High Expectations for Hall, Eberle, RNH

[Mcnotloilersfan]

It's been a big season of change. We've discussed over and over on how our success will be related to Talbot, our new D core, and Coaching. We've also been talking for months now about McDavid, who I'm glad nobody seems to have unrealistic expectations for him.

That said, I expect our biggest push this season to come from our longest serving players.

Eberle will be 25, Hall will be 24 and RNH 22 for the start of this season. 24 Tends to be when star forwards really enter their Prime (so I am still a BIT more patient with RNH).

These players can't be looked at as 'kids' anymore. Hall and Ebs have been in the league for 5 years now, Nuge for 4.

We saw what RNH and Eberle could do under a good coach last year, and again what Hall and Eberle could do with Mclellan.

They have the right coaching staff, they have a better team around them, and they should be ready to go out every night and lead this team. These guys need to tilt the ice, and IMO could be the biggest part of our playoff push this year.

What are your expectations for these 3?

Click to read more...

 

[J4M13M]

If last year's trends continue, RNH and Eberle are poised to have monster seasons.

A lot of what RNH does won't show up on the scoresheet, but I fully expect his name to start entering the top-5 centres in the WC conversations. I don't know if he'll get to universal acceptance in that group, but I expect him to be in the conversation.

Eberle drives the offense when he'son the ice, no question. I think 75 points is an attainable goal.

Hall is Hall, and he's already among the best LW in the conference IMO.

Just having a couple d-men who can start transition from the defensive zone will help these guys. More time in the neutral and offensive zone will help all 3.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

all three with 100+ point seasons, McDavid with 100 points, and Yak with 50 goals.

Schultz will be a disaster in his own zone, but put up 90+ points, and still be nowhere near Norris votes.

Talbot will be one of the winningest goalies in the league with a 4.62 GAA



THis will be the team that opens up firewagon 'Oilers' Hockey, and the rest of the league will just have to keep up.

 

[areyouhappynowethan]

all three with 100+ point seasons, McDavid with 100 points, and Yak with 50 goals.

Schultz will be a disaster in his own zone, but put up 90+ points, and still be nowhere near Norris votes.

Talbot will be one of the winningest goalies in the league with a 4.62 GAA



THis will be the team that opens up firewagon 'Oilers' Hockey, and the rest of the league will just have to keep up.

Sounds like the template for playoff success

 

[McDraekke]

all three with 100+ point seasons, McDavid with 100 points, and Yak with 50 goals.

Schultz will be a disaster in his own zone, but put up 90+ points, and still be nowhere near Norris votes.

Talbot will be one of the winningest goalies in the league with a 4.62 GAA



THis will be the team that opens up firewagon 'Oilers' Hockey, and the rest of the league will just have to keep up.

I wonder how a goalie in this era would handle this type of game? Letting in 4+ goals a game, but still winning...

 

[frag2]

I wonder how a goalie in this era would handle this type of game? Letting in 4+ goals a game, but still winning...

They'd just do some "extracurricular" activities after the game...I mean, it worked in the 80s



The only player out of those 3 that I have high expectations is Nuge. Hall is Hall-he'll be a top player regardless and last year was just a blip. Eberle will probably net you 60-70 points in a full 82 game season. Nuge, for all his "improvements" defensively, is still lacking offensively IMO for a 1st overall. We'll see what a smarter coach can do for him.

 

[Dorian2]

My expectations are pretty high for these three this year...and Schultz.

They've had A's on their jerseys for a bit now, and all 3 have taken the team on their shoulders previously. With Eakins gone, all the better.

And with McDavid and McLellan here, I think everyone on this team will be better.

I am super excited about this year. I think it may become a boom or bust year for a number of players, including Schultz.

 

[ItsTheBGB]

Eberle: 65 points, positive corsi.
Nuge: break 60 points, play a full season, positive corsi
Hall: 1.05 PPG, positive corsi.

 

[Eirhead*]

all three with 100+ point seasons, McDavid with 100 points, and Yak with 50 goals.

