Player Discussion Ty Emberson

[BarDownBobo]

Emberson has a lot of the raw talent and instincts that you really like to see in a dman. Hopefully he’s got the work ethic to go along with it because if he’s willing to put in the work with Coffey I feel like he could be a steal.

 

[joestevens29]

Emberson has a lot of the raw talent and instincts that you really like to see in a dman. Hopefully he’s got the work ethic to go along with it because if he’s willing to put in the work with Coffey I feel like he could be a steal.

I mean to a lot of people Emberson was just a throw in, but if Emberson can come in and put up close to Ceci's impact he had on the team then it's a massive steal and a big question mark to why SJ would've did this trade.

The real problem is fans and critics have him pencilled in as the number 2 RD because there seems to be no other option and that might be unfair.

I do wonder if Kulak is a better fit on the right side than Emberson. Be very interesting to see if it gets any looks as truthfully he might be the best option. Just don't know if Kulak on right side can work

 

[Stealth1616]

Looking at projections on yahoo for this season, Emberson can lead the league Dmen in hits this season with 250+

A little unexpected


That's fine, we have Stecher and Brown for 3rd pairing already and need someone to gel with Nurse. Doesn't have to be a legit top 4 Dman..

As Stanley cup contenders, yes I’m gonna go out of limb and say that we do need a legit top 4 dman

 

[Drivesaitl]

Listening to Knoblach yesterday, it sounds like all the NHLers should be playing 4 games and so far the only expected "NHLers" that have played 2 games are J Brown, Ryan, Podkholzin and Emberson.

Over 4 games that's 48 foward games available and 24 defense games available.

With 12 forwards essentially locked up and Ryan and Podkhozin already having 2 games, That means at least 34 of the forward games are already claimed with 14 games to be divied up between the long shots.

With the 7 dmen expected and Emberson and Brown already having 2 games, that means that likely 19 games are claimed (or at least 16 if Nurse can't go). This leaves 5-8 games available for long shots (or to give Brown/Emberson/Stetcher a 5th look).

So that's how I'm forseeing the splits from here on out. I suspect we'll be seeing 5 or 6 of the likely 7 dmen in each of the games and 9 or 10 of the likely forwards in each game, with a slight chance that the game in Seattle next week potentially featuring a little less of each ( ie. 4-5 dmen and 7-9 forwards).

Personally I'm hoping they go with at least 2 of the 3 expected top 3 lines playing in every game fully in tact and all 3 of the top 3 lines dressing in the final pre-season game building chemistry towards Game 1.

Not sure why waiver material Podz is considered expected starter and guys like Hoffman that can actually score are not. My lord I despise split squad NHL preseason. Theres no point to it beyond selling tickets. Sure dismal watching it.

 

[On The Prowl]

I mean to a lot of people Emberson was just a throw in, but if Emberson can come in and put up close to Ceci's impact he had on the team then it's a massive steal and a big question mark to why SJ would've did this trade.

The real problem is fans and critics have him pencilled in as the number 2 RD because there seems to be no other option and that might be unfair.

I do wonder if Kulak is a better fit on the right side than Emberson. Be very interesting to see if it gets any looks as truthfully he might be the best option. Just don't know if Kulak on right side can work

I would be surprised if he was able to do as well as Ceci, why would San Jose give up a player like that at his age?

 

[joestevens29]

I would be surprised if he was able to do as well as Ceci, why would San Jose give up a player like that at his age?

I haven’t fully wrapped my head around whether Grier is good or bad so there is that lol

 

[MessierII]

Not sure why waiver material Podz is considered expected starter and guys like Hoffman that can actually score are not. My lord I despise split squad NHL preseason. Theres no point to it beyond selling tickets. Sure dismal watching it.

Hoffman can shoot but that’s it. The guy is brutal in every other aspect of the game. If we wanted a shot I’d rather keep Lavoie up who has some size and is 10 years younger.

 

[On The Prowl]

I haven’t fully wrapped my head around whether Grier is good or bad so there is that lol

Here is to hoping they are just mismanaged, you never know I guess.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Hoffman can shoot but that’s it. The guy is brutal in every other aspect of the game. If we wanted a shot I’d rather keep Lavoie up who has some size and is 10 years younger.

Anytime I've seen Podz he's pretty awful. Just wondering why he's a shoe in. He was a complete bust in Vancouver.

Lavoie hasn't had any luck around net and I like him, but he needs to finish something and stay healthy. Something off with him.

 

[bone]

Not sure why waiver material Podz is considered expected starter and guys like Hoffman that can actually score are not. My lord I despise split squad NHL preseason. Theres no point to it beyond selling tickets. Sure dismal watching it.

Anytime I've seen Podz he's pretty awful. Just wondering why he's a shoe in. He was a complete bust in Vancouver.

Lavoie hasn't had any luck around net and I like him, but he needs to finish something and stay healthy. Something off with him.

