A quick mix of the things we gleaned from the week of hockey, serious and less so, and rolling four lines deep.
1. Remember when Finnish wings Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujarvi were lumped together as 2016 draft prospects 2A and 2B? Feels like ages ago.
The Oilers’ 18-year-old right wing scored in his first game but not in the 20 since.
The most eye-opening aspect coming to the NHL from the Finnish Elite League?
“The speed game. Every game is hard. Every game, if you’re not 100 per cent, it’s not good,” he told me.
Naturally, Puljujarvi is struggling with his English — sample answer: “Connor best player” — but he was patient and happy to chat this week. Not all players new to the language are like this.
The rookie says his greatest needs for improvement are his shot and getting stronger. He’s hitting the gym frequently to build muscle and says he stays on the ice an extra 10 or 15 minutes every day to shoot.
It’s not about blasting the puck harder or more accurately, he explains. It’s all about quickening his release.
Makes sense. If he’s to grow into Connor McDavid’s go-to triggerman, he needs to turn that stick into a weapon.
(Forward Anton Slepyshev has the Oilers’ quickest release, Puljujarvi says.)
It may serve Edmonton best to take the long view and send Puljujarvi down to the AHL before the 40-game mark and let him develop and gain confidence there. He’s getting a prime opportunity skating alongside the NHL’s top scorer and only has one goal to show for it.
2. The rookie isn’t the only Oilers right wing struggling to produce. Jordan Eberle has found himself in the goal column just twice in the last 21 games. (To be fair, both were two-goal games.)
“Jordan Eberle is supposed to be a scorer, and his hands are so frickin’ tight right now,” Oilers Entertainment Group CEO Bob Nicholson told Hockey Central. “If he gets one, maybe the whole drawer will open up here for him.”
Eberle wants everyone to reel back a bit on the Connor McDavid hype.
“He’s off to an unbelievable start and the talent he has is amazing. But you don’t want to blow it up crazy until we start getting some really big wins. As a supporting cast, we have to help him, too. It can’t be all him,” Eberle says.
Yes, it’s much more fun coming to rink with realistic playoff hopes, but let’s not plan the parade.
“You have to temper it. We’ve only played 20-some games. We’re a better team. We think we’re better than our record shows, too,” says Eberle, who’s good pals with disappointment.
“We need to take a step back sometimes and not get too ahead of ourselves.”
3. The Oilers’ expansive and immaculate dressing room at Rogers Place is a sight to behold. (Even the visitors’ area trumps several teams’ home quarters.)
The best feature may be placing the logo on the ceiling. No threat of an ignorant media member stepping on it and invoking the wrath of the hockey lords.
In Toronto, the Leafs cover their giant carpet logo with a mat during media availability to keep it shoe-free. (I once saw a wee tip of a leaf peaking out from under the mat, and an employee rushed to readjust.)
4. Calgary Flames coach Glen Gulutzan explained why he demoted $44.625-million No. 1 centre Sean Monahan to a fourth-line checking role against the New York Islanders Monday.
He said wanted to “dumb down” the young star’s game. Monahan was reunited with his top-line wingers later in the contest and scored the game-tying goal.
“Sometimes you want to take these guys back to Square One and say, ‘Hey, I want you to be the best you can be in that position and play hard,’” Gulutzan explained. “That’s what I told him before the game, and he responded.”
5. A first-timer covering hockey in Calgary, I approached a Saddledome employee to direct me to the reporters’ seating area.
“Media, eh? Hope you’re not afraid of heights.”
He motioned to a catwalk that runs across the rink roof, right above the centre-ice scoreboard. Way up where an army guy might rappel from during military appreciation night or something.
There’s a railing, so I’m sure this is all up to code. But it’s enough to give a man pause.
Looked down and snapped this photo.
6. Flames first-round prospect Mark Jankowski, 22, appeared downright giddy to be standing in an NHL dressing room this week. Since his draft day more than four years ago, he said he’s been dreaming of his first game at the Saddledome.
The dream will be delayed. Despite playing Monday in Brooklyn, Jankowski was healthy-scratched versus Toronto Wednesday and returned to AHL Stockton Thursday.
