Edmonton Oilers: Key battles to watch going into training camp
Admittedly the Oilers roster is more or less set, so there won’t be a whole lot of compelling battles at training camp – for example, it’s not like Connor Mcdavid and Leon Draisaitl are fighting for positions this upcoming season as they’re both firmly entrenched on the roster.
But nonetheless, this is a good exercise to go through, as there will be some battles to watch.
1. Warren Foegele vs. Kailer Yamamoto
Yes, I know that Yamamoto is not signed yet. I wrote about that very subject in a blog here. Apparently, Yamamoto’s camp is a bit delusional about the lack of leverage he has and are being stubborn and inflexible about his next contract with the team. With each passing day that goes by with a lack of a contract the chances he starts the season without a contract – and of course a roster spot – goes up.
In that case, I’m willing to bet he won’t be allowed to participate in training camp or maybe even skate with the team in practice. But of course, there’s still time in the season and it’s likely the player and agent come to their senses and sign a value contract now to bet on themselves for the future when he’ll be likely more deserving of big bucks.
Frankly, if I were Yamamoto I’d be firing my agent in short order as he’s obviously feeding him bad advice.
Nonetheless, if he does come to camp he’ll be in a battle with dual winger Warren Foegele, who on paper fits more on the third line than the second, but will be the front runner to fill the vacuum left if Yamo holds out. Of course, I could see Josh Archibald or Zack Kassian get looks in that spot too. Archibald has filled in in the top six at times, while Kassian has underachieved for a couple of seasons now but has been a top six forward in his career. Maybe Kyle Turris, if he looks good enough, could be a dark horse candidate for that spot. There’s been hype about him preparing better this offseason than last.
If Foegele does start out the season in Yamo’s spot, I could see Brenden Perlini and Tyler Benson as candidates to replace him. Neither will bring his proven track record to the table, but they’re the best ones I see on the roster now. Ditto for the rumors surrounding Dylan Holloway.
Third Line Center Derek Ryan vs Ryan Mcleod
Your classic vet vs. rookie scenario, this will be a battle in training camp to watch. Smart money says Ryan takes the spot at least to start the season, but Mcleod will probably be there by the end of the season at the latest. He showed some promise in a short call-up last season, so let’s see what he does for a full-time encore.
Kyle Turris is the darkhorse candidate for this spot, IMO.
Third Pairing Defence – Slater Koekkoek, Kris Russell, and William Laggeson
Smart money says that Koekkoek is the frontrunner for this position, while Russell and Laggeson will have to make due as the extra guys. Koekkoek was hampered by injuries last season, otherwise, he probably would’ve played more. Russell is the grizzled veteran whose career is winding down. Both he and Koekkoek can play both sides on D, which gives Dave Tippett a lot of different combinations for his third pairing. Of the three, Russell probably provides the most offence but the barometer is set pretty low considering both Lagesson and Koekkoek are both stay-at-home guys right now. At least Russell isn’t making $4 million a season anymore, amirite?
Lagesson has an opportunity to take a spot but would be the third option of the three considering it’s usually not a good idea to play two inexperienced guys together on D. If Bouchard gets injured what’ll probably happen is Koekkoek or Russell will move over to the right side and Lagesson will take their old spot on the port side.
Darkhorse candidates would include the two options for callup depending on performance – Dmitri Samorukov and Philip Broberg. Samorukov will likely be headed for his second full-time season in Bakersfield, while much hyped first-rounder from 2019 Philip Broberg is likely headed for his first North American pro season in Bakersfield.
Mikko Koskinen vs. Alex Stalock
Koskinen had a pretty bad season last year, but he’s rebounded from a bad season before, so I won’t count him out.
Nonetheless, with a black cloud and heat hanging over his head – with the franchise buying out James Neal his contract is now the worst on the team – this presents opportunity for Alex Stalock if he can seize it.
If the Oilers do end up going with Stalock, they’ll have to decide what to do with his contract, as it’s not likely to be moved unless he waives his modified NTC. They could always send him down to Bakersfield (he’s unlikely to be picked up on waivers, and if he does then great we save ourselves $4.5 million in cap space), but that would stunt the development of Skinner and Konovalov by throwing another guy into the mix. Unless they just never played him, I guess….
