The Oilers hit the 41 game mark and that means it’s time for the half-season grades. Last year I tried to include almost everybody, but this time I’m going to change it up. I am only giving a grade to players who have appeared in at least 10 games this season UNLESS they started the year in a position to play a significant role with the team and failed miserably to do so.
There’s a combination of factors that will go into the grading. I look at role, point production, ice time, possession metrics, and the expectations I had for the player. Ultimately I think players should be judged based on how they perform within the roles they play. If player X is the best 3C in the NHL but playing 1C minutes and failing to produce offense then he isn’t going to get a good mark.
A quick rundown on what the Grades means follows:
A: Outstanding performance. Exceeding expectations by far or performing at the highest levels. B: Adequate performance. Meeting expectations of the player and the role he fills. C: Below Average performance. Still NHL quality but not reaching expectations. D: Replacement Level performance. Almost any fringe player could perform as well. F: Do Not Pass Go. Do Not Collect $200.
If anyone is concerned about the validity of these marks then just know that I’m an Education professional and I’ve thought about these grades for…minutes.
FORWARDS
A Taylor Hall: The Oilers’ leading scorer was just named an NHL All-Star. He is tied for 4th in NHL scoring with Tarasanko with 16-25-41 in 41 games. Hall is among the top 10 scorers in the NHL for the 3rd time in the last 4 years. He is the leader of the team right now and one of the best LWs in the world. I hold Hall to a high standard and he’s delivering on that.
A Leon Draisaitl: Neon Leon is just 1 of 6 regular NHL players who are averaging more than a point per game. He started the year in the American Hockey League (because…reasons) then almost immediately took over duties on the primary scoring line for the Oilers. Last year he couldn’t score if his life depended on it. Now he’s one of the NHL’s best scorers. Hard for me to grade him any lower.
A Connor McDavid: The fact that we’ve only seen him play 13 games is criminal. At the time of his injury he (not Hall) was the most dynamic Oiler forward. He showed so much in such a short amount of time. His speed is perhaps unmatched in the NHL. Certainly there might only be 1 or 2 others who can handle the puck at the speed he can. Even his healing ability is A quality. He’s well ahead of schedule in his recovery.
B+ Teddy Purcell: When Purcell started the year, it was as the 3RW of the Oilers. Last year he had 34 points in 82 games. Right now he has 25 in 41 and he’s been better in the last 20 games than the first 20 games. He cut that stick down by 4 inches and it made a world of difference. He’s completely resurrected his season.
B Ryan Nugent-Hopkins: He is once again Edmonton’s most used Forward and still facing top opposition. He’s on pace to match his career high in points as well. He’s credited with the 16th most number of takeaways in the NHL. All of these are good things, but they are also in line with what we expect from RNH based on what he’s done in his career. It feels like the Nuge has more to give, another level to reach. For this reason he gets a B so far on the season.
B Matt Hendricks: He plays heavy defensive zone starts, takes faceoffs more regularly than your average winger (and wins them), and he is a leader on the ice. I am drawn to blood and guts players like Hendricks. He plays an honest game that I quite enjoy. If there’s an Oiler forward laying a big hit, it’s most likely Hendricks. He doesn’t add a lot of offense but his shootout move (The Paralyzer) is developing a cult following.
B- Benoit Pouliot: I happen to like Pouliot, but much like RNH he is providing what is expected of him. He’s a 5v5 scorer who adds a greasy element. He battles hard for the puck and keeps it in the opposition end. The way he plays pushes the puck in the right side of the ice, but it also creates a lot of penalties. There’s a trade off that I’m good with. I think this is a very typical Pouliot season.
B- Jordan Eberle: His first 10 games after returning from injury is what’s keeping Eberle’s mark down. His hands look like they’re coming back in his most recent stretch. He has 14 points in his last 15 games. It’s the 3 points in the 13 games that came before that were causing people grief. He was catching a lot of flack for being “Soft Skill…. If he’s almost a point per game from here on out then complaining about him being soft is like complaining the seats in your luxury vehicle are too soft. Douche move.
