Recalled/Assigned: Ethan Bear Recalled

[CupofOil]

So you’re saying he’s going to be a beast of a player someday?

No, he's saying that he's destined to be a New Jersey Devil.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

Anyone else just happy to see a player picked in the 5th round 2 draft ago is contributing at the NHL level? It's great to see these guys have a future.

 

[VainGretzky]

I thought he started off a lot better defensively than he has been of late , he needs to work on this part of the game, but such a likeable player

 

[Zaddy]

Anyone else just happy to see a player picked in the 5th round 2 draft ago is contributing at the NHL level? It's great to see these guys have a future.

Yup, but that's what happens when you target the right guys in the draft. Guys who are 'value picks', have good tools to work with and actually have shown some sort of NHL upside. I said it immediately after the draft that Bear and Jones were fantastic picks for where they were taken, so it's not a surprise to me at all that one of them is already contributing at the NHL level.

The draft is all about betting on the right guys. Sounds obvious but so many NHL teams make stupid picks with very low chances of ever making it, the Oilers having been one of those franchises for a very long time betting on guys like Liam Coughlin, Keven Bouchard, Ben Betker etc. They never showed that they had NHL upside and none of those guys deserved to be drafted.

And then you have guys like Mitch Moroz who may have deserved to be drafted but absolutely not early in the 2nd round. That's as away from a 'value pick' that you can come. You're just shooting yourself in the foot with a pick like that. Luckily this has gotten better in recent years and that's also why we're seeing a 5th round pick like Bear contribute already in his D+3 season. A guy like Maksimov could be next.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

Yup, but that's what happens when you target the right guys in the draft. Guys who are 'value picks', have good tools to work with and actually have shown some sort of NHL upside. I said it immediately after the draft that Bear and Jones were fantastic picks for where they were taken, so it's not a surprise to me at all that one of them is already contributing at the NHL level.

The draft is all about betting on the right guys. Sounds obvious but so many NHL teams make stupid picks with very low chances of ever making it, the Oilers having been one of those franchises for a very long time betting on guys like Liam Coughlin, Keven Bouchard, Ben Betker etc. They never showed that they had NHL upside and none of those guys deserved to be drafted.

And then you have guys like Mitch Moroz who may have deserved to be drafted but absolutely not early in the 2nd round. That's as away from a 'value pick' that you can come. You're just shooting yourself in the foot with a pick like that. Luckily this has gotten better in recent years and that's also why we're seeing a 5th round pick like Bear contribute already in his D+3 season. A guy like Maksimov could be next.

Agreed, again it can be a "crap shoot" because they're kids, but yes the scouting has improved to find players who might actually be able to play in the league someday.

 

[oilers'72]

No, he's saying that he's destined to be a New Jersey Devil.

Miroslav Satan couldn't even become a Devil.

 

[fuswald]

And if you multiply 74 by 9, you get 666!!!!!

On the same team as Jesus. God help the player who skips practice!

 

[Asiaoil]

I like the kid and Bear clearly has the offensive skills and potential to be an impact NHLer......but.........he is a very weak defensive player right now and is getting killed against 3rd and 4th line competition. He needs another full year in the AHL working intensely on his defensive game because that is what is going to keep him from earning a full-time NHL paycheck. If he can develop into a defenseman who can play decent 3rd pair defense and QB a PP - itʻs a big win. If he can become a guy who can play effective defense in a 2nd pair role alongside a guy like Nurse - that is lottery jackpot material.

A goal prevented is worth jut as much as a goal scored. Adam Larsson showed this at the end of the last LA game when he single-handedly prevented the tying goal twice in the last minute. He wonʻt be trotted out as the hero and 1st star for that effort, but itʻs worth just as much as an end to end Taylor Hall game winning goal. The only thing preventing Bear from being a star is his size and defensive ability. He canʻt grow 4 inches but he can learn to play effective defense like other notable small guys (Rafalski, Spurgeon, Krug). I donʻt mind keeping him up to advance his development in the remaining garbage time and show him how far his defensive game has to go - but they better give him a real clear message at the end of the season - the next recall will be based on him demonstrating the ability to defend against NHL players successfully. Feed him the toughest comp possible next year in the AHL and call him up only when he shows he can dominate against it at both ends of the rink.

