With the loss of winger Zach Hyman until at least November, the Edmonton Oilers will need to adjust their plans at forward. On Tuesday, Head Coach Kris Knoblauch revealed his plan to begin the season, loading the top line with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and giving Trent Frederic the first look at a presumably rotating winger spot. He also stated that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will begin the season at 2C, and Adam Henrique and David Tomasek will compete for the 3C spot.
Knoblauch also discussed how the middle-six winger battles will be between Vasily Podkolzin, Andrew Mangiapane, Matthew Savoie, Isaac Howard, Kasperi Kapanen, and Mattias Janmark. It’s an interesting strategy, and certainly not a new one. The McDavid-Draisaitl combo has been tempting for many an Oilers coach, from Dave Tippett essentially relying on it to Jay Woodcroft’s bad habit of throwing 97 and 29 together in a panic. However, I think the Oilers have some better strategies available before turning to “Ol’ Reliable” with McDavid and Draisaitl.
Splitting McDavid and Draisaitl
As stated above, the temptation to simply put McDavid and Draisaitl together on the first line is clearly strong. They’re the best, and likely second best players in the NHL, they compliment each other’s games, and forces your opponent into a guaranteed mismatch; no team can compete with the raw talent of the McDavid/Draisaitl line. However, throughout the last few seasons we’ve seen this tactic backfire more often than not. Although supercharging your top line seems like a good idea, it makes the Oilers a very top-heavy unit. If opponents can at least slow down the super line, they can attack other parts of the forward group.
I would personally have McDavid and Draisaitl split as 1C and 2C. We know that Draisaitl can effectively push the river and drive his own line, and splitting him from McDavid makes the entire top-six more balanced. I’d also put Vasily Podkolzin with Draisaitl like the Oilers did for much of last season. Podkolzin is a ferocious fore-checker with tremendous hustle, the perfect guy to dig out pucks or just get open for a scoring chance. If Podkolzin could add some more finish to his game, he’d easily be a 15 to 20-goal man riding shotgun with Leon.
As for McDavid’s wingers to start the year, I don’t hate the idea of Frederic being a poor man’s Hyman. Frederic is a similarly big body who can skate and hit, albiet with less of a historical scoring touch. However, McDavid is the rising tide that lifts all ships, so I wouldn’t be shocked if Frederic’s game and point totals took a jump after an extended look with 97. With McDavid and Draisaitl split up, the Oilers are simply a deeper, more dangerous team up front.
Nugent Hopkins locks down the third line
In a perfect world, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins should be the Oilers full-time 3C this season. That’s not a knock on the Nuge, who can still play the wing at an effective level, and has been very good playing it alongside McDavid the last few seasons. However, I think he’d be best utilized as the 3rd line centre behind 97 and 29.
The Oilers certainly don’t lack for centre depth, and being able to run McDavid, Draisaitl, and Nugent-Hopkins down the middle is a strength most teams in the NHL don’t possess. Adam Henrique is still a good hockey player, but throughout last season he seemed to lose a step in the speed category. I’d prefer to have him more on the wings this year. He’s a smart player and knows where to be, and the wing allows him a little more time to get there, rather than needing to skate the full 200 feet.
What’s the wing situation?
The Oilers have actual competition on the wings for the first time in a few seasons. As Knoblauch discussed, Mangiapane, Howard, Savoie, Podkolzin, Kapanen, and Janmark are all jostling for lineup spots. It’s a good problem to have if you’re Edmonton.
However, I would have some preference of where some of these players end up. Podkolzin’s penciled in with Draisaitl, so where does everyone else fit? I think Matthew Savoie is best used in the top-six. He’s a young player and is no doubt going to get more than a fair shake with McDavid and Draisaitl. Whichever he develops more chemistry with, he’ll stick with them.
Andrew Mangiapane is an interesting case. I think he’ll start the year in the top-six, but could just as easily slide to a third line role. Kapanen and Janmark are best served as bottom-six wingers who can play the middle-six in a pinch, but I wouldn’t be putting them any higher.
Ike Howard is the true wild card of all these options. I also think he’ll get a chance to play with the big guns, and he’s got a real opportunity to succeed. Howard has looked much more comfortable in the preseason games featuring NHLers as opposed to the rookie split squad games. Perhaps it’s a case of Howard’s game being elevated by better players at the moment. However, I think Howard, even more than Savoie, has an early opportunity to cement himself as a serious contributor to this year’s Oilers team. If he’s able to become a trigger-man for either McDavid or Draisaitl, he’ll quickly earn a top spot in the lineup. If he needs more time to develop though, I would much rather him playing big minutes in AHL Bakersfield than grinding out seven minutes a night on the fourth line.
Noah Philp: Locked in 4C
Noah Philp has looked tremendous so far in the preseason. He’s got the speed to keep up with and make plays, he’s shown some offensive flashes, and he’s got good defensive instincts and can kill penalties well. I think he’s done enough to win the fourth line centre job. He’s also a big, tall right shot centre, the kind of player the Oilers seem to perennially be searching for in the middle-six.
If Philp does take the 4C job, I think Edmonton fans will be more than happy with his play at the position. Additonally, if Nugent-Hopkins takes 3C with a McDavid/Draisaitl split, and Philp holds the fourth line down, maybe a player like Henrique becomes expendable, and can be moved to make some cap room for other roster moves.
If you were asking me, here’s the Oilers lines I would try to start the season:
| Andrew Mangiapane | Connor McDavid | Trent Frederic |
| Vasily Podkolzin | Leon Draisaitl | Matthew Savoie |
| Ike Howard | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | David Tomasek |
| Kasperi Kapanen | Noah Philp | Adam Henrique |
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
