The Edmonton Oilers traditionally have an organized scrimmage during training camp. It was often called “The Joey Moss Cup” and offered fans a chance to look at the future. Today’s final scrimmage before the exhibition game against the Calgary Flames next week is being played in honour of Colby Cave. (Photo of Martin Marincin by Rob Ferguson).
THE ATHLETIC!
Great perspective from a ridiculous group of writers and analysts. I am proud to be part of The Athletic. Here are the most recent Oilers stories.
- New Daniel Nugent-Bowman: Notes from Oilers’ scrimmage: McDavid flies, Jones adapts, Athanasiou stalls
- New Lowetide: Imagining the city of Edmonton with the Oilers in a deep playoff run
- Lowetide: Ken Holland’s roster construction options over the next five months
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: Inside the bubble: Details on where and how NHL players will live in Edmonton
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: Q&A: Marco Sturm on Leon Draisaitl’s evolution and his impact on German hockey
- Jonathan Willis: Evan Bouchard’s AHL debut has him on track to become a No. 1 NHL defenceman
- Lowetide: Philip Broberg fortunate to arrive with Oilers under mature management
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: A ‘different’ Oilers initiation leaves Olivier Rodrigue wanting more
- Scott Powers and Daniel Nugent-Bowman: What to know from training camps as Blackhawks and Oilers prepare to meet
- Lowetide: Though shy offensively, Gaetan Haas is an intriguing playoff option
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: Setting the record straight: Why Caleb Jones revealed his COVID-19 test
- Lowetide: Zack Kassian’s role on Oilers top line must include responsible play
- Lowetide: What should Oilers fans expect from Connor McDavid in the playoffs?
- Jonathan Willis: Oilers get good cap news: Long-term outlook is tight but workable
- Lowetide: Dave Tippett’s postseason strategy against the Blackhawks
SEPTEMBER 2011 JOEY MOSS
Jeff Petry: Midnight without lights or high noon in the center of town, no one can tell me this guy is the 7th best defender in the group. A key player for the Edmonton Oilers, beginning this fall.
Curtis Hamilton: Had an early breakaway (startling, I didn’t know he was playing) and did a couple of things but this won’t be his year to shine at main camp.
Corey Potter: Played the sorties well, knows the angles and seems to have a little better footspeed than someone like Petiot. He played with Lowery, that tandem did some good things.
Phil Cornet: He showed well I thought, involved in the offensive end a few times. He reminds me a little of Trukhno in that he gets noticed early in TC, fades and then doesn’t do much in the AHL. Hopefully he’ll have some sustain.
Teemu Hartikainen: Man he’s going to push Omark if it comes down to that. I felt he had some very good shifts with Smyth and that tandem might get another look during pre-season. How do you hold this man back? I’m not sure you do.
Kirill Tulupov: Raised eyebrows on the Eager belt, concerns on the Hall mauling. I’m not certain he owns the brains God gave him but fear and a sense of the moment don’t appear to be in the vocabulary.
Tyler Pitlick: Seems to have better legs now that the rookie camp is done, I thought he made an impact at several times during the game.
Gilbert Brule: You can see why a team would be attracted to his skill set, and this game works for him on a lot of levels. One of them is shooting, he’s a born shooter. I don’t know what his future holds, but if he plays that way during preseason the Oilers can find him a home.
Lennert Petrell: I thought he’d do more, but he did score a goal and marked his man well a few times (against Hall specifically a couple of times).
Tanner House: Nice goal, aggressive on the forecheck.
Anton Lander: Tough slot to play in, I thought he moved the play forward at times but also made the wrong decision with the puck in a couple of sequences. To be expected.
David Musil: I thought he was fine, stood up at the line well and coverage was good for the most part. Got an assist, but more impressive for me was the ability to move the puck up quickly and efficiently. Good day.
Martin Marincin: I was very impressed with him. Look, he’s young and gangly, but that big stick of his is very effective and makes passes difficult for opposition forwards down low. I really like him a lot, moreso after today.
Ryan Martindale: They need to sign him. Martindale is a big guy and he certainly will need to improve in areas but those hands with that size equals too good to pass up.
Antti Tyrvainen: Plays with an edge, lots of try and seemed to be around the puck a lot. Certainly looked good to me, in fact many of the kids who played in the rookie tournament in Penticton looked good. Probably a reflection of the extra week’s work.
