These are truly the times where hockey is missed. August has hit the world and we are at the midway point of the offseason. While baseball and football fans are settling into their respective seasons, we hockey fans are forced to wait until the breezy days of fall to enjoy our national pastime. It isn’t easy writing in these uneventful months, being limited to a reflective period until news starts to roll around once again. This is part two of my roster reflection series “The Dog Days”, you can see the first part here. Basically I am looking at each position and analyzing the players who fill that spot on the Edmonton roster. In today’s edition, I will be looking at the most anticipated group on the Oilers this year, which is the coveted center spot. Rewind back to September 2014 and it was a different story, as Edmonton only had two proven NHL guys in Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Boyd Gordon. Now the Oilers seem to have an overabundance at the position, having a deadly top 2 in RNH and McDavid and a capable bottom 6 with Anton Lander and Mark Letestu. How have these players done recently? What should we expect from them come October? Well, lets just take a closer look, why don’t we….
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, otherwise known as “The Nuge”. The former Red Deer Rebel was picked 1st overall by the Oilers in the 2011 draft, and it seems as though he is finally growing into his own. In his first pro season with Edmonton, Nugent-Hopkins was unfortunately thrust into a top 6 role with the team, something that obviously worked against the young stud. Despite the added pressure, RNH had a stellar 52 point rookie season that left many fans optimistic about his future with the team. Optimism that was nearly crushed in his sophomore season where a nagging shoulder injury plagued his production and limited him to 4 goals through 40 games in a lockout shortened season. With that, the Oilers decided to yank Nuge for the final 8 games and arrange him to have surgery to repair the nagging shoulder. This, as mentioned, drew a lot a disappointment from the Oilers fan base as they wondered if their young centerman would ever return to form. The 2013/14 season was a make or break season for Ryan and break he did not. Not in the slightest did he look to be regressing and his seemingly injured shoulder appeared to be in better shape than ever. The 13/14 season was a disaster of sorts in terms of the teams overall performance but it didn’t affect the Nuge, who scored a career high 56 points while only missing two games. Consistency followed as just this past season he put up an identical 56 in 4 fewer games played.
He is currently our 1st line center. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has definitely worked his way into the untouchable conversation in the past two seasons. What is most appealing about Ryan is that he never seems rattled, always in the game, no matter what the score. His level headedness and ability to read situations, whether its to make the pass or take the shot, were impeccable this past season and he is poised to repeat come October. These attributes were good enough for him to make the annual All-star game, and in my honest opinion, he was heavily underrated by the rest of the NHL. He was commonly found between Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle last season, a trio that was absolutely stunning for the most part. However, due to an injury bug, Hall was replaced with Benoit Pouliot for the latter half of the season, which never fazed #93. Pouliot offered Nugent an option that could hold onto the puck and carry the play up the ice. With improved forward depth and a better team all around, I have high hopes for Nugent-Hopkins to continue his high level of play on the Oilers 1st line between the likes of Benoit Pouliot and Jordan Eberle.
Connor McDavid
Here is the real headliner! Connor McDavid. The kid that has been said to be the next great hockey player will participate in his first NHL game of what might become a historic career. Ah, no pressure kid. The expectations are through the roof for the guy that Edmonton fans have nicknamed “McJesus” but, it isn’t like he has done anything to subdue those expectations. McDavid started his road to the NHL with the Eerie Otters of the OHL at the age of 15 when he was granted exceptional player status by the league. His rookie season was actually pretty sub par, when compared to his next two seasons. In that rookie season, McDavid netted a cool 66 points in 63 games. Not to bad for a rookie by any means, but here is where the myth became a legend. In his second OHL season McDavid played 7 fewer games, 56, but managed to destroy his rookie point total by recording 99(!) points. Quite the step-up I’d say. This wasn’t even the end of it either, in his final junior season McDavid was only limited to 47 games due to a wrist injury suffered in a fight. Don’t let that fool you, because Connor McDavid upped the ante once again and got an astonishing 120 points in 47 games. Then, just as a bonus, McDavid crushed the OHL playoffs this past year by 49 points in 20 games played. Believe me when I say, its hard not to get excited about Connor McDavid.