They could loan him out to Europe – I’m sure there would be some appeal to him to return to his native Finland for a season – but there would be a couple of hurdles to jump through on that one. A) The player has to agree to it, which may or may not happen and B) He has to clear waivers as well. I’m not worried about the latter for the same reason I’m not worried if they planned to send him down to Bakersfield – whether he does or doesn’t get picked up on waivers, the Oilers win.
Also, from what I can see according to the CBA if you loaned a player out to Europe you would only save $1.075 million against the cap – so we’d still have to pay Koski $3.425 million not to play for us. That’s not much better than the $900,000 you’d save by burying him in the minors, but it’s still a bit better.
At least his contract is up after this upcoming season, so this mess is done and over with.
If Koski succeeds in fending off Stalock, then you could put Stalock on waivers and another team will pick him up, guaranteed.
The darkhorse candidate is Stuart Skinner but I’d prefer to leave him in Bakersfield for one more season – at least to start – to see what he can do as an encore to last season. If he does just as well or better, give him a callup for a few games, see how he does, and tell Koski to hit the pine.
Unlike the decade of darkness, the Oilers don’t have any prospects who are a lock to make the team this year – and no I don’t include Evan Bouchard because even though he didn’t play much last year I consider him a returnee not a prospect.
1. Tyler Benson
Benson is a candidate for bottom 6 LW, but the team is deeper than ever so he’s got a lot of guys to beat out if he wants to make the team. It’s going to be a tall order for him to beat out Warren Foegele, Devin Shore, Brendan Perlini, and Dylan Holloway.
It’s possible, but that’s a lot of guys in his way. Three of those four are eminently beatable, but I can’t see him beating out Foegele for a spot.
Turning up the pressure on Benson is the fact that he’s no longer waiver exempt, which means that he can’t be sent back to Bakersfield without having to be put on waivers first. This brings the Oilers to a disturbing thought of losing a second-round pick for nothing if he doesn’t make the team out of camp.
2. Cooper Marody
Same situation for Marody – he’s now played enough AHL games that he has to clear waivers to go back down to Bakersfield, so again the Oilers risk losing him for nothing if he doesn’t make the team out of camp. His development has stalled a bit due to injuries. He’s also facing even stiffer competition to make the team than Benson is – Derek Ryan, Kailer Yamamoto, Josh Archibald, Zack Kassian, Brenden Perlini. That’s a lot of guys, all of whom are more established than he is.
The knock against Marody has always been his skating that’s been holding him back. If he doesn’t make the team this time around there’s a good chance he’ll get picked up on waivers by a team without the kind of depth the Oilers have now.
3. Stuart Skinner
He’ll be a much better candidate for the team two seasons from today. The best place for him to be is in the AHL for at least part of one more season, but stranger things have happened. Both Stalock and Koskinen have their warts so it’s entirely possible he leapfrogs over both of them and takes a spot earlier than expected. But in his case that’s the best case scenario, not the most probable one.
4. Ilya Konovalov
This guy’s an even longer shot than Skinner, but rumours persist he might be good enough to play in the NHL this upcoming season. We’ll find out in training camp, I guess. Leapfroging Skinner, Koskinen, and Stalock will be a tall order for him though, especially with no North American pro experience.
5. Dmitri Samorukov
He’ll have to leapfrog over Koekkoek, Russell, and Lagesson to do it, but all three could be beatable. That being said, the better bet is for him to go back to Bakersfield as his stats clearly point to needing more seasoning in the minors. I’m not in player development, but it seems like he hasn’t been able to translate that offence from his junior days into the pro ranks.
A dark horse for the D corps.
6. Philip Broberg
Like Konovalov, Broberg needs some North American pro experience before he’s a surefire prospect. Probably the longest of the long shots for the D corps. But, I’m not going to rule him out. At the same time, though, you don’t want to ruin a 19-year-old first-rounder by rushing him to the NHL when he plays the hardest position that NHL hockey has to offer mastering.
After all, we don’t want another Justin Schultz on our hands.