News and Blog Report: Training camp & Preseason News & Notes

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

Up front that's definitely a concern but going from McLeod, Holloway and Foegele to Arvidsson, Skinner and Podkolzin isn't a huge downgrade in speed although, yes, the previous 3 were burners and all had size as well that covered more of the ice with their reach but I think they gained speed with Emberson in place of Ceci (Broberg was only inserted very late in the playoffs so can't really include him) so I don't think it's that big a concern tbh but a concern nonetheless.

We don't really even know what Emberson is yet, nobody has seen him play yet and he has played 30 games in the NHL. Relying on him to do anything right now is premature until he proves what he can and cannot do.

Bear in mind Oiler pro scouts are among the worst in the business.

 

[CupofOil]

We don't really even know what Emberson is yet, nobody has seen him play yet and he has played 30 games in the NHL. Relying on him to do anything right now is premature until he proves what he can and cannot do.

Bear in mind Oiler pro scouts are among the worst in the business.

I could see in one game and based on highlights that Emberson moves better than Ceci.

And this is a new Oilers pro scouting staff so how do we know good they are or aren't? The past regimes mean nothing now.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

I could see in one game and based on highlights that Emberson moves better than Ceci.

And this is a new Oilers pro scouting staff so how do we know good they are or aren't? The past regimes mean nothing now.

Moving better and playing better are two different things. Emberson may move better than Ceci but let’s see how that translates into game play over an 82 game season. I’m not saying he isn’t far better but anointing him as our 2nd pair RD based on almost 0 NHL experience is premature right now. Hopefully he will.

As for the pro scouts Warren Rychel and Chris Chichoki were with the team under Holland and continue to be. Dani Kearley was hired last season under Holland. Those pro scouts are all still here and we’ve only added Zack Kassian the other day promoting Warren Rychel. The guy he replaced was here for a while under Holland. So no, the pro scouts when we brought in Emberson were all the long term Holland hires or even predate Holland. I have 0 faith in this pro scouting team until their work proves otherwise.

 

[CupofOil]

Moving better and playing better are two different things. Emberson may move better than Ceci but let’s see how that translates into game play over an 82 game season. I’m not saying he isn’t far better but anointing him as our 2nd pair RD based on almost 0 NHL experience is premature right now. Hopefully he will.

As for the pro scouts Warren Rychel and Chris Chichoki were with the team under Holland and continue to be. Dani Kearley was hired last season under Holland. Those pro scouts are all still here and we’ve only added Zack Kassian the other day promoting Warren Rychel. The guy he replaced was here for a while under Holland. So no, the pro scouts when we brought in Emberson were all the long term Holland hires or even predate Holland. I have 0 faith in this pro scouting team until their work proves otherwise.

The debate was about skating, not who is the better player. Emberson moves better than Ceci and I'm pretty confident that he'll be better at zone exits and moving the puck.

Fair enough on the pro scouts but I guess what I'm trying to say is that there's new leadership in place and some new scouts on staff so it's not the same group as the previous regime even though there's some retention of the previous group.
I get the skepticism until proven otherwise though so we'll see.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

The debate was about skating, not who is the better player. Emberson moves better than Ceci and I'm pretty confident that he'll be better at zone exits and moving the puck.

Fair enough on the pro scouts but I guess what I'm trying to say is that there's new leadership in place and some new scouts on staff so it's not the same group as the previous regime even though there's some retention of the previous group.
I get the skepticism until proven otherwise though so we'll see.

I guess the two (skating / playing) are intertwined for me. Plenty of good skaters are not good NHL players. But yes from what (little) I’ve seen of Emberson he does seem to skate better than Ceci.

Re;the pro scouts nobody changed until we hired Kassian. There are no new pro scouts at all other than him and he is just starting in the role. The new scouts you’re referring to are all on the amateur side.

Thankfully we are modernizing and building out all our front offices and hockey support structures. That should greatly improve the quality of personnel we acquire.