The above paragraph has me salivating already! McDavid is no doubt a special player, but we must temper our expectations the best we can, he is still only an 18-year-old. The hockey microscope has now shifted onto Edmonton and we, as a fan base, should do everything we can to show the NHL how good of fans we are, that means no more jersey tossing or booing player off the ice. McDavid will play on opening night in front of a rabid, sold out Rexall Place and will likely be manning a second line with Taylor Hall and Nail Yakupov. This is a line made in heaven. Hall posses game breaking speed and has a feisty element, McDavid has superb hockey IQ as well as speed, and Yakupov is an elite shooter who should absolutely feed off those two. Hall and Yak are also the perfect mentors for him, knowing the pressures that come with being drafted #1. All in all, it will be a very exciting year for Connor as he headlines a new era of Oilers hockey.
Anton Lander
Next up is Edmonton’s musketeer, Anton Lander. His path to the NHL has been anything but fabulous, I detail his up and down journey with the team here , but he has persevered and is expected to make an appearance on opening night. The battling swede from Timra first joined the Oilers organization in 2009, when Edmonton selected him 40th overall. Since then, its been a story of brief call ups and demotions. His first, and longest, NHL stint took place in the 2011/12 season, where Lander played 52 games with the big club, recording a lowly 5 points. It was obvious that Lander was not quite ready for the NHL. With that notion in mind, Edmonton kept him on the OKC farm for the next year, in hopes that his game would develop in the AHL. The 2012/13 season found Lander netting 20 points in 47 games, which was improvement, although minimal as he still struggled in the NHL. The up and down relationship continued for the following years, including a AHL season where Lander scored 52 points, and it wasn’t until this past season, 2014/15, that Lander really showed production at the NHL level. His most impressive NHL run by far, 20 points in 38 games, Lander has earned himself a contract and is holding down the third line for the Edmonton Oilers.
Yes, its true that at one point in time that Edmonton could have unloaded Lander for next to nothing and nobody would bat an eyelash. It’s been done before and the Oilers are notorious at getting rid of seemingly no name players before they hit their stride. However, that has not been the case with Lander, as the team endured 3 underwhelming seasons with him and have yet to give up on him. Now, as a reward for that patience, the Oilers are getting a player who looks like he can hold his own and help add some energy to their bottom 6. Lander provides a good two way games that isn’t particularly overpowering, but its steady and helps calm the game down. His linemates for the upcoming season are projected to be that of Lauri Korpikoski and Teddy Purcell, two guys that I think will thrive with Lander. Korpikoski is a fast skater that could be an easy outlet pass for Lander and Purcell has a hell of shot that can help finish plays. The new season holds a new chapter in the Anton Lander chapter, lets all hope it was as good as the last.
Mark Letestu
The newest edition to the Oilers center chart comes in the form of Mark Letestu. The 30 year old NHL vet has played in over 300 games and has amassed a grand total of 127 points in that span. Signing with Pittsburgh in 2009, Letestu is an undrafted player who signed as a free agent. He was touted as an exceptional two-way player when he was in college however, the numbers were not have not been prevalent at the NHL level. Letestu has instead built a reputation as being a sound positional player who can contribute a little of offence. His Pittsburgh tenure lasted a mere 85 games, in which Letestu produced 15 goals and 14 assists while playing behind Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. He was then flipped to Columbus during the 2011/12 season, in exchange for a 4th round pick. It was in Columbus where Letestu hit his prime, scoring 74 points over the course of three seasons. Despite that, Letestu had a subpar 2014/15, achieving 13 points in 54 games played. Mark is looking to become a staple on the Oilers 4th line for the entirety of the three year deal that the Oilers signed him to on July 1st.
The Oilers created a hole at center when the team dealt Boyd Gordon to Arizona, and Letestu was a sufficient filler. He will take over the 4th line spot, in between Rob Klinkhammer and Matt Hendricks. This line will be very interesting, as Klinkhammer and Hendricks play a grittier style of play rather than Letestu’s two-way game. This could result in a slow start for him, as he has to get aligned with his new linemates. After that adaptation takes place, I think it will be all good. I am not expecting a huge year from the Alberta native, hoping for some consistent positional play rather than concentrate on what he can do on the stat sheet. I think the Oilers fourth line will be as good as it has ever been and if Letestu’s presence can spark Hendrick and Klinkhammer, then that will only add to the legend that is the “Wagon Line”.
And thus ends the second edition of “The Dog Days”! Just thinking about what Nuge and McDavid could do this coming season has got me excited for the season to start! Not to mention that the bottom 6 is looking pretty solid as of now, which is always nice to have. Compared to where we were at the beginning of last season, where only Nuge and Gordon were established centers, I think the Oilers are set down the middle this year and this fact alone will help Edmonton steal a couple points early on.
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