Today the Edmonton Oilers are taking a day off from training and will be back on the ice Friday. We also have some award talk, player quotes, and more so let's get right into it.
TRAINING CAMP TEMPO PICKS UP
Speed has been the name of the game during the past two practices for the Edmonton Oilers. Tippett has stated right now he is not even thinking about the Hawks or focusing on a game plan against their first opponent. It makes sense. These players haven't been in game action for two months and before they can think about executing a plan, conditioning and pace needs to be the focus.
As I stated in my last blog, this training camp is not the same as a fall camp, where prospects are given opportunities up with the top players and we are already seeing Tippett split up the group so he can focus more on the NHL players. Rodrigue, Skinner, McLeod, Benson, Marody, and Broberg have not been on the ice with the main group. Barring massive injuries, none of these players are going to get a sniff of game action and trying to manage a practice with 30+ players is simply too difficult for a coach.
Here are a few other thoughts from TC in point form:
- As if we didn't already know, Leon Draisaitl and Kailer Yamamoto really enjoy playing together. Tippett himself was quoted as saying Draisaitl was most "giddy" about having Yamamoto as his linemate. Expect that duo to stay together.
- Athanasiou continues to get reps in alongside Drai and Yammer. People have been writing AA off too quickly and several of the media guys watching have commented how strong Athanasiou is looking in a position where his speed is fully on display. Athanasiou isn't nearly as elite as Taylor Hall, but they play a similar game and in the past we have seen Draisaitl play well with a player like that.
- He won't make it into any games but as he has in past TC's, Ryan McLeod is being noticed for his speed. I think we see him as a regular in Edmonton by halfway through next season at the latest.
- Caleb Jones has been out on the ice but not yet with the main group. Still no official statement on why this is the case but right now it's looking like Russell and Benning will start game 1.
- McDavid has discussed how helpful these past four months have been for his training. Obviously his injury at the end of last season prevented him from training as he normally would in the off-season.
POTENTIAL HAWKS BAD LUCK GOOD NEWS FOR OILERS
We are now three days into training camp and Corey Crawford has yet to skate for the Blackhawks. Crawford has dealt with some serious injuries over the past few seasons but this year was able to once again establish himself as a true starter. With the league's "unfit to play" language we have no idea what is happening with Crawford but the Chicago media is already discussing how he may not play any games.
Chicago should not have been a playoff team and for that reason, they dealt away assets at the deadline, most notably Robin Lehner. If Crawford is out there is a massive hole between the pipes. Collin Delia who has played a total of 18 NHL games (none this season), Malcolm Subban who played 20 games with Vegas this season, posting a 0.890 sv%, or Kevin Lankinen who has not yet played an NHL game.
For the sake of enjoyable games, it will be disappointing if Crawford is not able to play but on the competitive side of things this would be a massive boon for the Oilers.
AWARDS
Over the past few days the finalists for a few NHL awards have been revealed. Unsurprisingly, Leon Draisaitl was named as a Hart Finalists, alongside Nathan MacKinnon and Artemi Panarin. I won't waste much more time stating the fact that Leon Draisaitl should unequivocally win this. We all know it to be true.
Auston Matthews, Ryan O'Reilly, and Nathan MacKinnon were announced Thursday morning as the Lady Byng Finalists. Overall no surprises here yet I continue to be surprised that defensemen like Werenski and Slavin who log massive minutes without taking many penalties continue to be passed over.
I'll admit I am a little surprised McDavid wasn't a Masterton Trophy Finalists but at the same time I would have a difficult time taking out any of the likes of Johns, Lindblom or Ryan who all dealt with massive adversity. A special shoutout to Oscar Lindblom who is well on his way to recovering from his cancer treatment.
Wednesday the Jack Adams finalists were announced. John Tortorella of the Blue Jackets, Alain Vigneault of the Flyers, and Bruce Cassidy of the Bruins were all nominated. I never expected Tippett to be a top 3 finalist but I would be curious to know where he ranked in the votes. My money would be on Tortorella for what he was able to do with a depleted Blue Jackets roster.
BATTLE OF ALBERTA EXHIBITION
Each team will be given one exhibition game prior to their play-in series and the Oilers will face off against their provincial rivals in the Calgary Flames. Prior to the suspension, there was a strong chance that we would have been blessed with a Flames Oilers playoff series. That could still happen now but only if both teams make it to the Western Conference Final. Neither team will want to risk injury before the games that count but it will still feel great to see these two rivals play at least once more this season.
I will have more updates after Friday's practice.