It’s Friday and the Oilers wont play again until Sunday no matter how many times I hit refresh on the Schedule page of the team website. This is causing me undo grief and, worst of all, I’ll probably have to interact with my family all weekend because of it. Between the mashing of F5 and the active avoidance of work I’ve been practicing I’ve found the time to think about a few topics, but these aren’t fully formed just yet. In fact, I don’t think anybody should have fully formed opinions of this team based on 3 training camp games.
With that said, here are the things I’m seeing out there:
1) Vladdy Hockey/Vlad Tkachev is a wonderful story and the Oilers need to get him signed right now. Very recently the MSM guys have started backing off the love-in for Tkachev, but that’s probably just because it’s kind of boring to agree with everybody all the time. However, this is a rare chance to get a do-over from the draft. The kid has crazy skill packed into a teeny tiny body. There’s about a 100% chance he’s going to get bigger (even a little) before Jujhar Khaira adds more offensive ability. The kid has “it…. How much he wants to get paid is the big question. Some people get their knickers in a bunch about how much X guy makes on his entry level deal. I don’t know why. If he can be had for the going rate of a 2nd round Draft Pick then do it. He’s better than every 2nd rounder we currently have in the system anyway.
2) Yakimov. Before I saw him play I figured size would be what gets Bogdan Yakimov into the NHL. At 6’5… and 232lbs I figured that would be his calling card. I was wrong. What’s going to get him into the NHL will be the way he carries the puck into the offensive zone with control. His agility is much better than I anticipated and his stick handling isn’t far off. More and more evidence is mounting that controlled Zone Entries produce much more offense than all others and the big Russian has impressed me there. He isn’t afraid to skate into the zone with the puck using his size and speed to protect it. I don’t think his AHL education will take all that long.
3) RNH. It’s the preseason and he’s chewing up the backup’s backup so I cant get *too* excited, but good gravy does his shot look sharp. Much has been made about his point production since his rookie season but this is the first time he’s entered camp physically prepared since that 1st year. He has always been a supreme skater, now it looks like having a 2nd shoulder is about to take his game to another level. That’s my assessment after 1 week though, give me the opportunity to change my mind before the end of camp if necessary.
4) The center depth for the team is getting better. I mean that organizationally though, the NHL club is still going to need a lot of things to go right for them this year. Ewanyk, Khaira, Yakimov, and Lander are decent prospects for bottom 6 roles. Ewanyk might one day be a 4th line penalty killing type, Khaira might follow a similar path, Lander looks like a jack-of-all-trades forward, and Yakimov is a sleeper to have a significantly more impactful career. The good news is the team really only needs 1 of them to turn out if they can count on RNH, Gordon, and Draisaitl.
5) Draisaitl. He looked tired after the RHIET but my most lasting impression of Draisaitl has been inside the offensive zone with possession. He is a magnet for the puck and his body type is made to compete against the Western Conference. He’s just a kid but it is easy to see why he was taken 3rd Overall. The one knock against him is that he doesn’t appear to have much in the way of speed. That doesn’t mean much if he can slow the game down, but I’m willing to bet the Oilers and David Pelletier transform a potential weakness into a strength.
6) I haven’t been overly impressed with many of the depth Defenders. Nobody is standing out to me right now, not even Darnell Nurse. That isn’t to say by the end of camp I wont be raving about him, but right now I’m not. The same goes for Klefbom, Aulie, or even Marincin (and I am huge Marincin supporter). It just hasn’t inspired a lot of confidence yet. I sure hope they get better.
7) Is it Sunday yet?
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