 

[Soundwave]

I don't see him the AHL much next year.

The fact is his offensive instincts already look light years better than every other d-man on this team, which is sad, but it's also likely true.

I don't see how he doesn't make the team next year. Him and Yamamoto are both going to make it out of camp next year.

 

[McYoungGuns]

Kid needs to improve his speed. I get scared when he goes and retrieves the puck

ya but you're just a chicken, puk puk pukkkkkk

lol he has so much offensive ability, if he could work on his skating I would have no problem with him on the team next year.... after they way he got up on the play and just finished that beautiful saucer from McDavid I'm very sold on this guy

 

[Aceboogie]

I like the kid and Bear clearly has the offensive skills and potential to be an impact NHLer......but.........he is a very weak defensive player right now and is getting killed against 3rd and 4th line competition. He needs another full year in the AHL working intensely on his defensive game because that is what is going to keep him from earning a full-time NHL paycheck. If he can develop into a defenseman who can play decent 3rd pair defense and QB a PP - itʻs a big win. If he can become a guy who can play effective defense in a 2nd pair role alongside a guy like Nurse - that is lottery jackpot material.

A goal prevented is worth jut as much as a goal scored. Adam Larsson showed this at the end of the last LA game when he single-handedly prevented the tying goal twice in the last minute. He wonʻt be trotted out as the hero and 1st star for that effort, but itʻs worth just as much as an end to end Taylor Hall game winning goal. The only thing preventing Bear from being a star is his size and defensive ability. He canʻt grow 4 inches but he can learn to play effective defense like other notable small guys (Rafalski, Spurgeon, Krug). I donʻt mind keeping him up to advance his development in the remaining garbage time and show him how far his defensive game has to go - but they better give him a real clear message at the end of the season - the next recall will be based on him demonstrating the ability to defend against NHL players successfully. Feed him the toughest comp possible next year in the AHL and call him up only when he shows he can dominate against it at both ends of the rink.

Don't follow. The next recall is when hes shows the ability to defend against NHL players- but against AHL players? As for the rest of the bolded, if this line of thinking was applied to every prospect, wed have 1000 players in the AHL and very few U22 players in the NHL. The AHL and NHL are different beasts with different players and different systems. If you want a player to learn to develop his defensive ability vs NHL players, then the best way is to have him learn vs actual NHLers. I think a large myth is that prospects have to play X number of years in the AHL and "earn" their way into the NHL. Tons of prospects do average in the AHL but have way better development in the NHL because they are learning the game in actual real life situations. The AHL is a good development league to get younger players ready for pro speed, but after a year or 2- AHL development is capped. Its like saying you learn to be a pilot by spending years in flight simulators, no you learn actually flying.

Bear is going to follow the same development curve as Nurse. Fans will get super down being a rookie D is poor on the defensive side of the puck. But then after 50 games in the NHL, that D will learn to handle NHL players and will improve and handle himself.

 

[PaPaDee]

I haven't watched every game Bear has played since his call-up, but I would actually say he's looked better than I was expecting on the defensive side of things. He's made mistakes no doubt, but considering this is his first season as a pro, I've been impressed.

 

[Aerrol]

I don't see him the AHL much next year.

The fact is his offensive instincts already look light years better than every other d-man on this team, which is sad, but it's also likely true.

I don't see how he doesn't make the team next year. Him and Yamamoto are both going to make it out of camp next year.

It really depends on whether or not Chia (or, fingers crossed, his replacement) actually isn't negligent and gets us a PP QB type dman. If we can pick up a legit option, Bear will be sent back down. He should be down there, and needs to focus hard on his skating this off-season.

