Todd Nelson has the Edmonton Oilers playing their best hockey in a number of years. Since taking over, Nelson has Edmonton clicking at a 9-9-2 rate, and turning north in terms of possession numbers. He’s had some big additions to his roster (Roy, Klinkhammer, Klefbom), but overall Nelson has done a great job in Edmonton with a lesser roster.
The best part about this? The development of some key young prospects at the NHL level. D Oscar Klefbom has become a true player of interest since Nelson took over, playing large minutes and handling decent opponents while putting up offense. D Justin Schultz has looked much better, while F Nail Yakupov is looking more like rookie year Yakupov rather than the under Eakins model.
The biggest improvement of a player, the biggest budding Oiler under Todd Nelson? Center Anton Lander, who has arguably been a top three forward for Edmonton during this road trip.
Lander stands in at a decent size, clocking in at 6 feet and 185 pounds. He’s not a mountain of a man by any stretch, but he is large enough where he isn’t going to get tossed around at this level. He’s willing to battle and play physical when needed too, meaning he has a bit of that edge to his game.
What makes this guy valuable is his defensive game. Lander is such a smart hockey player, and is a guy that lives for solid possession numbers, something he has displayed under Todd Nelson. He’s been trusted in decently tough spots and has handled it with relative ease. Defensively, he hasn’t been outmatched, and he’s emerged as a real solid defensive forward.
He’s also good in the faceoff circle, and can play both the PK and the PP, something we have seen under Todd Nelson. Thing is, we saw all of this under Dallas Eakins too. So, what is the difference here, why are we talking about Lander all of a sudden if he was already able to that?
Offense, my friends, Anton Lander’s offense has finally awoken. In 19 games with Edmonton this season, Lander has ten points, all coming in this most recent call-up, an 18 game stretch to this point. He’s finally found a way to get into the right position, and he’s starting to cash in on the power-play at the NHL-level, something he didn’t do prior.
He’s also a lot more confident to my eye. Previously, Lander was trying everything he could to impress the coaching staff, but now he has come up and is playing his game, a likely result of the coaching of Todd Nelson, who worked with Lander at the AHL level. Nelson knows Lander’s strengths and his weaknesses, and he’s coaching to those right now, that is a big thumbs up for the coach.
Why is this important? It’s important for a few reasons, mainly because of what it could mean for the future. Yes, this season is lost, but Lander is a younger guy, only 23 years old. He’s got a lot of miles left on those legs, and certainly could hold a spot for five-to-seven years. That’s one less problem for Edmonton in the off-season to deal with.
Of even bigger note, Lander is a center, meaning he comes in to help an area that is very weak right now in Edmonton. Outside of Nugent-Hopkins and Boyd Gordon, Edmonton doesn’t have another center that has been consistently good within the last three seasons. Lander emerging would be a huge hole filled up.
Combine his great ability to play defensive hockey with his emerging offense, and you get a really solid bottom-six forward that isn’t short on effort and hustle. Should Nelson save Lander, that would give Edmonton the option of safely sliding Boyd Gordon up to the third line, and keeping Lander permanently on the fourth line.
Lastly, saving Anton Lander might help save some jobs in the scouting department, which has come under fire in a massive way lately due to the lack of success with late round picks. As guys like Lander, Marincin and Klefbom emerge as NHL talents, guys like Stu MacGregor can sleep just a little bit easier.
This season is lost, no doubt, but it could be a major stepping stone for future success in Edmonton, especially if a certain budding Oiler named Anton can build off of his current success under Todd Nelson.
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