Mr Forever
The Oilers :(
I was at the game last night, here's what I thought:
- RNH and Hall absolutely embarrassed Winnipeg last night. They seemed to be going, like half speed for parts of the game, but then as soon as they put effort in, they made basically everyone on the Jets look like statues. I think Hall is really going to establish himself as a very elite, top 10 player in the league this year and it looks like RNH is poised for a breakout. He was able to just dart around D-men with his acceleration and feather passes through three players at a time. It was awesome.
- Yakimov could honestly play in the NHL this year. His skating isn't great, but he's able to think the game quickly, which something a lot of big guys who just don't make it can't do. The downfall of big, lumbering slow guys is they don't have the hockey sense to compensate for their lack of mobility. Yak doesn't have this issue. He compensates for his lack of agility by generally being in the right spots at the right time to make good plays. He still has work to do, but he looks like an NHL player.
- I'm really glad they signed Vladdy Hockey. He just slips around guys all the time and carries the puck as if it's on a string. Obviously he has no physical presence since he's tiny, but if he grows, he can be a really solid player.
- Pitlick tries really, really hard. It's a pleasure to watch. So many players on the Oilers take long, swinging loops to turn around and just wave their sticks at guys on the forecheck, but Pitlick goes like 170% all the time and actually finishes his hits. What a pleasure it is to watch after having to watch Ryan Jones attempt to play hockey for four years. I think he's a really solid fourth line player. I hope he can stay healthy.
- Nurse was decent but his puck control wasn't great. He battles really hard and grinds it out on the boards nicely and when he drives the puck wide, he looks like Taylor Hall. His main issue was his passing. The puck seemed to be going to the wrong player a lot of the times, or the pass just wouldn't be accurate.
- Pouliot looked better than I thought he would. He looks huge out there, can carry the puck really well and is a lot faster than I expected. Nikitin was also better than I expected. He moves the puck well and actually looks massive out there. Fayne, obviously, is steady as hell. I hope these guys can live up to their expectations this season.
- Pretty much everybody else were forgettable. A lot of guys just looked slow, bad with the puck, or confused.
I missed the first period, so keep in mind this is just what I noticed from the second and third period.
- RNH and Hall absolutely embarrassed Winnipeg last night. They seemed to be going, like half speed for parts of the game, but then as soon as they put effort in, they made basically everyone on the Jets look like statues. I think Hall is really going to establish himself as a very elite, top 10 player in the league this year and it looks like RNH is poised for a breakout. He was able to just dart around D-men with his acceleration and feather passes through three players at a time. It was awesome.
- Yakimov could honestly play in the NHL this year. His skating isn't great, but he's able to think the game quickly, which something a lot of big guys who just don't make it can't do. The downfall of big, lumbering slow guys is they don't have the hockey sense to compensate for their lack of mobility. Yak doesn't have this issue. He compensates for his lack of agility by generally being in the right spots at the right time to make good plays. He still has work to do, but he looks like an NHL player.
- I'm really glad they signed Vladdy Hockey. He just slips around guys all the time and carries the puck as if it's on a string. Obviously he has no physical presence since he's tiny, but if he grows, he can be a really solid player.
- Pitlick tries really, really hard. It's a pleasure to watch. So many players on the Oilers take long, swinging loops to turn around and just wave their sticks at guys on the forecheck, but Pitlick goes like 170% all the time and actually finishes his hits. What a pleasure it is to watch after having to watch Ryan Jones attempt to play hockey for four years. I think he's a really solid fourth line player. I hope he can stay healthy.
- Nurse was decent but his puck control wasn't great. He battles really hard and grinds it out on the boards nicely and when he drives the puck wide, he looks like Taylor Hall. His main issue was his passing. The puck seemed to be going to the wrong player a lot of the times, or the pass just wouldn't be accurate.
- Pouliot looked better than I thought he would. He looks huge out there, can carry the puck really well and is a lot faster than I expected. Nikitin was also better than I expected. He moves the puck well and actually looks massive out there. Fayne, obviously, is steady as hell. I hope these guys can live up to their expectations this season.
- Pretty much everybody else were forgettable. A lot of guys just looked slow, bad with the puck, or confused.
I missed the first period, so keep in mind this is just what I noticed from the second and third period.
