News and Blog Report: Oilers Rookie and Main Camp rosters announced

[CycloneSweep]

The more I look at our team I think our glaring issue will be defence. At least based on what I have seen. Berglund looked pretty decent but outside of that none of our AHL guys looked close. 4K and Lagesson are fine as 6/7 guys but if Keith struggles at all, we don’t have a single player in the org close enough to take over.
That, and I know it’s just preseason but Ceci looks like he did in his Ottawa days, hopefully that changes now that he has Keith.

 

[TheNumber4]

The more I look at our team I think our glaring issue will be defence. At least based on what I have seen. Berglund looked pretty decent but outside of that none of our AHL guys looked close. 4K and Lagesson are fine as 6/7 guys but if Keith struggles at all, we don’t have a single player in the org close enough to take over.
That, and I know it’s just preseason but Ceci looks like he did in his Ottawa days, hopefully that changes now that he has Keith.

Definitely some glaring question marks on the back end. But still have to think that Kieth > Jones. And Bouch > Bear. Ceci v Larson is my biggest worry, and the preseason hasn’t done anything to change this.

 

[CycloneSweep]

Definitely some glaring question marks on the back end. But still have to think that Kieth > Jones. And Bouch > Bear. Ceci v Larson is my biggest worry, and the preseason hasn’t done anything to change this.

Bouchard has the potential to be better than Bear and will be. The question so far is how soon. Keith could definitely be better than Jones but at his age he could continue to get worse and be much worse.

 

[CupofOil]

The more I look at our team I think our glaring issue will be defence. At least based on what I have seen. Berglund looked pretty decent but outside of that none of our AHL guys looked close. 4K and Lagesson are fine as 6/7 guys but if Keith struggles at all, we don’t have a single player in the org close enough to take over.
That, and I know it’s just preseason but Ceci looks like he did in his Ottawa days, hopefully that changes now that he has Keith.

I think the team is pretty complete actually.
My biggest questions are the 2nd pairing and Koskinen. Other than that, they have 3 solid lines, a 4th line that should be decent enough, a #1 Dman, a high end puckmoving Dman, a solid 3rd pairing with lots of room for growth and I believe in Smith having another good year despite being a few months older (maybe not quite as good as last year but good enough).

Keith, Ceci, Koskinen. Those are my 3 concerns which is a big improvement from the 10 concerns or so of the last few seasons but are big enough concerns to sink the team when it counts.

 

[CycloneSweep]

I think the team is pretty complete actually.
My biggest questions are the 2nd pairing and Koskinen. Other than that, they have 3 solid lines, a 4th line that should be decent enough, a #1 Dman, a high end puckmoving Dman, a solid 3rd pairing with lots of room for growth and I believe in Smith having another good year (maybe not quite as good as last year but good enough). Keith, Ceci, Koskinen. Those are my 3 concerns which is a big improvement from the 10 concerns or so of the last few seasons.

We arguably could have 2 3rd pairings which is the big issue I could see too

 

[TheNumber4]

Bouchard has the potential to be better than Bear and will be. The question so far is how soon. Keith could definitely be better than Jones but at his age he could continue to get worse and be much worse.

I really can’t see a situation where old balls Kieth isn’t better than last years version of Jones. But I’m very low on Jones.

 

[McTonyBrar]

Fair. Although he might be worth a 5th/6th rounder at this point. Maybe an equally flawed player?

Yeah and more suited for a bottom six role maybe

 

[Senor Catface]

Preseason doesn't mean much, but for people interested in standings/stats.

2021-22 NHL Hockey Standings - Preseason

NHL Stat Leaders 2021-22 preseason - Top hockey players

 

[Pass the Saitl Sauce]

I can see our defence having issues breaking up heavy cycles, but we should have one of the more mobile in terms of puck movement and possession. To be successful our forwards are going to have to commit and help as a unit

 

[OiledUp]

I really can’t see a situation where old balls Kieth isn’t better than last years version of Jones. But I’m very low on Jones.

