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All Over The Place: Young Stars and Team North America |
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The World Cup of Hockey and the Young Stars tournament are happening all at the same time so this is an unusually busy time of year for Oiler fans and players. Trying to get caught up on what’s happening hasn’t been easy while I’ve been on vacation, but I’ve tried to separate myself from my family long enough to catch as many games as ESPN would televise or the Oilers would stream live.
YOUNG STARS
So far the Young Stars tournament has been a lot less hyped than in the past, for me, because there are really only three players I’ve wanted to watch: Puljujarvi, Caggiula, and Benson. With Caggiula and Benson rated (personally) as not immediate priorities for the NHL club, that leaves only Puljujarvi as the main draw for my attention. That’s been a good thing since apparently Benson injured his shoulder in CHL action before the tournament even began.
In the very first game of the tournament Jesse Puljujarvi showed exactly why the Oilers were thrilled to see him drop all the way to 4th Overall this past June. He picked up 2 goals and an assist and was ready all night to get the hat trick but his teammates failed to find him in a few open spots.
The Puljujarvi goals were brilliant. First, a one-timer that got everybody’s attention. Second, some nifty puck-handling and skating in which he evaded every opposition skater who even thought of slowing him down, finished off with a shot over the goaltenders shoulder. Both were goal scorer’s goals. The kid has skills. At the time of writing this, Puljujarvi added another three assists in the 2nd game he appeared in at this tournament – starting a nice passing play for the first and helping complete a nifty odd man rush for the second. The third was the start of a PP play where he gained entry to the OZ then Caggiula sent it over to Benik to finish.
This kid is destroying this level of competition and if he gets a chance with Edmonton’s skilled forwards he might never see a minute in the AHL. The smart play might be to get him development time, but the kid looks ready to compete for a spot today.
WORLD CUP OF HOCKEY
Team North America is Edmonton’s team in this tournament based on what I’ve seen on social media and for good reason. I will cheer for any team that has Connor McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins down the middle. I’ve been well conditioned.
The prevailing thought going through my mind any time I’ve been able to watch this team is that the NHL has done a terrible disservice to the world of hockey by perpetuating the myth of the grizzled veteran. These kids are incredible players. The narrative was that their inexperience would be exposed by the veteran national teams. What a joke that has been.
Is there a possible collection of players outside of this group that could be faster? The skill level is there. The speed is unparalleled. Tonight they take on Team Russia. They know this team has very good, impact players on it. It should be incredible viewing.
Through the pre-tournament games and into yesterday’s match vs the Finns, the two Oiler centers have been very, very good. There was some hand-wringing about McDavid’s inability to collect points, but anyone actually watching the games knows the chances have been coming. He’s just so good. Nugent-Hopkins’ play has been good enough that some are now predicting a breakout year for the Nuge. That would signal a heck of a season since his “down” year still had him in the top 50 for points per game by centers in the NHL.
McDavid’s unreal speed has been on display from game one. The NHL has put tracking technology in the pucks and on the name bars of the players. They’ve been able to show the speed of these players. Stephen Burtch notes McDavid’s somehow effortless lightning speed:
It isn’t just tracking technology in that kid’s name bar. Edmonton’s hopes and dreams are there too.
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