Just going by the verbal nothing more. I don't think Podz should be automatic, but I'm also not convinced Hoffman is. So then change my numbers by a bit if you want, but I also think it's not going to change the number of games available to others as they are very likely to give Podz at least 2 more regardless.

 

[Spawn]

Anytime I've seen Podz he's pretty awful. Just wondering why he's a shoe in. He was a complete bust in Vancouver.

One player is a PTO, the other cost the team a 4th round pick to acquire. I doubt the Oilers traded a pick for Podkolzin if they weren’t going to at least give him some regular season games before making a final decision on him.

 

[LTIR]

As Stanley cup contenders, yes I’m gonna go out of limb and say that we do need a legit top 4 dman

Doesn't need to happen til trade deadline. We should test drive Stecher, Emberson and Brown now that we have signed them.

Also we went to SC finals with Bouchard, Ceci ,Desharnais as our right side.

 

[Stealth1616]

Doesn't need to happen til trade deadline. We should test drive Stecher, Emberson and Brown now that we have signed them.

Also we went to SC finals with Bouchard, Ceci ,Desharnais as our right side.

We might not get the luxury of waiting until the trade deadline. I can see a scenario at the start of the year where our defence is a massive problem.

Again, might not happen but it’s the biggest question mark going into the season.

Broberg played 2 rounds of that and Ceci(while he has shortcomings) is a multi year NHL vet who was a solid player for us

 

[FlameChampion]

From the little I have seen (which isn’t much because the games are pretty close to unwatchable) I can kinda see the tools and skill set of Emberson. But like pretty much every Oiler thus far, are drowning in mistakes or not doing much.

Quite frankly the games upto this point have been a waste of time from an evalution point of view. 8 games is too much. Hopefully the next 4 games at least show us something.

 

[Drivesaitl]

One player is a PTO, the other cost the team a 4th round pick to acquire. I doubt the Oilers traded a pick for Podkolzin if they weren’t going to at least give him some regular season games before making a final decision on him.

One is an established goal scorer, consistent goal scorer at highest level of hockey. The other hasn't established or excelled at any level of hockey. Podz wasn't even doing much in the AHL. Vancouver got something for Podz because he was waiver material anyway.

Again just wondering why a guy who couldn't even make the Nucks lineup is considered a shoe in on a much better club. Podz hasn't demonstrated he's a role player either. He hasn't had any niche in NHL.

btw with how the Oilers draft a 4th round pick is nothing. May as well be 7th round or crumbs.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Just going by the verbal nothing more. I don't think Podz should be automatic, but I'm also not convinced Hoffman is. So then change my numbers by a bit if you want, but I also think it's not going to change the number of games available to others as they are very likely to give Podz at least 2 more regardless.

I wasn't refuting your post, just whether Podz is a shoe in. Hope the team isn't giving him an automatic spot.

 

[K1984]

One is an established goal scorer, consistent goal scorer at highest level of hockey. The other hasn't established or excelled at any level of hockey. Podz wasn't even doing much in the AHL. Vancouver got something for Podz because he was waiver material anyway.

Again just wondering why a guy who couldn't even make the Nucks lineup is considered a shoe in on a much better club. Podz hasn't demonstrated he's a role player either. He hasn't had any niche in NHL.

He hasn't demonstrated it yet, but he has the package to become that player. He's quick, a bit ratty, works hard on the boards, can win races on the forecheck, and has enough skill to score a bit here and there.

It's all there, but I think it might be a case of having to flip his mindset away from being a scoring, top 10 pick player to embrace making an impact as a role player. Remains to be seen whether that will happen or not, but he has the package to do it IMO.

 

[Fourier]

One is an established goal scorer, consistent goal scorer at highest level of hockey. The other hasn't established or excelled at any level of hockey. Podz wasn't even doing much in the AHL. Vancouver got something for Podz because he was waiver material anyway.

Again just wondering why a guy who couldn't even make the Nucks lineup is considered a shoe in on a much better club. Podz hasn't demonstrated he's a role player either. He hasn't had any niche in NHL.

But one guy plays a game that is well suited to the 4th line or bottom 6 role in general and the other pretty much needs a top six complementary scoring role and pp time to have any positive impact. Even in his good days the knock on Hoffman was that other then shooting the puck he was going to be a liability on the ice. He does not pass the puck well and is generally poor defensively.

 

[Drivesaitl]

He hasn't demonstrated it yet, but he has the package to become that player. He's quick, a bit ratty, works hard on the boards, can win races on the forecheck, and has enough skill to score a bit here and there.

It's all there, but I think it might be a case of having to flip his mindset away from being a scoring, top 10 pick player to embrace making an impact as a role player. Remains to be seen whether that will happen or not, but he has the package to do it IMO.

Yeah. The trouble is those are facets that are not hard to actually roll out for a player that has those assets. But Podz not scoring and not producing seems to have set him in a perennial funk where it erases any game he might have. Its odd because even a Puljujarvi would consistently hit and play the boards when not scoring. Its not impossible to do those things. Its really the first thing you should do when the scoring runs dry. Its my take with Podz career that when his scoring runs dry (always) his whole game does.