PLAYERS I’M LOOKING FOR TODAY
Andreas Athanasiou: I’m not so interested in where he plays (I’ll guess Sheahan is his center) as how he performs. He does have two-way ability (he had just one negative season in goals-for REL) and showed some of that late in the regular season. AA has enough offense to score from the Sheahan line, so his five on five offense should be useful no matter where he players.
Tyler Ennis looked healthy and effective offensively in his Oilers games during the regular season. He’s in a good spot for another contract if he performs well, but I think coach Tippett will look for the McDavid line to outscore opponents five on five. Ennis will need to be on the good side of the score to keep the job.
Jujhar Khaira has a great shot at center on the fourth line, and if he can make it Tippett would have made every young fringe forward a better player in year one.
Joakim Nygard is on the outside looking in, so will need to wait for a chance or force his way up the depth chart. His speed should be on display this afternoon.
Gaetan Haas is a swiss-army knife who has been blocked by Khaira’s move to the middle. Like Nygard, he needs a break. I’ll be watching him to see if his forechecking and speed have an impact.
Tyler Benson is closer to an NHL job he was a year ago, and we could see him during the playoffs as a fourth-line option. Responsible play and an offensive spark would get noticed today.
Cooper Marody has appeared often on the scrimmage highlights and could take advantage of this playoff window to establish that he’s back from injuries.
William Lagesson isn’t going to get much playing time, but he can show his two-way ability this afternoon.
Evan Bouchard has received very little mention for his play so far, I’ll be checking to see if he still has 10 fingers and toes.
Philip Broberg has been anointed as THE prospect in camp and that brings with it some danger. I’m confident coach Tippett won’t place him in a position to fail and today I’ll look forward to seeing the young man’s foot speed.
I think most think it is related to his puck handling which both gets him in trouble and makes him a favourite with the offensive players but none of that shows up in GAA or SV% so the discussion really comes down to observation and feeling.
Hard to quantify.
No, the difference is that your logic is faulty, and Jones was not inserted into the line-up immediately like Bear was, and that from this evidence, prospects do reveal themselves in camp, often leaping over other prospects.
Don’t make the facts fit your theory. The theory should fit the facts.
Yes, but I still wasn’t 100% convinced it was real/repeatable. The W-L, and even the team GF/GA in a single season can be volatile. Smith has boosted his teams performance pretty consistently for his whole career. I’m very near 100% convinced now 🙂
Which shows up in the only stat that really counts – wins and losses. I think we all had this discussion a week or two back. 😉
Speak for yourself. Not everyone thinks like you.
I was saying all along Petry would end up playing for a cup winner.
Sheesh.
Scungilli Slushy,
That’s pretty close to my ideal alignment in a couple years. Sort of like having three elite second pairs/average+ first pairs.
If Larsson reups at a team friendly number we could have a juggernaut on our back end. Key, I think, is the ol’ handshake agreement concerning the expansion draft. Ditto Nuge. That really opens up a lot of options.
The look of
Nurse Bear
Klefbom Bouchard
Broberg Larsson
Is pretty good to me
Cap be damned!
I’m coming around to this POV. But we should also remember that he’s not very good at the actual stopping pucks part of his job. IMO it mostly evens out.
It really is remarkable what he’s done, given the QoC. Though as much is how much of a surprise it’s been. NO ONE (Holland and Tippett included) expected him to be this close/look this good. We knew he had the tools, that the package is/has come together this well and this soon (seemingly) is remarkable.
Definitely agree that offensive upside and confidence would be best served by SHL/AHL next year though.
I agree with all/most of this (although he could play quite a bit with Jones given the incumbent LD and RD ahead of Jones/Bear).
That sheltered 3rd pairing role and Tippett’s (and Playfair’s) ability to do that is key. On that note, its also on Holland to keep that depth on the right side. If Benning is traded and Bouchard comes to camp as 3RD, he is one Bear or Larsson tweak away from the top 4 (subject to Jones/Rusty playing their off side which also isn’t ideal).
Holland is not McTavish.
Also, Petry was turning 23 before he made the NHL. Petry was definitely under-valued by Oilers management and fans. I don’t see that happening. Broberg shining at a camp will not take the shine off what Bouchard brings when he gets his chance.
Recall game 2 of the 2019/20 season – Smith did all he could to try and lose the game to the Kings with his puck-handling.
I agree, his ability to stop the puck and pass to the d-man who have released (and can take a pass instead of a hit by a checker) is indeed a material plus.
This is true – difference, of course, is that Berglund wasn’t available to be included in this camp and these intra-squad scrimmages.
