Oilers: Ryan McLeod’s Keys to Success, Profile and Expectations

Ryan McLeod has the potential to play his first full NHL season this year with the Edmonton Oilers.

Playing the end of the regular season and playoffs as the third or fourth-line center, Ryan McLeod should be in one of those spots this season. Hopefully this year he can grow as a player and contribute more than he did last year. Which he should be able to if he can play the whole season with the Oilers.

Stats From The Past:

Keys To Success:

1. Win Faceoffs- Since McLeod will be playing a bottom-six role, he is going to need do other things aside from score goals. Winning faceoffs is one thing that he can do that will really help his team out. Winning a faceoff gives your team possession to start the play. In his 10 regular season games he was just over 50%, which is a good average for a first year player, hopefully he can raise that number this season.

2. Kill Penalties- As a bottom six player in order to get more ice time McLeod will have to be a solid penalty killer. If he is able to become a good faceoff player he will be just that. He is a fast skater with a large reach. He should be able to put good pressure on the opposing power play unit.

3. Consistent Play- One asset that is good to have as a bottom 6 forward is consistency. If the coach knows what he will get out of you when you are on the ice it’s easy to play you. If McLeod is able to bring the same intensity and play game after game Dave Tippett should have no problem keeping him in the lineup.

Expectations:

Ryan McLeod will be in the Edmonton Oilers opening night lineup. The only question is will he be 3rd line or 4th line center? I think he will be on the 3rd line to start. His speed will give him more of an offensive upside than Derek Ryan, who I think will be the other center. So he should be playing on a line with the likes of Warren Foegele or Zack Kassian. That line should be expected to score some goals and be a hard line to play against.