Edmonton Oilers: End of season player report cards

Kailer Yamamoto

Boy oh boy did the Oilers ever hit a gold mine by drafting this player.  This right winger shored up a forward area that badly needed it and allowed the Oilers to split up the McDrai duo.  No longer could teams just key in on the 1st line and stop our attack, and we have young Yamamoto here to thank for that.

He was called up midseason and tried on the 2nd line, and he flourished big time there.  He finished with 11-15-26 in 27 games.  Over a full 82 game season that translates out to 79 points.  What absolutely knocked my socks off for Yamo, though, is he finished with a team-leading +17 during those 27 games.

Rookies usually have trouble playing without the puck and have to gain the experience with coaching and time.  Not Yamo.  He came in and not only produced points but kept the puck out of his own end as well.  What a phenomenal rookie season.  The playoffs put a bit of a damper on his season, as he produced no offence and finished with a -1.

But, I keep this in perspective.  You can’t expect a raw rookie to master everything in his 1st season.  It’s hard enough to learn to play in the NHL in the regular season and even harder in the playoffs when your opposition elevates their games.  I’m willing to bet he does better in the playoffs next year and that this year was a learning experience for him.

The one thing that puts a damper on his year is Yamo finished with a 25% shooting percentage, which is almost twice the league average.  Don’t be surprised if his offence regresses a bit next year all things considering.

He even got put on the 2nd unit PP by the end of the season, spending 53 seconds a game there.  He spent a minimal amount of time on the PK, but only 3 seconds a game.  Cracking the 20 minutes per game mark in ice time during some nights, he finished with an average of 17:23, which just goes to show you that Dave Tippett runs a meritocracy.

Either way, that was a hell of a rookie season.  I can’t wait to see what this kid will do as an encore in a full season in an Oilers uniform.

Josh Archibald

Brought in to provide depth scoring in the bottom 6, Archibald proved to cover his bet and then some.  He almost equaled his numbers from 2 seasons ago in Arizona, finishing with 12-9-21 in 62 games last year.  Those are pretty solid numbers for a bottom 6 forward.  He even subbed in the top 6, playing Connor Mcdavid’s right wing by the end of the season and not looking out of place.

There were 2 clouds hanging over Archibald’s numbers, though.  1 is he finished with an 18.8% shooting %, which is both above NHL average and above his career average of 15.3%.  He also finished at -8, and although facing the toughest competition on the 1st line could account for some of that, IIRC he wasn’t great on the 3rd line against the softest competition, either.

That has to improve for sure.  In the playoffs, Archibald scored a goal in the 4 games and finished with a +1, a nice improvement on his regular-season number.  He was also 2nd on the team in hits with 165.  1-0-0 in 4 playoff games is par for the course for a bottom 6 guy.

He spent a negligible amount of time on the PP, only about 3 seconds a game, and unsurprisingly produced no offence.  However, he was a key part of the PK this past season, playing 2:17 per game and leading the team in shorthanded points, putting up 2-1-3.  That PK ice time is good enough for 4th on the team.  Archibald is signed for two more seasons at $1.5 million.  Let’s hope he improves his defensive numbers in the regular season and he’ll be an even better player.

Ethan Bear

We definitely found a unicorn in Ethan Bear.  Paired with Darnell Nurse for most of the year, Bear earned a spot in the top 4 out of training camp, a phenomenal accomplishment.  Not only that, he kept his spot in the top 4, going 5-16-21 in a full season of 71 games, 1 of only 3 full-time players to stay 100% healthy.  It wasn’t even due to luck, either, as Bear had a 5.1% shooting percentage on the season.

There are 2 main dampers to Bear’s game this year, but we can chalk up both to being a rookie.  1 was the fact that Bear finished -4 this year, but again playing without the puck is the hardest skill to learn and I’m willing to bet he’ll learn.  The other was the fact that his offence disappeared during the playoffs, which again we can chalk up to inexperience.

Bear was so impressive this year he ended up averaging 21:58 of ice time.  Very few rookies get close to 20 minutes a game, so this is a fantastic milestone for Bear to pass so early in his career.  His timing couldn’t be better, either, as our right side was a bit lean in puck-moving.  He was even playing in the top pairing by the end of the season.  He finished on the 1st unit PP, with 44 seconds a night and 1:52 on the PK – the latter of which was good for 6th on the team.  Amazingly he also finished 3rd on the team in blocked shots with 106 last season.

His ELC is up this season, so we have to re-up this player, but there’s no doubt in my mind that he’ll be back, and as an RFA he’ll be back at a cheap price.  I’m willing to bet a $2 million per season bridge contract for 3 seasons.