On Friday, November 3, the Edmonton Oilers announced the promotion of Raphael Lavoie to the NHL. A second-round pick in 2019, Lavoie has had a longer journey to get to this point, something that many across Oil Country have been anticipating since training camp, if not last season.
What Lavoie has to offer
Lavoie has lots of tools, with the speed, size, soft hands, and heavy shot to provide an offensive spark to an Oilers lineup struggling to find secondary scoring amidst a slow start to the season. While Oilers Coach Jay Woodcroft did agree that Lavoie had a strong preseason when asked by media members, he seemed to temper expectations in Lavoie’s making the team, reiterating that consistency is crucial to a player’s making the team.
While the issue of consistency has long been the defining hurdle to Lavoie making an NHL roster, the forward has done exactly that since the calendar changed to 2023. Lavoie took off in January of last season, finally producing as a top-six AHL scorer over a long stretch, powering the team into the playoffs. Since his demotion to start the season, Lavoie has continued his torrid production, and does appear to have embodied the mindset required of him to stay in the NHL.
Most of Lavoie’s quotes about his being sent to the AHL to start the season have been speaking to his desire to become a better player, capable of staying in the NHL, more than being focused on making the NHL quickly or being frustrated that he isn’t already receiving that chance. In all, he’s done everything the organisation could have asked, and now he finds himself rewarded for those efforts.
Lineup options
Given the profile of his skills, it will be interesting to see where the coaches put Lavoie in the Oilers lineup. Though Connor Brown is injured, Lavoie does not offer the same checking abilities, and might not fit into every role that Brown occupied. Surely, fans will want to see Lavoie alongside at least one of the Oilers top forwards, be it Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, or Evander Kane.
Naturally, the coaching staff might have other ideas, as trust is built over time. Perhaps Woodcroft’s familiarity with Lavoie will help bridge that gap, but it is possible that we see Lavoie starting lower in the lineup, even on a shorthanded fourth line. Even in this case, Lavoie will have the chance to assert himself for more minutes, as McDavid and Draisaitl are often double shifted with fourth line wingers.
This might see him in competition with fellow call-up Sam Gagner, who earned a promotion before Lavoie and promptly scored two goals. At the same time, perhaps both players’ offensive skills will be of use to each other. Both are likely offensive upgrades on most of the Oilers forward depth, and should provide an offensive jolt. Though the Oilers issues this season extend beyond scoring, the added firepower and the frustration of losing might be enough for the team to come together defensively and resolve some of the issues the team has had keeping pucks out of their own net.
2 Comments