Confirmed with Link: Oilers have signed Slater Koekkoek

[Drivesaitl]

Not understanding this addition at all. Small for a D, not overly physical, not talented, 8yrs after draft and still searching for a spot somewhere. Teams have moved on this guy and its just a stab in the dark add on. I think additions like this are just nothing, and hurt our cap situation. You can't even say this guy is a vet with a ton of NHL experience.

A lot of guys are going to look better, and like they are getting it, when they're hanging around a stud like Duncan Keith in practice or watching him in games. Hawks have better system play than us. Remove that and this guy has trouble even being in the lineup.

 

[nabob]

Not understanding this addition at all. Small for a D, not overly physical, not talented, 8yrs after draft and still searching for a spot somewhere. Teams have moved on this guy and its just a stab in the dark add on. I think additions like this are just nothing, and hurt our cap situation. You can't even say this guy is a vet with a ton of NHL experience.

A lot of guys are going to look better, and like they are getting it, when they're hanging around a stud like Duncan Keith in practice or watching him in games. Hawks have better system play than us. Remove that and this guy has trouble even being in the lineup.

How does it hurt the cap if he can be sent down or on the taxi squad and his cap hit doesn’t matter any more?

He was better than any Oiler Dman during the play in series. That’s good enough for me for him to be given a chance to win a roster spot.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

He killed it in regards to possession numbers last year.

Highest chances for and lowest chances against on the Hawks.

I'm not sure about 'killing it'. He was like 300 minutes less toi than the Hawks core d - closer in minutes to the young Boqvist. Clearly sheltered minutes which at least suggest he was played appropriately but hardly a guy relied upon to move the needle on a weak team. Nice cheap depth signing with first round pedigree. I like it but caution overhype.

Some of the other talk about Bear in this thread is truly cringe worthy. Bear hit it out of the solar system last year with earning top four ice literally from no where and is a solid prototype new age NHL defender with his game. The Oiler team sagged badly collectively in the play in and really there were few redeeming performances by anyone. Not helped by sub par goaltending.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Not understanding this addition at all. Small for a D, not overly physical, not talented, 8yrs after draft and still searching for a spot somewhere. Teams have moved on this guy and its just a stab in the dark add on. I think additions like this are just nothing, and hurt our cap situation. You can't even say this guy is a vet with a ton of NHL experience.

A lot of guys are going to look better, and like they are getting it, when they're hanging around a stud like Duncan Keith in practice or watching him in games. Hawks have better system play than us. Remove that and this guy has trouble even being in the lineup.

Guy is 6'2", not overly small for a defenseman IMO. I don't know much about him TBH, but his cap hit is small enough not to count against our cap if he is in the taxi squad or the AHL.

Slater Koekkoek Stats and News | NHL.com

 

[tabs]

I'm not sure about 'killing it'. He was like 300 minutes less toi than the Hawks core d - closer in minutes to the young Boqvist. Clearly sheltered minutes which at least suggest he was played appropriately but hardly a guy relied upon to move the needle on a weak team. Nice cheap depth signing with first round pedigree. I like it but caution overhype.

Some of the other talk about Bear in this thread is truly cringe worthy. Bear hit it out of the solar system last year with earning top four ice literally from no where and is a solid prototype new age NHL defender with his game. The Oiler team sagged badly collectively in the play in and really there were few redeeming performances by anyone. Not helped by sub par goaltending.

So is he basically a left handed Benning who can play 15 minutes a night instead of 12 minutes a night, for less than half the cost?

 

[Drivesaitl]

How does it hurt the cap if he can be sent down or on the taxi squad and his cap hit doesn’t matter any more?

He was better than any Oiler Dman during the play in series. That’s good enough for me for him to be given a chance to win a roster spot.

meh. Several Hawks D were better than any Oilers D. In 4 GP which doesn't really matter a lot. When I look at this player the only thing positive I see in reviews are Corsi related, and "dangerous fenwick" lmfao. With the usual Corsi tripe citing ridiculous things like "Best Hawk by miles in Corsi" To my eyes this is a nothing add, and certainly not a vet. Some dope that never panned out taking toi instead of more talented young D getting it.

If I thought this guy was even a passable vet D add I would say differently. But this adds nothing to our lineup.

 

[Broberg Speed]

Not understanding this addition at all. Small for a D, not overly physical, not talented, 8yrs after draft and still searching for a spot somewhere. Teams have moved on this guy and its just a stab in the dark add on. I think additions like this are just nothing, and hurt our cap situation. You can't even say this guy is a vet with a ton of NHL experience.

