game segment. When he did come back from injury, he was very productive…but really, that was just 2 periods worth. Take your time coming back, Hallsy.
Ryan Hamilton. C+. I thought Curtis Hamilton would get the call-up. Ryan Hamilton has surprised me a little. I still don’t think that he is a full-time NHL-er, but he does play the game “the right way”. A 2-way contract is perfect for him.
Rob Klinkhammer. C+. This grade may seem harsh, but again, remember, most people saw his name in the Perron trade and went “who”? Rob Klinkhammer has shown enough to earn a 1-year deal and be penciled in on the 4th line for next season.
Luke Gazdic. C. Gazdic has improved himself, particularly when it comes to exiting the D-zone and getting the puck up and out, along the boards. His worth ethic lends to the belief that there may be a little more there than “just” an enforcer.
Teddy Purcell. C. Consistency is really the enemy of this player. He shows flashes of offensive creativity, and reliability on the penalty kill. But then he will inexplicably fade into obscurity, for periods at a time.
Matt Fraser. C-. Fraser is having trouble putting 2 solid games in, back-to-back. He brings a few things that the Edmonton Oilers need, but like Purcell, he needs to bring it nightly, in order to be in the mix next year.
Iiro Pakarinen. C-. In his first audition, I thought I saw a player there. But I don’t know, he has looked increasingly like an AHL winger. Needs to “bring it”, the rest of the way, or he’ll be back there in the Fall.
DEFENCE
Jeff Petry. A-. Word that the Edmonton Oilers had entered into contract negotiations with Petry was music to my ears. If you watched the loss against Minnesota, you will have seen what this D-core would look like without him…and it isn’t pretty.
Oscar Klefbom. A-. Oscar Klefbom has started to emerge as a potential 1-2D pairing possibility. He will still have off nights, because he’s a rookie playing a man’s game, but way more often than not, he fits in, and regularly dominates. Arrows up.
Justin Schultz. B+. Oh, there you are again, Justin Schultz. Hardly Norris-like performances, Schultz is back to playing the game at a level BDE (“Before Dallas Eakins”). Kudos to Todd Nelson, who has clearly helped this young man re-discover his name.
Andrew Ference. B-. To my eye, this was the most stable 10 games the Captain has had this season, while being paired with Jeff Petry. Not unlike Mark Fayne, below, Ference gives an honest effort, but is occasionally exposed for what he is…a 5-6D.
Mark Fayne. B. Not an appreciable difference in his game from the last 10, I believe “what you see is what you get” from Fayne. He is a real NHL-er, and while not a world-beater, he makes this blue-line better. Thank goodness for small mercies.
Martin Marincin. D+. Up until the Boston game, I had not been watching the same player that finished last season in Edmonton. Then, after a strong one against the Bruins, he was back to “very average” against the Wild.
Keith Aulie. D-. His NHL career is all but done, given that his last two games with the Oilers have been dark, greasy tire fires. Time to go, Mr. Aulie, appreciate the effort but…
GOALTENDERS
Ben Scrivens. B. Over-all, I see Scrivens “cementing” a role in next year’s edition of the Edmonton Oilers, although I suspect that it is more likely to be in a back-up position. Was excellent against Boston, in particular.
Viktor Fasth. C-. A combination of insult and injury for Fasth, who appeared headed out of town at the deadline, he will now almost certainly drift away as a not-much-south-after UFA, come June.
Richard Bachman. D+. Got shelled when he came on in relief for Viktor Fasth, but I marked him a little higher for stepping into an impossible situation in a shoot-out & acquitted himself well. AHL depth player.
Games 51-60 were easily the best that we have seen the Edmonton Oilers this season, even though a hand-full of stinkers were tossed in there with the good.
It’s important to weight the results on the ice, at this point, with the state of the roster, which is depleted & nicked up.