This is the Oilers lineup mid-September during the 2017 preseason. It’s a wild bunch for sure, some fun names (Yohann Auvitu!) but very few who are still playing NHL hockey. Many young players didn’t make the grade, and some even think Kailer Yamamoto (who has now played more than 300 NHL games) never really made it. I think it’s time for us to have a chat about what success looks like for each individual player.

WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE?

A player chosen in the first round of the NHL draft should play at least 150 games to be considered a success. Those chosen No. 1 overall, or in the top five, should exceed 500 to be considered a success (goalies can be successful with fewer games, of course). By the middle of the first round, the GP requirement dwindles quickly. Sam O’Reilly, chosen at the very end of the 2024 draft, should be considered a success with 150 NHL games. Beyond the first round, any player who reaches 100 NHL games is a success.

Those players chosen after the No. 100 selection should be considered a success if they can manage 50+ games in the NHL. Undrafted signings should be considered a success with a single NHL game on their resumes.

Kailer Yamamoto, chosen No. 22 overall in 2017, has played 303 NHL games. No matter what happens from here, Yamamoto was a successful draft pick.

A tougher one, and I don’t mind telling you this is a difficult math issue, will be Jesse Puljujarvi. Chosen No. 4 overall, he has 356 NHL games on his player card, and is averaging 12-15-27 per 82 games. Simply no way to call that a success. Some will blame the player, others will point to injury, and I’ll suggest the organization handled his early career as badly as is humanly possible.

Puljujarvi, after multiple procedures on hips, had a hat-trick early in this year’s preseason. If he can grab a roster spot, and continue his career as an NHL player, success may come in the future. He is 26. Miles to go.

Among the draft picks 2015+ I consider to be successes: Connor McDavid, Caleb Jones, Ethan Bear, John Marino, Vincent Desharnais, Kailer Yamamoto, Stuart Skinner, Evan Bouchard, Ryan McLeod, Mike Kesselring, Matej Blumel, Phil Kemp.

Among those who are still pushing and could eventually become successes: Jesse Puljujarvi, Markus Niemelainen, Dmitri Samorukov, Olivier Rodrigue, Philip Broberg, Raphael Lavoie, Ilya Konovalov, Dylan Holloway.

Among the picks 2015+ we can view as falling short of success: Tyler Benson, Matthew Cairns, Filip Berglund. YMMV.

CERTAIN AND UNCERTIAN OILERS

The first name from the ‘uncertain’ list has been sent to Bakersfield, and this signals the start of the final stretch of cuts. We should see many more this week, and the distant bells should be just about completely gone. Calvin Pickard’s injury and the performances of Raphael Lavoie, Noah Philp and Ben Gleason are notable as we begin an important week.

DISTANT BELLS

There are six names left, and three of those are injured. It’s doubtful Drake Caggiula, Mike Hoffman or Lane Pederson make the team, my guess is we’ll see their futures decided in the next few days. I moved Pederson to the distant bell section after he played wing on the weekend. Perhaps I was mistaken, but I can’t see him making this team out of camp.

TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION DAY

This is a day of reflection for Canadians. I plan to spend part of the day educating myself about the events that occurred during the time I grew up in Maidstone. I need to know about the things that took place not far from where I was growing up, where I was safe and secure and free to live my life. I know many of you share the sentiment, and may want to learn more. I’ll link this and encourage you to link more in the comment section.

For me, I had no idea about what was happening in 1975, and would have been powerless to impact it. What I can do is to look to this generation, see the turmoil and suicide rates, and formulate ideas about how to make things better in this community. It is, after all, a community. We are all equal in the eyes of the God you pray to, this is a fact.

There may be some who frequent this blog who mildly or strongly disagree. That’s fine, we all have our views of things. I ask that you be respectful to those of us who are observing this day in the way it was intended. With sober thought, and an eye to making things better, whatever that might look like.