B- Mark Letestu: Letestu is doing Letestu things. He’s winning faceoffs. He’s on pace for points in the low 20’s despite starting the year on the 4th line. He’s pretty much exactly what we thought he’d be. Good Edmonton-area product.
C+ Nail Yakupov: I love Nail Yakupov. That is without question. However, he has only 2 goals and the points stopped after McDavid was injured. No matter how badly I cheer for Yakupov, that isn’t good enough for a player with his skills. He has a cannon of a shot and had a great 2nd half last year. A linesman tackled him and ended his chance to redeem himself offensively. He was defensively more responsible than ever, however. He can have a big 2nd half again if paired with McDavid once more.
C Jujhar Khaira: He was just sent back to the AHL to help them out this weekend, but he acquitted himself well during his time with the team. He went from being a suspect to a prospect in a hurry this Fall. I’m tempted to give him a higher mark, but he could be a regular 4th liner for this team by next year. He was physical for the team and faster than I thought he was going to be. Much more aggressive than I’ve ever seen him.
C Lauri Korpikoski: He has flashes of playing like a guy who can make a difference in the bottom 6, then disappears for a few games. He’s fast, he can play physically, and his hands aren’t complete stone. But he’s also one of the worst Oilers from a possession standpoint and that is difficult to reconcile with his elevated salary. Fully half of his goals came from 1 game. He’s better than I thought he was going to be, but I was expecting a disaster.
D+ Iiro Pakarinen: Right now he’s a tweener. He doesn’t add nearly enough to the team to have guaranteed himself a spot on the roster once healthy. In the AHL he was a shooter with some jam. In the NHL he doesn’t bring the shot or the jam on a nightly basis. For his sake I hope he has a lot more to give.
D+ Rob Klinkhammer: The plus is for previous work. He just barely makes the 10 game minimum to count. When healthy he’s fast and hits a ton. What he doesn’t do is add any offense. I’m not convinced he adds much even at 90% health though.
D Anton Slepyshev: Remember him? He looked good in pre-season but there’s a pretty big difference between September Hockey and the real thing. Worst of all, he hasn’t been overly effective in the AHL either. There was a lot of hope about his game after a great 2nd half in the KHL. He needs a great 2nd half in the AHL.
D Luke Gazdic: Not fighting much. Not involved in the play much. Not adding any offense. I *like* fighting in hockey and I think Gazdic has a lot more skill than a prototypical goon. That said, he has to add something other than a mean stare. The Oilers are the most injured team in the NHL because there’s no such thing as a nuclear deterrent in the NHL. Gazdic has to be more than a fighter but if he stops being a brute then he stops providing the thing that got him to the NHL. Catch 22.
D- Anton Lander: Strictly speaking, this grade doesn’t actually exist in real life. If not for a Faceoff percentage above 50% Lander would be an F. He has exactly 0 goals and 2 Assists after 40 games played. I don’t care IF Lander is a defensive player first. You cant get PP time, start on the 3rd line, and play 40 games without scoring once even by accident. He is transitioning himself off the team.
DEFENSEMEN B+ Oscar Klefbom: The Oilers’s best all-around defenseman. He’s a leader in possession, defensive responsibility, and offensive production. He has exceeded my expectations for him, although I don’t believe if he’s made it to that true upper tier of defenders. He had taken over top pairing duties before a mystery ailment knocked him out of the lineup. Judged as a top pairing D he was good but not great.
B Andrej Sekera: Give this another couple weeks and he’s sitting at a B+. The slow start to his year has really evened out over the last 20 games. Sekera, as it turns out, is quite good 3v3 and on the PP. He has been used on the left and right side of the ice depending on who has been healthy. He can play the shutdown role or in the offensive zone equally well. I’m really liking what I’m seeing out there.
B Brandon Davidson: As a 3rd pairing Defender Davidson has done better than I ever gave him credit for. He has made a believer out of me. I have absolutely no problem with Davidson going forward as the team’s number 6. There is a compelling argument for Davidson being Edmonton’s 4th best blueliner this year. For that reason he earned this mark.
