AT RANDOM: ABOUT LEON . . .

When it comes to discussions about the need for the Edmonton Oilers to add size and edginess to their line-up, I’ve often said you can’t go by size alone because big players can play small and small players can play big.

That’s probably why I’ve got mixed feelings that the Oilers will likely have the opportunity to select Prince Albert’s Leon Draisaitl with the third overall pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

Draisaitl is big. He’s skilled. He’s a centre. The question about Draisaitl, at least among many fans, is his competitive nature. Does he play with enough passion? Does he have enough edge to his game? Or, is he a soft, passive player in a big body without the fire of slightly smaller Sam Bennett?

That’s the question, and I don’t have a definitive answer. Jason Gregor just posted an in-depth interview he did with Draisaitl on the show last week, so I won’t go over too much of the ground he’s already covered, but for me, the money quote from the interview is obvious.

GREGOR: “Some suggest that you’re not maybe a fireball, you’re not highly competitive. From games I’ve seen, I don’t agree with that. How do you respond to those who suggest that maybe you’re not a highly competitive player?” 

DRAISAITL: “I know I’m a really, really competitive person. I want to win every single game. I know people say that about me but you know, I think it’s the style of game I play. In my opinion, that’s why people say that a lot.

Playing big doesn’t necessarily mean running opponents through the boards (not that doing so is a bad thing in my books) or dropping the gloves at every sideways glance from an opponent (ditto). It’s about willingness to compete. It’s about hating to lose. It’s about being hard on the puck. It involves cliché stuff about being at your best when the chips are down. It’s about becoming more engaged rather than backing off when it gets nasty. 

I’ve seen countless big players without the first clue about what it takes to truly compete and play with an edge (hello, Jason Bonsignore) and I’ve seen just as many small players with spit-in-your-eye brass and gumption that far outstrips their physical size (Doug Gilmour comes to mind). 

The old axiom tells us it’s not the size of the dog in the fight that matters, but the size of the fight in the dog. I’ve always believed that. Whether that trait comes in a bigger body like Draisaitl or somebody like Bennett or Sam Reinhart, that’s the player the Oilers need when they take the podium in Philadelphia.

. . . Jonathan Willis has done a couple of items of late about Oklahoma City coach Todd Nelson. On merit, I believe Nelson deserves a promotion to the NHL, but I question the wisdom of adding a coach without considerable NHL coaching experience to the Edmonton staff, given its make-up now

Dallas Eakins has one season as an NHL head coach on his resume. He needs an experienced addition to his staff, not somebody learning on the fly. Eakins needs help in the form of a seasoned veteran coach, not a newbie, so the timing isn’t good. That’s not Nelson’s fault, but it is his problem.

. . . I’m not the first to mention this, but I wonder if the Philadelphia Flyers and Craig MacTavish might re-visit the possibility of getting a deal done at the draft in June. The Flyers are always open for business and I can see new GM Ron Hextall and Paul Holmgren wanting to move up in draft order.