Player Discussion Jujhar Khaira

[ThePhoenixx]

7-4 in their last 11.

As you say lately Strome and Khaira.

Puljujarvi has only been up with the team for 17 games.

McDavid and Talbot healthy. I get that it's gonna take a great run for the Oilers to make the playoffs but I think they can do it.

McDavid is not healthy, yet. Maybe he is today.

 

[oobga]

Hope Khaira can keep it up. Consistency is what turns a bubble bottom 6'er into a permanent one. He looks like he's matured enough to keep the effort level up for much longer periods.

 

[shoop]

McDavid is not healthy, yet. Maybe he is today.

So sayeth ThePhoenixx? Any reason for your pronouncement.

Maybe I'm being sold a bill of goods by the sports writers and talking heads that are saying McDavid is healthy.

 

[ThePhoenixx]

So sayeth ThePhoenixx? Any reason for your pronouncement.

Maybe I'm being sold a bill of goods by the sports writers and talking heads that are saying McDavid is healthy.

One only has to watch him play. If this is healthy then McDavid will never be the same which of course is not true because he at the very least has to gain back the weight he lost. Guy looks like a skeleton out there. I've seen starving dogs with more energy.

 

[Aerchon]

One only has to watch him play. If this is healthy then McDavid will never be the same which of course is not true because he at the very least has to gain back the weight he lost. Guy looks like a skeleton out there. I've seen starving dogs with more energy.

Not sure about the energy thing, he seems pretty energetic. However, for McDavid, he seems a step behind his usual self.

The weight/strength comment is very valid. Not a big guy to begin with his health/weight/strength this year is very evident in the way he is playing. Weak on the dot. Avoiding heavy defensive assignments. Cheating for offense. Turning over pucks under minimal pressure. A lot of this could be attributed to physical condition.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Hope Khaira can keep it up. Consistency is what turns a bubble bottom 6'er into a permanent one. He looks like he's matured enough to keep the effort level up for much longer periods.

Its hard to say because he's only played 20/34 games and has that as an advantage in that he's getting regular rest. As recently as 2mths ago he lacked the maturity, or something, to keep it up. Myself I think his body hasn't yet adapted to the day to day NHL grind. We'll see how he perseveres. The Oilers have brought him up real gradual and have given him a lot of time to ramp up to the NHL game. I still think its a bit of a mistake expecting him to play with someone like a Draisaitl so early. But the org would know more about Jujhar's psyche and how he is handling the pressure.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Quiet thread lately.

Khaira has 1pt in last 6GP while playing with a supreme talent in Draisaitl. Yet khaira with only a second assist in that tenure and played awful last night and -2.

I see little of the chemistry or great play mentioned by others and continue to wonder what the hype is about.

I see a clumsy player flubbing perfect feeds (3 again last night and twice missing the net from the slot)

We're just wasting Drasaitl right now.

Khaira started the season off poorly, was even benched for Malone and had 1G in first 10gp. The only hot stretch he has ever had at this level was a brief six game stint that seemed to entice people to think theres some kind of big contribution here. He's sunk back to little contribution even while playing with Drai.

Drai alone has fed Khaira easily a dozen times in last 6GP with beautiful opportunities and nothing to show for it.

 

[Del Preston]

He was a beast in the final minute last night.

 

[Aerchon]

Quiet thread lately.

Khaira has 1pt in last 6GP while playing with a supreme talent in Draisaitl. Yet khaira with only a second assist in that tenure and played awful last night and -2.

I see little of the chemistry or great play mentioned by others and continue to wonder what the hype is about.

I see a clumsy player flubbing perfect feeds (3 again last night and twice missing the net from the slot)

We're just wasting Drasaitl right now.

Khaira started the season off poorly, was even benched for Malone and had 1G in first 10gp. The only hot stretch he has ever had at this level was a brief six game stint that seemed to entice people to think theres some kind of big contribution here. He's sunk back to little contribution even while playing with Drai.

Drai alone has fed Khaira easily a dozen times in last 6GP with beautiful opportunities and nothing to show for it.

I agree to some extent but despite Kharia hitting a rough patch the line is still playing well overall. Just move Kharia off that line if it continues and bring in Slepy. He is traditionally a right shooting LW anyways.

 

[redgrant]

Team is doing well with puck posession just not capitalizing. At the end of the day Drai should be able to carry a line for himself. The wingers can be interchanged as need by. Would like to see Slepy on this line.

 

[redgrant]

Solid game by the Draisaitl line again. Loved the pass by JJ to get things rolling.

Would love if slephyshev progressed like this as well.

 

[Senor Catface]

Yeah, Khaira is the real deal.

 

[McSpecial DraiBlend]

This guy has made me eat more crow then any player I can remember.
Very happy to be so wrong. Feels nice to finally develop some lower round picks into legit NHLers.

