We are finally into September and hockey season is about to begin once more. Soon we can stop talking about wild speculations and get into real hockey... and then start making wild speculations all over again.
Every year I make 10 bold predictions for the season. I try to have these be a nice mix of "could see that happening," to "are you out of your mind?!" Here are my crazy ideas for the Oilers for the 21/22 season.
1)Elvis Merzlikins Will Be An Oiler By December At first I thought it would be bold to suggest that Merzlikins would be an Oiler come Trade Deadline but what would be even bolder is if Merz was an Oiler well before the deadline. In this scenario, I see Mike Smith and Koskinen struggling for Edmonton in net, forcing Ken Holland to go out earlier than expected to try and find a replacement to salvage the season.
2) Evan Bouchard Leads Oilers Defense In Goals Expectations are high for Bouchard who looks to finally play his first full NHL season. Bouchard will come into camp strong and will not only be a top four defender to start the season, but he will ultimately end up scoring more goals than anyone else of the backend, including Tyson Barrie. Fans will be ecstatic but will also immediately be questions why Holland signed Barrie to a three year deal.
3) Edmonton Finishes First In The Division The Oilers have some question marks through their lineup but no team in the Pacific Division is a true juggernaut. The top of the Pacific Division will be a battle for most of the season between the Oilers and the Golden Knights but ultimately the Oilers will secure top spot in the Pacific within the last three games of the season.
4) Warren Foegele Finishes Top Four In Goals Among Forwards Warren Foegele was brought in to provide depth scoring to the Oilers in their top 9 and if he scored 15-18 goals over a full season in that role than it would be excellent. However I'm going to predict Foegele surpasses that range and actually finds himself in a top six role for the Edmonton Oilers and as a result he will finish behind McDavid, Draisaitl, and Hyman in goal scoring.
5) The Oilers Have A 10 Game Win Streak During The Season In the NHL parity has made it so any team can win on almost any given night during the regular season but with some of the most dominant players in the league in McDavid and Draisaitl, at one point this season things are just going to click, resulting in a very fun couple of weeks for Oilers fans as the team pulls together 10 wins in a row.
6) Zack Hyman Scores A Hat Trick Against The Leafs Losing Hyman stung for the Toronto Maple Leafs but to add insult to injury, Zack Hyman is going to score a hat trick against his former team and to double down I'm going to say he will do it in Toronto.
7) Both Ethan Bear and Jujhar Khaira Will Score Against Edmonton Ex Oilers have a history of paying their former team back in the form of goals in the back of the net. That will continue as both Ethan Bear, now of the Hurricanes and Jujhar Khaira of the Blackhawks will both notch a goal.
8) Tyler Benson Scores 8 Goals This might not seem too crazy but Benson has not been able to crack the NHL yet and the Oilers have far more forward depth this season than they have in the past years. It will be far more challenging for Benson to crack the roster this season but not only will the 23 year old winger do it but he will solidify himself as a solid bottom six option.
9) Kailer Yamamoto Bounces Back. Scores 55 Points Kailer Yamamoto remains unsigned by the Edmonton Oilers but I do expect that to be rectified in the coming weeks. Yamamoto last season was always buzzing around the puck but simply couldn't cash in any chances. While he won't produce at the ppg pace he did two years ago, a 55 point season would be nothing to shake his head at either.
10) The Oilers Win Two Playoff Rounds With two highly disappointing playoff exits in the first round over the past two seasons, having the Oilers win one round should be considered bold. Go big or go home because the Oilers will not only win one series but they will win a second as well and ultimately lose in the Western Conference Finals.
I'll see you all back here in the summer and we can see how many of these I got right.