The Edmonton Oilers recalled Noah Philp and Drake Caggiula yesterday, and there are multiple discussion points surrounding both players. Today, I’d like to talk about Philp’s procurement and what it might mean to the Oilers moving forward.
The Athletic article today is about the most attractive trade assets available to Oilers general manager Stan Bowman between now and the trade deadline. The article is here.
YOUR BACK YARD
I’ve been staring at the Oilers draft lists since the WHA days, and have reached some conclusions. Edmonton’s scouts can identify talent in the USHL, NCAA and Russia, but getting that talent to the NHL in an Oilers uniform is like climbing Everest.
John Marino was a brilliant selection in 2015, but if you read accounts of his thinking as he entered the process to sign a pro deal, the Oilers holding his draft rights had minimal impact. Edmonton management were basically observers. That’s not a good place to be.
One September years ago there were several articles about KHL signee Bogdan Yakimov and his impressive physique. He was faster than thought, capable of impacting at a high level. Some articles implied he would make the NHL team out of camp. Instead, he was sent to the Bakersfield Condors and back in Russia by the new year.
Skyler Brind’Amour was a late round selection who showed above average defensive acumen from the center position during his NCAA career with Quinnipiac. When it came time to sign a pro deal, it was with the Carolina Hurricanes. It didn’t hurt that his Dad coached the NHL team, and he signed with the NHL team that plays in the city he was born, but Edmonton invested a draft pick in him and received nothing.
Noah Philp may represent a solution. He played in the AJHL, WHL and for the Alberta Golden Bears in Canadian college hockey. He owns a range of skills that will allow him to play a responsible game at center or on the wing. He’s a plug-and-play option for the Oilers and scored 21 goals in 76 AHL games before getting the call. The NHL equivalency for his time with the Condors (82 games, 11-10-21) suggests a bottom six role and that’s a useful player. He could emerge as an option at No. 3 center, and that’s a foundation spot on an NHL team.
I think most fans look at Philp as a one-off, unlikely to be repeated. I think the better way to look at it is this: Edmonton doesn’t have many picks and more are going out the door at the deadline. Finding players like Philp is a big damn deal, and the fact he was playing in Edmonton’s backyard is a major positive. I think Philp should be the first of many such signings, make the Canadian colleges a hotbed for Oilers talent. Philp could be the tip of the spear, and Stan Bowman has a background in uncovering talent from all manner of places (including Russia, perhaps he’ll elevate the Oilers in that area).
I don’t believe the Oilers should be bullied out of any league, as a matter of fact I think the USHL is the future of hockey development for NHL teams. I do think Philp represents a possible future for a team that needs to sign undrafted free agents with a real chance to contribute as NHL players.
A busy afternoon on the Lowdown, Sports 1440 noon to 2pm. We’ll have the latest on Connor McDavid as well as new lines (and possible pairings). Bruce McCurdy from the Cult of Hockey will join us and we’ll have Declan Krueger’s Declanations (Dunkin’ with Declan today) at 1:40. This is a big day for Oilers fans, and Sports 1440 will cover it like a blanket. I’m at Lowetide on twitter, in the comments section here and on the Sports 1440 text line at 1.833.401.1440 directly. We can be heard at sports1440.ca; iHeartRadio; Radioplayer Canada, we tweet out the show after it’s done and you can catch us on Apple and Spotify.
So Philp and The drake. There goes accruing cap space till McD gets back.
Has anyone figured out our projected cap at the deadline after this?
Noah Philp mentioned his wife in his pre-game media.
I believe that is a new thing.
I know that, during his time off, he spent a while travelling in Europe and had met a girl there that he was still together with. Good on him, this is a big deal given where he was a few years ago with his personal matters.
Impossible not to root for this guy, right?
It’s also his 1st game in the N.H.L at age 26 .