Point is that year after year after year after year, young talented players, generally with skating as a primary asset, shine during training camp and exhibition games – shit, less than a year ago, some though Ryan McLeod should break camp with the Oilers.
Great arrows up for Broberg, great arrows. I don’t imagine he’s moved himself past Jones or Lagesson (or even Bouchard) in the depth chart for the 2020 post-season.
We’ve seen training camp and intra-team scrimmages……
Lowetide,
Good piece… “In the interests of full disclosure, this is one of my favourite player types, and I’m already in mourning over a future without them.”… I feel the same way… although Coffey was, and always will be my favourite player.
Fitting closer for me as I believe tomorrow is my last day for the Athletic trial… truth be told, I think I only read one other article in 3 months that you weren’t the author… good stuff over there LT… cheers!
With due respect for everyone in the conversation, the difference between Petry-Schultz and Bouchard lies in management and coaching. If the men in charge of the team in 2012-14 were still driving the bus, Bouchard would be 150 games into his career, on the verge of a second contract, and the owner of an uneven past.
I wrote about Dave Tippett and young people. He’s good.
https://theathletic.com/1842869/2020/05/30/lowetide-oilers-coach-dave-tippetts-track-record-in-developing-young-players/
I too saw the semblance,
At the end of the day we both want him to succeed so I will offer 3 points of hope:
1. Bouchard will have the luxury of playing alongside a capable veteran NHLer when he plays 5v5 mins. Something Jultz did not
2. Dave Tippett will help to keep Boucherd in a sheltered 3rd pairing roll, and will not throw him to the wolves and watch him get eaten alive without making a change.
3. Bouchard will not likely have his confidence shattered by being expected to do too much on a shitty team with shitty goaltending and an endless cycle of losing.
Amazing how many young rookie D look capable on a successful NHL team.
I believe Jultz would have succeeded if he was just now joining this version of the Oilers, so so different from the team(s) he played on
dustrock,
Worse. Schultz.
Bouchard is Petry. This has all happened before. This shall all happen again.
When Smith’s on top of his game his puck handling skills throws the oppositions game plan right out the window. Smith’s exceptional puck handling is very underrated on this blog but it’s not by me or the opponents we are facing.
By this thinking Jones should have been inserted into the line-up when Bear was. Because Bear revealed himself in training camp, much like Broberg is now, and the last time Bear had played a pro game, Jones was the better defenceman on the team.
yeraslob,
Lol. I think it’s more likely he’s… searching for his lost shaker of salt…
Munny,
As one astute poster put it awhile back, he’s a master baiter.
Trust me. Neither does HH. 😉
You say that, but I don’t believe you.
Absolutely. I don’t expect it either. But stranger things have happened and that combo of size and speed has always been a pass card for playing against men.
Be a different story if he sucked in his own end, but he appears already better than Bouchard in that regard, and I think he would give Jones a run for his money.
But at the end of the day, I think his offensive upside is better served by playing tough comp in a lesser League than the best one. Shit though, the confidence he’s showing with the puck when there are guys like 97 on the ice. Or going up against compatriot stars Klef and Larsson. That’s something. It’s tantalizing.
I have no idea what you are talking about and I’m done with your bait.
Odds on Raffy being in the Canucks exhibition lineup? (which I guess would still only make him crumbs given he’s 5 years older than Bouchard)
Yes, but topped with smoked oysters and capers.
Extra forward for me would be Nygard.
Just because he’s been out of play so long.
Yeah it’s very tough to know.
It would be quite something if Broberg truly has leapfrogged some guys. These are just training camp scrimmages, but they’re also not *just* training camp scrimmages. Great arrows either way.
So, Bouchard is toast.
Good info.
I suspect Jones will be the extra d-man.
success will happen by being played in the appropriate league for the stage of development.
He just turned 19. Quinn Hughes played his 19 year old season in the NCAA.
If the Oilers had 2, 3, 4 exhibition games then, for sure, give him a game.
With one, the players that will be in the lineup August 1 need to play.
Heh. Well he doesn’t get to be the picker. Tuff noogies for Old Dutch.
Agreed. Lagesson did well for his case today, I thought. Klef, Bear and Broberg were still the three best defensemen on the ice though. But for coaches it’s all about the little things, which are tough to see on a youtube feed. So who knows what they’re thinking.
jp,
That’s pretty cool. Thank you for the work you put into it.
That would be very un-Holland like.