I hope Emberson is a keeper. He will most likely be our bottom pair RD by the time the TDL has passed if he can stick.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1838960060715667522

THANK F*****G GOD.

 

[CupofOil]

I guess the two (skating / playing) are intertwined for me. Plenty of good skaters are not good NHL players. But yes from what (little) I’ve seen of Emberson he does seem to skate better than Ceci.

Re;the pro scouts nobody changed until we hired Kassian. There are no new pro scouts at all other than him and he is just starting in the role. The new scouts you’re referring to are all on the amateur side.

Thankfully we are modernizing and building out all our front offices and hockey support structures. That should greatly improve the quality of personnel we acquire.

I hope Emberson is a keeper. He will most likely be our bottom pair RD by the time the TDL has passed if he can stick.

Ah you're right, I was thinking of the amateur scouting overhaul but I always felt like the amateur scouting was the bigger issue under Holland anyway and they desperately need to fill out the pipeline with the impending massive contracts filling up cap space.

In any event, we'll see on Emberson. I don't really have a feel for him either way but he's a young guy with pretty good metrics so I'm hopeful that he can fill the Ceci role if not have growth for more. What I do know is that Ceci was an atrocious fit with Nurse so it can only go up from there I'd think. Right? RIGHT?

 

[ZJuice]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1838960060715667522

THANK F*****G GOD.

Perfect. Just don’t let him ask Bob trivia questions!! And don’t let him tell wrestling anecdotes!

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

Ah you're right, I was thinking of the amateur scouting overhaul but I always felt like the amateur scouting was the bigger issue under Holland anyway and they desperately need to fill out the pipeline with the impending massive contracts filling up cap space.

In any event, we'll see on Emberson. I don't really have a feel for him either way but he's a young guy with pretty good metrics so I'm hopeful that he can fill the Ceci role if not have growth for more. What I do know is that Ceci was an atrocious fit with Nurse so it can only go up from there I'd think. Right? RIGHT?

RIGHT!

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

Moving better and playing better are two different things. Emberson may move better than Ceci but let’s see how that translates into game play over an 82 game season. I’m not saying he isn’t far better but anointing him as our 2nd pair RD based on almost 0 NHL experience is premature right now. Hopefully he will.

As for the pro scouts Warren Rychel and Chris Chichoki were with the team under Holland and continue to be. Dani Kearley was hired last season under Holland. Those pro scouts are all still here and we’ve only added Zack Kassian the other day promoting Warren Rychel. The guy he replaced was here for a while under Holland. So no, the pro scouts when we brought in Emberson were all the long term Holland hires or even predate Holland. I have 0 faith in this pro scouting team until their work proves otherwise.

I like the gamble on Emberson and feel the decision making on him likely goes deeper than pro scouting. Knoblauch would have a full year insight at pro, Bowman through his work at USA Hockey, and it would seem an information supported decision through analytics group.

That said, I feel Ceci is being undervalued for the hard minute role required by this team. Heavy defensive zone starts, 59.7% (regular season) with top pair PK time, and heavily titled defending role. Ceci was still an 25 point, +12, 20:01 TOI contributor. Big body too at 6'3" 210 pounds.A lot of good, hard minutes played unfortunately unravelled at times with erratic decisions both by Ceci and Nurse, a pairing they needed to move away from. But it's still a big gap. 2RD will need to be fixed at trade deadline.

Ceci's skating is still solid looking NHLEdge comparables with Emberson. But moreso his decision making stretched too far with too many minutes and weighted hard ice situational play extends him beyond his best quality usage and deployment imo: NHL EDGE Puck and Player Tracking Statistics - Comparisons

RD is no where good enough for a deep playoff contender.

 

[Spawn]

Philp and Savoie are nowhere near ready right now.

It’s too early into camp to say whether either is ready or not. But both look composed out there to me from what I’ve seen.