He’s nearly a point per game with the Heat this season and is remaining positive.
“When I get that call for the first game at home,” he beamed, “it’ll be really exciting.”
The kind of kid you wanna root for.
7. The Leafs continue to lay eggs in the second half of back-to-backs. Oh-for-five, with 13 more to go.
Wondered if 18 back-to-backs gives Toronto the most in the league. Nope.
Buffalo and Columbus share that dubious honour, with 19 apiece. Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella doesn’t hesitate to tap his No. 1 man, Sergei Bobrovsky, on consecutive nights. Goalie Bob is 2-2 on second nights with a pair of shutouts. He’s tied with Carey Price for the lead in wins (13).
When Carolina jolted to a five-game winning streak in November, coach Bill Peters noted that it was partly because he could keep putting in Cam Ward.
“Our schedule’s been good: We haven’t got a lot of back-to-backs,” he said. “We can ride the hot guy.”
Who has the fewest back-to-backs? The Oilers with 10. That’s a significant gap between them and the Sabres and Jackets.
8. Had the pleasure of meeting Harnarayan Singh and some members of the inspiring Hockey Night Punjabi team on the day Singh made his English-language broadcasting debut.
Singh was understandably a little nervous but delivered.
Take that, barriers.
Singh’s wife retweeted that photo with this caption: “So proud of my hubby @IceSinghHNIC for his Eng debut 2nt. Shine like the bright star u are and show the world what u can do.”
9. After the remarkable Chad Johnson shut his club out Wednesday, Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock revealed that Toronto had spoken to the netminder during the free agency interview period.
Toronto wouldn’t have offered the same opportunity, so don’t get all FOMO, Leafs Nation. Frederik Andersen’s five-year deal would’ve prevented Johnson from ever battling out of a No. 2 role, plus the guy’s Western Canadian roots run deep.
If he keeps playing this well, you wonder if Calgary — who doesn’t have a goaltender under contract for 2017-18 — extends Johnson as early as January or February while everyone’s happy with the situation.
Or does Johnson, who’s never made more than $1.3 million in a season, take this all the way to July 1?
10. Interesting piece on ChicagoBusiness.com that puts math to Patrick Kane’s likability.
Kane’s Q score among male respondents has improved to the level it was at before the 2015 police investigation that cost him multiple sponsorships.
Gatorade has renewed a deal with the Blackhawks star, and Kane’s agent, Pat Brisson, said he’s had a bunch of endorsement offers over the past eight months.
“I believe he’s completely out of the woods,” Brisson told the outlet. “I’m glad [the investigation] is behind him and that he showed a lot of character, proving to the world the player that he is. When we mention his name, [brands] are definitely interested.”
11. Cannot tell you how many times I’ve watched this KHL clip. Never fails to make me laugh. Craziest thing is they didn’t score on this rush.
A #KHL Goalie decided to take a drink from his water bottle during a 2-on-1 play #Legend pic.twitter.com/fCwVj7gRjL
— Bar South N Celly™ (@BarSouthNCelly) November 25, 2016
12. Oilers coach Todd McLellan tried to shed perspective on the much-hyped Nazem Kadri vs. Connor McDavid match-up, saying there is a one-on-one showdown for his superstar every week.
“It just happens to be Toronto and we’re all sitting here, but we go to Dallas and it’s the same thing. It’s Jamie Benn. Go to Colorado and it’s Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon. It’s everywhere. He doesn’t change. He’s very even keel. He has a tendency to rise to the occasion and this occasion is two times a year,” McLellan said.
It’s one thing to put up 82 points in your first 70 NHL games (yes, McJesus hasn’t even hit the 82-game mark) but doing it night in, night out against the opponent’s best checking centre, top defensive pair and No. 1 goalie is something else.
“I look at Ryan Kesler, Anze Kopitar and Jamie Benn—a number of these high-end players that Connor has to play against every night, and he’s done a real good job against all those players,” McLellan said. “He finds ways to get it done most nights.”
Ace Hood might describe McDavid as a first-round draft pick who hustles hard in overtime, even body to body, and is well on his way to being the Art Ross champion.
