I will never not cheer for Team Canada.
I am a proud Canadian who develops deep respect for those willing to play for their country.
But while nothing about that will ever change, it does not prevent me from having strong feelings for who was left off the squad from an Edmonton standpoint.
Or from pointing out what I feel are short-sighted views on why.
That and more in this edition of…
9 Things
9. The Oilers still lead the pacific Division in points with 46 despite just a .548P%. That is in part because the division is so bloody average. As of the end of play Saturday, all eight teams owned a negative goal differential.
8. Oilers prospect Josh Samanski has had an excellent campaign in Bakersfield. He is 5-19-24 in 30 games. That in part helped the twenty-three-year-old centerman earn a berth on the German National Team alongside Leon Draisaitl for the Olympics.
7. If I were running Team Sweden, I would sure have Mattias Ekholm on it. At 35 he is still a top-pairing D-man. The R&R may be ideal for the Oilers in the end. But passion and pride matter, too, and usually fuel an athlete’s performance. With the NHL back at the Olympics, none of these guys want to lay on a beach.
6. Connor McDavid was one of the only Oilers going on Saturday. His goal and helper ran his point streak to 15 games. That is the sixteenth time McDavid has accomplished that feat. Only Mario Lemieux (7) and Wayne Gretzky (19) have done it more often. McDavid could feasibly pass Mario this season.
5. Part of the Oilers issue Saturday was not moving the puck cleanly out of their zone. Quicker, crisper outs would make a far bigger difference to the overall results than you might think. Substitute in a healthy Jake Walman and that Edmonton transition game should likely look a lot different.
4. I expect the Oilers to be able to find a suitor for Andrew Mangiapane. The signing has simply not worked in Edmonton but there are some clubs willing to take him on. Edmonton will not ask for much in return, in hopes that a team will take on his entire $3.6m cap hit. I wonder if he lands in the same division. I hear Anaheim is one such interested partner.
3. Everyone is entitled to an off game. So, I do not intend to dismiss Connor Ingram after his rough start versus Boston. He had been more than good in the previous three. But the game Calvin Pickard pitched at the Jets and the way he gave them a puncher’s chance against Philly both illustrate his value. Until the Oilers have a better handle on the Tristan Jarry injury situation, you cannot afford to lose either backup on waivers.
2. The Kid Line arrived in Edmonton Saturday with a great deal of fanfare and for good reason. Ike Howard and Quinn Hutson have terrific in Bakersfield and earned the look. Putting them with Matt Savoie to try and create to zip on that third line was worth trying and remains so. The trio did not make a big impact against the Flyers. While I know there was concern over how Kris Knoblauch might handle them, I thought that was a non-issue. Howard skated 11:52, Savoie played 10:16, Hutson 9:17. That is sufficient to make an impact. They just didn’t. I hope the Oilers stick with them for a couple games more. Especially at home, you control most of the matchups. Give the kids a chance to break out. They need a big enough sample.
1.I am not a fan of debating which players deserve to be in the Olympics and which do not. The way I view it, those guys are willing to go and represent their country, and I have all kinds of respect for that. It is often a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the players, so they do not need Leavins to spoil it for them! And hey: If you enjoy that sort of debate, fill your boots…it is just not my scene. And I am not going to cheer against Team Canada, either, whether I agree with the selections or not. It is a tough job with heavy competition. Plus, I am an absolute, unapologetic homer when it comes to international hockey! But that does not stop me from having a couple opinions on omissions…
I feel for both Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. I believe both are strong two-way performers could have made a meaningful contribution to that squad. They could play on both special teams and would have automatic chemistry with Connor McDavid. And at this point in their careers, waiting four more years probably puts both men past their primes. However, I am also well aware that the competition for spots at Forward on Team Canada is fiercer than on any other national team in the world. It is Canada’s strength. It was always going to be a tough squad to crack.
It a different story for Evan Bouchard. Not all of the eight guys named have been having Gold medal seasons. As such, Team Canada should be in the business of bringing the best players. Bouchard is an elite offensive defenceman. Few are better. And he has been money at both ends of the ice during the last two Stanley Cup Playoffs, when the stakes and pressure could not be higher and the competition unbelievably stiff. It is when his intensity (a fair criticism of Evan when he struggles) is the very highest. Those who forget that and are stuck hard on his early season turnovers are guilty of recency bias.
It feels to me like Team Canada management is a bit too risk adverse. I heard one opinion that “the club wants it defenders to defend”. O.K., so I guess it is not important that all those elite forwards get the puck. Hall of Famer Paul Coffey was not an elite-elite defender either and served up the odd pizza, too. But somehow, he was on Team Canada four times (1984, 1987, 1991 and 1996).
In the end, I truly hope Team Canada wins a Gold Medal and that Evan Bouchard spends the rest of the regular season and Stanley Cup Playoffs shoving it up Team Canada’s ‘you-know-what’.
After all, the best thing Evan can do now for him and his team is show them just how wrong they were for leaving him at home.
This article is not AI generated.
Leavins Cult of Hockey
Recently, at The Cult…
LEAVINS: Edmonton loses 5-2 to Philly, as Team Offence hits a dry spell
STAPLES: The Oilers Kid Line gets called into action
Bruce McCurdy, 1955-2025.
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