I like to joke that the most important thing I learned in college was where to park. University of Utah parking enforcement was more efficient than the Gestapo and only slightly less ruthless, writing up tickets for each and every infraction. Having grown up in meter-free Fort McMurray, I racked up parking tickets like Luke Gazdic gathers PIMs. Honestly, I probably spent more money on parking infractions than books.
Of course, college taught me a lot more than the importance of avoiding the three-minute parking zone. (Always, always avoid the three-minute zone—you never make it.) However, the sum total pales in comparison to my on-the-job training. I learned more during a three-month stint at my first newspaper job—scraping out $9.90 an hour for the Ukiah Daily Journal—than all of my previous classes, lectures, assignments and textbooks combined.
I learned things the classroom never could have taught me, digesting daily lessons in newsroom politics, interview preparation, deadline pressure, page design, time management, and fact-checking. Fortunately, assertive editors rapped my knuckles when, for instance, the sophomore with the six-syllable surname hit the game-winning double and I failed to confirm the spelling. Mistakes were not tolerated or repeated.
Draisaitl Decision Looms
Leon Draisaitl is two-thirds of the way through his nine-game NHL audition, trying to prove he belongs with the Edmonton Oilers rather than returning to the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League. It’s a complicated decision, weighing the young centre’s on-ice ability, as well as intangibles like self-confidence, maturity and poise. Looking at what’s best for both the player and team, Draisaitl deserves his spot in Edmonton.
Some will argue that Draisaitl doesn’t belong, or wouldn’t be best served spending the season in Edmonton, because the NHL isn’t a developmental league. That’s pure rubbish. The NHL is a developmental league, because every player from Seth Jones to Sidney Crosby is learning and developing their game each day. Development isn’t the league’s primary function, but it’s happening on every club at all positions.
The NHL is a developmental league because nobody enters it fully formed. In fact, there is no such thing as fully formed. These are human beings, not sugar cookies. You don’t just follow a recipe, adding a cup of this and a dash of that, toss it in the oven for a few minutes, and then enjoy the finished product. People are constantly evolving. That’s why I’ve always disagreed with the notion that rushing a player into the NHL can derail his development.
Cite the case where a player would have been a productive NHLer but had his career ruined by taking on too much, too soon. I would argue there is no such player. You either rise to the challenge or fall by the wayside. Taking a few hard raps on the knuckles (or tasting them, in some cases) shoudn’t dismantle a promising youngster. If anyone feels that a baptism-by-fire scorched someone, I would argue they weren’t NHL material in the first place.
What’s Best for the Player?
Returning to the WHL wouldn’t do a thing for Draisaitl. He dominated with size and strength last season, scoring 105 points in 64 games. Draisaitl would step right back into that comfort zone, with people lining up to pat him on the bum and tell him how wonderful he is. How does that help his long-term development? If anything, he would run the risk of getting lazy or developing bad habits that could hinder him at the NHL level.
Take it from someone who knows. Bored by the curriculum and repulsed by mindless busy work that was just going to end up in a professor’s trash bin, I spent an increasing amount of time at the University of Utah golf course (can’t beat $4 a round) and nearby ski slopes (only 20 minutes from campus to Snowbird). Those pursuits didn’t help me vocationally. Then again, the coursework itself didn’t help out a whole lot, either.
Nobody can say Draisaitl has looked horribly out of place through six games. Plus, the Oilers haven’t lost games because of anything Draisaitl brings to the ice. Offensive instincts are evident each night and skating isn’t a hindrance, but his faceoffs need work and defensive positioning could improve. No surprises there, and the offense will come with time. Fellow third-overall centre Nathan Horton had one assist in his first 11 games. No worries.
Draisaitl will benefit from the constant engagement and challenge of NHL competition. The side effect might be a few difficult nights where everybody is left asking if he really belongs, but it’s a process that won’t end next month, next year, or even the year after that. Experience is the best teacher, so why not give Draisaitl the best opportunity to succeed, learning from the game’s elite? The long-term rewards far outweigh the short-term risks.
What’s Best for the Team?
Connor McDavid. Okay, we’re not going back to that dark place. Not today. However, after a 1-4-1 start, what are realistic expectations for the Oilers over their next 76 games? At this point, if they’re not making the playoffs everything else is a wash. Fans don’t really care if the end result is 10th in the West or 14th, they just want to see a few wins and signs of improvement, so keeping Draisaitl in the lineup won’t make much difference either way.
The Oilers don’t have any better options at second-line centre, so unless they swing that Jeff Petry-for-Sean Couturier deal in the next week Draisaitl shouldn’t be going anywhere. Starting an 18-year-old centre on your second line isn’t ideal, but nothing in Edmonton is ideal. That’s the unfortunate reality. Considering the team’s current roster (and Will Acton waiting in the wings) I don’t understand the logic in demoting Draisaitl.
Growing pains wear everybody’s patience thin, but you can’t rush the process or take shortcuts with single-season stop-gaps. Mistakes will happen. I once ran a headshot two columns wide, misspelled Dwyane Wade a couple times, and took some heat for saying a football’s team’s secondary looked “timid as Michael Jackson’s chimp.” I learned from experience and improved. Draisaitl is a big part of the Oilers’ future, so have a little faith in the Deutschland Dangler and progress will follow.
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