But yeah, if we go into next season with an unchanged blueline, he's almost certainly going to be brought back up, if solely for the PP.

 

[Asiaoil]

Don't follow. The next recall is when hes shows the ability to defend against NHL players- but against AHL players? As for the rest of the bolded, if this line of thinking was applied to every prospect, wed have 1000 players in the AHL and very few U22 players in the NHL. The AHL and NHL are different beasts with different players and different systems. If you want a player to learn to develop his defensive ability vs NHL players, then the best way is to have him learn vs actual NHLers. I think a large myth is that prospects have to play X number of years in the AHL and "earn" their way into the NHL. Tons of prospects do average in the AHL but have way better development in the NHL because they are learning the game in actual real life situations. The AHL is a good development league to get younger players ready for pro speed, but after a year or 2- AHL development is capped. Its like saying you learn to be a pilot by spending years in flight simulators, no you learn actually flying.

Bear is going to follow the same development curve as Nurse. Fans will get super down being a rookie D is poor on the defensive side of the puck. But then after 50 games in the NHL, that D will learn to handle NHL players and will improve and handle himself.

The best AHL players are comparable to bottom 6 quality NHL forwards. Bear has been getting soundly thrashed by bottom 6 NHL competition in his call up as his GF/GA, possession and HDSC numbers clearly show. Sure he looks good in the offensive zone or when he gets the puck on his stick in the defensive zone - but he has a horrible time getting the puck away from any NHL players or establishing position right now. He has a lot to learn and the right place to do it is against the best the AHL has to offer. When he masters that - heʻs ready for 3rd pair NHL duty - but heʻs not even close right now. That said I like the kid a lot and think he can help in 2019-2020 after we trade one of both of Sekera and Russell. Yamamoto is in EXACTLY the same boat.

 

[Asiaoil]

Bear was lit up again last night, and while this cup of coffee has had it's benefits, at some point you start punching holes in the guy's confidence. If there is any sign of that you send him back down and play Autivtu (who is an interesting player) and bring Gryba back to ride the pine. I like what I've seen, he has potential, but getting the junk kicked out of you every night is not effective learning. He's at least a year away from helping on the 3rd pair which is right on track and a great result for a 5th round pick.

 

[belair]

I agree. The season is a loss at this point and we're battling injuries. Giving the kid a taste right now will only make him hungrier to improve on the facets where he's weak currently next season in Bakersfield. I expect he'll be our #1D down there next season and it'd be nice to see him emerge as a bonafide defensive prospect. As for the NHL roster, the GM sees the advantage we have with an active RD on the PP, so it wouldn't be a shock to see them grab someone more established in the meantime.

 

[Mr Positive]

I agree. The season is a loss at this point and we're battling injuries. Giving the kid a taste right now will only make him hungrier to improve on the facets where he's weak currently next season in Bakersfield. I expect he'll be our #1D down there next season and it'd be nice to see him emerge as a bonafide defensive prospect. As for the NHL roster, the GM sees the advantage we have with an active RD on the PP, so it wouldn't be a shock to see them grab someone more established in the meantime.

for sure, and someone really has an issue with Bear costing us a game here and there, they can console themselves with the fact that we'll get our pick improved.

Also, I really do believe that players benefit more from hardship when it comes to development, than with encouragement, although both are needed. Drai's rough times informed his development and training, and the same will go for Bear, but at the same time he's not too in the dumps considering he's getting some quality time with McDavid and having some good games too.

 

[FanOfSadTeam]

for sure, and someone really has an issue with Bear costing us a game here and there, they can console themselves with the fact that we'll get our pick improved.

Also, I really do believe that players benefit more from hardship when it comes to development, than with encouragement, although both are needed. Drai's rough times informed his development and training, and the same will go for Bear, but at the same time he's not too in the dumps considering he's getting some quality time with McDavid and having some good games too.

To add, just having to practice against McDavid should improve his game.