Over this past summer, I interned at WHDH in Boston. The channel is the local NBC affiliate, and of course I was in the sports department. I bring this up because I was there on the last day of June, and during my lunch break I listened to Oilers Now and my heart sank.
Host Bob Stauffer, arguably the most connected Oilers insider, hinted that the team likely wasn’t going to go after a big fish defender because of numbers. I was disappointed, but sadly the thought process kind of made sense, you can’t add too much without deleting something.
I talked to one of the assistant producers there and he told me there was no way the Oilers were done on defense. I was reluctant to agree, but luckily he was right.
The next day, just after noon eastern time on July 1st, Andrej Sekera signed with the Edmonton Oilers. It was a six year deal worth $5.5 million per season.
So….Who Is He?:
Sekera is Edmonton’s best defender since Sheldon Souray, no doubt in my mind. If you’re scoring at home, that means he’s the best Oiler defender this decade. Honestly, I don’t think that’s a stretch, because I have Jeff Petry sitting in the two hole.
I turn to The Hockey News for a scouting report on Edmonton’s new number one defender. As always, they do tremendous work by pointing out the strong points and weak points of the player’s game.
Assets: Has excellent mobility from the back end. Likes to lug the puck up ice when confident. Is an excellent passer and usually displays plenty of cool under pressure. Can log big minutes. Displays a lot of offensive ability.
Flaws: Is not at all physical and can get manhandled by bigger forwards at the National Hockey League level. Could use a bit more bulk. Must become more of an offensive take-charge guy, but not too fancy.
A mobile defender who can move the puck is music the my ears, Edmonton has lacked players like that for what seems like ever. Being an excellent passer is an underrated thing as well, we’ve seen how that’s been a problem in recent years.
Logging big minutes is key too, of course.
One thing the scouting report doesn’t mention? Sekera is a very solid all-around defender. His defensive game is strong and his possession numbers are nothing to sleep on either. We are talking about a defender who was a positive possession guy on a bad Carolina team.
Below is Sekera’s HERO chart from the summer. It shows him in a very good light.
What Can We Expect:
On July 1st, after signing Sekera, Peter Chiarelli called him a top-pairing defender. Now, Chiarelli did add that ideally he’s a linchpin on the second pairing, but we aren’t at that stage just yet. Chiarelli basically said it, friends, we can expect Sekera to fill a top-pairing role in Edmonton.
Will he be able to handle it? I think he’s got a chance, but we have to remember that he’s not a superhero and he’s not going to save this unit all on his own. He’s a good player, and he’s going to help, no doubt about that.
The addition of Sekera, in my mind, means Edmonton’s defense is improved over last season at this time.
Will He Be a Long Term Oiler?:
He’s got a six year deal and the current GM signed him. On top of that he fills a massive hole, is in the prime of his career, and compliments top-prospects Oscar Klefbom, Darnell Nurse and Griffin Reinhart perfectly.
To put it in simple terms, you better believe that he’ll be a long-term Oiler.
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