Player Discussion Drake Caggiula - How far can he go?

[Bryanbryoil]

IMO it's too early to judge how far he can go with this team, but if I were to give my opinion, I would state that he's mostly been pretty serviceable, with the occasional flash of something greater.

I hope to see more consistent offensive production out of him next year, but I do think that he's solidified a roster spot for the foreseeable future.

Agreed, too early to call much with him at this point. He has some solid attributes but he has a ways to go to become a top 6 player, even a little ways to go to be a solid and consistent top 9 guy.

 

[Sempiternal]

I made a quick poll regarding Drake Caggiula... it's a tough one for me. Interested in your vote.

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=2208451

 

[Draiskull]

I made a quick poll regarding Drake Caggiula... it's a tough one for me. Interested in your vote.

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=2208451

assuming its for a fantasy league.
In real life its Malkin no brainer.

Caggiula does have 2 goals vs SJ already, 1 vs VAN and another vs ANA.

These are the team the Oilers will be facing down the final stretch so Drake might notch 2 or 3 more points total. I would probably still go with Malkin and his 3 games.

 

[Sempiternal]

assuming its for a fantasy league.
In real life its Malkin no brainer.

Caggiula does have 2 goals vs SJ already, 1 vs VAN and another vs ANA.

These are the team the Oilers will be facing down the final stretch so Drake might notch 2 or 3 more points total. I would probably still go with Malkin and his 3 games.

Fantasy, points only. I have to lock my players in for a 2 week period. It's just the whole unknown about Malkin that has me debating. I don't know if he'll play Wednesday or sit out until the Playoffs. lol

 

[Pointteen]

Bumping this over starting another.

Caggiula looks like an excellent pick up. What do you want out of him? A centre or winger?

I'm wondering if Oates can teach him to win draws like he did our centres before.

If he could be groomed into a two way third line centre that would go a long way. I can safely say I wasn't overly thrilled with him with McDavid. Not the best fit, but hard to criticize him when Maroon went MIA for awhile.

 

[McSpecial DraiBlend]

Bumping this over starting another.

Caggiula looks like an excellent pick up. What do you want out of him? A centre or winger?

I'm wondering if Oates can teach him to win draws like he did our centres before.

If he could be groomed into a two way third line centre that would go a long way. I can safely say I wasn't overly thrilled with him with McDavid. Not the best fit, but hard to criticize him when Maroon went MIA for awhile.

I feel like he is more suited to the wing. I'm sure he will get a decent look on Connors' side next season.

 

[MaxR11]

Great pick up here by Chia. This guy competes hard and gets it (unlike guys like Eberle). He's speedy, skilled and very gritty. He's a guy, down the road, that you win with. I'm excited to see him develop in the next few years. At the beginning of the season I thought he could become like a poor man's Dougie Weight. But he may be feistier (even though Weighter had grit too). Drake may be one of those guys who can score goals as well as he makes plays. A very nice release on his shot. Could be a 25-25-50 pts player at least if the right opportunity presents itself and I believe it will as Tmac and Chia seem to really like him. Wouldn't be surprised if one day he gets an A on his jersey (though it would be tough with the likes of Drai, Looch, Larsson, Klef around).

 

[DerpMorg]

I hope this guy is a lifer with us based on what I saw this year. He gets it.

 

[NORiculous]

Its only preseason but he is contributing. Is sky the limit or is the limit the sky?

 

[Aceboogie]

Its only preseason but he is contributing. Is sky the limit or is the limit the sky?

Kids got upside, he was a big scorer in the NCAA

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Not the greatest game for him today IMO. We could have a huge logjam up front if Yamamoto continues to get better and Puljujarvi steps it up.

 

[FlameChampion]

I like the player but i feel like he doesn't always get put in a situation thats best suited for him. Last year he played a lot at 3c and was in over his head. Once they moved him to 3L he was much more effective. This year I think they are going to try and play him as 2R and I think hes a more effective bottom 6 forward. That being said the team now has a lot depth and quite a few bottom 6F, so someone has to move up.

 

[Bank Shot]

I love how this kid plays. He brings it each and every night and never gives up on any battle.

