The Edmonton Oilers fell to the Vancouver Canucks in their latest preseason game, and then they followed that loss by reducing the camp roster to 41 players. The club sent seven players to Bakersfield, while releasing another player.
The Edmonton Oilers announced on their website that Ryan Vesce was released from his PTO, while D Ben Betker, C Greg Chase, LW Braden Christoffer, C Josh Currie, LW Ryan Hamilton, C Kyle Platzer, RW Patrick Russell and G Nick Ellis were assigned to the farm club, Bakersfield Condors. They join Scott Allen, Frankie Simonelli, Joey Benik, Jaedon Descheneau, Caleb Jones, Ethan Bear and Markus Niemelainen as the other cuts.
None of the names are a big surprise, as the players on this list weren’t expected to make the team. AHL contracts Josh Currie and Ryan Hamilton will start to work in training camp for the Condors and establish some veteran leadership.
Ben Betker seems to have grown as a player over the summer, and while he spent the majority of last season in the ECHL with the Norfolk Admirals, Betker should see more time in Bakersfield. He was impressive at rookie camp but seemed a step behind in the preseason. He is still likely three years away from NHL employment.
Greg Chase may be falling into the lower echelon of Oiler prospects, but the 2013 7th rounder is only in his second pro season so he has time to grow. Chase will need to produce more in the AHL this year after having spent most of last season in the ECHL where he played admirably.
Braden Christoffer impressed last year at rookie camp enough to earn an NHL contract. His pro season started off with a bang that he was unable to maintain. He plays with grit so he will get noticed when he is on. Hopefully he can land a 4th line role in Bakersfield.
Kyle Platzer is the most surprising cut this early, as he played well in his one and only preseason game. The 2014 4th rounder had a solid but not overly productive rookie season, but his strong two-way play should result in middle six work in Bakersfield. He is a good bet to double his point production from last season.
Patrick Russell was the “other” guy signed out of college, and he showed he is not on the same level as Drake Caggiula. Russell will need to score at a 25+ goal rate to be noticeable and earn an NHL call-up.
Nick Ellis looks like he is a great addition of goaltending depth as he impressed in all showings. While he may be the better goalie then Eetu Laurikainen, Ellis will likely begin as the starter in the ECHL to get more minutes while Laurikainen takes the backup role to Laurent Brossoit or Jonas Gustavsson.
34-year-old journeyman Ryan Vesce just didn’t show he had enough in the tank to play an NHL or even an AHL role. Alex Thomas looked in depth to Vesce and it was expected he’d have a much longer training camp. That didn’t happen, and now Vesce likely rides off into the sunset.
THE ROSTER
Forwards (22): Taylor Beck, Drake Caggiula, Leon Draisaitl, Jordan Eberle, Matt Hendricks, Zack Kassian, Jujhar Khaira, Anton Lander, Mark Letestu, Milan Lucic, Patrick Maroon, Connor McDavid, Mitch Moroz, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Iiro Pakarinen, Tyler Pitlick, Benoit Pouliot, Jesse Puljujarvi, Jere Sallinen, Anton Slepyshev, Kris Versteeg PTO, Nail Yakupov
Defense (15): Matt Benning, Brandon Davidson, Mark Fayne, Andrew Ference LTIR, Mark Fraser, Eric Gryba PTO, Oscar Klefbom, Joey Laleggia, Adam Larsson, David Musil, Darnell Nurse, Jordan Oesterle, Griffin Reinhart, Andrej Sekera, Dillon Simpson
Goalies: (4): Laurent Brossoit, Jonas Gustavsson, Eetu Laurikainen, Cam Talbot
NEXT ROUND OF CUTS?
When the Oilers take the scalpel to the next group, a lot of players going home could surprise. I’d guess that Joey Laleggia, Mark Fraser, Dillon Simpson and Griffin Reinhart would be gone from the blueline, while Mitch Moroz and Jere Sallinen are sent home from the forward group. Eetu Laurikainen is the last to get the cut giving way to a Gustavsson/Brossoit battle.
This would reduce the roster to 20 forwards (six left to go), 11 defensemen (four left to go) and 1 goalie (one left to go).
Some players have stepped up their games and made things interesting. I would’ve expected that Tyler Pitlick and David Musil would be in the next round of cuts, but their play has made that impossible. some players on the other hand could see themselves out of town (Yakupov) or in the minors earlier then one would hope (Reinhart).
Happy training camp y’all.
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