Post-Game Talk: A New Day Has Come - Split Squad - Preseason I+II - Flames at Oilers/Oilers at Flames

[GMofOilers]

Hmm can you or anyone elaborate on this?

Looks in great shape. Way slimmer, way faster, like seriously wheels.

 

[fancy dan]

baffled that some are still considering the possibility of Yama sticking this year. it's not happening. (not a knock against the player).

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

baffled that some are still considering the possibility of Yama sticking this year. it's not happening. (not a knock against the player).

Why do you assume this?

 

[GMofOilers]

baffled that some are still considering the possibility of Yama sticking this year. it's not happening. (not a knock against the player).

Me to, almost as bad as some people thinking Jones can stick

 

[fancy dan]

Why do you assume this?

why would you keep him this year? what benefit does it have to the team and player going forward? what is the precedent for keeping undersized 18 year olds in the league?

i don't even think the oilers teams of the past would have kept him up.

 

[jebs]

Me to, almost as bad as some people thinking Jones can stick

I would be very disappointed if either were kept up. The Oilers don't need to rush prospects anymore. I hope Kailer is in the AHL next year also.

 

[McNuge]

why would you keep him this year? what benefit does it have to the team and player going forward? what is the precedent for keeping undersized 18 year olds in the league?

i don't even think the oilers teams of the past would have kept him up.

He is always going to be undersized. If he shows enough during training camp then you give him a few games. If he shows enough in those games then you can give him some more. Simply sending him back because of his size is very dumb imo. He is never going to be big, hell he will never even be average.

If he shows enough he should be here. Make players earn their spot, and if he earns it then good on him. Same goes for Jones aside form the undersized part.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

why would you keep him this year? what benefit does it have to the team and player going forward? what is the precedent for keeping undersized 18 year olds in the league?

i don't even think the oilers teams of the past would have kept him up.

First thing, if you think he's too small for the NHL now, he will always be too small for the NHL in your eyes.

Second thing, making the team out of camp, especially for an 18 year old is not that uncommon and ABSOLUTELY doesn't mean he will stick around all year. Maybe Puljujarvi continues to have a slow Preseason and starts the year in Bakersfield, if Yamamoto is the next best forward, he deserves a shot at the start of the year.

Remember Slepyshev will come back at some point, Puljujarvi could get recalled, etc.

Yamamoto making the team out of camp is completely reasonable, and doesn't mean he's on the roster for the year.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

Me to, almost as bad as some people thinking Jones can stick

Not really because there's more opportunity for him and it's easier to shelter Yamamoto, Jones really needs to leap some guys through the rest of the preseason to make the team.

 

[Canovin]

He is always going to be undersized. If he shows enough during training camp then you give him a few games. If he shows enough in those games then you can give him some more. Simply sending him back because of his size is very dumb imo. He is never going to be big, hell he will never even be average.

If he shows enough he should be here. Make players earn their spot, and if he earns it then good on him. Same goes for Jones aside form the undersized part.

He needs to go down to put on some mass. 155lbs to 165+ in a year is doable.

 

[CupofOil]

Before people think I'm just an apologist and a JP lover... I wanted McAvoy with that Oilers pick who I felt was the CLEAR #3 best pick in that draft behind only Matthews/Laine... I actually had many other players ahead of JP... and would have taken him in the 10-11 range in that draft.

Did you honestly have McAvoy #3 on your list going into the draft? I find that a bit hard to believe to be honest. It's not like college hockey games are easy to access for those outside of the states. If you did indeed have a lot of viewings of McAvoy in his draft year then I apologize.

In any event, I'd like to see at least one flash of elite level play from JP. Haven't seen any in his 1+ seasons of pro hockey thus far. Even Yak showed some promise in his rookie season.
Not saying that JP will be the next Yak or even Paajarvi but ideally, you need to see at least a few flashes of brilliance from such a highly touted forward to feel somewhat secure that he will pan out and I'm not seeing it from him. He needs to pick up his game if he wants to make the final cut because from what I see right now just based on last night, he's still not ready. Still very early though

 

[Digger12]

He needs to go down to put on some mass. 155lbs to 165+ in a year is doable.

I can understand that, but is adding an extra 10 pounds when you're that small already really going to do much for his game? Especially if it takes away from his speed an agility?

Even at 165 he's still going to be a 5'7" waterbug that will have challenges against bigger players, that's something we're going to have to come to grips with. What will make him an NHLer is his offensive talent, and if he can produce enough of it to offset his weaknesses.

I'm certainly not saying he's going to start the year in the NHL, but I will say against a Calgary team playing at home with a veteran-heavy roster, he covered the bet and then some. I can't ask for him to do more than that.

 

[McNuge]

He needs to go down to put on some mass. 155lbs to 165+ in a year is doable.

Being 155 and 165 is not a very big difference. He is not going to out muscle anyone regardless, he needs to be shifty and quick. Adding weight did nothing for RNH's game except slow him down. If he is going to be putting on weight I want him to do it correctly, and form hearing him speak about it in the Penticton interviews I think he is doing it the correct way.

He will eventually put on weight, once he fills into his body more. Slow and steady is always a better option when adding mass because your body can adjust accordingly.

