Oilers Double B: Barrie or Bouchard
For the past two seasons, the Oilers’ success relies heavily on their power play efficiency. They are always near the top of the league in power play percentage thanks to their two superstars, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. There are no question marks on which forwards will be on the top power-play unit, the question this season for the Oilers is who will be the lone defenseman to quarterback the unit.
In the previous two seasons, that task lies on the shoulders of defenseman Tyson Barrie. Barrie has done admirably in his production as a power-play guy eclipsing the 20-point mark for power-play points in each of his 2 seasons with the Oilers. Even with Barrie’s success in the power-play, there is a younger defenseman waiting for his chance to be able to step into that role, and his name is Evan Bouchard.
Bouchard is more than capable of quarterbacking the power play for the Oilers, however, he has to limit some of his mistakes on the ice to be able to run away with this gig. This season is the right time to see if Bouch can step into the top power-play unit and show Edmonton what he is capable of doing.