UPDATED 50-MAN

50-MAN LIST (OCTOBER 11)

Goalies

1. Cam Talbot—A strong first half, 32 games and a .917 save percentage (league average is .911 this year), and has 17 wins (21 all of last season). No. 1 by a mile. Up arrow.
2. Jonas Gustavsson—He hasn’t played enough to pass judgement on (268 minutes), but that low total alone probably indicates the coach isn’t confident in his ability. Vulnerable. Down arrow.
3. Laurent Brossoit—He was rolling along very well until a recent wobble, now has a .912SP. He is the Oilers top pro prospect and has spent several years auditioning for an NHL role. I think we may see him in January. Neutral
4. Nick Ellis—The big story among prospect goalies at the pro level, he has smoked the competition. Sitting at .928, he sits at No. 9 among all AHL goalies and No. 4 among rookies. I doubt he gets a call before Brossoit, but he has NHL potential based on his first 10 pro games. Up arrow.
5. Eetu Laurikainen—He is sporting an .881 SP in the ECHL with Norfolk and isn’t playing much. The signing of Ellis probably cuts off his path in the system, and he is an RFA this summer. Down arrow.

Left Defense

1. Oscar Klefbom—He has displayed a lot of wobble this season, and that has to be a concern. Still, we know it takes defensemen a long time to develop and they rarely do it in a straight line. I suspect some of us (me) underestimated the impact of a (mostly) lost season as well. He is 36gp, 5-7-12 and a big part of the future until the moment they trade him. Neutral.
2. Andrej Sekera—For my money he has been the Oilers best defenseman this year. He is at 36gp, 4-13-17 and that puts him close to 40 points over an entire year. He looks confident with the puck and is effective in coverage. Up arrow.
3. Darnell Nurse—He was off to a terrific start on the third pairing before injury sidelined him. Bad news, because he is still developing and playing time is important. Good news, because he performed so well when in the lineup. His boxcars (25gp, 3-2-5) were also more promising than his rookie year. Up arrow.
4. Jordan Oesterle—I thought he might be a 7D coming out of camp, but he was sent down early and then got hurt in Bakersfield. Back and working toward another NHL chance, he is RFA this summer. He is 12gp, 3-4-7 in the AHL so far. Down arrow
5. Griffin Reinhart—He has had a tough year but seems to be responding lately. Sent down early with a laundry list of things to work on, he got hurt and spent time with a back doctor making sure everything was right. Now at 14gp, 0-4-4, I think he might be a candidate for selection by the new Las Vegas team in the expansion draft. Down arrow
6. David Musil—A very good season so far, including an NHL recall (but no action). No one questions his coverage ability, and the offense (20gp, 1-5-6) has been far better than usual. Still working hard, and the results this year have been good. Up arrow
7. Joey Laleggia—With Brad Hunt gone, and Jordan Oesterle injured, I thought he would spike on the power play. His boxcars (24gp, 2-5-7) are no screaming hell and his PP numbers (1-2-3) are pedestrian. He is RFA at the end of this season and there has to be some urgency. Down arrow
8. Mark Fraser—Harder to grade (boxcars do not mean a lot with this player) he is 24gp, 0-1-1 and that tells us he is playing lots of games. Veteran presence, UFA this summer, this seems the right spot for him on the depth chart. Neutral.
9. Andrew Ference—A fine career, waiting for his contract to run out.

Right Defense

1. Adam Larsson—He has been as advertised, a defense-first option who has played the tough minutes and stay close to 50 percent in the possession battle. Neutral.
2. Kris Russell—He has been gobbling up minutes in all disciplines (well, EV and PK) and could probably take on some PP minutes based on his own history and the success of others. UFA at the end of the season, a good bet Peter Chiarelli re-signs him. Up arrow.
3. Brandon Davidson—Injury once again impacted his season, as Davidson has played in only six games (0-1-1) this year. In recent outings he has been his usual collected and calm self. Neutral
4. Mark Fayne—Another injury victim, Fayne keeps coming back for a game or two and then leaving again for an extended period. He is 4gp, 0-2-2 this year, on track for about eight games all year. I think he is a strong buyout candidate. Neutral
5. Eric Gryba—He has been strong defensively and even picked up his first point last night (17gp, 0-1-1). You get the feeling he could sign a one-year deal again next summer, but expansion probably means a more lucrative deal. Neutral
6. Matt Benning—The biggest revelation from the first half has been the play of this young defender. Outstanding performances (24gp, 0-4-4) and a range of skills. So good. Massive up arrow
7. Dillon Simpson—He made his NHL debut (3gp, 0-0-0) and looked good doing it. Possessing no one dominant skill, he seems to have enough in all areas to compete at the highest level. Up arrow,
8. Ben Betker—He moved up from ECHL to AHL and seems to be getting regular minutes with the Bakersfield Condors. He is 15gp, 1-2-3 and somewhat unique in that he is both gigantic and mobile. Neutral. 

