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Quick Thoughts - Oilers Training Camp Day 1

September 13, 2019, 6:45 PM ET [28 Comments]
Sean Maloughney
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT


Fitness testing occurred yesterday but the real beginning of Training Camp began today as players were actually on the ice, lines were created, and drills were run. I feel a little like the boy who cried wolf here but once again let me say; hockey is back!

The first day is really an introduction for the players as the coaching staff begins to unveil their system. Lines are going to be juggled plenty over the coming days but there is still plenty to comment on.

GROUP A was as followed:

Draisaitl - McDavid - Kassian

Khaira - Sheahan - Archibald

Currie - Gambardella - Malone

Benson - McLeod - Yamamoto

Peluso - Esposito - Safin

No real surprise to see Draisaitl, McDavid and Kassian together. The Drai/McDavid duo is a given and Kassian showed well at the end of last season. Kassian gave a blunt answer to the media today in regards to the atmosphere in the past couple seasons in the locker room. It's nice to see Zack being more vocal.

McDavid will likely not play in any pre-season games but should be ready for the start of the season. Let's all be honest here, McDavid doesn't need pre-season action to get himself into form. Today, Connor was on the ice in a normal jersey, refusing to wear a non-contact one. McDavid was blazing around the ice today at not once looked in pain nor did he ever have to step off the ice due to fatigue or injury. Rest easy Oilers fans, the captain is doing fine.

In a recent interview, Tippett mentioned he sees Edmonton having a more traditional top 6 and bottom 6, speaking specifically that he sees the bottom 6 as being seperated into a more heavy line and a more speed based line. The Khaira-Shehan-Archibald mostly fits that model, with the exception of the 176lb Archibald.

For Currie, Gambardella, Malone the message is clear. They are currently on the outside looking in. With every passing year their odds at being NHL players decreases. They need to stand out in this camp.

Benson, McLeod, Yamamoto could be the top line in the AHL this season. These three represent Edmonton's most dynamic forward prospects at the moment. In the past Yamamoto has looked brilliant in pre-season but has yet to show anything in the regular NHL season. Yammer should know by now what is expected of him and should be a good mentor for McLeod and Benson.

Klefbom - Persson

Manning - Benning

Lowe - Bear

Desharnais

Most interesting story with these early pairings is Persson with Klefbom. Arguably the biggest area that needs to be discovered this training camp is who will play with Oscar Klefbom. The 24 year old Persson has played against men for years and is an offense first player. Look for these two to get some pre-season action together.

Quick side note, Mike Smith missed day one due to illness and Kris Russell is on concussion protocol for a week after colliding with a teammate during an informal skate.

GROUP B

Gagner - Nugent-Hopkins - Neal

Jurco - Marody - Chiasson

Granlund - Haas - Hebig

Nygard - Cave - Russell

Vesey - Starrett - Lavoie (Maksimov rotating in)



RNH has stated how he feels he really needs more consistent wingers this year and he couldn't be more right. Nuge has had the ufortunate time of dealing with a mismatch of players thrown to him, while Draisaitl and McDavid get to play with each other. Hopefully Neal can be an effective top 6 player and quickly gain chemistry with Nuge. Gagner meanwhile has shown he can produce with good players. I see that LW spot Gagner currently occupies as being very fluid throughout camp.

Tough to say anything much about the other players here, though seeing Chiasson not starting among the bigger names is promising. If Chiasson can produce 10+ goals away from the Oilers top players, he will be worth his deal.

Nurse - Larsson

Lagesson - Bouchard

Samorukov - Jones

Kulevich - Day

At least for now the Nurse-Larsson pairing looks to be Edmonton's top pair to start the season. Bouchard and the well developed Lagesson start together with both having a strong chance at starting the season with the Oilers. Bouchard in particular apparently was one of the best performers during the fitness testing. Regardless of whether you believe it to be right or not, I think Bouchard starts the season with the big club.

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Quickly after breaking out onto the ice, the lines went into drills and Tippett preached the importance of all 5 players being involved at both areas of the ice. Too often last season the forwards were not effectively involved in the defensive zone while the defensemen also were caught standing still during offensive rushes. Hearing Tippett declare that the players on the ice can't wait for the play to come to them, nor can they allow the opposition to enter their zone unchallenged is music to my ears. The catch is seeing them actually do that in real play.
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