Oilers Training Camp Battles – Veteran D

The Edmonton Oilers have tons of depth defensive options. It’s kind of amazing, to be honest. The Oilers have a barren top-four, but have about six guys who could play on the bottom pairing. Actual NHL defenders aren’t the problem in Edmonton, it’s the quality of them.

Mark Fayne, Oscar Klefbom and Andrej Sekera are locks for the top-four based on merit, while Justin Schultz will likely get one last crack this season to prove his worth in that role.

With those four occupying the top-four slots, who takes the next three? I’m assuming the Oilers will go with the standard seven defenders on the roster, although there is a chance that they go with eight should competition get too tight.

The Candidates:

Andrew Ference is a good veteran, a great leader and, most importantly, a tremendous person. He’s a shut-down defender by definition, but at this stage of his career he has slowed down considerably. He’s now more of a depth defender, someone who at best is a third pairing player with minimal ice time. Not Andrew’s fault at all, time catches everyone.

Eric Gryba is a big, tough player who brings a shut-down element to the fold. He’s in the prime years of his career and defends quite well for a third-pairing defender. He’s also a physical player and is willing to drop the mitts a bit, he’s hard to play against. One fault with Gryba? He struggles with puck movement.

Nikita Nikitin, the $4.5 million man, should be highly motivated to be better this season. Nikitin does do a lot of things well, he’s a solid penalty killer, clears the front of the net and has decent offensive instincts. That said, Nikitin needs to be better defensively this season and needs to stay healthy.

Nikitin is a prime candidate for a training camp trade, keep that in mind.

Brandon Davidson is waiver eligible this fall, and that could factor into roster decisions. Davidson is a solid shut-down defender and is Edmonton’s best stay-at-home option among minor league players. Last season, Davidson was the go to guy for the Barons come playoff time.

In a 12 game NHL stint, Davidson actually looked like he belonged, he’ll be worth watching in camp.

In addition, young defenders Darnell Nurse and Griffin Reinhart will be fighting for NHL time.

Who Is The Favorite:

Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that Sekera-Fayne and Klefbom-Schultz make up the top two pairings for the Oilers this coming season, okay? Let’s also say that Griffin Reinhart makes the team out of training camp, something I touched on yesterday.

That leaves two spots open on the Edmonton Oilers roster for defenders by my count. Now, the Oilers could keep eight D, meaning three of the above four guys make the team, but I don’t think it’ll happen. I think the Oilers keep 14 forwards, electing to hang onto both Luke Gazdic and Rob Klinkhammer.

Really, there isn’t a favorite here. If he’s healthy, Nikitin is likely the best of the group, but it’s tough to trust the health of a guy who had so many problems last season. Back issues are usually lingering issues.

The Final Results Of The Battle:

I think Eric Gryba is a lock to make this roster. Peter Chiarelli traded for the player and clearly thinks he fills a hole. I think Gryba is a fine NHL player, and would agree that he is good enough to make the team. Barring a Keith Aulie-like performance, he’ll be there on October 8th.

I think Brandon Davidson gets placed on waivers and eventually sent down to Bakersfield. There is a worry among fans that he will get claimed, but every team has a player like this. I don’t think Davidson will end up elsewhere and think he’ll see some NHL time as the season wears on.

That leaves Nikitin and Ference for one spot. This is where things get tricky for the Oilers, as Nikitin is likely to be the better player for the team. If the competition gets results based off merit, then Ference is the odd man out. That said, due to his NMC, I just can’t see it happening.

I think in the end, Edmonton will either waive or trade Nikitin during camp and keep Andrew Ference as the seventh defender. Gryba will slot in next to Reinhart on the third pairing.

That said, we can’t rule out the possibility that the Oilers carry 13 forwards and eight defenders, meaning Nikitin sticks around into the season. I’m just not sure if eight defenders is a sound plan for this club.