Yesterday the NHL announced that Connor McDavid had won Rookie of the Month in the NHL. It was well deserved though I understand why some fans wanted Max Domi to win it. It might be the last month anyone else could win it.
That sounds like such a homer statement, but after watching every moment of McDavid’s debut in the NHL I’m not so sure that it is. He could realistically win the award in every month on his way towards a Calder bid. Reminder, no Oiler has ever won the Calder trophy (Gretzky wasn’t deemed a rookie and RNH was robbed *spits*).
McDavid is already the most talented player on a team made up significantly with extremely high draft picks. The Oilers have lots of talent up front. McDavid eclipses almost all of them. I think he’s the fastest player in the NHL right now. Combined with his ability to handle the puck at top speed I think he’s an offensive threat unlike everyone else. It’s almost impossible to defend him and he hasn’t even gotten used to NHL defenses yet.
He’s a special player. A generational player. The month of October confirmed everything we were told about Connor McDavid. It wasn’t all hype. It was an accurate description of this young man.
Todd McLellan is already marveling at his 18 year old center. At this point McLellan has already seen growth in McDavid’s mental game. He is already understanding NHL systems and what he can exploit. McLellan is on record, not even 20 games into the season, saying that he believes he can put McDavid on the ice in any situation at any time of the game. Even for 1st Overall picks this is fast.
McDavid leads all Rookies in scoring with 5 goals and 7 assists for 12 points. He has the highest Even Strength points per 60 minutes on the Oilers (2.84). He has the 2nd highest Corsi For percentage among regular Oilers at 51.3% as well. Only Taylor Hall is more likely to be in the offensive zone creating shot attempts.
One of the most accurate things McLellan said about 97 was that he transitioned from being a player to being a catalyst. I can’t think of higher praise for the young man. McDavid is the straw that stirs the drink, to steal a phrase used by former Head Scout Stu MacGregor.
The race to the Calder will not be a one person show. Panarin in Chicago, Max Domi in Arizona, and maybe even Jack Eichel in Buffalo should be knocking on the door all year long. There has been a large infusion of young skill into the NHL. From my seat, McDavid leads the charge. Being named October Rookie of the Month was the beginning for McDavid. Many more awards and accolades are going to come his way.
Of that we can be certain.
LINEUP
Anders Nilsson is getting the game tonight as part of the regular rotation. Reinhart was taken off the IR and Eberle has been getting very close to playing again. Hendricks was taken off the IR and Korpikoski was put on. This should keep them from having to make a call on their roster for a little while. I’m not sure which pairing is going to sit tonight. I’ll remove one of them as soon as I know which one it is.
UPDATE: It looks like Fayne sits again
Hall RNH Draisaitl Pouliot McDavid Yakupov Hendricks Letestu Purcell Gazdic Lander Pakarinen
Klefbom Davidson Sekera Nurse Reinhart Gryba
Nilsson
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Stand Tall. At 6’5… and 229 pounds Anders Nilsson is one of the biggest Oilers on the team. This is also his chance to stand tall. Cam Talbot had a couple so-so performances that culminated in a really terrible outing where he cost the Oilers points in the standings. It’s early enough in the year that Nilsson’s great pre-season could still count for something and if he can come in and play well he could earn more games. Talbot had the inside track to start the year but nothing is set in stone yet. Anders Nilson has a very pedestrian save percentage right now, but that’s the product of one bad game. Opportunities to prove to the team that you could be the solution don’t come around often enough to be wasted.
2) German Engineering. Leon Draisaitl has looked like the perfect fit on the line with Hall and RNH. He’s a big body that is more than capable of protecting and handling the puck, his shot is underrated and we know he’s an excellent playmaker. I hold strong to my early assessment of Draisaitl that this kid is going to be a star in the NHL. He has 5 points in 2 games with the big club. That pace is not going to keep up forever but he isn’t a flash in the pan. He’s a former 3rd Overall pick with scoring pedigree in Junior. He has the talent to score in bunches. I have my own idea about what to do with him when Eberle returns. Until then, run him on the top line until the wheels fall off.
3) Sam. I’ve always cheered for Sam Gagner. He’s a player I really believed was on the verge of breaking out all the time. The closest he got was the lockout year. The scoring pace he was on would have been a career year in a full season. Fast forward to today, the Flyers are struggling to score and it’s coming from their star players. Sam Gagner is currently 4th in Flyer scoring with 5 points. Why is that significant? It’s important because who’s below him. Jakub Voracek hasn’t scored a goal all year and only has 4 points. The Flyers need to get their big guys going and it always feels like they do against Edmonton.
Puck drops tonight at 7PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet Oilers. Game On!
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