The Edmonton Oilers have further reduced their training camp roster, as they edge ever closer to opening night.
Fold into that, some early formations of the Oilers power play.
First, to the transactions:
-F Roby Jarventie and D Josh Brown have been placed on waivers, for the purpose of sending them to Bakersfield of the AHL. They join F James Hamblin, who was placed there later yesterday. I should think it unlikely that any of the three are claimed. F Viljami Marjala and G Samuel Jonsson have been loaned to the Condors. The latter two do not require waivers.
-Brown may be the most likely as he has a real NHL resume. But this is a signing ill-advised to begin with that has not turned out well. I do not mean any disrespect to Brown who is a good pro. But frankly, it would be a good thing for all involved if he was able to get a shot elsewhere. However, his $1m cap hit is a one deterrent. Other NHL teams may think (and correctly so) that they could pick up an equivalent at the league minimum. Plus, a club would have to keep Brown on their NHL roster. And…he has yet another year left remaining on the deal Jeff Jackson inked him to. Bit of an albatross. Hmmm…
-Jarventie has shown some good things in training camp. He should be an important contributor in Bakersfield. After so much time on the shelf with injuries (he only played two games for the Condors last season), what this twenty-three year old kid really needs is reps. He can get that in a middle-six role in the AHL.
-As for Hamblin, he has been a good soldier for this organization and has played 41 NHL games. But at this point in his career the twenty-six-year old is a “tweener”, probably best suited for a top role in the AHL (he was 19-26-45 in 51 GP for the Condors last year).
-Marjala is a tantalizing prospect. The twenty-two-year old Finn has enticing tools and showed well in camp. He is one to watch.
-Jonsson will battle for starting minutes in Bakersfield. Right now he is probably the organizational #4.
Then to practice this morning, where we saw two interesting configurations for the Oilers man advantage:
-Unit One: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, David Tomasek, Evan Bouchard. Four-fifths of this group is zero surprise. But Tomasek was the net-front in this configuration, the spot which of course a healthy Zach Hyman would occupy. Is it a sign Tomasek has all but made the club? Or is it the staff trying to determine where his contributions would be if he does.
-Unit Two: Adam Henrique, Trent Frederic, Matt Savoie, Ike Howard, Darnell Nurse/Mattias Ekholm. That both Savoie and Howard are getting this look is a mild surprise. Having two rookies on an NHL power play is not all that common. I can not hep but think that a healthy Jake Walman will be on this unit once he is back. Coach Knoblauch says Walman is “day-today” with an undisclosed issue.
Having said all that, this IS training camp. If Kris Knoblauch can not try thing out now, when can he?
More to come…
This article is not AI generated.
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