So the Oilers have played 8 games in the regular season now and a few things have happend. First, we saw that Eberle can be a threat at any time and he is more than ready for an NHL job. MPS is a guy that works his ass off and is slowly being rewarded for it. Hall finally got the monkey off his back and potted his first goal (I expect that he will be much more confident now) Smid seems to be slowly but surely getting better, finding a role and sticking to it. Peckham has shown that he can be a tough SOB when called upon and he doesnt take shit from nobody. There have been several positive things to see so far.
We have also seen some pretty ugly things going on. Vandermeer is horrible, and when I saw horrible I mean 3rd pairing on an AHL team kind of bad. Strudwick may be a good "teammate" but he is a very lacking defenseman.The defense in general is weak. Then there has been a real lack of role definition in the forward lineup. It makes it much harder for guys to get into a groove when they dont even understand what they have to do night in and night out. Hemsky has been looking like he lost interest right after the interview where he said he was "energized" and if there is no Hemmer going it is going to be hard to generate offence. Like it or not he is still the catalyst most nights.
Something that bothers me more than the ugly though, is the fact that Renney seems to be trusting his kids less that (IMO) he should be. Take the shootout for instance. IMO if you want to give guys like Hall and MPS some confidence, thats a great place to start. They both have the hands for it, and especially Hall where until last night he was looking for his first goal putting him as the first shooter doesnt add too much pressure but it does allow him to gain some confidence. Defaulting to Brule last night was a bad choice in my opinion. sure he has a great shot, but how often is he dangling around defenders??? How bout Penner the other night? That was stupid, he is 1/6 in the shootout. He doesnt deke goalies out of their shorts. He is a crash/bang kind of goal scorer. NOT viable for the shootout.
I think that if the kids are going to be succesful, the coach has to give them every opportunity to be so. If he wants to use Eberle in a PK role thats fine. But put him on the first PK unit and leave it like that. Hall and MPS should not be on the PK, so they should be given first PP time. I know it sounds a little crazy but really, those guys need to know that they are going to be relied upon based on the skills that they bring rather than the time that they have put in. Horcoff should not be on the PP at all! Hell, neither should Cogliano. There are more than enough guys to make a solid PP lineup and the kids should lead the way. Are the Oilers going to have a top rated PP this year?? probably not, but until they try the kids you cant know what they will bring.
I agree that Renney needs to find the balance that will best bring the kids along. But he also has to understand that they are all capable of handling pressure and until he challenges them they are not going to elevate their games. There are still 74 games to go, and maybe its MY patience that needs to relax a bit. But I dont think the Oilers are going to be great this year, nor would I expect it. What I do expect is progress, and 6 losses in a row is not very good progress IMHO.
until next time.
