Five Oilers to Watch This Season

With the season fast approaching I started thinking about the roster and the players that need to make an impact this season. Here are five Oilers that I’ll have my eyes on this year, and why I think they’ll have a chance to succeed. As always, I encourage you to argue my list, create your own, and then we can spend the afternoon arguing away company time just as Connor McDavid would want us to do. 

It goes without saying that there are ups and downs in an NHL season/career. Sometimes a guy will have an amazing year only to follow it up with an unpolished turd. Sometimes a guy will struggle early in his career only to find himself a few years down the road. Needless to say, predicting how athletes will do isn’t really an exact science. I wanted to take a look at five Oilers that I’ll be watching this season, and how I think they’re going to do in the upcoming year. For fun, I also asked Chris the Intern how many goals, assists, and points each player will get so that you all know who to take in your fantasy pools. 

While we still don’t know if Jesse Puljujarvi will even make the Oilers opening night roster I’m going to go ahead and pencil him in anyways. When you look at the depth on the right side it’s hard not to imagine a spot being occupied by the giant Finn, even with Kris Versteeg signing a PTO. Does Puljujarvi have an advantage over other rookies because he has already played against men? I think he might, even though I said the same thing about Magnus PRV. Regardless, if the Oilers can put Poolparty is a position to succeed, with some easier defensive matchups and assignments, then he could very well have the skill it takes to end the Oilers’ Calder drought. 

Baggedmilk – 15 goals, 25 assists = 40 points

Chris the Intern – 20 goals, 30 assists = 50 points

Anybody that has been reading this website for any length of time knows how much I loves me my little Nugey. I think the world of this kid as both a hockey player and child model. Regardless of what many of you will tell me, I truly believe that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is the most complete two-way player on the roster and, as such, I have endless time for him even if he struggles. After having a poor year last year I can see how some of you may not have high hopes for young Nugey, but I assure you that this kid is better than what we saw last year. He’s the kind of player you win with. Besides, find me a better two-way player on the Oilers? You can’t. Team Nuge – get on board.

Baggedmilk – 22 goals, 40 assists = 62 points

Chris the Intern – 18 goals, 40 assists = 58 points

It’s been an interesting summer for ol’ Darryl. Some of you fine citizens think that Darryl can do no wrong while others think he is vastly overrated and could be used as a trade chip to upgrade the right side. So which is it? Personally, I thought that there were times when Nurse struggled last year, but I don’t necessarily blame him for that. The Oilers weren’t even in the ballpark of putting Nurse in a position to succeed. They threw this kid into the deep end with one water wing on and expected him to get things done. This year, I expect Darryl to be a little bit more steady on the backend because he’ll have been pushed down the lineup. Slotting a young guy like Darnell Nurse into the appropriate spot in the roster will be key for his success this season. 

Baggedmilk – 5 goals, 15 assists = 20 points

Chris the Intern – 6 goals, 15 assists = 21 points

Does any Oiler have more pressure to perform than Adam Larsson? He is coming into his first season with the Oilers as a guy that is not only expected to play on the top pairing, but was also the guy that Peter Chiarelli traded Taylor Hall to get. Those are some big clogs* to fill, especially around these parts. Personally, I think I’m pulling for Larsson more than any other player on this list because I think he’ll need the support. I know how tough Oilers fans can be on players, and I can see a scenario where the critiques blowup exponentially because of the price paid to acquire him. 

Baggedmilk – 6 goals, 16 assists = 22 points

Chris the Intern – 5 goals, 30 assists = 35 points

This big sexy unit has been on Oilers wishlists since the day he was drafted. Anybody that has been reading this website for a while knows how often we’ve written about trying to find a “Lucic type” player. As far as power forwards go, Lucic is the template by which all other power forwards seem to be compared. He’s a big, strong, mean forward that can put the puck in the net, work the boards down low, and pummel your face all at the same time. For a lot of Oilers fans, this pickup has been a long time coming, especially when you consider the Bruins drafted Lucic with the second round pick that the Oilers sent them for Sergei Samsonov, back at the deadline in ’06. If Lucic spends the year patrolling Connor McDavid’s left side he could be in for a career high in goals and points. I, personally, am not expecting that but the table is set for him to make it happen. 

Baggedmilk – 25 goals, 30 assists = 55 points

Chris the Intern – 25 goals, 35 assists = 60 points

Okay, so maybe my list has six players but how could I not include Connor as a player to watch? With only 45 games under his belt, Connor is quickly becoming one of the most electrifying players in the NHL and it would be hard NOT to keep your eyes on him. Franky, it’s amazing how special a player Connor is despite the lack of overall experience. That being said, no list of Oilers to Watch is complete without Connor being on it and thus he occupies the “duh obviously” bonus spot on my list. 

Baggedmilk – 33 goals, 55 assists = 88 points

Chris the Intern – 35 goals, 50 assists = 85 points

I’m curious to know who you guys would put on your list of Oilers to watch this season. Do you go with the new toys that Chiarelli brought in this summer? Do you go with someone that is coming off of a down year? Stick with your old faithful? Hit me up in the comments and let me know who you’ll be watching this season,a and what they need to do to have a good year.