Old Janus-headed Eakins strikes again. Somehow he both trusts Marincin with the heaviest comp and zone starts AND scratches him for Aulie.
— Romulus’ Apotheosis (@RomulusNotNuma) November 5, 2014
Look at this chart and explain to me what’s going on with Eakins and Marincin. pic.twitter.com/Dc4Av6g0yP
— Romulus’ Apotheosis (@RomulusNotNuma) November 5, 2014
Like many Oilers’ observers, I’ve spent a good deal of time this season trying to figure out what the plan is for sophomore NHL tweener defenseman Martin Marincin.
Since his final NHL game of the 2013-14 season the following bullet points recount the relationship between Marincin and the Oilers:
1. He was asked to put on some heft, which he did (he reportedly added some 15 pounds over the Summer).
2. His play in training camp was inconsistent.
3. He lost an NHL job to Brad Hunt.
4. He got recalled as Darnell Nurse got sent back to junior.
5. As the tweets above indicate, Marincin was immediately promoted to the deep end, rather than the “replacement-level call-up” role typically reserved for AHL fill-ins. In stretches, the Oilers “saw Marincin good” with Mark Fayne.
6. After struggling in his “play in mud” role, Marincin lost his job to Keith Aulie, in order to give the Oilers “some grit,” Eakins said.
7. After taking part in a fleeting paper transaction, Marincin checked back into the line-up during Andrew Ference’s suspension, only to fall out of it the moment the captain returned.
8. While remaining with the team (Klefbom got briefly sent to OKC, leading some to think the Oilers had a clear idea about which player was ahead of the other), Marincin was a healthy scratch from Nov. 9th through 19th (a total of 5 games).
9. On the 21st of November, Marincin returned to action and played the next 3 NHL games before being once again sent back to OKC, having seemingly lost his NHL job to Keith Aulie and/or Oskar Klefbom.
With youthful players, just starting to make their way into the NHL, one expects a very uneven road. But, it is hard to look at the above record and divine a clear management vision for the individual player, or even an underlying philosophy for player development in general.
It looks like Marincin is an afterthought for the Oilers.
He’s the “paper transaction” guy. The guy that gets shuffled out of the room when the fire warden comes to inspect the building for capacity.
He’s the guy that gets a stroll through a rock garden when the GM wants to give scrappy Brad Hunt or future ace Darnell Nurse a chance in the bigs.
He’s the guy that gets stuck with the over-steeped tea when the coach wants to add “some grit” to the line-up.
He’s the guy that is asked to put on weight and when he does it, he’s asked where his fitness level and commitment got to.
He’s the guy that gets casually tossed in the “shut down” quadrant of the ice after being told he was beat in training camp by Brad Hunt (a guy that’s never heard of such a place).
Martin Marincin’s problem is that the Oilers––to all appearances––refuse to treat him like a prospect of any importance. Each decision has more than a whiff of whimsy to it.
Disconnect… Coaching… Calamity…
November 21st. Marincin returns to NHL play after a long hiatus on the bench. Eakins, addressing the media, spends a care or two on Marincin (you can watch the raw footage of Eakins’ presser here. Comments on Marincin start at 1:40 mark).
We want to see some passion and we want to see some urgency when it comes to, especially the play in our zone. We can’t have him getting bumped off pucks, he’s got to win those battles. The last game that he came in, we thought he played really well with the puck. We thought he really took hold of it and was making some strong plays. The challenge for him is to have that same urgency and that same passion when he doesn’t have the puck.
December 2nd. Marincin is now back in OKC. Barons’ coach Todd Nelson shares some thoughts on Marincin.
The biggest thing for Marty when he’s up there is making plays under pressure. He needs to more aware of space and make quicker decisions. Those are things he can work on here. Without the puck he’s excellent. He has a great stick. It’s more making plays with the puck under pressure.
Am I the only one with a intense foreboding about this? Am I the only one with a horrible sense that Srother Martin is eerily back from the dead?
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj60OAh7O5U&w=420&h=315]If the point of being send down to the AHL is to hone a player’s game––hone to the vision of the organization that is––shouldn’t the NHL and AHL coaches be on the same development page?
How is it that Eakins complains about Marincin’s play without the puck, but assigns him to an AHL coach determined to work on Marincin’s play with the puck?
I think the answer might have less to do with puck than we assume. Going back over the whole Eakins quote (passion, urgency, winning battles, etc.) and marrying it to Eakins’ comments at the time of Marincin’s scratching in favor of Aulie (some grit)… I think we may just have the answer.
Until Marincin appears to the Oilers’ organization as an urgent, passionate, grit-caked, battle-winner, he probably won’t be handled with much more than whimsy.
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