Hard to know what to expect this year. I agree with many that this is a tougher team to peg and kind of the wildcat club that could go in different directions.
Heres what I see:
A supporting cast of primary veteran forwards that at this point play well for only limited stretches and seem to bring better play when the team is early in a season and the games still mean something. I've noted a lot of head sag in Horc, Hemmer, Smyth, when the games no longer matter. If the team stays in the mix longer or for most or all of the season you can expert better contributions from these guys. Also, as Smyth once again showed in Davos is he's a catalyst. This is a guy that will show the way but wants and needs a team that will follow. Smyth almost ALWAYS looks better on winning clubs.
Yakupov. People know my opinion, supreme talent, puts us over the edge as far as teams trying to contain our scoring potential. Its a given that this is now a two line production club. The mixes of talent we can put on any scoring line are enviable. Those that haven't seen much of Yak I'll say this both he and Hall are the two forwards most likely to prevail in a tight checking game. Put what you saw in the Jr's out of mind. Yak will be special and a money player.
All the kids seem reasonably well tuned. While I think some bad habits existed in OKC I expect more consistent focus, shifts, and intensity with the Oil and I think we'll get it. RNH has had the most interesting season and combination of experiences. I expect him to continue his kid under a Christmas tree approach. I expect RNH, Eberle, Hall, could go on a big roll, will run hot and cold, and important to sustain the highs as long as possible. Such is the stuff of Canadian youth. Playing best when you're feeling on top of things.
With Krueger as coach, Petry, Schultz, Whitney, Potter on offence, whoops, I meant D, everything on this club seems geared for offence. This club will be tough when it has the puck. The key will be having the puck. Will they have it enough and how will they cope with not having it and getting it back?
The single biggest issue in this lineup is going to be game physicality, hits, pushback, and where we obtain that from. There's just not a lot of hits in this lineup.
We'll get the GF I expect. How many will we give up is key. Goaltending I'm not sold on being enough to withstand the mistakes in this young lineup.
But we'll get a lot more out of the vets in this lineup if the team remains competitive. If this club could just stay in the mix then its a completely different club from top to bottom. Results will matter a lot to a young squad. Gotta get the W's early.