The Edmonton Oilers regular season is just under a week away and the Oilers lineup is starting to come together. There has been lots of cuts from the roster over the last weeks, and lots of good young players getting sent back to their junior team.
One player that has stuck around and has been one of the better players has been Dylan Holloway. Since the start of the rookie camp Holloway has stood out and has drawn my eyes most times when he is on the ice.
After scoring his hat trick a couple games ago playing Leon Draisaitl. Then getting a crack on a line with Connor McDavid in Vancouver. The coaching staff is taking a look at what he would look like playing with high end skill in a high end skilled role.
What Does The Edmonton Oilers Top Six Look Like With Dylan Holloway?
In my opinion there is 7 players that could play in the top 6 and there 6 spots for them to fill. We all know that McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman, and Kane are guaranteed to be in the top 6. The final two spots are up in the air.
Those two spots to me were originally going to Puljujarvi and Yamamoto, but both of those players haven’t done much to excite me this preseason. That coupled with the Holloway’s superior play so far has made me think that Holloway could push one of those two down the lineup.
I think that of those three Puljujarvi has had the weakest showing so far in the preseason. The good news for Puljujarvi is that 4 subpar preseason games can get over turned by one good regular season game.
Games that count mean more, and the fact that Holloway has yet to show he can do this in a regular season game against a full NHL roster and a regular starting goalie. If he does though this would be excellent news for the Edmonton Oilers. The Edmonton Oilers have cap problems, so if you get a player on their entry level contract in an important role that’s a bonus.
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Don’t Get To High On Holloway
Yes, I personally think that Holloway should start in the top six. With that being said he would also be a good fit on the third line if he struggles if he gets a look on the top six. I was thinking about how last year Perlini killed in preseason, then a couple months later he was in the AHL.
I don’t think that Holloway can fall that hard as he has a better speed than Perlini and in the NHL speed can make up for lots of things. If Holloway does struggle you should be able to shelter him in a lower role where he doesn’t face as tough opposition.
Remember this is the first real stint in the NHL for Dylan Holloway. He is going to make rookie mistakes and that will be okay. He is just a rookie. There is no reason to expect him to score 30 goals and get 60 assists. It’s his first season lets be happy if he gets close to 20 goals and 50 points.
To me that would be a win. Anything after that is a bonus, and to me the fact that he is currently one of the best options to be in the top 6 he is already doing better than expected.