EDMONTON — The lines delineating the players bound for the NHL roster and those destined for the minors and elsewhere have gone from clear to unmistakable at Edmonton Oilers camp.
Coach Kris Knoblauch had a secondary ensemble of players skating at practice on Tuesday followed by the main group, which featured four forward lines and a quartet of defence pairs.
There was nothing even the slightest bit unusual. The only thing worth noting about the main group was that camp invitee Travis Dermott got the assignment of Troy Stecher’s partner on the fourth duo on the back end. Again, no surprise.
This Oilers team is about as set as an NHL club can be with training camp wrapping up its first week. There might not realistically be a single job up for consideration. That checks out considering the Oilers are perhaps the Stanley Cup favourite entering the season.
Despite the dearth of roster battles, intrigue remains about defined roles and what’ll happen to those likely on the outside looking in.
Here’s what I’m seeing so far.
A sixth forward for the penalty kill is emerging
With Ryan McLeod and Warren Foegele moving on, the Oilers needed at least one more forward to handle short-handed duties. One is probably all they’ll need with Adam Henrique expected to assume a larger role.
There were no obvious candidates entering camp to take the last spot, but it appears Vasily Podkolzin has emerged as the front-runner despite less than eight minutes in that role over 137 NHL games.
Podkolzin said last week that he wanted to add the PK to his repertoire and spent the special teams component of Tuesday’s practice sharing the ice with Derek Ryan. Knoblauch said this is more than some flash-in-the-pan trial. Podkolzin got PK time in each of his first two preseason games.
“We need guys who can kill. Hopefully that’s something he can do,” the coach said. “Any good hockey player that is focused and bought in to doing the job, they can do it. We’re giving up every opportunity to do that.”
All that’s left to figure out is with whom Podkolzin could be paired when the regular season begins. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins didn’t participate in any PK drills because he was busy with the vaunted first power play.
Nugent-Hopkins and Ryan played together last season, often as the first two forwards over the boards so there were two strong-side faceoff options. The one pairing that seems locked in is Mattias Janmark and Connor Brown.
Why Hamblin and Pederson are at least in the picture
James Hamblin and Lane Pederson, two players vying for Ryan’s job as the fourth-line centre, have their work cut out for them to make the Oilers barring injury or the team keeping a 13th forward. Hamblin doesn’t require waivers, whereas Pederson spent last season in the minors and likely won’t be an overly attractive pickup on the wire.
Both players were part of the non-NHL group on Tuesday but joined the more renowned players for the back half of the session when special teams commenced. They were used as depth penalty killers.
That’s especially noteworthy for Hamblin, who has been a regular penalty killer with AHL Bakersfield but didn’t earn ice time in that discipline in his 31 games with the Oilers last season.
What’s working against both Hamblin and Pederson is that their NHL roles promise to be like Ryan’s. Hamblin will almost certainly have to surpass Ryan to earn a job. It doesn’t make much sense to keep a waivers-exempt player on the roster as an extra player.
Second power play could provide a bigger boost
How often in recent years was the second power-play unit in Edmonton occupied by forwards with single-digit goal totals deep into the second half of the season? Well, that won’t be the case now.
Tuesday’s practice saw Viktor Arvidsson, Jeff Skinner and Corey Perry doing drills along with blueliners Darnell Nurse and Mattias Ekholm. The first two players should hit 10 goals by the December holiday break. It wouldn’t be surprising if Perry got there before the end of the season, either. The versatile Henrique could factor into the mix at times, too.
Knoblauch made it clear none of those players are in the running for the first unit — the powerhouse quintet featuring Nugent-Hopkins, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman and Evan Bouchard. But they will get more touches.
“It’s important that they get more ice time than they (the second unit) did previously,” Knoblauch said. “It’s part of their game. They’ve always had it. It’s part of them feeling good about their game and playing better five-on-five.”
Any power-play time those forwards get is, naturally, only to their benefit. None are expected to factor into the penalty kill. Arvidsson and Skinner are scorers who need offensive opportunities. Perry is slated to start the season on the fourth line and will only be moved up for spurts because of injury or underperformance.
The lack of a centre shouldn’t be an issue. They’ll almost exclusively be hopping onto the ice on the fly.
Lavoie had been gaining traction … just maybe not in Edmonton
Raphael Lavoie left Tuesday’s practice with the secondary group and Knoblauch said he’ll be sidelined until Friday with a lower-body injury. He was scheduled to play his third game of the preseason Wednesday in Winnipeg.
That setback is a shame because he was looking like a better player than the one who was trying to crack the season-opening roster a year ago.
Lavoie was moving better. He was finishing more checks. He was around the puck more. He’s putting himself in position to use his best asset — his shot. Lavoie ripped home a power-play goal in Sunday’s win, one of 11 pucks he put on net as part of 14 attempts through his first two games.
Despite all that, Lavoie feels further away from making the Oilers than last fall given the roster composition. There’s also management’s desire to accrue cap space, so he’ll really have to shine next week to convince the decision-makers to keep an extra forward around.
After clearing waivers before the season last year, Lavoie should be more enticing to teams on the wire.
Of course, he’ll have to keep this up once he gets back to full health.
PTO evaluations
Being part of the main group is a feather in Dermott’s cap. He’s played two games, one paired with Ty Emberson and the other next to Stecher. He’s been his natural left side both times.
Knoblauch said it would be “beneficial” for the organization to see Dermott at right defence — the area of the blue line that’s most in flux — but added that probably won’t happen until the roster is pared down more.
Dermott is the clear No. 8 blueliner. It’s looking like he’ll require an injury from an Oilers defenceman to earn a one-way contract and play regular-season games.
That’s where fellow camp invite Mike Hoffman is at, too — only his situation seems more dire.
Hoffman wasn’t even with the NHL group on Tuesday. He’s played on a line with Noah Philp and James Stefan in one preseason game and with Pederson and Matt Savoie in another. He has a goal and an assist, both recorded on the power play.
Knoblauch said Hoffman will appear in one to three more games before the Oilers decide his fate. Hoffman as a full-time Oiler looks like a long shot right now.
(Photo of Travis Dermott: Perry Nelson / Imagn Images)