C+ Eric Gryba: I like Gryba more than a lot of my blogger peers. He’s physical and he doesn’t suffer delusions of being an offensive defender BUT once in a while he joins the rush and looks way better than he has any right to. He does not move the puck well at all though. His move is off the glass or banked out. It doesn’t even matter if he has a clear passing lane. It’s off the wall and out.
C+ Darnell Nurse: This is not a grade for his potential, it’s a grade for his performance. The fancies make it painfully obvious that Nurse is an NHL rookie. With that in mind, his skill level is obvious. He has every tool in the tool box. He’s leading all rookies in minutes though. If they could, they should probably have Nurse playing sheltered minutes on the 3rd pairing instead of monster minutes on the 1st or 2nd pair.
C Griffin Reinhart: The Big Cat was cool as a cucumber with the Oilers but a numbers game required someone to go down to the AHL and Reinhart didn’t have to clear waivers. In addition to the ease of sending him down, he was most likely to benefit from big minutes. The fancies didn’t like the Gryba-Reinhart duo. I think he was doing relatively well considering his limited experience. C- Mark Fayne: There’s a player in there who can still contribute in the NHL, but will it be with the Oilers? He isn’t the worst defenseman on the Oilers and I don’t think he needed to go to the AHL. Still, that’s not good enough, is it? He is a positionally sound complementary defender without an established stud defender to complement. He had a chance to cement himself in the top 4 and didn’t deliver.
F Justin Schultz: The failure is so complete that not even 7-8 games of him trying to be more assertive to start the year are enough to overcome the fact that he’s on pace for just 10 points this year. Justin Schultz isn’t employed for his defensive zone coverage (non-existent). He isn’t employed for his brute physicality (har-dee-har-har). He is employed for his offense. That’s why he was the top PP defender until very recently. He should be providing offense. He has 1 goal, just 4 points.
F Nikita Nikitin: Career in the NHL is uncertain. Skills are eroding at an alarming rate for a defender. The Oilers would rather pay him 4.5 million to play in the AHL than occupy a spot on a banged up defense. Even though I think he was OK when called up, I cant give a passing grade to the debacle that has been the Nikitin Era. F Andrew Ference: They took the C off his chest and put him on the *air quotes* Injured Reserve */air quotes*. He’s a great pro, in peak shape, and a genuinely good guy off the ice. He is involved in the community heavily and the Spider-Mable stuff was fantastic. He just isn’t an NHL player anymore.
GOALTENDERS
C+ Cam Talbot: His last 10 games have been spectacular but he was acquired to stop pucks and that hasn’t been done with enough regularity. He had the inside track for the starter’s job but bumbled it early and often, leaving the door open for his backup to play just as many games as him. He has a .910 save percentage through 22GP. The good news is he’s trending up right now.
C+ Anders Nilsson: Anders The Giant has had flashes of brilliance in this half of the year. As an NHL goaltender his .908 save percentage is (like Talbot’s) not good enough to be considered a great option as a starter. I had no real expectations for this player to start the year though. I thought it would be Nilsson in the AHL, not Scrivens before camp opened. As such it’s hard not to give Nilsson credit for unseating a player with a bigger contract and longer NHL track record.
TOTALS
Forwards: 3 A’s, 6 B’s, 3 C’s, 5 D’s Defensemen: 3 B’s, 4 C’s, 3 F’s Goaltenders: 2 C’s
The Oilers are improved over a year ago but have suffered critical injuries and struggles from critical players. Not having an established top defenseman is still hurting the team, as is not having a goalie meeting league averages in save percentage. Several players are coming back from injury and/or trending upwards. There’s still reason to hold onto hope for this club even with its warts.
There’s always a desire to complain that grades are TOO high for a club in the bottom 3rd of the NHL. Let’s be real here. There are grades for 29 players here and only 12 of them have a grade meeting or exceeding expectations for the roles they play. 17 of these men are below average or worse. That’s how you build a loser. It’s not that you have a bad player, it’s that you have a whole line full of them.
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