I loved watching him with the UofA Golden Bears. From the first time I saw him play I thought he had the look of someone that could go pretty far in the game – little did I know he’d end up on the Oilers. I’ll be cheering hard for him in his first NHL game.
I’m guessing the last rookie playing his 1st game to score would be Eberle.
Still best ever first goal in a first game. Has to be!
Possibly for an Oiler.
Pretty hard to beat Lemieux’s first goal, on his first shot, of his first shift, of his first NHL game.
Pretty sure Gazdic matched this Lemieux stat in his first game, but I might be mistaken.
For me it was Kevin Lowe that was a proud moment for the little northern outpost city.
Per Tony B:
EDM PP units get to work at practice.
Unit 1: Draisaitl, RNH, Hyman, Ekholm, Bouchard
Unit 2: Arvidsson, Skinner, Henrique, Perry, Nurse
Surprising not having 2-D on the 2nd PP.
Also surprising having two on PP1.
Per Stauff:
The @EdmontonOilers in Nashville
Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Arvidsson
Skinner-RNH-Hyman
Janmark-Henrique-Brown
Caggiula/Ryan-Philp-Perry
Ekholm-Bouchard
Nurse-Dermott
Kulak-Emberson/Stecher
Pickard (starter’s net)
Skinner
Ugh. I hope Nurse and Dermott together at practice is just a practical joke.
They are rocking a 44.71% CF; 0-2 in goals; and 27.06% xGF.
I’d be rolling Stetcher with Nurse for now and running Kulak-Emberson for at least the next few weeks for consistency’s sake.
I don’t hate those forward lines at all.
When they traded Ceci,they might as well traded Nurse.He might not have been the best defencemen but he and Nurse had a certain chemistry built over a number of years.Now Bowman is actively searching for a partner for Nurse……will,he be as good and cheap as Ceci?Will he be as cheap?How long until the new guy has chemistry with Nurse.ANOTHER MISS BY OUR USELESS MANAGEMANT…….not to mention Bromberg,Holloway,Lavoie,McLeod,and Desairnais!!!!!!
N
you’re joking; the demand for Nurse exists only if the Oilers retain 3-4 million. I’d actually do it
All true, if you ignore the more important second season
I prefer trying something different and suffer the growing pains
Hamblin and Pederson out for a while (Hamblin is min 4-6 weeks) and Caggiula and Philp up.
I presume they were planning on easing Jarventie in given he hasn’t played on 10 months, rehabbed during the off season and missed all of camp and the first 6 games of the season but opportunities abound for him.
Also, here you got Matvey Petrov, you will likely be given a real bump in minutes and PP time – can you grab this opportunity that was gifted (not really earned)?
Grubbe has been good and has earned the move up the lineup he’ll likely get.
I was hauling a big, heavy box during a garage sale back in 2004. I was 16 and could not see where I was walking. We lived in the country, and as I was walking, I walked into a deep tire rut in the gravel and rolled my ankle badly. Personally, until then, I had never sworn so much at a rut before. My ankle was purple and bruised badly. I could not even make it to safe grad that night. Then, I got hurt again in my senior year playing football with the Lac La Biche Huskies. I hit a soft spot in the field and rolled my ankle, and it was stepped on. My ankle has never been the same.
I’m 61 and broke mine in an adult league game last March. I started skating again in September and it was as if I hadn’t missed a beat – I think I was -3 or -4 in a 7-0 loss. 🙂 🙂 🙂
This made me smile 🙂 Good for you still rolling out there, minuses be damned!
And seriously, there’s no I in team, some other folks took some minuses as well.
Left foot.. my lead jumper is why this list has happened to the same foot.
-3 major sprains (worst one was a cleat in a fence and twist in baseball)
-2 avulsion breaks (indoor vball sprain included)
1 metatarsal clean break (4th) (during a sprain roll)
I skip 200-600 reps 2-3 times a week with my workouts, snowboard 15 days a year and its pretty much fine all round… def has the breaks there but no pain and i PUSH and I would be a retired NHLer age wise.
