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Young Stars G3 Oilers vs Jets: Chasing The Dream

September 15, 2014, 9:49 AM ET [179 Comments]
Matt Henderson
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
After resting the players they knew were going to get lots of chances to play in the pre-season the Oilers are going to put Draisaitl, Khaira, and Nurse back into game action for game 3. The Oilers get to play a 4th game against the Golden Bears so they brought enough players for almost everybody to get 3 games in during this prospect tournament.

The biggest developments out of the Young Stars tournament have been the signing of Greg Chase and the invite to Tkachev to join the main camp. Chase, a 7th round pick, has the tools of players taken 150 spots before him. He has NHL size (6'0" 195lbs) and speed, he has offensive skills (85 points, tied for 1st on the Hitmen), and he is an absolute pest.

During the tournament he was robbed of an assist but he's been creating scoring chances regularly without the most premiere of linemates. Knowing that the road to the NHL as an Oilers forward might be tough given the current depth chart, Chase negotiated higher than normal AHL pay for a player taken where he was.

Side Note: If we start to connect threads, this is a way the Oilers found a way to retain a talent who was blocked at the NHL in stark contrast to the way they let their relationship with Rieder lapse. In a perfect world for the Oilers you could throw a bare bones contract at a 7th rounder and they should jump on it. No doubt Chase could have re entered the Draft and come out well ahead.

I don't think Chase will get there this year because the Oil need someone with some maturity to their game, but he is a player who might be able to win a job as an agitator on the 4th line and work his way up to a Marchand-like role for the club. We don't know his upper end, but he brings an element the Oilers don't have beyond maybe Perron.

Tkachev also got some good news, being invited to the main camp according to at least one report. When you watch the games it's been hard to keep your eyes off of the snack-sized Russian. He's simply fun to watch and that's almost verbatim from Coach Todd Nelson who runs the Oilers' AHL affiliate. The more he impresses the coach the more likely it becomes that the club extends him an ELC.

The young man is too small for the NHL right now at 141 pounds, but that's why they call them prospects. They aren't ready just yet. It's clear that he's found ways to stay competitive (or better) at the level he's playing at now so I'm not willing to write him off of an NHL future yet. All he needs to do is keep proving he's up to the challenge when the opposition gets tougher in main camp.

He bounces around the ice like a water bug, darting into the fray and back out with the puck. More importantly, he backchecks hard. On multiple occasions we've seen him bail out a defender who pinched and negate scoring chances against by being the first man back and playing his man physically. When you combine that with his ability to gain the offensive zone with possession and his exceptional vision you have to wonder what else a player like him needs to do to secure a spot with the organization.

They didn't invite him out of the kindness of their own hearts. Despite his size the Oilers obviously felt some intrigue and now if he keeps playing this way I don't know how they could look the other way.

LINEUP

Draisaitl and Nurse are back in. They are the future of the club but they haven't dominated at this event. Both have looked good but I wonder if they wouldn't benefit from the structure that will come at the main camp. Frans Tuohimaa should get the nod in net. Yak, Tkatchev, Simpson, Oesterle, and Moroz may sit today. So much stuff is up in the air I'm just guessing until I see lines published.

Chase Draisaitl Platzer
Roy Khaira Holmberg
Winquist Ewanyk Krushelnyski
Kessy Jones Jones

Gernat Nurse
Craig Ludwig
Bolland Musil

Tuohimaa

OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME

1) Good Afternoon. These games played in the afternoon are bad for everybody. Anybody with a real job won't get to see the game and the players are completely out of sorts with the routines they employ to get ready. This is a terrible time to play. The first team to find some rhythm will have a big advantage.

2) Drink Up. Draisaitl was apparently feeling the effects of dehydration when he cramped up so badly. I think the organization will have that under wraps moving forward as they prevent their prized rookie from going down in game action again. Everybody's heart sank when he was taken out during the last match.

3) Track Meet. Both games the baby Jets have played in have been Track meets. They've split the decisions but 19 goals have been scored in just 2 games. That's 9 by them and 10 for their opponents. They can score goals but Defense seems to be an issue. It will be up to the big four of Draisaitl, Khaira, Gernat, and Nurse to limit their chances.

Puck drops at 12:32PM Mountain Time. Game On!

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