The Edmonton Oilers are in the midst of a rebuild that simply has not gone according to plan. While Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle give the Oilers a good young core, and Nail Yakupov, David Perron, Teddy Purcell and Benoit Pouliot give Edmonton decent secondary scoring, this team still has some issues.
The depth on the wings is solid, but the team has only two legit NHL centers, no true starting goalie, and still no top-pairing defensively. The team lacks a true number one, and even a number two defender. They have legit top four guys, like Mark Fayne and Jeff Petry, and some good depth guys like Andrew Ference and Keith Aulie, but they just don’t have that top dog.
There are some candidates however, some guys that could come up and fill these massive sports from within. The leader in the clubhouse is Darnell Nurse, but he isn’t ready for the job….yet that is. The other candidates? Oscar Klefbom and Martin Marincin. One of these guys has a rising stock, while the other is seeing his stock plummet through the floor.
@RyanDittrick: Career-high 24:20 TOI for Klefbom tonight, +1, defending a lead in the final minute… Had 20+ mins the other night in WPG, too.
Oscar Klefbom was Edmonton’s second pick in the 2011 NHL entry draft, going 19th overall to a team that badly needed help in terms of defensive prospects. Klefbom was all hype, but spent the next two seasons in Sweden, sometimes playing but most of the time battling injury and missing valuable development time.
Last season, Klefbom came to North America, and developed into a top-notch AHL defender in just one season, going from a depth guy to the guy in Oklahoma City. By the end of the season, Klefbom was in the Edmonton lineup, and was looking better each and every night. This year, Klefbom started in the AHL, looking very good, before coming up and settling into the NHL lineup within the last week.
The last two games, Edmonton has made Klefbom the horse, playing him over twenty minutes both nights, having him out there in massive spots defending leads and against good players. On Sunday, Klefbom played over 24 minutes and was out there against some very good players, defending a lead. Oh, and did I mention that it was against a good San Jose team?
Oscar Klefbom is what Edmonton badly needs. He’s a left-shot defender who is young and has potential through the roof. He’s got decent size, is a very smart player, and is a solid shut-down defender who can move the puck and who isn’t a black hole offensively. This is a hockey player that very well could be a great player for Edmonton.
Klefbom’s ability and skill-set is exactly what Edmonton has wanted. Klefbom is clam, doesn’t take too many risks, and makes the simple play. That’s been lacking on a blue-line filled with chaos for years. With his ability, Oscar Klefbom could be the next great Oiler defender. His performances on Wednesday and Sunday night were a glimpse into a possibly bright future.
It’s very telling that Klefbom has already got this kind of responsibility with the Oilers, lost season or not.
On the other end, Martin Marincin is in Oklahoma City and in the proverbial dog house with Dallas Eakins and the Oilers brass. Marincin was sensational for Edmonton last season after getting called up in December, playing a big role and excelling in a very tough situation.
After a tough training camp, Marincin was sent to the AHL, and has yet to fully recover this season in a few short stints in Edmonton. The result is Marincin back in the AHL, and likely on the outside looking in future wise.
Edmonton loves Darnell Nurse and Oscar Klefbom, and will likely roll with both of these guys moving forward for the next decade. Both have extremely high potential, and were looked at as big time prospects leading up to being drafted. Klefbom is starting to show signs at the NHL level, while Nurse is arguably the best defender playing in juniors right now.
Oscar Klefbom is now a full time NHL player, and will spend the rest of the season getting valuable NHL experience in a top-four role. Meanwhile, Martin Marincin is no longer a full time NHL’er, and is likely OKC bound until a trade presents itself. There is a cluster that Edmonton envisions for the future, and sadly it doesn’t look like Marty is part of it.
Edmonton has always mentioned Klefbom and Nurse first, and with the recent emergence of Klefbom, we could be seeing the first stages of a new era on the blue-line in Edmonton. It promises to be a dynamic duo with Klefbom and Nurse, but would be better as a trio with Marincin thrown in there.
The reality of it is, however, that Oscar Klefbom’s arrows are flying through the roof, while Martin Marincin’s are crashing through the floor. A trade involving Marty and a large role for Oscar moving forward? It’s starting to look like it.
MacTavish’s play regarding Marincin is going to be a massive moment in his GM tenure. You’re up Craig.
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