The key for me was in the healing each time. I let it heal properly and when I thought it was healed I waited and let it heal more.
Athletes tend to come back to early and they re-injure in a lot of cases. Just watch football for a few weeks. Hockey does it as well. ahem E Kane.
Management/ownership has a history of pressuring players to come back before they’re ready. It’s not always just the player.
All of that goes without saying… manangement/ownership, pressure, money, being competitive… all to get back out there asap
I think Bowman has spoken about procuring talent from some of the non-traditional places.
As far as the USHL goes, I think the hiring of Kalle Larsson show’ the Oilers’ acknowledgement of this league and likely provides them with a wealth of intel related thereto.
If I remember correctly, there was a connection to Chiarelli and, once he was let go, there was zero chance of Marino signing with Edmonton.
Holland did a solid job getting a 6th rounder for his rights and that trade may turn out to be a very good one as the 6th rounder was used to select Shane LeChance who has turned in to a real prospect of note (and is PPG so far this season without a Celebrini bump).
The trip on McDavid I suppose was harmless enough but nonetheless it was a clear trip and penalty in a dangerous spot along the boards. Just another clear play where the NHL remains the only league that refuses to protect its star players.
It may well have resulted in a completely different game and outcome. Who knows if an early penalty call might have motivated our PP unit to success… the team would have recognized the injury to Connor and inflicted revenge in the form of a goal. Does anyone in the NHL review questionable officiating… has an official ever been punished for poor performance, ever?
I would not be surprised if the NHL had a conversation with the refs afterwards and said to them you have to be ready to go from the opening faceoff. I mean, the official is right there so they only way he misses that is that he’s not prepared.
Friedman saying McDavid will be out 2-3 weeks, that they’ve dodged a bullet.
Per fishman’s comment. The top 6 are at this point doing better than the bottom 6. At 5v5 there are only 4 F at GF% 50 or better and 2 are at 50, one is Perry. For points only Janmark is in the top 6
For D only Ek and Bouch have a positive goal share at 5v5 and have the majority of points. My suspicion is that they aren’t playing connected enough as a unit, and it’s impacting both D and F. The question is why that is?
I don’t think Ceci or Des would have changed this. Maybe losing McLeod’s transporting is an issue, but in the first 10 games last season neither McLeod or Holloway had any points at 5v5 and they were 7th and 8th in TOI
Ryan peaked out in the 21/22 playoffs. He did well in 22/23. Considering his entire season plus age it was not logical to have him pencilled in as anything but a support position, and even that only because he was signed for this year.
And there is no shame here, Ryan contributed and is respected.
But in regards to roster building for 23/24, – what were you thinking??
Leon turned 29 years. The team does not need veteran talent like it used to. It has it.
Thus Perry as well. Okay, if you had to carry one veteran guy who can add intangibles and show the team how to stick up for your mates – hes the guy.
Then pencil in Janmark and Brown as your third line wingers. Wingers who scored 5 goals between then for all of last years regular season? – What were you thinking?
If you want to reward good performance, take them out for dinner. But dont clog up your roster based on last years run, not everything will be duplicated. All these players have a greater chance to decline than improve. Look forward. These players would be doing well if they could just repeat thier fourth line role, let alone third line.
Agreed. We’ll see how things shake out
I think there is something in how they play that makes it hard for them to produce. Other teams have limited players in their bottom 6, and those guys can sure score on us
It could be the types of players and balance. I know that Dallas looks for specific types and likes shooters. The Oilers seem to like guys who want to pass the puck into the net and aren’t good shooters, at least until JJ got Skinner and Arvi
The coaches haven’t had a full season and it may not have been enough time to change what they were used to doing. Which to me often seems like being too focused on playing to the corners and cycling
People saw Janmark and Brown in the playoffs and thought they could duplicate that throughout the season
Janmark never scored at less than a 25 point pace before last year. Brown had 3 straight seasons at a 50 point pace before his injury.
