Edmonton Oilers fans are used to a rookie coming in and making his mark on the roster. For years it was the most enjoyable part of the season for the fanbase. This year something different happened. A rookie came in at the beginning of the season that no one expected to be considered for a roster spot and instead turned into a bonafide top four defender for the team.
ETHAN BEAR 71GP: 5-16-21
No one is happy when a player goes down due to injury, but the silver lining of the Adam Larsson injury after the first game of the season was that it brought together the Nurse and Bear pairing that became Tippett's go to 5 on 5 duo for the remainder of the season.
Consistency is key for a young defenseman and that is what Bear was given by playing almost all his minutes with Darnell Nurse. Of the 1308 minutes that Bear played at 5 on 5, 1152 of those minutes were played alongside Nurse. No duo in the NHL logged more minutes than Nurse and Bear.
Bear rarely played on the PP despite having a massive point shot; something I hope he gains more opportunity to use further down the road. He was predominately used at 5 on 5 and produced well. Bear's 4 goals placed him in the top 50 among defensemen and his 15 even strength assists placed him in the top 40.
In the short amount of time we saw Bear in the 17/18 season, he showed flashes of being an offensive minded player but clearly needed refinement in his defensive game. The Bear of this season still retained those offensive abilities, but his confidence with the puck truly was the biggest change in his game. More often than naught, Nurse deferred to Bear in their own end as Ethan proved to be the calmer of the two players. Bear can skate up with the puck, glance of a member of the opposition and make a play to a streaking forward. It's a veteran move and one Bear brought into his toolkit from early on.
Were there issues in the game of a 22 year old rookie defenseman? Of course there were. As I have mentioned in a number of these report cards, December was not a kind month for the team and Bear was not immune to that either. Roughly from the beginning of December and into January there were clear signs of fatigue showing on Bear. Turnovers became more frequent and his ice time starting to get pulled back slightly. To his credit, Bear learned how to cope and adapt and soon enough he was back to logging 23+ minutes a night.
Who benefited more from their time together, Nurse or Bear? I think both players complimented each other well but if I had to choose I would say Nurse benefited more from Bear. Nurse's possession numbers took a hit without Bear beside him as did his teams ability to produce scoring chances when Nurse was on the ice and Bear wasn't. Nurse is still a strong 5 on 5 producer but his other potential line mates in Larsson, Russell, and Benning do not seem to compliment him in the same way that Bear did. That is less of a knock on Nurse and more a credit to how the two players seemed to click together.
Bear has some decent numbers away from Nurse, albeit in a small sample size when placed with Oscar Klefbom. I would be curious to see that pairing get more minutes together as it could be the best shot generating unit the Oilers could ice. Ethan showed the ability to play massive minutes but I think 20-22 minutes a night might make him a more effective producer on a nightly basis.
At the end of the day, Bear came in to a roster that was desperate for another top four right shot defenseman and in the eyes of many, myself included, he has surpassed Adam Larsson as the best right shot currently on the team. His versatility at both ends of the ice, combined with his stamina at playing monster minutes every night made him the most valuable player on the backend for the Oilers this season.
FINAL GRADE: A