 

[Aceboogie]

Me to, almost as bad as some people thinking Jones can stick

Coaches keep players that are doing good. They dont have a predetermined 2 year AHL plan for a player. You do good, you stick and so far Jones is doing that and if KY has 4 more games like last night, he can too

 

[nexttothemoon]

Did you honestly have McAvoy #3 on your list going into the draft? I find that a bit hard to believe to be honest. It's not like college hockey games are easy to access for those outside of the states. If you did indeed have a lot of viewings of McAvoy in his draft year then I apologize.

In any event, I'd like to see at least one flash of elite level play from JP. Haven't seen any in his 1+ seasons of pro hockey thus far. Even Yak showed some promise in his rookie season.
Not saying that JP will be the next Yak or even Paajarvi but ideally, you need to see at least a few flashes of brilliance from such a highly touted forward to feel somewhat secure that he will pan out and I'm not seeing it from him. He needs to pick up his game if he wants to make the final cut because from what I see right now just based on last night, he's still not ready. Still very early though

Yes I absolutely did have McAvoy #3 on my draft list. I said so in the draft threads at the time as well. He was my #3 pick behind Matthews/Laine who were the cream of the crop and McAvoy I felt was the best of the rest.

Even based on his numbers in the NCAA... McAvoy looked like he was going to be a stud.

 

[Canovin]

I can understand that, but is adding an extra 10 pounds when you're that small already really going to do much for his game? Especially if it takes away from his speed an agility?

Even at 165 he's still going to be a 5'7" waterbug that will have challenges against bigger players, that's something we're going to have to come to grips with. What will make him an NHLer is his offensive talent, and if he can produce enough of it to offset his weaknesses.

I'm certainly not saying he's going to start the year in the NHL, but I will say against a Calgary team playing at home with a veteran-heavy roster, he covered the bet and then some. I can't ask for him to do more than that.

When I see Yama's shoulders I cringe. There's just nothing there. This is coming from a guy who is also 5'8 and Asian myself who was skin and bones back in the days. The extra 10lbs of muscles and another 1 or 2 years for the body to mature and bone to strength really helped. I never lost speed. Might have lost a couple of inches on my vertical jump but that's also due to having a high ankle sprain that never got corrected. Personally I wouldn't want to see him in the NHL until he's 20 IMO and for the Oilers we can afford that.

 

[Da McBomb]

Man I hope Calgary stinks it up this year.. not only because I hate them.. but because it's even sweeter when they don't own a first round pick. Their defence is so overrated.

 

[Paralyzer]

I love the excuses from the Flames fans:

-Only 4 vets actually played. The rest pretended like it was a practice.

-Flames played quite well. They weren't out-played in Edmonton (So I guess 17-5 in shots for the Oilers in the first isn't out-playing them?)

-I'm glad our goalies look bad. This means they will be better for the regular season. Last year Elliot played well in the pre-season and then he stunk in the regular season.

-We were unlucky with our chances and they got extremely lucky. No skill at all.

 

[bone]

Man I hope Calgary stinks it up this year.. not only because I hate them.. but because it's even sweeter when they don't own a first round pick. Their defence is so overrated.

Watch Smith have one of his worst ever career years (just like Elliott last year, and Hiller the year before). Then next they'll get another new goalie and boast the best defense in the league again. :yawn

 

[backhandsauce]

I get the feeling that Maroon wants to stay and won't hit free agency.

Side note, I didn't get to watch either game last night but could someone tell me how Strome looked? Was his foot speed as bad as Isles fans made it out to be? Is he quicker than Eberle?

 

[McTrashBoat]

Watch Smith have one of his worst ever career years (just like Elliott last year, and Hiller the year before). Then next they'll get another new goalie and boast the best defense in the league again. :yawn

they'll pick up Ekblad for their 6th spot

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

I get the feeling that Maroon wants to stay and won't hit free agency.

Side note, I didn't get to watch either game last night but could someone tell me how Strome looked? Was his foot speed as bad as Isles fans made it out to be? Is he quicker than Eberle?

I thought he kept up fine, did a good job supporting and getting to spots. He was a bit tentative, but I would expect that for the first time the line was together for game action.

Seems to have a similar good sense to Maroon, in the "go to this spot and good things will probably happen" sense that helped Maroon to 27 last year.

 

[Aceboogie]

I get the feeling that Maroon wants to stay and won't hit free agency.

Side note, I didn't get to watch either game last night but could someone tell me how Strome looked? Was his foot speed as bad as Isles fans made it out to be? Is he quicker than Eberle?

Probably one of Stromes biggest detractors on HFOil and I wanted to dislike his game, but honestly I couldnt. He was consistently in the right positions and a good outlet for McDavid. I didnt focus on his skating but I would not say it was an issue. He kept up with that line. He also always gave the puck to McDavid to let him fly, pretty much what you want from a linemate of McDavid

Best thing for me was Stromes willingness to shoot. He had a nice toe drag wrist shot from far out in the 1st that really challenged the goalie. Always good to have a good outside scoring threat

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

Watch Smith have one of his worst ever career years (just like Elliott last year, and Hiller the year before). Then next they'll get another new goalie and boast the best defense in the league again. :yawn

Honestly, I'll go "on record" and say the Flames waive Smith before the season starts, making Lack the starter.

 

[Da McBomb]

It was funny when one of the reporters asked Yamamoto what it was like to play against one of the best top defences in the league... this after he picked off Giordano's clearing attempt rather easily and walked around Dougie Hamilton like a boss. But obviously Kailer gave a respectful answer lol.