Recalled/Assigned: Ethan Bear Recalled

[McSpecial DraiBlend]

Benning is criminally underrated on these boards because we signed him as a free agent. Not to many 23 year old dmen who are in their 2nd season in the league. As a bottom pairing guy he's the type of guy you want. Problem is here he's being asked to play more then he should be. Which has been a problem with the Oilers forever.

I agree. In a bottom pairing role he would have had a better chance to continue his development. We always have the pitchforks out and never give young players the time and chance. If he can’t take a step forward next season then it is time to start getting alarmed.

 

[Brockon]

Haven't had a chance to see any of his play, how has Bear looked on the ice?

I know his stat sheet doesn't present favourably but that's rarely the whole story.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

I missed most of tonight's game but saw him on our last PP. Man oh man was that ever a beautiful sequence by Bear. If we strike out on adding another top 4 RHD I could see Ethan starting the year here next season as our 3rd pairing RD and getting some top unit PP time. He seems like a really nice and genuine guy that is mature beyond his years. I'm really pulling for him as we could use his skill set and it's always nice seeing good people succeed in life.

 

[GameChanger]

I missed most of tonight's game but saw him on our last PP. Man oh man was that ever a beautiful sequence by Bear. If we strike out on adding another top 4 RHD I could see Ethan starting the year here next season as our 3rd pairing RD and getting some top unit PP time. He seems like a really nice and genuine guy that is mature beyond his years. I'm really pulling for him as we could use his skill set and it's always nice seeing good people succeed in life.

There's some positive signs for next year. You can probably fill roster spots with Åberg and Bear, and Khaira may become a pretty good player, too. I expect Puljujarvi's usage to make sense under a new coach, too. There's gonna be holes in the roster, but this time if ever a better coach can make a big difference.

 

[McDaddy]

I missed most of tonight's game but saw him on our last PP. Man oh man was that ever a beautiful sequence by Bear. If we strike out on adding another top 4 RHD I could see Ethan starting the year here next season as our 3rd pairing RD and getting some top unit PP time. He seems like a really nice and genuine guy that is mature beyond his years. I'm really pulling for him as we could use his skill set and it's always nice seeing good people succeed in life.

I try telling people this, and they laugh at me. Glad someone else sees this too.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

I try telling people this, and they laugh at me. Glad someone else sees this too.

He got burned badly in the game against Nashville but has been solid since IMO. He seems like a quick study and his skills on the PP are high end IMO. If he can get quicker and stronger this offseason he could be hard to keep off of the team next year.

 

[GMofOilers]

Let me develop. No rush to have him on the Oilers at all.

 

[Spawn]

Let me develop. No rush to have him on the Oilers at all.

Agreed.

Once Larsson is ready to be back in the lineup, send Bear back down and let him continue to develop. He's seen how fast the NHL is and knows he'll need to work on reacting faster in defensive situations. Right now at this stage of his development his defensive play isn't there yet. Let it get there.

 

[Fourier]

Agreed.

Once Larsson is ready to be back in the lineup, send Bear back down and let him continue to develop. He's seen how fast the NHL is and knows he'll need to work on reacting faster in defensive situations. Right now at this stage of his development his defensive play isn't there yet. Let it get there.

If this was the start of the season I'd agree. But there is really no pressure to win right now (even though I still want them to) so isn't this a perfect time to give him a taste of what it is like at the next level. It's hard to learn to adjust to the speed of the game by playing in a slower more chaotic league. He may not be ready for the NHL yet, or even next year, but getting a chance like he did last night to play on a pp with guys like McDavid is a hugely valuable learning experience.

Offensively he has looked very good. Even if he can only be trusted on the third pair in the next few years if he can perform on the pp like he did at times last night it may prevent the team from over paying on a long term deal for a guy like Green (who I actually like by the way) just to fill the role of the RHD for the pp. Philly gave Ghost a shot without really any AHL time and while it was a bumpy ride it paid off big time for them.

If he starts to look overwhelmed then that's different. But I am not seeing that. He's made some mistakes for sure but no more so than you would expect from any rookie. Why not let him get those out when they can't hurt you.

 

[Canovin]

There's a good chance Bear is the answer to our PP. Why not test it? If he does well, we check off one box

 

[McJadeddog]

He got burned badly in the game against Nashville but has been solid since IMO. He seems like a quick study and his skills on the PP are high end IMO. If he can get quicker and stronger this offseason he could be hard to keep off of the team next year.

Agree. I was quite hard on him after the Nashville game, but he looked a lot better last night. Now albeit it was a very small sample size, but he looked markedly better than pretty much any other dman on the PP.

 

[Little Fury]

He got burned badly in the game against Nashville but has been solid since IMO. He seems like a quick study and his skills on the PP are high end IMO. If he can get quicker and stronger this offseason he could be hard to keep off of the team next year.

I'd rather he start down in the AHL along with Yamo and Benson and get big minutes there. None of those guys should get a sniff next year unless they absolutely blow the doors off.

 

[kevy999]

I'd rather he start down in the AHL along with Yamo and Benson and get big minutes there. None of those guys should get a sniff next year unless they absolutely blow the doors off.

um yea they should get a sniff if they are better than what we got and look good without blowing the doors off. You learn nothing going back down to the AHL

 

[Jamin]

um yea they should get a sniff if they are better than what we got and look good without blowing the doors off. You learn nothing going back down to the AHL

Not sure if serious? Just because the oilers suck don't let it trick you. 30 other teams develop players in the AHL, they send them there to learn. Only the oilers develop prospects in the big leagues at the cost of winning games.

