Cogs in the Wheel

In Andrew Cogliano’s last 10 games, he’s ripping it up. Tom Renney is showing faith in the young speedster and is being rewarded with improved play.

 In the last 10 Oilers hockey games, Andrew Cogliano has been very good compared to his own established level of ability. Here are the Oilers centermen and their performance in the last 10 games:

Cogliano’s wingers during those 10 games have been varied: Hall-Eberle, Penner-Jones but most often Jones-Reddox. In the last two games (the ones with the top drawer wngers) Cogliano is getting 15 EV minutes and a couple more on the PK. He is an important Cog (sorry) in the Renney arsenal at this time.

When Cogliano was struggling early in the season, coach Renney was very patient:

The results didn’t come early but Renney showed patience. That patience is paying off. He is not a good faceoff man, he is not the best player on his line. He is too old to be a still developing prospect. However, Tom Renney has found a role he can play effectively and Cogliano is responding.

Renney: “I’m really happy with his game, I’m really happy with his growth as a two-way player. For the most part over the last four or five games they’ve gone out against the other team’s best line. That’s not easy to go out and put up points. I’m really happy for Andrew and the growth of his game. What you’re seeing now, because he has a foundation of what to do off the puck and with it in transition, is points starting to come.” Source is here.

What’s the real dollar value to an organization when a struggling first rounder and the new head coach find a way to make things work? Andrew Cogliano is having a helluva run, and Tom Renney’s patience is a big part of the story. Andrew Cogliano’s hard work is the bigger part of it. Good on him.