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Edmonton Oilers Season in Review: Jordan Eberle

By Sammi Silber

Jan 21, 2017; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers right wing Jordan Eberle (14) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Calgary Flames during the second period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 21, 2017; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers right wing Jordan Eberle (14) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Calgary Flames during the second period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Though the Edmonton Oilers took a step forward, it appears that forward Jordan Eberle took somewhat of a step back.

Though he did not have the worst season statistically, Eberle didn’t have the strongest impact on the team. Plus, there is plenty of room for improvement when it comes to his game, and from the looks of it, he lost his touch this season.

Overall Impact

Eberle’s overall play this past season was plagued with inconsistency. Though he’d have moments of offensive outbursts, he would go scoreless for games at a time. Seeing these struggles was just one of the problems surrounding Eberle’s play this season.

Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton Oilers /

Edmonton Oilers

However, nothing stood out more than the 27-year-old winger’s ultimate struggle when it came to shooting. After having worked on one-timers in the offseason, Eberle found himself unable to accurately get the puck on net. Only 54.9 percent of his shots went through on net, marking the worst shots-through percentage of his career.

With Eberle unable to shoot accurately on net he wasn’t able to score as much. In addition, he appeared sluggish and unable to keep up with the speed on the top line. Even on the top six, Eberle wasn’t able to keep up with the play and couldn’t contribute too much. Toward the end of the season, Eberle was demoted to the bottom-six, meaning a $6 million player was playing third-line hockey.

Stats

In 82 games this season, Eberle posted 20 goals and 51 points and was a plus-3. While these aren’t the worst stats of his career, they are nowhere near his potential. And, taking into account all the shots that didn’t get through, his totals could have been higher.

Eberle also averaged .62 points per game, the lowest PPG of his career. In addition to that, he barely reached the 20 goal mark; it was thanks to a hat-trick in the final game of the season that he scored 20.

He also disappeared in the postseason and had a poor playoff outing. In 13 playoff games, he posted just two assists and was a minus-6, the lowest on the team.

Eberle’s Skillset

There is a lot of skill that still lies in Eberle’s game, he just has to apply it. He is a great stick-handler who can make strong plays, and he usually has a great shot. In the coming seasons, he will have to force that ability into his game and start playing with more speed and risk.

In addition, Eberle must find his confidence. At times, he appears to enter the zone and gives up battling for the puck because he doesn’t think he will win that fight. Eberle has to step up and put up a fight and should stop dumping in the puck and attempt to fight for it and hold onto it for a bit longer in the offensive zone.

Overall Grade; C+

While Eberle did hit the 20-goal mark and didn’t put up the worst career totals, there is a lot more potential in his game that he can reach with a bit more focus, work and effort.

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