Maybe it continues, but last (regular) season was the anomaly for them.
People believed the playoffs because that was a return to their norm.
Not all people.
Firstly, their playoff performance was over-rated – that line with Henrique that everyone fell in love with played a total of 52 minutes together and, while they outscored 3-2, they got absolutely caved via the numbers and ran a PDO heater.
Not to mention, some opined that the puck pressure style of play that we saw in the playoffs was not sustainable for them over the course of a regular season.
I was fine and happy to bring the 3 back although always thought than Janmark’s contract was an overpay, in particular given the term.
I figured Brown would be a big value contract but, truth be told, he’s playing like a $1MM player.
Who were the best PK players last year?I would think McLeod and Nuge.Why trade McLeod for a small untested rookie,not the fact he was a first rounder.I thought we were after the cup?Why break up a winning team when we could have left them the same?Changing almost one third of the team has destroyed any chemistry they had.
There are lots of impact players that were once “small untested rookies”.
I wasn’t in the conversations but I presume it was a trade for an opportunity to trade from a position of strength (Adam Henrique at 3C is indeed a strength even with his start to the season) to get a very good young prospect that is within a year of being NHL ready, has a high ceiling and is just starting a 3-year ELC. McLeod was traded for value to get an asset with term and reduce current cap space.
At the time of the trade, the Oilers had Holloway and likely anticipated him in the lineup at apx $1MM which was 100% reasonable to anticipate.
There was late turnover of the roster in August that was not expected and its created a problem.
Hope for success for the young man and a short absence for Mcdavid.
hmmm, who else can we say this same thing about…
Dozens over the years
Agree, it’s a recent trend imo, that there is an opportunity to improve this area of managing a team. From ensuring our draft rationale includes a realistic projection on if a player will actually sign with Edmonton, to having a sense of prospect satisfaction with fair opportunities given, to protecting assets through the development process to ensure fair value is received. All of these things add up
It’s not just a recent trend. EDM was the farm team for the league for one metric forever. This trend has reversed in recent years.
This happens to other teams, and seemingly more often than it used to. Some prominent examples come to mind:
Justin Schultz with ANA.
Jimmy Vesey with NSH.
Adam Fox with CGY (ouch).
Todd McLellan and Peter Chiarelli.
I’m glad Philp is here (less sure about the Caggiula recall). I hope he helps that bottom six look faster and harder on the puck. I think it is great he gets a practice day with the team and some time on the road in a good city too.
We await what the team does in 97s absence starting tomorrow night.
I too am glad Philp getting an opportunity. Perry/Ryan are no longer every day players. Unfortunately Oilers underwhelming performance is not the blame of the 4 th line. It clearly falls on the shoulders of top 6 forwards, top 4 D and netminding. Looking at you Nuge, Hyman, Henrique, Nurse and Stu Skinner.
At the same time, if other teams don’t feel the bottom six is a threat to score, then they don’t have to concentrate defensive effort against them. We’ve already seen in games this season the opposition’s 4th line getting offensive results against the Oilers and tilting the game in their favor. It would be good to see a threat of offense along with not getting caved in results. The marquee names have to step up, but so do the muckers.
This is so very true.
The bottom of the roster must contribute in many ways that will help the top of the roster to find the back of the net.
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Philp would have made an excellent fourth line with Podkolzin and Lavoie.If only the management team had the guts to put Ryan or Perry on waivers.
If the Oilers wanted to play Lavoie on their fourth line, they could probably acquire him for all but a future considerations type return.
The Oilers were one of 32 organizations (out of 32) that were not willing to put Lavoie on their NHL roster for no asset cost and league min on the cap.
Caggiula is PPG (2G/3A in five games) and a plus 2 on a Condors team struggling to score and Lavoie is 1G/1A and -5 in five games for Henderson.