Monday Mailbag – Can Leon Draisaitl drive his own line with the current wingers?

Greetings, Nation compadres! It’s Monday morning and that means it’s Mailbag time again. As always, I’ve taken your questions and sent them off to our panel of geniuses to assess and pass along some hot wisdom that you’ll be able to carry forward with you for the rest of your life. With that in mind, I need questions for next week, so open up your internet machines and send me any query you may have about the Oilers or life in general. You can get them to me through email or on Twitter — I’m good like that. Until then, it’s time to learn something. Enjoy.

I predict he scores over 60 points with London.

I just rolled the dice — really. They say Bouchard plays 23 games and gets 53 points. Who am I to argue?

Nine games, one goal, two assists. I think he plays sheltered minutes but looks like the real deal on the PP. Then they send him back to Jr for one last year when they realize they need to play the 6D ahead of him bc they trust them 5v5. (Klefbom, Nurse, Sekera, Larsson, Benning, Russell)

If they could play the kid in the AHL they would.

Two games, zero points then sent back to junior or Europe.

I’m going to go with 30 games, 12 points. I have nothing to base that off of, just my guess.

I say he plays in nine games with the Oilers, gets three assists, and goes back to London to rip it up. From there, he’ll get to go to the World Juniors tournament where he will be a major player for Canada.

He will need a good start and force coaches to keep him in the lineup. Most important he will need to show he is committed and professional and be early to every meeting, practice and flight. With 3/4 of a new coaching staff, he will have the advantage of a fairly clean slate. He has great speed and has had some okay numbers in AHL. He could be a surprise if he comes in desperate and hungry to impress.

He’s a last option, so if the guys ahead of him perform adequately, he doesn’t have a job here. I think he has good enough offensive instincts to prove me wrong, but production will trump instincts. He has to be up to speed from the first on-ice session at camp to have any chance.

He and Caggiula are playing against each other for the worst forward on the team position. Caggiula has the contract though so Aberg better show up in the fall.

Starts on the outside and possibly traded or waived before the season begins. On the right side, Ty Rattie has the edge with his late-season run with Connor McDavid. Jesse Puljujarvi will get a push. The Oilers and Todd McLellan like Drake Caggiula for some reason. Zack Kassian is probably what they like in a fourth-line winger. Tobias Rieder can the right side. Maybe Aberg gets some time at left wing, but Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Milan Lucic, Rieder/Caggiula, and Jujhar Khaira feels like the starting four.

I think it will depend if Yamamoto makes the team. He will be the factor that squeezes Aberg out. But you are correct, I can see him landing in the 12/13th forward spot. But again, you never know what happens out of training camp, Aberg could surprise us.

Who knows? Aberg has the talent to stick but the inconsistency is troublesome so it will be a really interesting year for him. I still like the trade that landed him here, but now it’s up to him to make the most of the opportunity. Lots of room on that right wing for someone to grab the bull by the horns.

I have more concerns about the term; driving a line.

Sure. Until he does it over a period of time, you have to wonder if he can. His wingers, as you referred to, will have a say in that.

I do have concerns about Draisaitl being asked to carry Lucic around the ice like its Weekend at Bernie’s and Bernie had gained an extra 75 pounds. Draisaitl is a fantastic player and one who had a great 5v5 season while simultaneously having a brutal year on the PP. I think he breaks out this year and the beneficiary is Yamamoto or Puljujarvi.

Definitely. There’s not a lot of talent on the wings and he’ll likely get some combination of Lucic/Rieder/Puljujarvi/Caggiula/Khaira on the second line. McDavid’s been Draisaitl’s most common linemate the past couple years. That’s a steep drop. I wouldn’t be surprised if his points took a hit without all that McDavid time.

Draisaitl will need help from his wingers in order to be successful. I think Connor’s the only guy on the team who could singlehandedly create offence on his own. With that said, Tobias Rieder might be a good fit with Drai, but time will tell. Last year our winger depth was not good, so in order for the second line to succeed, Lucic and everyone else need to improve.

It’s the same thing that happened with Nuge last year. People are going to get on Draisaitl for not producing as much as they’d hope if his wingers can cash anything in. It’s a concern but I think the big man will be fine.

His shorthanded OT goal in Calgary over Mike Vernon’s shoulder.

My sister was a huge Gretzky fan. She lives in Vancouver. He’d signed her Oilers jersey in the 1980s out there. When it became clear he was retiring in 1999, she and her children flew out to Edmonton to see his game here because the Rangers didn’t have another game in Vancouver. She brought that same jersey. Rexall Place was crazy that night for Gretzky’s last game here, as you can imagine, but despite all the demands on his time and the crush of people after the game, when I told Gretz the story — his original autograph had faded so you could barely see it — he took time to sign the same jersey again. Has always been a class guy.

I was five when he was traded and not quite 16 when he retired. It’s fair to say I missed Gretzky at his best. I don’t have my own memories of the great one. I have the memories of other people passed down to me in what is now the legend of Wayne Gretzky. My own memories of Gretzky are things like reading his incredible list of NHL records and watching his retirement ceremony. It’s watching him show up to Boys on the Bus events loaded and laughing.

I’m too young to comment on this.

Honestly, the only recollection I have of Gretzky playing a hockey game was in his final NHL game. I was so young. I just remember my Dad and brother trying to explain to me why and how Gretzky is so good and how he’s the best player in the game. I never really understood because watching him play his final game… well obviously he wasn’t as quick as all the other guys out there.

In more recent memories of Gretzky… I will never forget the Gretzky Reactions in the 2016-17 playoff run.

Like a lot of guys, I’m too young to have truly appreciated his wizardry but I’ll always remember watching him with the Kings and how he could move the puck in and out of traffic with ease. I remember watching Gretzky highlight videos when I was a kid and seeing him set up shop behind the net, which was something I tried to plug into my own game. Obviously, it worked perfectly. ?

I was a huge Demolition fan in high school. Tag teams are the best. Wanye is deceptively athletic and he has a good “snapshow” factor. We also had a good rapport when we sang Karaoke Boys II Men together, so we’d be in sync in the ring!!!!

Gregor. He’s in shape. The rest of the guys are pencil necks.

I bet Robin could work the mic like a pro. I think we could be great heels.

Obviously Cam. He’s a big boy and could set me up for some slick moves.

I’d probably go with The Nation Dan because of his previous bouncer experience. I’ve seen Cooom try to drop the mitts in beer league hockey and I wasn’t impressed. So I choose Dan.

I’m going to go with Gregor because I think he’d look great in a speedo.

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