Mark Letestu, B+
I’ve liked the addition of Mark Letestu to the roster. He is actually turning out to be a not-so-horrifying player for Edmonton. He has three goals and five assists this season with a minus-6 rating, but he is not too horrible on the back check game in and game out.
Not only is he not too shabby on the ice, he is a huge voice in the locker room. He knows what needs to be done each night on the ice, and he understands what the Oilers need to win each game. A usually 20-point guy, I think Letestu has a lot of potential on the Edmonton roster.
Letestu always goes out there and gives his best effort, and he encourages his teammates to do the same. When McLellan needs players to step up, he does, and even when McLellan is obviously hinting at performances of other players, he takes it to heart and thinks that he is the one who needs improvement. So he fixes himself.
Let’s recall his performance in Edmonton’s shootout win over Boston on Dec. 3, where he and Matt Hendricks teamed up to be the best tandem on the ice. They were, as they were scoring and producing like there was no tomorrow, and they were the players that came in clutch. McLellan rewarded them for their performance on the ice.
He is your classic hockey player that can improve thanks to reinforcement, and he knows that he needs to step up, alongside of his teammates. That’s why Mark gets a B+.