Subj : Edmonton Oilers Newcomers Finding Their Roles
To : All
From : The Hockey Writers - Main
Date : Sat Jan 23 2021 04:40 am
Five skaters made their Edmonton Oilers debuts over the first week of the
season, as the team got off to a 2-3-0 start in the NHL';s North Division.
Fitting in with a team is always a process, and Tyson Barrie, Dominik Kahun,
Slater Koekkoek, Devin Shore, and Kyle Turris have the added challenge of doing
so on the fly this season without the benefit of a preseason.Tyson Barrie is
playing more than 20 minutes per game on the Oilers blue line. (Photo by Andy
Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)
As Edmonton gets set to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday in the second
of two games at Scotiabank Arena, here's a look at how the newest Oilers have
performed thus far and meshed with their new teammates.Tyson Barrie
The signing of Barrie to a one-year contract in October was seen as checking a
huge box for the Oilers - the elusive defenceman who could play the point on
the power play and generate scoring chances.
The veteran defenceman looks increasingly at home on his new team, learning the
intricacies of having generational talents like Leon Draisaitl and Connor
McDavid as power-play partners (from 'Tyson Barrie learning power-play
intricacies on the fly',�Edmonton Sun, 1/16/21).
Head coach Dave Tippett has hardly eased Barrie into the lineup - Edmonton's
coach is playing Barrie 21:36 minutes per game, including 5:47 on the
power-play, both of which rank as the fourth-highest averages on the team.
Barrie has recorded two assists - one on the power-play - and fired 10 shots
but has a plus-minus rating of minus-three, which is second-worst on the team
among blueliners.
After starting the season playing with fellow Oilers newcomer Slater Koekkoek,
Barrie has spent the last couple of games with Kris Russell on Edmonton's
second pairing.Dominik Kahun
As a former linemate with Draisaitl in juniors in Germany, Kahun had a
jumpstart among the new Oilers with respect to finding chemistry (from
'Reunited on the Edmonton Oilers, Draisaitl and Kahun worked magic as kids in
Germany', Edmonton Sun, 11/3/20).
Kahun, who is in Edmonton on a one-year deal, has played all five games this
season on Draisaitl's left, with Kailer Yamamoto on the right. He's averaging
just over 13 minutes a night.
"He's a very skilled player & he's got a lot of hockey sense."
Draisaitl on #Oilers newcomer & fellow German Dominik Kahun as the two have
been reunited as teammates after a long history & friendship.
pic.twitter.com/PRfuVImDvt- Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) January 12, 2021
Driaisaitl and Yamamoto have been producing (six and four points,
respectively), but that hasn't resulted in residual points for Kahun, who has
just one assist.
The 25-year-old Kahun is tied for third on the team with a plus-minus of
plus-two, trailing only his linemates, Yamamoto (plus-four) and Draisaitl
(plus-three). He';s fired 10 shots on goal over Edmonton's last three outings,
a welcome uptick after managing just one in the first two games.
Kahun had 31 points in 56 games between Buffalo and Pittsburgh last
season.Slater Koekkoek
Signing Koekkoek to a one-year, $850,000 contract in early January is an early
contender as Ken Holland's sleeper acquisition for 2020-21. The Oilers';
general manager certainly was familiar with the former Chicago blueliner, who
had three points and was a plus-four in Chicago's qualification-round upset of
the Oilers last summer.Slater Koekkoek, former Chicago Blackhawk (Jess
Starr/The Hockey Writers)
Koekkoek has played smart, solid hockey, proving to be someone the Oilers can
rely upon in their own end. His ice time has gone from just over 15 minutes in
Edmonton's first game to almost 20 in their 3-1 victory over Toronto on
Wednesday when he paired with Adam Larsson. The 26-year-old is also seeing time
on the team's top PK unit.
Along with Darnell Nurse, Koekkoek is one of two Oilers'; defenceman to score a
goal this season. He has six shots and is a plus-two in the last three
games.Devin Shore
It was only Jan. 13 that Shore signed his one-year contract with the Oilers,
and already the centre's role on the team is growing.
Shore has been effective in the last couple of games on a line centering
Archibald and Alex Chiasson, and logged 12:28 against the Maple Leafs, his most
ice time in four games with the Oilers.
Tippett entrusted Shore's line with the Oilers'; late one-goal lead in Toronto
on Wednesday, and they produced the empty-net goal, by Archibald, that sealed
Edmonton's victory.
The 26-year-old forward scored Edmonton's lone goal in a 3-1 loss to Montreal
on Monday, short-handed on a breakaway, snapping a shot past Habs' netminder
Jake Allen. Shore is 14-for-27 in the face-off circle this season.Kyle Turris
Turris'; Edmonton tenure is not off to a great start - the veteran forward is
tied for the second-worst plus-minus rating on the team (minus-four), has just
five shots, and has yet to record a point through five games.
Turris began the season centering Archibald and Jesse Puljujarvi on Edmonton's
third line, until Joakim Nygard was recalled from the Oilers taxi squad last
weekend and took Archibald's spot on the left-wing. He is averaging nearly 15
minutes per game and seeing time on both the penalty kill and power play
units.Kyle Turris signed with the Oilers after struggling offensively the last
two seasons in Nashville. (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)
The 31-year-old has looked a step slower on occasion at 5-on-5 but remains good
in the dot, taking the second most draws on the team (71) and winning more
than half of them (37).
Holland signed Turris to a two-year contract last fall when the centre was
coming off a couple of seasons in Nashville where he struggled to score, and
Turris's lack of offensive production so far is not doing anything to ease
concerns that his best days are behind him.Edmonton Oilers'; Jesse Puljujarvi,
and Philadelphia Flyers'; Ivan Provorov (THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Matt Slocum)
Additionally, Puljujarvi could be considered an honourary newcomer. While the
Finnish forward previously spent parts of three seasons in Edmonton, his last
game with the Oilers was in 2019. He has returned from Europe a much different
player than the one who left with his relationship with the franchise was
thought to be irretrievably damaged.
While the stats (one point and a minus-four rating) don't necessarily reflect
it, Puljujarvi is playing with more confidence and assurance and is looking
like he belongs in the NHL, with current linemates Turris and Nygard.
It bears stating, however, under normal circumstances, the Oilers wouldn't even
be through their preseason schedule yet. Five games are far too small a sample
size to get either overly excited or press the panic button.
The post Edmonton Oilers Newcomers Finding Their Roles appeared first on The
Hockey Writers.
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