Meet Teddy Purcell

**Picture courtesy of Baggedmilk**

Who is Teddy Purcell?

When the Oilers acquired him from Tampa Bay for Sam Gagner, much of the focus centered around Gagner. It was understandable considering how hotly Gagner’s value and contribution has been debated over the years, but now that he is no longer an Oiler, let’s look at Purcell.

When I spoke to Purcell over the phone he admitted he was shocked when he got traded. He didn’t expect a trade, but after it set in he said he is very excited about the move.

It was refreshing to hear a Canadian player say he is excited about the opportunity to play in Canada.

“I think that every kid growing up in Canada always wanted to play, experience what it
was like to play in the NHL in Canada,” said Purcell.

“And that’s no disrespect to the organizations that I’ve played in the past, LA
or Tampa, but I mean it’s just a pretty obvious statement that hockey is
Canada’s game up there and like you say, there is more attention and there’s a
little bit more pressure. It’s something that I’m ready to embrace and
experience,” continued Purcell.

I hope he never losses that attitude. I’m sick and tired of hearing players complain that Canadian markets are tough to play in. You make millions of dollars to play a game, and even when the team is losing the fans still show up and cheer on their team. It isn’t that tough.

Canada had six of the worst ten teams in the league last year, yet the fans still came out in droves. The majority of fans are great to the players. They idolize them. Instead of worrying about the loudmouth who yells, “you suck” when they are walking across the street, or the clueless person who interrupts them at dinner, the players and their organizations need to realize how lucky they are to have so many fans who continue to support them despite their losing ways.

Okay, enough of my rant on playing in Canada, let’s get back to Purcell.

He has played both wings, but which position he is most comfortable playing?

Point totals and possession stats can give us an idea of how a player plays, but I enjoy asking a player about their strengths and weaknesses. Purcell stands 6′ 3″ and weighs 203 pounds, which makes him the biggest (combined height and weight) top-nine forward in Edmonton. However, don’t expect him to be a physical presence. That isn’t his game.

He talked about his strengths, and also how his game matches up in the bigger western conference.

Most players will always give you an honest assessment of their game. You have to play to your strengths, and obviously every player has to battle along the boards, but Purcell believes he is more effective in tight spaces in the middle of the ice.

He has also been a solid producer on the powerplay the past four seasons.

He was 4th amongst Tampa players in PP points in 2011, 2nd in 2012 and 3rd in 2013 and 2014. Where does he like to set up and what aspect of his game works well on the man advantage?

The Oilers PP needs a shooter, Nikitin might fill that void, and they need a net-front presence. Purcell and Perron could fill that role. The Oilers have enough skilled forwards to have two competitive PP units and Purcell’s history suggests he can be productive on the man advantage.

It is too early to tell who Purcell will play with, but could we see him play with Leon Draisaitl and Benoit Pouliot? If MacTavish signs or trades for a veteran centre I could see Yakupov and Perron play with the veteran, while Draisaitl gets flanked by the newest Oilers. I don’t see a situation where Yakupov and Draisaitl should play together. They’d get eaten up on the road.

Regardless of where Purcell plays he plans on arriving in Edmonton before training camp.

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