 

[Aerchon]

Great game after a weak one. More good than bad in this players development this year so far.

 

[Psychoil]

This kid needs more love on this board. Honestly, the most impressive things about him are:

- His IQ
- his speed
- his work ethic.

I've seen him make some very head savvy plays over the past 2 weeks. Maybe it's the confidence, but he looks like he's got a higher ceiling than we thought. Him and drai are finding some chem too!

 

[Burnt Biscuits]

This kid needs more love on this board. Honestly, the most impressive things about him are:

- His IQ
- his speed
- his work ethic.

I've seen him make some very head savvy plays over the past 2 weeks. Maybe it's the confidence, but he looks like he's got a higher ceiling than we thought. Him and drai are finding some chem too!

The 4 things that I think make him a player worth watching:

1. He's a big body that shields the puck well and tries to hold onto the puck for that extra half second to make a good play instead of just an average play. (Though there are times when the quicker play is called for and he doesn't always do it)
   
2. His defensive game is advanced relative to his amount of NHL experience.
3. He constantly gives the opposition troubles when they match up against him along the boards, wins a lot of puck battles and keeps plays alive.
   
4. He is tough and will stick up for his teammates and won't make things easy for the opposition.

I'm hopeful he can blow my expectations away and become our equivalent of what Andrew Shaw was for the Hawks.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

I’m not sure he is a Shaw type player but he could be Maroon type player at fraction of the price. Maroon I anticipate will be chasing a paycheque at the end of this year and will probably get one from someone other than the Oilers. JJ is younger, hungrier and may fill Maroons shoes for 1/4 of the price going forward.

 

[Dieseloil]

JJ is going to be a big part of this team going forward, like Pool. He's a smart player. Tough too.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

JJ is going to be a big part of this team going forward, like Pool. He's a smart player. Tough too.

I know some here doubt him. I believe he is a serviceable NHL player with size, determination and some skill. He has size and some hockey sense. Great addition at a cheap price which is highly valued at our future cap space challenges.

 

[Trafalgar Sadge Law]

This kid needs more love on this board. Honestly, the most impressive things about him are:

- His IQ
- his speed
- his work ethic.

I've seen him make some very head savvy plays over the past 2 weeks. Maybe it's the confidence, but he looks like he's got a higher ceiling than we thought. Him and drai are finding some chem too!

Interestingly, one of the main knocks against him at the draft was his skating. You'd never think he had skating issues at any point watching him play. Must be the Leon Draisaitl effect.

The kid is in many games looking like our second best winger behind Lucic. I don't know about everyone else, but I've started doing mental gymnastics and pretending we took JJ Khaira with the 2012 1st overall pick.

 

[Stoneman89]

Team is doing well with puck posession just not capitalizing. At the end of the day Drai should be able to carry a line for himself. The wingers can be interchanged as need by. Would like to see Slepy on this line.

I don't think so. No one has played themselves off the line yet. They're actually getting better slowly but surely. Slepy hasn't done anything yet this year to show he belongs in the lineup consistently.

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

I praised Khaira before it was cool.....when i referred to him as a sauce.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

If we lose Maroon I am less concerned because of the emergence of Khaira. That said I'd love to keep both. The problem is that if we pay Maroon handsomely we may not be able to afford Jujhar going forward which would really suck since he is younger and faster.

 

[shoop]

If we lose Maroon I am less concerned because of the emergence of Khaira. That said I'd love to keep both. The problem is that if we pay Maroon handsomely we may not be able to afford Jujhar going forward which would really suck since he is younger and faster.

I think at their top ends Maroon is a better player than Khaira. Maroon is a second line guy who can fill in on the first line in favourable circumstances. Khaira is a third liner who can play second line minutes under favourable circumstances.

JJ has another season and a half to prove his worth. This time last year there was a fear that Maroon might be in the $4M+ salary range. He may still hit that number next season, but if he does it won't be with the Oilers.

 

[McFlyingV]

I think at their top ends Maroon is a better player than Khaira. Maroon is a second line guy who can fill in on the first line in favourable circumstances. Khaira is a third liner who can play second line minutes under favourable circumstances.

JJ has another season and a half to prove his worth. This time last year there was a fear that Maroon might be in the $4M+ salary range. He may still hit that number next season, but if he does it won't be with the Oilers.

It would be pretty cool if Maroon was willing to take a Patrick Eaves type contract (3.15x3). I'd be fine giving him 3.5x3, but that would be as high as I'd go. He's a very useful player and gives us another guy who can protect pucks and score. I hope we can bring him back, but if not there could be other cheaper options out there. The biggest reason I want him back is because with Khaira emerging we get a good big puck protection winger on each line.