The Oilers recalled Brad Hunt from Bakersfield on Sunday morning. He was supposed to slide in for Nikita Nikitin that night in Calgary but he was delayed travelling and missed the game. Tonight, against the Los Angeles Kings, Hunt is expected to make his season debut for the Oilers.
Hunt is a surprising recall, mainly because we know what he is as a player. He is extremely talented with the puck, he has strong passing ability and an absolute rocket for a shot. He’s a huge asset on the power-play too, in fact he should be able to help the unit right now.
That said, what Brad Hunt gives you in offense he gives right back defensively. To put it politely, Brad Hunt is a poor defensive hockey player. He makes tons of mistakes and is often caught out of position. On top of that, he’s not an overly tough or physical player and routinely loses battles.
We’ve seen him before, two stints over the last two years. The results have been the same, good with the puck and bad, really bad, without it. I can’t imagine that this stint will be much different.
Where Does He Slot In?:
Brad Hunt was not recalled by the Oilers to sit in the pressbox. Edmonton’s power play unit is struggling big time and arguably cost them three points over the weekend. If they convert on one of them in Vancouver they win that game. In Calgary, they gave up a shorthanded goal that swung momentum completely away and into Calgary’s hands.
Hunt is strong on the power play and he is going to get looks. His slap shot immediately becomes the best on the team, and he does provide Edmonton with an actual threat from the point. That is something they have not had all season long.
On Monday, the team worked on the power play quite a bit in practice. To the surprise of no one, Hunt saw time on the top unit. Taylor Hall, Leon Draisaitl and Teddy Purcell remained on the unit while Anton Lander and Hunt joined them. Hunt is likely to be the point man while Lander is likely to screen the netminder, just as he did under Todd Nelson a season ago.
I’m not sure if it will work out, but it is well worth the chance. Putting Brad Hunt on the power play should help Edmonton generate chances, something they have struggled to do as of late.
Who Comes Out?:
I’d wager that Nikita Nikitin is the guy. Although he played better on Sunday, Nikitin was supposed to be the guy that came out. Personally, I’d yank Justin Schultz from the lineup, he was awful in Calgary, but the Oilers really haven’t held him accountable before so it would be quite the surprise to see him go. Mark Fayne is a candidate as well, he struggled over the weekend by my eye.
Money remains on Nikitin, however.
Final Thoughts:
Brad Hunt is chaos, chaos is Brad Hunt. He is not a strong defender but he is a great asset on the power play and with the puck. Calling Brad Hunt a power play specialist is, quite frankly, an understatement. Third pairing minutes at even strength and next to no time on the penalty kill with a large dose of PP time seems to be the recipe for this player. Whether or not he has an impact remains to be seen.
This is also likely a temporary stay. Oscar Klefbom and Brandon Davidson have to be getting close to a return, Davidson started skating again, and once they return there is no room for Hunt.
I’ll be interested to see what Hunt does on the power play. I’ll be equally as interested to see if he has shown any improvement defensively.
More chaos in Edmonton, same as it ever was.
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