Even if he never scores a pile of points, I think he'll be a very important player for the Oilers going forward. He's the type of guy that gives maximum effort at both ends of the rink.

 

[CupofOil]

I like the player but i feel like he doesn't always get put in a situation thats best suited for him. Last year he played a lot at 3c and was in over his head. Once they moved him to 3L he was much more effective. This year I think they are going to try and play him as 2R and I think hes a more effective bottom 6 forward. That being said the team now has a lot depth and quite a few bottom 6F, so someone has to move up.

No, he played his best in the top 6. Once he got promoted to the top 6, he got a bunch of big goals on Draisaitl's then McDavid's line. I think he has more than bottom 6 potential, he has some skill and seems to be more effective when he's playing with higher skilled players.

The beauty of a player like this is that he can blend in in any role, the prototypical swiss army knife player that coaches love. Like most of the Oilers RW's, he has some proving to do but I like his overall game better than the others right now. Obviously, Pulju and Yamamoto have more potential going forward.

 

[KarmaPolice]

He is indeed very versatile, and can basically play the wing on any line and not look out of place. Seems that Chia and Todd Mac like their versatile players, as we have at least a few guys like that: Caggiula, Jokinen, Kassian, Letestu, and of course Draisaitl, who can literally play on ANY line at any forward position and dominate (I'm sure the same would be true for McDavid; but there's no need to play him anywhere except first line C). I think Chia brought in every single one of these guys. I think he goes after these guys for a reason: they help you win, because when injuries hit these guys greatly lesson the blow. Plus they're typically willing to play any role to help the team win. Amazing what a real GM can do, and actually knows what he's doing when building a team. God how long we've missed this.

 

[John Connor McDavid]

He took a way bigger jump this off-season than say someone like JP did.

Yamo has looked good with the opportunities he's had but the actual 5on5 he displays isn't great. Caggiula still has the spot locked despite Yamo's production IMO. Remains to be seen if a healthy Slepy wrestles that 2RW spot away because I don't recall Caggiula having great chemistry with RNH last year.

The nice things about utility players? They can easily slide into the 4th line role if needed.

 

[Zaddy]

From what I've seen of him in the preseason so far I've liked his play. Thought he looked out of place and in over his head last year, especially as a #3C. Did get better as he slotted in on the wing though and the season went on. But definitely looks to have taken a big step forward this year. His versatility will be of great use to TMac.

 

[Klimando Kostani]

Not the greatest game for him today IMO. We could have a huge logjam up front if Yamamoto continues to get better and Puljujarvi steps it up.

He did contribute to two goals in unorthodox ways. The first was a chip ahead to get past the defender, the second a shifty backhand pass to the slot through traffic.

I think he has some of the skills required to be an effective offensive RW in the NHL. Maybe one of those guys who plays wing for the first few years then once he gets his strength and understanding of the game, he goes back to his natural position of center. Like a more offensively minded Hendricks.

 

[bone]

Bumping an old post, but wanted to throw something out there on Caggiula. I'd pretty much written him off as being bottom 6 fodder long term, but the last little bit watching Marchessault, I've seen some similarities with obviously a bit more offensive polish on Marchessault.

Having not watched him before has anyone else noticed him in his earlier years to say if they are tracking similarly.

As far as production goes, at the same age Marchessault was a consistent 20G, 60 Pt player in the AHL. Is Drake's 13/20 at the NHL a decent comparable and is the potential there for a similar career arc?

 

[Aceboogie]

Bumping an old post, but wanted to throw something out there on Caggiula. I'd pretty much written him off as being bottom 6 fodder long term, but the last little bit watching Marchessault, I've seen some similarities with obviously a bit more offensive polish on Marchessault.

Having not watched him before has anyone else noticed him in his earlier years to say if they are tracking similarly.

As far as production goes, at the same age Marchessault was a consistent 20G, 60 Pt player in the AHL. Is Drake's 13/20 at the NHL a decent comparable and is the potential there for a similar career arc?

