There’s always been a stigma on our board that Oliver is just an offensive player, but is awful defensively and makes bad passes. While I admit that he had holes in his game when drafted (most kids do), there were numerous accounts from the Flames on his development over the last 3 years that he has leaps made in overall play. I think we are clearly seeing that. He’s made some mistakes, but he looks very impressive and tailor made for today’s NHL.
It’s pretty clear why he felt he was gonna make the team before the season started because he absolutely belongs in the NHL.
I've said this many times: there are two kinds of hockey sense:
Hockey IQ - the capacity to learn and innate ability pick up concepts and know when to apply them
Hockey Knowledge - the habits built from having great coaching.
A lot of the time, guys who have pro hockey bloodlines - coach's son types like Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, Rasmus Andersson, Johnny Gaudreau, Carey Price, Rasmus Dahlin, Jacob Chychrun, William Nylander, Max Domi, Matthew Tkachuk - guys who grew up around the game, have a serious edge in hockey knowledge early on.
Guys like Sam Bennett and Oliver Kylington, or elsewhere Jack Eichel and Nathan MacKinnon often have their inexperience mistaken for a lack of hockey IQ and these narratives grow out of control. They need more time to truly learn the game because they didn't learn it the same way at seven years old to the point where certain aspects of "pro hockey" were as instinctual. It's not a lack of hockey IQ, just a lack of hockey knowledge in players too talented to be playing against their agegroup peers. Kylington some may forget once had to choose between soccer and hockey. Giordano once had to choose between baseball and hockey. Bennett had to learn the fine details of the center position once he got to junior because prior to that he was always so talented that he played LW with McDavid, and Kingston was hardly an NHLer factory in terms of development.
It's way too easy to make sweeping declarations about hockey IQ. The coached side of hockey sense is too easily brushed under the rug. Not everyone lived and breathed hockey theory as a child. Some guys need time in video room. They need it explained to them what the correct play in a certain situation is, because they really don't know... yet. Some players are just more raw than others - it does not mean they lack hockey IQ. On the flip side, you can have all the Griffin and Max Reinharts who got by on their hockey knowledge at lower levels, but that doesn't mean their hockey IQ was anything special.
In Kylington's draft year, Hakan Loob basically said outright that his ceiling was skyhigh but he needed the structure of coaches who would put the time on with him. Hanifin's actually the same way - he admits not knowing how to play defense when he got to the NHL, but Peters has been working with him through Hurricanes fans' claims of low IQ.
Now we are seeing a more polished Oliver Kylington, where the hockey knowledge is now there. Some of it was built from experience, too. I think he will never forget the moment he coughed up the puck in the third period of a winner takes all game 5 against the Barricuda, up a goal. He didn't know why there are certain situations you need to go glass and out until he experienced why. It cost them a second round berth but it made him a better player.
Finally, as Kris Versteeg noted with regard to TJ Brodie during this game's intermission, often it is the players who CAN do more, that are crucified for it when the mistake doesn't "look" good.
