Player Discussion Drake Caggiula - How far can he go?

[MessierII]

The thing with Drizz is he gets crazy amount of chances in tight where he flat out misses the net. I don’t know if he really likes trying to pick corners but I’ve never seen a player miss the net from close range so often. I think if he can adjust his shot he can score 20 goals.

 

[CycloneSweep]

The thing with Drizz is he gets crazy amount of chances in tight where he flat out misses the net. I don’t know if he really likes trying to pick corners but I’ve never seen a player miss the net from close range so often. I think if he can adjust his shot he can score 20 goals.

That's a big if though. I think if he ever was able to hit the net like that more often, teams would actually pay more attention and kill his effectiveness

 

[MessierII]

That's a big if though. I think if he ever was able to hit the net like that more often, teams would actually pay more attention and kill his effectiveness

Probably true. I do think he’s worth putting the time in to see how he pans out. I think the coaches give him those top 6 chances because he does get chances. He was frustrating to watch this year like a lot of guys.

 

[Cypress]

Seems like a replaceable player to me, but I think he's brought back on account of scoring 13 goals last year. Its probably worth it to give him one year to see if he can become a truly effective player. I wouldn't give him more than 1year $1M, though I could understand if it ended up being like 1.2M.

 

[VainGretzky]

Not very

 

[LMFAO]

Nice dept player... but a replacable one.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

I don't mind the hustle and the energy, it's just the overuse that gets me.

If you could guarantee him staying on the 3rd line with Strome and Slepy/Pulju, I'd be happy with that. The problem starts when TMac sticks him on a line with not just McDavid/Draisaitl, but also Lucic (or Maroon) and focuses Caggs to become a guy that needs to handle and make plays with the puck.

He's at his best when he's able to be a "little ball of hate", running around and creating mayhem. A lot like Pitlick, or even Lucic and Kassian. When you ask these guys to ride shotgun to McDavid or Draisaitl, or in a shutdown role, you destroy their effectiveness.

They're all 3rd wheels to a line. Same goes for Aberg, Pulju, Slepyshev, and Khaira.

This goes to a larger scale and beyond just Caggiula, as this is the Oil's big problem. They have too many of the same type of player, and are forced to use them in roles they don't fit.

 

[Dan Kelly]

Drake has good NHL speed and i like his hustle but he's unfortunately got hands of stone. how far can he go? the furthest we can send him is Florida!

 

[Drivesaitl]

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?

You lost me at comparing Cagg to Marchessault. What on Earth would be similar in the players? That they both play the sport of hockey?

Cagg is cheap replaceable fill here. Not much of anything. A guy buzzing around getting nothing done. Very poor finish around the net and hard player to play with as you never know what he's going to do.

 

[lakai17]

Similar to Torres on his come up?

 

[Dynamic]

He did miss quite a few open nets and he seemed to regress a bit but I still think he has a place on the Oilers in the bottom 6 or he can step up in case of injuries.

He can score, he throws some crushing hits for a guy his size, and has energy. He is the exact player that good organizations develop and help him round out his game.

But because Oilers reasoning, I’m guessing he will be gone for peanuts and will be replaced with someone older, slower, and less effective.

 

[Jeff Lebowski]

Who knows how far he can go. He's only 23. He could be another William Karlsson for all we know. He's got better stats at the same age.

 

[GodPucker]

God this guy should not touch a top 6 spot yet.

 

[oilynutz]

He is the next Paul Byron. You don't give up on players who get a lot of self made chances and don't finish. He has hands, speed and tenaciousness. I think he has the potential to be a 25-25 type player going forward that can PK and PP

 

[Drivesaitl]

Cagg has hands? Would be nice to see them sometime. "Crushing hits" lol

This is a pint sized ineffectual player that squanders quality chances on setups by league best Centers like McD and Draisaitl. This guy shouldn't be anywhere near NHL topsix or PP. I don't even subcribe that he's an NHL calibre player.

25-25 player.?

Maybe in Europe.

It would be impossible to give Caggiula better minutes than he got this year and he finished with a disgusting 20pts.

 

[belair]

The closest Caggiula comparison I've been able to muster is to Andrew Cogliano. If Caggiula continues this trend of development, we'll have a good bottom six utility winger. I don't think it's our of the realm of possibility to see him hit 20-20-40 on occasion, but that's probably on the higher end of what you can expect from him.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

I don't mind the player as long as he's used properly (bottom 6). He has good speed, is tenacious and pots the odd goal. His shot has not translated that well to the NHL level and it sounds like it was his bread and butter in the NCAA. Hopefully at some point that translates to the pro game.

 

[ujju2]

I'm fine with re-signing him. Brings good energy, and if he can learn to finish could become a legit 2nd line player. Even if he doesn't, he's a decent, young bottom 6 player (mostly 4th line).

 

[ToeMcDrag83]

Not a big Drake fan. Was excited when we signed him and I'm hoping for the kid, but he arguably regressed this year.

He's one of those players who also benefits from McLellan's selective accountability. He's had plenty of looks in the top 6 and accomplished nothing.

1 year show me deal. Needs to pot some goals consistently in the bottom 6.

 

[joestevens29]

The thing with Drizz is he gets crazy amount of chances in tight where he flat out misses the net. I don’t know if he really likes trying to pick corners but I’ve never seen a player miss the net from close range so often. I think if he can adjust his shot he can score 20 goals.

Patrick O'Sullivan, although he hit a lot of crossbars/posts

 

[joestevens29]

The closest Caggiula comparison I've been able to muster is to Andrew Cogliano. If Caggiula continues this trend of development, we'll have a good bottom six utility winger. I don't think it's our of the realm of possibility to see him hit 20-20-40 on occasion, but that's probably on the higher end of what you can expect from him.

Lol, I was just going to type this after reading Dan Kelly's post.

 

[Mr Positive]

he's always been frustrating to me, but I would never full out condemn him because he seems like one of those guys that will all of a sudden start clicking and be the next Gallagher (being a fiesty undersized forward with skill)

 

[nexttothemoon]

Drake Caggiula - How far can he go?

Hopefully far away from the Oilers as he's a negative when he's out on the ice. I'd much rather have a Winnik type in the lineup who at least doesn't hurt you in his own end.

Caggiula reminds me of a hamster going 20 miles an hour in his wheel and going nowhere. Can't provide any offense and isn't good defensively... definition of a player that shouldn't be in the NHL.

His only redeeming quality is that he's still youngish and could possibly improve enough to be a decent 4th line player who doesn't hurt you both defensively and offensively but so far from what I've seen I wouldn't bet on that.

 

[LMFAO]

Similar to Torres on his come up?

Torres was a 6'0" 220lbs tank

 

[Tobias Kahun]

Torres was a 6'0" 220lbs tank

Hossa can confirm this