I can 100% guarantee bear has learned in the AHL this year versus if he went straight to NHL from WHL

 

[Little Fury]

um yea they should get a sniff if they are better than what we got and look good without blowing the doors off. You learn nothing going back down to the AHL

Weird how so many other teams bring their prospects up through the AHL despite apparently there being no benefit to it.

 

[MoneyGuy]

um yea they should get a sniff if they are better than what we got and look good without blowing the doors off. You learn nothing going back down to the AHL

Disagree strongly with the bolded part.

 

[Aceboogie]

Weird how so many other teams bring their prospects up through the AHL despite apparently there being no benefit to it.

I dunno if Id agree with this. Its different for each player. Too many people try and apply one development model across all players. Different players respond differently. The AHL is not for everybody and there is a long list of players who were average in the AHL and developed better in the NHL, likewise there is a long list of players who benefitted a lot from the AHL

The AHL is a good development league, but the game itself is not representative of the NHL. The skill level is a lot lower, the systems are vastly different and so is the strategy coaches use. Its not a microcosm of the NHL just with less pressure that people make it out to be. Its less pressure yes, but different games. Some prospects have a game that is better suited for the NHL style right away, and some players need to round out their game in the AHL first. For skill players though, I think we are seeing a lot of them jump to the NHL faster than before because their game works best with other skilled players. Its why for example Barzal can go from the WHL with only 10 goals, and jump straight to the NHL and go PPG. Werenski, Provorov, Aho, Dunn, Carlo, beauvillier, Boeser (not exhaustive) are all examples of players from the 2015 draft who jumped into the NHL with little to no AHL time. Now some of those players are high level talents, but even the top 10 picks were 2 D who went straight to the NHL. Conventional wisdom says D should go to the AHL first. But I think teams are realising in some circumstances, a year spent learning the AHL game is a year wasted because they have to unlearn everything and relearn the NHL game, so might as well put them in the NHL and even if they struggle for a bit, they are learning the NHL game

I am not sure whats best for Bear. I could see him fit in the category of NHL development being better than prolonged AHL development. So maybe we do see him play 5 games more this year and get a chance to make the NHL next year. Hes a high skilled D, so it would not surprise me if this was his path, its not uncommon. Nor should it be held against the Oilers if this is whats done

 

[Canovin]

The AHL is important but if the coach is only focused on winning games and not developing the prospects then there's a problem. I personally do not trust our AHL team developing our prospects. Very little hit and plenty of misses.

 

[PaPaDee]

At this point, I'd rather have him in the line-up than Benning. Similar rookie mistakes, but at least Bear can help on the PP.

 

[Digger12]

With Bear nearly playing a half season in the AHL already, I don't see the issue with giving him NHL time for the last 1/4 season, in this specific case I think it would be a better learning experience for him than playing out the string in a mediocre Bakersfield...if they were a better team and were playoff bound then my answer might be different.

It'll give him a good springboard to next season, where he'll be making his first legitimate attempt to make the team out of camp.

Whether he plays down there or up here shouldn't hurt him either way, I just think he'll get more bang for his buck experience wise up here right now. No big deal either way as the situation currently stands.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

There's a good chance Bear is the answer to our PP. Why not test it? If he does well, we check off one box

Agreed, he could be a cheap fix on the PP for the next 2 years. As long as he doesn't cost us too much defensively he could be just what the Dr ordered.

Agree. I was quite hard on him after the Nashville game, but he looked a lot better last night. Now albeit it was a very small sample size, but he looked markedly better than pretty much any other dman on the PP.

The marked improvement (albeit going from playing against one of the NHL's best team to playing its worst) was an eye opener for me. The first game he looked too slow and just didn't look like he was ready. Yesterday at least on that last PP (I missed most of the game) he looked like a legit NHL PP point man.

I'd rather he start down in the AHL along with Yamo and Benson and get big minutes there. None of those guys should get a sniff next year unless they absolutely blow the doors off.

I get the sentiment, however if we can have him fill the same role that a $6 million Mike Green would on the PP, it is at least worth consideration.

With Bear nearly playing a half season in the AHL already, I don't see the issue with giving him NHL time for the last 1/4 season, in this specific case I think it would be a better learning experience for him than playing out the string in a mediocre Bakersfield...if they were a better team and were playoff bound then my answer might be different.

It'll give him a good springboard to next season, where he'll be making his first legitimate attempt to make the team out of camp.

Whether he plays down there or up here shouldn't hurt him either way, I just think he'll get more bang for his buck experience wise up here right now. No big deal either way as the situation currently stands.

Agreed, this is where he needs to be to learn the NHL game and what it will take to not only become a NHL defenseman, but a high end PP threat.

 

[Soundwave]

Let him play 5-6 more games, what's the problem? It's not like our AHL team is great at developing anyone anyway, let him get his feet water in the damn water and get used to the temperature of it.

 

[TheNumber4]

Another game where Bear has looked better offensive,y than any of our current D-men. An outlet pass that sends McDavid in on a rush and dangerous chance, a beautiful pass to Drai on the PP setting him up for an empty netter he dings the post on.

Kid has a knack for quick snappy passes that not only hit the mark, the decisions to send it there in the first place are on point.

 

[Jamin]

Question about contract. If he plays 9 games does it burn a year or since he is AHL it doesnt matter?

 

[Canovin]

Question about contract. If he plays 9 games does it burn a year or since he is AHL it doesnt matter?

Larsson will be back. Bear won't make it passed 9 games