The Oilers are on the ice. I repeat, the Oilers are on the ice.
Training camp has begun, players are actually on the ice and we have line combinations and things to discuss. Or at least we would get into those if I didn't have a few other pieces of information to cover first.
Though Duncan Keith was on the ice for the informal captain's skates as late as September 15th, it has now been revealed that Keith was quarantining and would not be available for training camp until likely next Friday. This means that Mr. Leadership will miss the first five games of pre-season. This is due to Keith returning stateside to receive the Johnson and Johnson one shot vaccine and then flying back. Ultimately the entire situation is incredibly odd. Was the organization aware that Keith was not vaccinated? These rules have been known by the teams for weeks so why is this only happening now? Why was he allowed to skate with other players just a few days ago but once again finds himself having to quarantine. In the end this matters little when discussing the season but it does seem like a mistake by Holland.
The second piece of information impacts the roster much more. It came out yesterday that the Oilers did have one unvaccinated player and that the organization believes that this fact will not change. Holland cited that an unvaccinated player would miss at least 30 games this season, due to border issues and needing to quarantine as well. This player was heavily rumoured earlier on Tuesday to be Josh Archibald who has been vocal against COVID and vaccines on his social media. Later on that same day it was all but confirmed that Archibald is indeed the player.
Knowing this suddenly a few other decisions make increasing sense, specifically signing Colton Sceviour to a PTO. At this stage it seems very unlikely that the team can count on Archibald to change his tune and if he doesn't, the rules are clear; it's going to be very difficult for him to play.
At the end of the day this is a selfish move by Archibald, especially when a teammate of his in Alex Stallock is likely going to miss another full season due to a heart issue as a result of COVID. The only way I would cut Archibald any slack is if there is a preexisting medical condition that prevents him from being vaccinated but at this point that seems highly unlikely. If Archibald chooses to not get a vaccine, he might be sticking to his guns but he is going against science and quite simply letting down each and every one of his teammates.
Luckily Archibald is merely a 4th liner and penalty killer and the Oilers have plenty of guys who can step in and take his spot, likely for half the amount that he is being paid. Here were the lines out on the ice today for the Oilers:
GROUP 1
Hyman-McDavid-Puljujarvi
Perlini-Shore-Turris
Gennaro-Brosseau-Lavoie
Esposito-Malone-Sceviour
Tullio/Petrov-Rybinski-Bourgault
Koekkoek-Bouchard
Lagesson-Ceci
Kaldis-Kemp/Kubicek
Smith
Skinner
Kruger
I'm not going to break down each of these lines and instead I'll only talk about that matter in terms of players who could make the NHL roster this season. First and most prominent is what will likely be the Oilers top line this season. Tippett wasted no time putting Zach Hyman next to Connor McDavid and Jesse Puljujarvi. This is the first time since McDavid was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers that he will have two high end players playing alongside him without hurting the second line as a result. This trio developing chemistry early will go a long way in ensuring this team has playoff success.
Next up is the group of Perlini, Shore, and Turris. I find it a bit interesting that these three were put together right off the bat and I wonder if it's a subtle way for Tippett to tell these veterans that they need to outplay other players in order to earn their spot. Some of these guys will have a tough time making the roster with the younger talent pushing forward. More on that in a moment.
On defense we saw Koekkoek with Bouchard and Lagesson with Ceci. In some combination Ceci and Bouchard are locks for the right side for the Edmonton Oilers this season. Tippett after practice spoke about how integral Bouchard should be for the team this season. Big expectations are being placed on the player early. Koekkoek and Lagesson are fighting for positions as well; potentially as a regualr in the top 6 or to be a 7th defenseman. Russell is currently out with some soreness but is expected back soon. He will be in the same category as these players.
GROUP 2
RNH-Draisaitl-Yamamoto
Foegele-Ryan-Kassian
Benson-McLeod-Marody
Hamblin-Cracknell-Griffith
Safin/Soderlund-Englot-Kambietz
Nurse-Barrie
Broberg-Berglund
Niemelainen-Kesserling
Wanner
Koskinen
Konovalov
Rodrigue
Group 2 sees a couple lines that will almost certainly start together on opening night. The RNH, Draisaitl, Yamamoto line has been brought back together and hopefully with time in training camp and pre-season, this line can return to even close to the same scoring that they were able to do back in 19/20. Another line we could expect to be together is the bottom six trio of Foegele, Ryan, and Zack Kassian. Ryan and Foegele seem like a good duo that will be counted on to help the Oilers at 5 on 5 away from the big guns and Kassian could certainly be a fit beside them. I do believe at some point in camp we will see Yamamoto with this duo as well, just to see how they click together.
The most interesting line of the day for me was Benson with Marody and McLeod. Tippett reunited a line that dominated the AHL together and knows each other well. A few commented today that Benson looks significantly faster than he had a year ago and Holland himself in his interviews mentioned that he expects Benson to push for a spot. Each of these players have shown that there is little more they can learn in the AHL. The trick for all of them now is to translate and bring these skills to the NHL. I don't know if all of them will make it but these three are all in direct competition with the Perlini, Turris, and Shore trio. Personally I hope that youth prevails.
On the back end Nurse and Barrie were together which shouldn't be a surprise for anyone. This will once again likely be the big minutes duo for the Oilers. Barrie needs to find a way to clean up his game away from the puck which will go a long way. I have no doubts on the offensive abilities and expect Barrie to once again push for highest scoring defender in the league.
Lastly Broberg and Berglund were together once again. For now both of these players should be considered long shots to make the team but I will continue to keep my eyes on both of them. There are always camp surprises.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»