If Broberg is one of the 7D over Jones and Lagesson and Bouchard I suspect it would really mean something. (I don’t think we’ll see it)
Yeah, man. No doubt. It’s one of the advantages, might as well exploit it.
Yeah it’s been said many times. And Tippett is clearly a believer.
I didn’t fully believe it myself though (maybe this years numbers don’t hold in other years). But looking back further as I just posted, it does seem clear he makes his teams better most of the time.
No, I don’t expect he has decided yet. And so far so good on juggling to goalies, hopefully he keeps making the right calls.
Also, whatever Tippett decides, I’d expect he keeps it quiet until game day to keep the Hawks a little off balance.
As an addendum to the immediately above, I would be surprised if teams didn’t avail themselves of the opportunity to give two more skaters some Ex-time.
In the case of the Oilers D though there is the KRusty-Jones conundrum.
One presumes KRusty will get Gm 1, and I don’t see how I can disagree without contradicting myself on my Smith-starting theories, so I am okay with that. Especially since Jones doesn’t seem all Jonesy yet.
But I don’t see Kowboy playing flawless hockey, and one would think Jones will get a start somewhere against Second City. So you’d probably want to give the Flames game to Caleb over Phil.
But I’m pretty sure Broberg is a better defenceman right now than Kris Russell. And that’s going to bug me.
______
Edit: And the last thing I want to do right now is fuck with KRusty’s trade value.
They mentioned in the same sound bite that the teams are allowed an extra forward and defenceman for the exhibition, so could take their Gm 1 line-up and Broberg.
Why don’t you want Broberg to be successful?
A little more on Smith and what he may do aside from stopping pucks… Team xGF% with Smith and the other main goalie(s) on his teams each year (starting in 2008-09).
08-09 TB
Smith 41GP 47.8xGF%
Ramo 24GP 39.4xGF%
09-10 TB
Smith —– 42 47.3%
Niittymaki 49 45.0%
10-11 TB
Smith — 22 59.2%
Roloson 34 53.7%
Ellis —– 31 55.5%
11-12 PHX
Smith —– 67 48.4%
LaBarbera 19 46.6%
12-13 PHX
Smith —– 34 50.8%
LaBarbera 15 43.9%
13-14 PHX
Smith- 62 47.7%
Greiss 25 50.0%
14-15 ARI
Smith — 62 46.6%
Dubnyk 19 44.9%
15-16 ARI
Smith —– 32 46.4%
Domingue 39 48.4%
16-17 ARI
Smith —– 55 42.7%
Domingue 31 41.6%
17-18 CGY
Smith- 55 50.6%
Rittich 21 52.8%
18-19 CGY
Smith- 42 56.2%
Rittich 45 53.2%
19-20 EDM
Smith —- 39 52.5%
Koskinen 38 47.2%
12 seasons. Smith had a better xGF% than his teammate 9 times.
Smith was never more than 3% worse than his teammate. He was 3% better 5 seasons.
Smith does make his team better, pretty sure. (ofc he then gives most/all of it back)
It is amazing, despite a lot of personal effort resisting, how much a few people can really drag down the tone and mood here.
I need to give myself another time out.
When Berglund dominates the AHL we can talk.
Rafferty will be a bottom pairing NHL defenseman next season.
Until then, he’s also in picture.
The premise seems good and it deserves some thought although, at the same time, I think the coaching staff will want the players for the expected game 1 lineup to get that exhibition game (and I think each of the players will want/need it as well).
Of course, even if Broberg did play and show well, as its an exhibition game, it can only prove so much – we see solid performances from non-NHL ready players in exhibition games, even late schedule exhibition games, each and every year.
Timing is everything.
What in the world does that have to do with the topic of conversation? Nothing.
Brogan Rafferty is 25 years old……. I hear he’s a legit 2nd pairing d-man next year…..
I’m worried already that Oiler fans are going to hate him.
His calmness is going to get taken for nonchalance. Especially if he keeps the actual nonchalance in his game.
100 percent agreed. Gonna take both to take this baby home and might as well get both up-to-speed as quickly as possible.
As as has been said many times on this site, the team plays better with Smith in net.
Nor would I. I doubt Tippett has even decided yet, and it to me it looks pretty 50-50. Tipp knows these two guys better than I ever will, and will be around the two keepers leading into Gm 1, so I trust him to make the right choice regardless of whom he chooses.
I would say his time is now, making the extra Swedish season a little curious. Of course, Covid-19 made the point moot.