Thatd be nice, but I just cant see it with Cagguila. Marchassualt showed pretty well in the NHL in Tampa and had great underlying numbers. Cagguila has been meh in the NHL and his underlying numbers have been rotten. I see his upside more as Ryan Jones type

 

[joestevens29]

Caggiula's problem is a couple things;

1 - Probably needed to spend some time in the AHL. At 22 he came into this club and did quite well for a rookie. Problem here is now people expect more.
2 - He works too hard and gained coaches trust. Seems stupid, but at the end him getting played more just hurts the way people view him. Not his fault the coach keeps throwing him out there.

It's not like his numbers are really that bad either. 13 goals playing 13 minutes a night over 67 games? Less PP time this year as well.

Fans might want him gone, but if he isn't asking for the moon I really don't see why a team would move on from him.

 

[fireantz]

Bumping an old post, but wanted to throw something out there on Caggiula. I'd pretty much written him off as being bottom 6 fodder long term, but the last little bit watching Marchessault, I've seen some similarities with obviously a bit more offensive polish on Marchessault.

Having not watched him before has anyone else noticed him in his earlier years to say if they are tracking similarly.

As far as production goes, at the same age Marchessault was a consistent 20G, 60 Pt player in the AHL. Is Drake's 13/20 at the NHL a decent comparable and is the potential there for a similar career arc?

I hope yer right cause the coach plays him like a top 6er I see a guy who works hard and accomplishes very little

 

[joestevens29]

I hope yer right cause the coach plays him like a top 6er I see a guy who works hard and accomplishes very little

Yet the guy ranks no where near top 6 ice time 12 minutes of ESTOI/GP. Only regulars with less Kassian, Letustu and Iiro

 

[Spawn]

Yet the guy ranks no where near top 6 ice time 12 minutes of ESTOI/GP. Only regulars with less Kassian, Letustu and Iiro

But he spent an inordinate amount of that limited time playing with one of our top 6 centers. Just using Kassian as an example. He and Caggiula played close to the same number of ES minutes all year. 793 for Caggiula, 747 for Kassian.

But then if you look their minutes with our top 6 centers (RNH, Drai, McDavid)

Caggiula: 185 minutes with Drai, 151 minutes with McDavid, 98 minutes with RNH

Kassian: 60 minutes with Nuge, 47 minutes with McDavid, 29 minutes with Draisaitl

Caggiula might have played limited minutes, but for some reason he tended to be the guy who would get bumped up when the lines were shuffled. Either in game adjustments or between game adjustments where he'd eventually end up back in the bottom 6 as the game went on.

Now this isn't an argument to say that Kassian should be getting more minutes. He sucked last year. Just pointing out that while Caggiula might not have been near top 6 ice time, he spent a lot of time with top 6 players (and made all of them worse when he was paired with them).

I think the Caggiula we've seen the last two years is a player who flat out isn't good enough to play in the NHL and be a positive contributor. Of course he's only 23 so he could get better. But even with some half decent goal totals I see a guy who just doesn't belong in this league right now.

 

[CycloneSweep]

But he spent an inordinate amount of that limited time playing with one of our top 6 centers. Just using Kassian as an example. He and Caggiula played close to the same number of ES minutes all year. 793 for Caggiula, 747 for Kassian.

But then if you look their minutes with our top 6 centers (RNH, Drai, McDavid)

Caggiula: 185 minutes with Drai, 151 minutes with McDavid, 98 minutes with RNH

Kassian: 60 minutes with Nuge, 47 minutes with McDavid, 29 minutes with Draisaitl

Caggiula might have played limited minutes, but for some reason he tended to be the guy who would get bumped up when the lines were shuffled. Either in game adjustments or between game adjustments where he'd eventually end up back in the bottom 6 as the game went on.

Now this isn't an argument to say that Kassian should be getting more minutes. He sucked last year. Just pointing out that while Caggiula might not have been near top 6 ice time, he spent a lot of time with top 6 players (and made all of them worse when he was paired with them).

I think the Caggiula we've seen the last two years is a player who flat out isn't good enough to play in the NHL and be a positive contributor. Of course he's only 23 so he could get better. But even with some half decent goal totals I see a guy who just doesn't belong in this league right now.

He should of spent a year in the AHL first to get his bearings imo.