I need more track to see though, and really just nothing to talk about yet is part of these comments. So far Podz here has made one notable play. Hopefully its a regular thing.

 

[Drivesaitl]

But one guy plays a game that is well suited to the 4th line or bottom 6 role in general and the other pretty much needs a top six complementary scoring role and pp time to have any positive impact. Even in his good days the knock on Hoffman was that other then shooting the puck he was going to be a liability on the ice. He does not pass the puck well and is generally poor defensively.

Podz hasn't demonstrated he can play bottomsix. Not at this level or he'd be there and for sure a coach like Tochet would have him there if he could. Theres not even been a demonstration of willngness from Podz to do that.

Yeah I get that the only thing Hoffman does is score. But its not like that is an insignificant part of hockey. I'd rather keep a guy like Hoffman around if we need somebody to jump into topsix or 2nd PP unit. Disagree that Hoffman can't pass a puck. he's quite adept at cycle.

Finally Hoffman WANTS to be here coming in here on a PTO. To me that says a lot about his commitment to want to be here and play here. For a player with his immense talent rare to get him on PTO. But reading this board its almost as if because we got him on PTO he's nothing. For years he was being mentioned as a scorer that people would want to have here. He's older now but can still score.

 

[K1984]

Podz hasn't demonstrated he can play bottomsix. Not at this level or he'd be there and for sure a coach like Tochet would have him there if he could.

Yeah I get that the only thing Hoffman does is score. But its not like that is an insignificant part of hockey. I'd rather keep a guy like Hoffman around if we need somebody to jump into topsix or 2nd PP unit. Disagree that Hoffman can't pass a puck. he's quite adept at cycle.

I'm currently of the mindset of "the more the merrier."

We are currently only at 43/50 contracts, having a few more bodies to keep the bottom 6 competitive and insuring against individual underperformance only helps. Even if he's in the minors, having Hoffman available at around $1M in case of a Top 6 injury or need of a different look in the bottom 6 is something every team would like to have.

 

[On The Prowl]

But one guy plays a game that is well suited to the 4th line or bottom 6 role in general and the other pretty much needs a top six complementary scoring role and pp time to have any positive impact. Even in his good days the knock on Hoffman was that other then shooting the puck he was going to be a liability on the ice. He does not pass the puck well and is generally poor defensively.

Hoffman has made atleast 2 very sneaky passes off the wall directly to an open teammate on the powerplay in this pre-season, I dont know if I would call him a poor passer.

 

[Fourier]

Hoffman has made atleast 2 very sneaky passes off the wall directly to an open teammate on the powerplay in this pre-season, I dont know if I would call him a poor passer.

I've watched Hoffman a lot over the years both in Ottawa and in Montreal. He tends to simply hold onto the puck until he shoots once he gets it if he can get the shot off right away. It's always been the knock on the player. When he is not scoring he has been a liability on the ice.

For what it is worth I don't dislike the player. In his day he was one of the best pure goal scorers in the league. If he'd sign for near league minimum and wants a #13 forward role so be it. But I think it would be a problem to lose a guy like Lavoie with upside going forward so that you can keep Hoffman for a role that he is not suited for.

 

[Spawn]

One is an established goal scorer, consistent goal scorer at highest level of hockey. The other hasn't established or excelled at any level of hockey. Podz wasn't even doing much in the AHL. Vancouver got something for Podz because he was waiver material anyway.

Again just wondering why a guy who couldn't even make the Nucks lineup is considered a shoe in on a much better club. Podz hasn't demonstrated he's a role player either. He hasn't had any niche in NHL.

btw with how the Oilers draft a 4th round pick is nothing. May as well be 7th round or crumbs.

I’m not saying it’s a good or bad reason. But it is the reason imo.

Although that being said, I can get why a team would prefer a guy like Podkolzin playing ~7 minutes a night on the 4h line versus a guy like Hoffman. Hoffman is turning 35 in a few months and has been one of the worst defensive players in the league throughout his career.

Frankly, I have no clue why Hoffman was even brought on as a PTO. I can't help but feel like it must have been done as a favour to the player or his agent with hopes someone else might give him a contract. Maybe he’ll end up down in Bakersfield.

 

[Drivesaitl]

I’m not saying it’s a good or bad reason. But it is the reason imo.

Although that being said, I can get why a team would prefer a guy like Podkolzin playing ~7 minutes a night on the 4h line versus a guy like Hoffman. Hoffman is turning 35 in a few months and has been one of the worst defensive players in the league throughout his career.

Frankly, I have no clue why Hoffman was even brought on as a PTO. I can't help but feel like it must have been done as a favour to the player or his agent with hopes someone else might give him a contract. Maybe he’ll end up down in Bakersfield.

Hoffman might surprise. I see him as hardly different than a Jeff Skinner, if only two yrs older. I would say Hoffman was much better than Skinner just yrs ago. That said he is turning 35 soon. Wish we had him half a dozen yrs ago. What a difference he would've made here.