Was a fun game to be at (although being at a game still feels a bit weird). Crowd was not into it at all though lol - nobody even stood up for the first Oilers goal, and with a half-empty rink, it was quite odd.
- Thought Petan was quite good in his role, and not sure why he's getting all the hate here. Would rather have a player like that with actual skill, at league minimum, with no acquisition cost, in the bottom-6, over pretty much every other variation during the Benning era (Vey, Beagle, Schaller, etc.) He's obviously not playing with Pettersson in the real games, but it's good to know that he could move up the lineup, unlike guys like Highmore or MacEwan.
- Petey is so much fun to watch man. Blessed to see his first of hopefully many games wearing an A lol - think I'll finally break the post-Sedin hiatus and get his jersey when that letter becomes permanent.
- Hughes looks a lot better. Wonder if part of last season's struggles were around the length of the season - he looks so much more comfortable and fresh.
- Garland does a lot of little things really well. Good hockey player. Obviously he was acquired for a bigger role, but think he could actually be a really good fit with Dickinson as a play driving third line, so don't hate his usage tonight.
- Poolman was suprisingly steady. He's slow, but his positioning is good.
- Lockwood was all over the ice, in a good way. Was chirping McDavid during a commerical break which led to Connor pile drive hugging him for that penalty lol. Don't think he does enough to warrant a lineup spot, but still.
- Pod was okay I thought. Felt a bit timid; he's a big kid, but wasn't really noticeable otherwise. I'm not sure he'd be on the roster if he wasn't a recent top-10 pick tbh.
- Rathbone was impressive. Great skater, has great awareness on the ice. Would be a damn shame if he didn't make the team, especially over guys like Juolevi/Schenn.
- Bowey is an odd player in that he's clearly quite skilled but almost the opposite of a guy like Poolman, he seems lost on the ice. But at the same time, he sort of makes up for it by not playing an explosive game and being prone to big gaffes.
- Halak was solid. Gave the team a chance to win.
not like we don't need/can't use good players on the 2nd unit.