Center

1. Connor McDavid—The eighth wonder of the world. Magnificent McDavid. Whatever is past up arrows.
2. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins—No real answer for his season. Looked good at WCOH, he has 97 shots and using his career average that should mean 10 goals. He has six. That isn’t his only issue though, Nuge hasn’t been himself in terms of getting looks and passing. His PP numbers are also off. Down arrow.
3. Leon Draisaitl—He had a strong first half and is among the NHL’s top 15 scorers (36gp, 14-17-31). A Godsend for the team, without a doubt, and his 5×5/60 number is close to 2.00/60. He appears to have blossomed just in time for this organization (want to see more evidence). Up arrow
4. Mark Letestu—The struggles of Nuge have allowed Letestu to take over at evens and on the PP (his righthandedness also a major PP factor). Now sitting at 33gp, 7-10-17 and blowing all predictions out of the water. Terrific first half. Up arrow
5. Anton Lander—Effective in the NHL, terrific PK and faceoff man—he still could not hold on to his NHL job. He has had so man last chance Texaco’s I don’t think we can really hold him to a normal standard. He may be back soon, or not at all. Up arrow, but no one is saying it—bad sign.
6. Jujhar Khaira—He is NHL-ready, just waiting for the call. He is 18gp, 6-7-13 so far this year and save for injury has been one of the best Condors ever night. Up arrow.
7. Drake Caggiula—He has been with the team all year and posted 18gp, 1-4-5 this year. There are flashes of what he will be one day, open question as to whether he spends time in Bakersfield after Christmas. Down arrow
8. Kyle Platzer—Down arrow so far, he simply isn’t getting the kind of playing time you hope for in a second year pro. Currently at 23gp, 1-4-5 in Bakersfield. Down arrow
9. Bogdan Yakimov—Playing in the KHL (33gp, 3-5-8) in only 8:47 a night. A very good bet that he could and would have gotten an NHL chance this year had he stayed. Down arrow

Left Wing

1. Milan Lucic has boxcars (36gp, 10-14-24) that are within the range of expectation, but he is posting much of his offense at even strength. Still looking for chem with Connor McDavid, miles to go in the season and we wait. Neutral.
2. Benoit Pouliot is in whatever lies behind the dog house now, and at this point suggesting he will be traded is cliche. Running at 31gp, 5-2-7 and playing a depth role. Down arrow
3. Patrick Maroon may be the best trade acquisition in the Chiarelli regime, and he is 36gp, 10-6-16 currently. Big man can score from a few spots and win battles, too. Up arrow
4. Matt Hendricks is a modern Rasputin, people keep trying to send him away to the boneyard but he keeps doing useful things. Had a helluva run on the 4line during the recent road trip, and stands at 12gp, 1-2-3 for the year. Neutral
5. Anton Slepyshev keeps doing things to make himself prominent as an option. He scored a nice goal against Carolina early, then faded, and now finds himself in Bakersfield. You get the feeling there are good days ahead. 15gp, 2-2-4. Up arrow
6. Jere Sallinen has been mostly invisible since his arrival to training camp. Scored a pre-season goal for the Oilers and now plays a depth role for the Condors (I am guessing checking center) and is 23gp, 2-0-2 in the minors. Hard to create a scenario that sees him back for another season, perhaps he will be effective in mentoring Jesse Puljujarvi should the young Finn head to the minors. Down arrow.
7. Mitchell Moroz remains a 4line option in the AHL, but does seem to be making small inroads offensively. Nothing too drastic, but a step forward and the organization seems to like his work. 16gp, 1-2-3 in Bakersfield. Neutral
8. Braden Christoffer is a depth winger who plays a rugged game, and the offense does not appear to be there for him at this level. 23gp, 1-1-2 AHL. Neutral

Right Wing

1. Jordan Eberle has posted 36gp, 8-15-23 so far this year, fans are frustrated with his lack of scoring on the 97 line. Understandable, and at this point there is growing evidence the McDavid-Eberle axis is not rotating, but the Oilers have few other options so we will see. Down arrow
2. Jesse Puljujarvi has played well without the puck and shown offensive flashes, but at this point I think most of us assume he will be in Bakersfield for Valentine’s. I love his future, would like to see his offense blossom, even if it is in the AHL. I don’t know.
3. Zack Kassian has cemented his status as a Chiarelli-style player, with rugged play right at the outskirts of the rules—and sometimes beyond. He is better with the puck than I remember, currently 33gp, 2-7-9 on the year. Up arrow
4. Iiro Pakarinen hasn’t played a regular season game yet, and should be getting close to returning for rehab. I wonder if he heads down with Puljujarvi. Narrow
5. Tyler Pitlick finally established himself as an NHL option, scoring 31gp, 8-3-11 before suffering a season-ending injury because of course. Up arrow, save injury (total bummer. Seriously).
6. Taylor Beck ran over the AHL before getting recalled (twice) to the NHL, where he really doesn’t get much of a chance (so far) to show his stuff. Ridiculous (19gp, 9-21-30) AHL numbers. Up arrow
7. Patrick Russell has shown some offensive promise (24gp, 0-4-4) but is the one college signing who has been unable to set the woods on fire in pro hockey. Down arrow
8. Greg Chase (13gp, 1-1-2) is trying to find more playing time in Bakersfield after coming off a solid ECHL season. We should look for a spike in the second half. Neutral
9. Zachary Pochiro (13, 2-3-5 in Norfolk) was part of the Nail Yakupov trade and took some time to report to Norfolk. Not much is known about him and he is RFA this summer. Neutral.