Yeah the way Jones played defense last year even a one legged, disinterested and slightly obese Keith should do a better job. Jones D partners must have hated playing with him so bad last season because they were constantly covering for his positional lapses and crappy board work. He's still young enough to figure that part out but he's not leaving a very high bar for Keith to be a major improvement this season comparedto what he brought last.

And yes I admit. I'm not very high on Jones either.

 

[McJadeddog]

I can see our defence having issues breaking up heavy cycles, but we should have one of the more mobile in terms of puck movement and possession. To be successful our forwards are going to have to commit and help as a unit

Agree completely. Our D is going to be pretty decent at moving the puck, and when you combine that with our improved forward depth, we really should score quite a few goals this year. That is the good news.

The bad news is that we are very likely going to get scored on a lot as well. We will likely have trouble breaking up the cycle in our own end. I could see a guy like Samorukov being a regular on the team by the end of the year because of his skill set. A guy like Berglund might end up there as well, given his size, and his right hand shot.

 

[McJadeddog]

Yeah the way Jones played defense last year even a one legged, disinterested and slightly obese Keith should do a better job. Jones D partners must have hated playing with him so bad last season because they were constantly covering for his positional lapses and crappy board work. He's still young enough to figure that part out but he's not leaving a very high bar for Keith to be a major improvement this season comparedto what he brought last.

And yes I admit. I'm not very high on Jones either.

Jones was bad last year, but the stats aren't exactly kind to Keith last year either. If I was to bet money, I would bet on Jones being the superior player this year for certain.

 

[Niten Ichi Ryu]

Better players than Marody have already cleared waivers so, doubtful

You were correct sir

 

[nexttothemoon]

I'm going to predict Alex True gets picked off waivers from the Kraken.

He's got that size and power forward type potential that some team will covet and they'll take a shot at him.

Would I take him if I were the Oilers? Probably as he's probably as good as anything the Oilers will stick in that #13/#14 F spot.

 

[Dempsey]

One thing to keep in mind is that we'll likely shore up the defense at the trade deadline. This won't be the exact team we head into the playoffs with.

 

[Evgeny Oliker]

What do you guys expect from Russell this season? When your D is healthy, is he going to play or be the #7 D?

 

[Aerchon]

What do you guys expect from Russell this season? When your D is healthy, is he going to play or be the #7 D?

Russell didn't play as much as he should have last year being solid more often than not. I expect him to be the #7/8 when he is healthy which will be few and far between as well. Even with this defence as bad as it is he will probably get 40 games at the most.

 

[Bank Shot]

Jones was bad last year, but the stats aren't exactly kind to Keith last year either. If I was to bet money, I would bet on Jones being the superior player this year for certain.

I wouldn't

 

[Anarchism]

Ceci, a D transitioning from a more offensive guy early in his career to a much more defensive structure, is a big risk to have given a 4 year contract too. He certainly needs fixing and if the fixing takes we will have a D worth that contract but our success as a garage in the past has been very dubious.

 

[North]

What do you guys expect from Russell this season? When your D is healthy, is he going to play or be the #7 D?

Most likely the 7D.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

Jones was bad last year, but the stats aren't exactly kind to Keith last year either. If I was to bet money, I would bet on Jones being the superior player this year for certain.

Lol.

 

[belair]

Jones was bad last year, but the stats aren't exactly kind to Keith last year either. If I was to bet money, I would bet on Jones being the superior player this year for certain.

If Keith continued playing until he was 50, he'd probably still be an upgrade on the player Jones was last season. That's how far Keith's elite athleticism would take him combined with how little the positive aspects of Jones' game outweigh the negatives.

 

[CycloneSweep]

Ceci, a D transitioning from a more offensive guy early in his career to a much more defensive structure, is a big risk to have given a 4 year contract too. He certainly needs fixing and if the fixing takes we will have a D worth that contract but our success as a garage in the past has been very dubious.

Right shot d almost always seem to have some value. Worst case some team will take him for a late pick.

 

[Nostradumbass]

Jones was bad last year, but the stats aren't exactly kind to Keith last year either. If I was to bet money, I would bet on Jones being the superior player this year for certain.

How much money would you like to bet and which metrics would you like to track to determine the superior player?

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]