Edmonton Oilers New Coach Favors Vets

The new head coach of the Edmonton Oilers has a plan. That much is clear, when you hear Todd McLellan speak. But he made one comment in particular, today, that may explain a few Peter Chiarelli roster moves.

McLellan is a veteran coach. Based on his body of work, it is fair to say that he has in the past ridden his veteran players pretty hard. And during an interview today, he said of the Edmonton Oilers roster “If young players are not ready, they will not play”. Refreshing words, to be sure, for fans of a franchise that has seen a number of it’s prospects rushed. While some of those experiments worked, a majority did not, and that has been reflected in the club’s record.

But my question is: What will that approach mean for this year’s crop of young Edmonton Oilers? Here, by position, is how I see McLellan dealing with his very best prospects:

GOALTENDING

This position is easily the least controversial of them all. Peter Chiarelli did not pay the price that he did for Cam Talbot to have him play any less than 40 games. And Ben Scrivens is an excellent insurance policy against the Talbot deal. The real key, though, was the signing of Anders Nilson, because if one of Talbot or Scrivens gets hurt, you don’t need to bring young Laurent Brossoit up just to ride the pine. With Nilson on board, you can all but guarantee Broissoit will play and play lots in the AHL as a #1 man, as he should.

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FORWARD

It is a slam-dunk that Connor McDavid will make this team, it only remains to be seen how Todd McLellan will deploy him. The (much) bigger question mark is where Leon Draisaitl will start the season. One theory has him on the wing in the Top 6. And its not unthinkable that Draisaitl may beat out Anton Lander for a job at Center. After all, Lander’s NHL success is a very small sample, and the Edmonton Oilers could use more size up front. But while both of those scenarios could easily play out, Draisaitl has not yet dominated in the AHL. And McLellan may well choose to give him that opportunity. I do not, however, think they have decided this yet. If Draisaitl was ticketed for Bakersfield, then why was Andrew Miller retained, and Marco Roy and Philip McRae signed? AHL insurance. Bet on it.

DEFENCE

It is pretty easy to determine who the biggest question mark here is: Darnell Nurse. Like Leon Draisaitl, Nurse dominated in the CHL and on a world stage, but has had only a cup of coffee in the AHL. Is that the reason why both Andrej Sekera and Eric Gryba were acquired and both Nikita Nikitin and/or Andrew Ference not simultaneously moved out? The way this roster is built, Darnell Nurse will have to out-play at least 2 of those 4 veterans, in order to stick (because Justin Schultz and Oscar Klefbom are locks). That’s a smart position to put a rookie in, and a favorable one for the organization. What I AM sure of it that Nurse will not sit (long) in the press box. If he is the 7th or 8th best D-man in camp, he will be sent to Bakersfield, as Griffin Reinhart, Brandon Davidson and even Brad Hunt are better options to eat their share of popcorn this season, and not Nurse.

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Those are the key names to watch, this Fall: Nurse and Draisaitl, and how this veteran coach sees their roles will be interesting indeed.

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