A lot of guys are going to look better, and like they are getting it, when they're hanging around a stud like Duncan Keith in practice or watching him in games. Hawks have better system play than us. Remove that and this guy has trouble even being in the lineup.

Our defence is slow, Koekkoek is fast. That and he's 6'2" @ 195 lbs. That's average. He has 6 years experience in the NHL and I don't see anyone trying to sell him as a savior for our defense core. 850k AAV. Looked good against us in the play ins. I think your reaching for controversial conversation.

 

[CycloneSweep]

Not understanding this addition at all. Small for a D, not overly physical, not talented, 8yrs after draft and still searching for a spot somewhere. Teams have moved on this guy and its just a stab in the dark add on. I think additions like this are just nothing, and hurt our cap situation. You can't even say this guy is a vet with a ton of NHL experience.

A lot of guys are going to look better, and like they are getting it, when they're hanging around a stud like Duncan Keith in practice or watching him in games. Hawks have better system play than us. Remove that and this guy has trouble even being in the lineup.

A guy who makes under a mill does absolutely nothing to hurt the cap. You can send them to the AHL worst case and you don't even notice, he has a burriable cap hit. We are already down Klefbom and our left side NHL ready defense is extremely slim. He was signed to be a 8/9 defender most likely. Nothing wrong with that and doesn't hurt the team in any way shape or form

 

[McDNicks17]

I'm not sure about 'killing it'. He was like 300 minutes less toi than the Hawks core d - closer in minutes to the young Boqvist. Clearly sheltered minutes which at least suggest he was played appropriately but hardly a guy relied upon to move the needle on a weak team. Nice cheap depth signing with first round pedigree. I like it but caution overhype.

Some of the other talk about Bear in this thread is truly cringe worthy. Bear hit it out of the solar system last year with earning top four ice literally from no where and is a solid prototype new age NHL defender with his game. The Oiler team sagged badly collectively in the play in and really there were few redeeming performances by anyone. Not helped by sub par goaltending.

I'd say having an xGF 5.6% higher than anyone else while playing 15 minutes of 5v5 is pretty impressive.

It's not like he'll be asked to play a role harder than that if he plays here.

 

[CycloneSweep]

I'd say having an xGF 5.6% higher than anyone else while playing 15 minutes of 5v5 is pretty impressive.

It's not like he'll be asked to play a role harder than that if he plays here.

For the most part he is similar to Benning.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

meh. Several Hawks D were better than any Oilers D. In 4 GP which doesn't really matter a lot. When I look at this player the only thing positive I see in reviews are Corsi related, and "dangerous fenwick" lmfao. With the usual Corsi tripe citing ridiculous things like "Best Hawk by miles in Corsi" To my eyes this is a nothing add, and certainly not a vet. Some dope that never panned out taking toi instead of more talented young D getting it.

If I thought this guy was even a passable vet D add I would say differently. But this adds nothing to our lineup.

IMO it's a depth add in case of injuries/illness or in case anyone figured that they would walk into camp and have a spot handed to them on a silver platter. Not too excited or down about the signing. It is just a cheap depth add that at minimum pushes a guy like Lagesson to be better.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Guy is 6'2", not overly small for a defenseman IMO. I don't know much about him TBH, but his cap hit is small enough not to count against our cap if he is in the taxi squad or the AHL.

Slater Koekkoek Stats and News | NHL.com

That height, combined with 187lbs is rail thin for a D. I like bottom D to at least have some meat on them and that can at least play in traffic and clear net. Guy is turning 27 soon, he's at an age where he's full sized now, and he's trying to be a pro D. In my book if you're this light as a D you better be super skilled. Otherwise I don't even have you in the lineup. But I've always been a fan of big physical D. Or talent D with jets and skills.

Like I say this guy isn't even an NHL vet. Can't even say that in support of him.

 

[Messrules11]

I’m fine with this signing, looking at our depth on D there isn’t a lot of NHL experience. I say welcome aboard.

 

[McDNicks17]

For the most part he is similar to Benning.

A Benning that can play a few more minutes, actually skate and passes the puck without closing his eyes first.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

I'd say having an xGF 5.6% higher than anyone else while playing 15 minutes of 5v5 is pretty impressive.

It's not like he'll be asked to play a role harder than that if he plays here.

Why only 10 points in 42 games if his play is leading to so many offensive chances? Was his pairing mostly out there with the 4th line?

 

[nabob]

meh. Several Hawks D were better than any Oilers D. In 4 GP which doesn't really matter a lot. When I look at this player the only thing positive I see in reviews are Corsi related, and "dangerous fenwick" lmfao. With the usual Corsi tripe citing ridiculous things like "Best Hawk by miles in Corsi" To my eyes this is a nothing add, and certainly not a vet. Some dope that never panned out taking toi instead of more talented young D getting it.

