The Mad Shuffle

Once upon a time, when Craig MacTavish was head coach of the Edmonton Oilers, fans were known to call the many changes to the lines the Mac-blender. Fast-forward to the current time, where MacT is serving as team GM, and we see another kind of blender, a roster blender.

The Edmonton Oilers have been absolutely killed on the injury front. Veteran defender Andrew Ference, a solid number four at the NHL level, is done for the season, while forwards Ryan Jones, Luke Gazdic and Jesse Joensuu are on the sidelines for the remainder of the season. Nail Yakupov has been sidelined for weeks, and recently suffered a set back, so he too could be done for the year.

Factor that in with OKC Barons defender Denis Grebeshkov suffering a season ending foot-injury, and forward Mark Arcobello dealing with an injury, and the Oilers organization is decimated at the highest two levels.

For the Oilers, it really does not matter. The team is in the middle of yet another painful death march to the finish line, with thankfully only a handful of games left before the pain and suffering ends. Oklahoma City however, is just a few points out of a playoff spot, and certainly are still alive.

The Oilers lineup has had to use AHL players like Will Acton, Oscar Klefbom, Tyler Pitlick and now Steve Pinizzotto to counter the injury bug, which not only gives them a weak roster but totally weakens a Barons roster attempting to make their fourth consecutive post-season appearance.

Now, with all that being said, this is a good time for people looking forward to the future to be paying close attention. Why is that? Let’s take a look at each level…

The NHL:

There is going to be a rather large amount of player movement in Edmonton this off-season. I can’t tell you which players will be leaving (because I don’t know), but this is the only logical expectation following another painfully bad season.

Some of the players coming in and filling holes could very well be getting a try-out as we speak. Center Anton Lander has been playing in Edmonton’s top-six, putting up decent advanced stat numbers since his last recall. Lander’s calling card was that he could be expected to be a very good defensive center with the potential to be a third-line C moving forward.

Lander could very easily fill the fourth line job behind Boyd Gordon next year, and while he has not exactly impressed to this point, a strong final push could give him that job.

Feisty winger Tyler Pitlick looked really good in training camp this past September, and looked good in an early season call-up. Pitlick has had a decent season this year, but has battled a lot of injuries to this point and that has no doubt impacted his development. Pitlick has been a near non-factor in this post-deadline call-up, which is a disappointment because he has a real chance to win a spot.

That said, with a good last handful of games and a strong camp in September, Pitlick could very well earn a spot in Edmonton’s bottom six, which would be an awesome development for the Oilers.

Defender Martin Marincin has been arguably the best Oiler defender since his recall, and he likely will be on the roster next season. Oscar Klefbom, however, is not such a certainty. Klefbom has looked pretty good in a recent post-deadline stint with the team, and has shown quite a bit of improvement form when we saw him in training camp.

While he has not been Marincin, he’s been good and could very well earn a third pairing role on the team next year. He’s played with Justin Schultz the last few games, which has been an interesting combo that could end up being a tremendous second-pairing down the road for Edmonton. I’d prefer Klefbom start in OKC next year, but there is a chance he never plays AHL hockey again.

Both Will Acton and Steve Pinizzotto fall under the same category. Both players are getting chances to show something, but neither will be on the NHL roster next fall. Acton got his chance this year and did not really deliver for the team, while Pinizzotto has been through other organizations and never made it.

The AHL:

While the Oilers have called up a number of AHL players, it isn’t all bad news on the farm. The Barons, with their extra roster spots, are able to bring in some younger talent and showcase some Oilers prospects.

Oilers draft choice Jujhar Khaira, a 3rd round pick in 2012, is one of the Oilers top offensive prospects. Khaira stands in at 6’3” and 210 pounds, and is a left winger that can also shift to the center ice position if need be. He could be that power-forward that the team is looking for, and will likely get a long look at the AHL level moving forward. This could be a player moving forward.

Seventh round pick Greg Chase seemingly could be the biggest steal in Oilers draft history. Chase, picked with the 188th overall pick this past June, is a feisty 6’0” 205 pound center that brings some nasty to his game, and has a nice offensive touch. Chase plays physical, gets under the opponents’ skin, and puts the puck in the net. He’s Edmonton’s prospect version of Brad Marchand.

Chase made his AHL debut on Wednesday night, and will likely get a long look the rest of the season before returning to the WHL next fall. He’s a few years off, but Greg Chase seems like a player for Edmonton. I’m honestly not sure how he fell so far in the draft last June. I’m really looking forward to seeing him play.

The Barons also added three players on their own over the last few days. The team signed defender Graeme Craig, a 6’5” 202 pound defender who played his WHL hockey this past year split between Prince Albert and Saskatoon, to an ATO and AHL contract for next year with the team. Craig is a big boy, and from all reports a physical defender. He’ll get a chance to develop in OKC under Nelson.

The team also signed two WHL forwards, who both have the potential to be something moving forward. Josh Winquist and Mitch Holmberg agreed to ATO’s for the rest of the season, while Holmberg also got an AHL deal for next season.

Holmberg is a player that exploded for 62 goals in 72 games this year in the WHL, and posted comparable numbers to Tampa Bay’s Tyler Johnson. The Oilers got a steal here, because not only do they get to test-drive him this year, but they get him on an AHL deal next year where he does not count on the 50-man limit and gets valuable minor league time.

As for Winquist, this is simply a test-drive and I’ll be interested to see if he is signed on to an AHL contract this off-season. He had 93 points in 67 games for Everett this past season, but is yet another under-sized player.

Final Thoughts:

For the Oilers, this is a pretty good haul at the AHL level. Look, the NHL roster is really rough right now, but you get to see if Anton Lander and Tyler Pitlick can hack it at the NHL level, and that is a very valuable commodity.

I’ll be watching the AHL level with interest however. Holmberg looks like he could be a player, and he is no doubt someone to watch the rest of this season and next year. We’ve heard a lot of good things about Greg Chase, so his AHL stint will be interesting to watch. Same goes for Jujhar Khaira, but he has a little more to prove here. Those three players have NHL hopes, and that dream starts now.

For the Oilers, this signifies an opportunity in a dark season to get a glimpse of the next round of prospects. Might as well make this mad shuffle late worth it.