That was not a fun hockey game to watch. I am not sure it was even fun to play.

Certainly, some players seemed to give off that vibe. Two players who were definitely invested were James Hamblin and Vasily Podkolzin. The two were really the only “prospects” in the game vying for roles with the Oilers forward group. To make the game even more entertaining, the Vancouver Canucks sent an AHL-level team to Edmonton. The results were a fairly awful game to watch and limited moments of evaluation of players. While the moments were limited, they were not absent. Let’s review the tape.

Hamblin had a very James Hamblin night. Centring a 4th line of Drake Cagguila and Lane Pederson, Hamblin was all over the ice, causing havoc. Hamblin remains a very fast player, clearly having bulked up this season. He is also an incredibly smart and defensively reliable player. If you wanted a whole shift that typifies James Hamblin as a player, the shift below would be perfect.

Hamblin’s speed is noticeable on every shift like it was here. He covers 200-feet in a hurry and can immediately transition in the other direction and be part of the play within a few strides.

He also remains very good in the face-off circle. His pre-season average is hovering around 57 percent.

Hamblin’s problematic part of this game is his limited minutes on the penalty kill. He had one shift at 0:31 on ice. While it was clear the staff was working out some kinks with the penalty killers who will lead the Oilers this season, it is notable that Vasily Podkolzin got more than double the time on the penalty kill as Hamblin.

Hamblin is still in the mix, given that he can play center and left-wing, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Hamblin were back in AHL camp by the time this article is posted.

Podkolzin got some love that most of the bottom six players trying out for the Oilers have not. He got cherry minutes with the Oilers’ skill forwards. He’s played with Leon Draisaitl in the pre-season. Last night, he got to play ten minutes with Connor McDavid. Podkolzin did what he has done all pre-season, playing solid, unspectacular hockey. He was strong defensively and was engaged physically in all three zones.

In the offensive zone, he remains a challenge. He does very good things by creating pressure and working along the walls. However, he doesn’t move his feet a lot. He often posts up net front and waits to bang away at rebound attempts. He has a decent shot but doesn’t let it go very often. This clip is a typical shift for him in the offensive zone.

Given that Podkolzin is going to play in the bottom six, I really want to see him use his puck skills and try to create offence. I think his game would also benefit from him getting into space away from the net and trying to attack downhill towards the net. There is more to his offensive game for certain.

The only other battle that went on last night was for the 6/7 defenders on the team. The coaching staff iced Joshua Brown with Brett Kulak, Troy Stecher with Travis Dermott and Ben Gleason with Ty Emberson.

I thought it was notable that Ben Gleason played with Emberson. While I think Ben Gleason’s game can get a little turnover-happy, making risky plays to get the puck out of his zone, he has looked more measured in his game in the pre-season. It should also be noted he played a lot of right-side defence last year in Bakersfield with Philip Broberg as his partner. Perhaps Gleason remains in the mix for that last role on defence.

In the Battle of Righties, I really enjoyed Troy Stetcher’s game. He plays an aggressive, tight gap style of defence, putting pressure on puck carriers instantly. He also makes a very good outlet pass to his forward group. Josh Brown had moments, but more of it was on the penalty kill. He still remains a challenge at 5v5, especially against speed rushes and motion offence. He played two minutes at penalty kill and given the struggles Ty Emberson had tonight on the penalty kill, I wonder whether Brown gets a shot before Stetcher because of his length and physicality.

The Oilers head out on the road for the last two games of the pre-season and will undoubtedly cut more players before they head out. What is exciting is that there will be battles in the last two games unlike other seasons. Whose in those battles will be known in the next few hours.