If I thought this guy was even a passable vet D add I would say differently. But this adds nothing to our lineup.

lots of words to say you don’t know much about the player you’re judging a player based on your reactions to the words others used to judge the player...that’s weird.

when Russell inevitably gets hurt or when Jones inevitably struggles this provides us depth. It’s purely a depth signing that has no implications on our cap unless further depth is needed...I see absolutely no possible way this can logically be looked at negatively. Either he’s good enough to win a roster spot or he’s only good enough to be a injury replacement. I’d rather have a player who has shown he can be passible than us running 3 pretty green rookies on D with our questionable goaltending.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

That height, combined with 187lbs is rail thin for a D. I like bottom D to at least have some meat on them and that can at least play in traffic and clear net. Guy is turning 27 soon, he's at an age where he's full sized now, and he's trying to be a pro D. In my book if you're this light as a D you better be super skilled. Otherwise I don't even have you in the lineup. But I've always been a fan of big physical D. Or talent D with jets and skills.

Like I say this guy isn't even an NHL vet. Can't even say that in support of him.

It sounds like skating is a strength of his so he plays a more mobile than physical game. I too love smashmouth defensemen but the bottom line is that we need depth. Ideally we'd add someone like Hamonic but that maybe off the table. I still think that Hamonic could be a Larsson replacement if we keep Bouchard on the left side which is where he has been playing in Sweden.

 

[McDNicks17]

Why only 10 points in 42 games if his play is leading to so many offensive chances? Was his pairing mostly out there with the 4th line?

I'd say he's more of a transition guy. Kind similar to how Petry was early on. He skates pucks out and gets it to forwards. He isn't really an offensive guy who does much once he gets into the zone.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

lots of words to say you don’t know much about the player you’re judging a player based on your reactions to the words others used to judge the player...that’s weird.

when Russell inevitably gets hurt or when Jones inevitably struggles this provides us depth. It’s purely a depth signing that has no implications on our cap unless further depth is needed...I see absolutely no possible way this can logically be looked at negatively. Either he’s good enough to win a roster spot or he’s only good enough to be a injury replacement. I’d rather have a player who has shown he can be passible than he running 3 pretty green rookies on D with our questionable goaltending.

Yup, just someone to make sure that Jones and Bouchard earn their spots.

Nurse-Barrie
Jones-Bear
Bouchard-Larsson

 

[Spawn]

Meh. Seems like decent depth. Nothing to complain about, nothing to get excited about.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

I'd say he's more of a transition guy. Kind similar to how Petry was early on. He skates pucks out and gets it to forwards. He isn't really an offensive guy who does much once he gets into the zone.

Thanks. So if he's at least good at that part of the game then he can at least start the rush with a good breakout.

 

[Anarchism]

This deal didn't break them, they can sign that bigger fish but have to wait until day one of the regular season to maximize Klefbom's LTIR. Bear has a few years left before he enters the prime of his career. I think it's fair to say on average a defenseman's best years fall between 26 to 32 or abouts...

Not sure what point ur trying to make here. Were very much done in signing D guys. Klef's LTIR mostly will go to signing Bear with enough left to sign a goalie when our tandem poops the bed. Yes Bear was a rookie and will improve over next few seasons??

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Meh. Seems like decent depth. Nothing to complain about, nothing to get excited about.

My take as well.

Best case scenario (he does really well and is our 2nd pairing LHD allowing Jones more time on the 3rd pairing to round out his game)
Worst case scenario (he is a body on the taxi squad in case of injury or illness)

 

[Drivesaitl]

It sounds like skating is a strength of his so he plays a more mobile than physical game. I too love smashmouth defensemen but the bottom line is that we need depth. Ideally we'd add someone like Hamonic but that maybe off the table. I still think that Hamonic could be a Larsson replacement if we keep Bouchard on the left side which is where he has been playing in Sweden.

I just fear that the only reason we made this deal is because of some short looks in the play in. Just kind of a suspicious add. I mean this guy isn't even in the league if he wasn't a first rounder a long long time ago and teams somehow still hoping.

Its weird. First time in his NHL career a team even gives him much of a look, last year in Chicago, and instead of landing there they have no interest in retaining him and they know more than we would. This is classic deckchairs nothing add. I just get tired of it years later, still going on while the McDrai clock is ticking. Were far past the time to just be airlifting nothing guys in.

 

[Stoneman89]

Good depth signing. Have to admit that I have limited knowledge of this player, but in the play-in series against us, he looked really good. Mobile, decent puck mover. With the condensed schedule, having lots of depth is going to be huge.