Schultz will be a disaster in his own zone, but put up 90+ points, and still be nowhere near Norris votes.

Talbot will be one of the winningest goalies in the league with a 4.62 GAA



THis will be the team that opens up firewagon 'Oilers' Hockey, and the rest of the league will just have to keep up.

Hahaha, but you'd have to think there's no way Schultz wouldn't be a Norris finalist with 90+ points.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

It depends on the PP units IMO. Whoever plays with McDavid should get a nice boost. That said all 3 should be primed for big seasons.

 

[JoeCool16]

It depends on the PP units IMO. Whoever plays with McDavid should get a nice boost. That said all 3 should be primed for big seasons.

Yeah, if they're playing with McDavid, that should give them a boost. If they aren't playing with McDavid, they should still get a boost because teams won't be able to squash our one top line anymore. Either way, It'll be easier to be a forward on this team next season and hopefully the defense can keep up.

 

[Bangers]

My expectations:

- RNH plays better, but puts up only slightly better numbers. My guess is that McLellan wants to break McDavid in against weaker opposition, so Nuge has to do a lot of the heavy lifting against top/checking lines.

- Hall improves to his numbers of 2 years ago and improves his overall game, but still misses 10-20 games due to injury

- Eberle has the biggest jump in points due to motivation and playing with McDavid on the PP. I see him being top 10 in points in the NHL this season (along with McDavid).

 

[McGoMcD]

I expect more the same from Eberle, I expect Hall to bounce back to ppg production. The guy I think really breaks out is nuge. He showed signs of being elite last year. I think with McDavid teams will have to switch time between covering both. Thus Nuge will get more points. I think he will be in the 70-80 range. Also this is sort of non tangiable but I just see Nuge having the most drive. While guys like Hall and Eberle will continue as usual and be better becuase McDavid is on the ice. I think Nuge will try and rise to the challenge. He will want to prove he can be as good. In other words just getting McDavid will drive Nuge off and on the ice, just a hunch.

 

[Aerchon]

Hall needs to take a big step and either play an elite 2 way game plus be around ppg. Or bust out offensively and top 90 to 100 points.

His time is now and since a lot of his success is driven by his athleticism you can't expect him to grow much more in the following years.

Eberle under Nelson and in the WC has been damn good. I don't really expect much more from him. He will stay the same ppg wise and adapt to tougher opposition as he transitions to a vet. I think he will top 70 points again but unlikely he busts 80.

The Nuge. He has really been thrown to the wolves. Has really not been given a green light to be offensive. Is rounding into a great two way guy and has at least until he is 25 before I imagine hits his peak. I would like to see him get back to his shiftyness. His IQ and playmaking may be suffering a bit since he has to do so much heavy lifting. I hope he puts it altogether, cause it's not difficult to see him being ppg + and excellent defensively at his peak.

 

[ItsTheBGB]

Hall needs to take a big step and either play an elite 2 way game plus be around ppg. Or bust out offensively and top 90 to 100 points.

His time is now and since a lot of his success is driven by his athleticism you can't expect him to grow much more in the following years.

Eberle under Nelson and in the WC has been damn good. I don't really expect much more from him. He will stay the same ppg wise and adapt to tougher opposition as he transitions to a vet. I think he will top 70 points again but unlikely he busts 80.

The Nuge. He has really been thrown to the wolves. Has really not been given a green light to be offensive. Is rounding into a great two way guy and has at least until he is 25 before I imagine hits his peak. I would like to see him get back to his shiftyness. His IQ and playmaking may be suffering a bit since he has to do so much heavy lifting. I hope he puts it altogether, cause it's not difficult to see him being ppg + and excellent defensively at his peak.

That's unrealistic. He's been in the top 10 scoring twice in his career already. He's already an elite offensive player.

 

[Aerchon]

That's unrealistic. He's been in the top 10 scoring twice in his career already. He's already an elite offensive player.

Last year not so much :-/

I generally agree he already is elite but I just always thought he has at least one more notch up as a player and we are running out of time for him to reach it.