When you check the boxscore from Edmonton’s 4-2 victory over Calgary from Rogers Place on Monday night, you’ll notice an unfamiliar name being credited with a powerplay goal in third period. The goalscorer will read Ryan Vesce, and most Oiler fans will react with the word “huh?”.
A journeyman of the AHL, NHL and assorted European leagues quietly entered Oilers camp on a PTO last week, but he’s quickly trying to make a name for himself. In addition to his goal on Monday night, Vesce has looked good in practice and provided the Oilers with some skilled veteran depth.
At 34 years old, the Lloyd Harbor, New York native is likely making his final kick at the NHL can, about six years after he played his last game in the best league in the world.
All Around The World:
Ryan Vesce began his pro career in Switzerland during the 2004-05 season before coming home to North America to play for the Springfield Falcons during the 2005-06 season. Vesce bounced around from Springfield to Binghamton, New York and then eventually to Worcester, Mass where he joined the San Jose organization.
Vesce registered 24-47-71 in 67 tilts for the AHL Sharks in 2008-09, which earned him a stint in the NHL, ten games to be exact. He went pointless in those tilts but returned to Worcester for the 2009-10 season. Again, Vesce was a force in the AHL, posting 14-16-30 in 35 games. Again he went to the NHL, but this time he had greater success.
Due to injuries, Todd McLellan actually lined Vesce up with Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley. Vesce responded by scoring 3-2-5 in nine NHL games that season.
That run in San Jose, however, was the last time Vesce played professional hockey in North America. He spent the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons in the KHL playing for Nizhny Novgorod before spending 2012-13 in the SEL with Skelleftea.
The past three seasons have all been spent in the KHL, with the last two coming with Minsk Dynamo, who elected to not re-sign the veteran this off-season. His production in Minsk, however, was not the issue. In 2014-15, Vesce registered 17-27-44 in 56 games, then followed that up with 18-15-33 in 40 tilts last season.
Looking at Vesce’s player card, which you can see here, we see a player that produces offense everywhere he goes.
What Does He Do Well?:
As mentioned above, Vesce posts offense. His KHL, SEL and AHL numbers are all quite impressive as he is routinely around the point-per-game mark. Now, it’s not at all realistic to expect him to produce like that in the NHL, but what this tells us is that Vesce has some offensive ability to his game.
This is a versatile player as well, someone who has played both center and wing during his professional career. Don’t underestimate the value of that to these Oilers. In addition to that, he’s a guy who Todd McLellan employed on both the PP and PK during his time in the Sharks organization.
I can’t speak to his usage in the KHL or even the SEL, but when he was part of the San Jose organization under McLellan’s watch (both in the NHL and AHL), he was a factor on both special teams units. His powerplay goal on Monday is evidence that Edmonton views him as potential fit in this area.
Lastly, while Vesce is small at 5’8” and 175 pounds, he plays a bigger game than that. He’s not going to push anyone around, but he’s also not going to get pushed around and bullied out there.
Why Is He Here?:
Everyone likes to have people they are comfortable with around them. Todd McLellan, after getting a few looks at Ryan Vesce over the years in San Jose, is apparently comfortable with this player and is willing to give him a look in training camp.
Vesce comes to Edmonton as a veteran forward who is quick, doesn’t get pushed around and has some skill to him. I’m not saying he will make this hockey team, in fact I highly doubt he will, but there are worse players to take a gamble on.
If Vesce can show some of that skill and wear a number of different hats for this team, well who knows what will happen.
Regardless, the Oilers have created a little more competition at a position of need, and there is nothing wrong with that.
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