There has been lots of talk about Edmonton's bottom 6, but as it currently sits with Hemsky still in the mix, I don't quite see it as bad as others might. When you look further around the league most good teams spend very little on those bottom 6 and too much IMO is made of the bottom 6. It has been mentioned our bottom 6 was the scoring problem last year. I agree, they lacked scoring ability last year but our second line struggled as well. I do feel strongly that Perron will make a huge impact on that 2nd line with puck possession ability and relentless forechecking.
Taking a look here at the Oilers VS others teams bottom 6, I feel much better about our ability to produce this year.
Edmonton
Ryan Jones- Boyd Gordon- Ales Hemsky
Ryan Smyth- Anton Lander- Jesse Joensuu/Mike Brown
Vancouver
Higgins-Schroeder-Hansen
Weise-Richardson-Santorelli
Carolina
Bowman-E.Lindholm-Palushaj
Westgarth-R.Nash-Dwyer
San Jose
Torres-Pavelski-Wingels
Sheppard-Desjardins-Burish
Buffalo
Foligno-Ott-Flyn
Kaleta-Grigorenko-Adam
Pittsburgh
Bennett-Sutter-D'Agostini
Glass-Vitale-Adams
Ottawa
Conacher - Zibanejad - Condra
Greening - Smith - Neil
Tampa Bay
Palat-Johnson-Malone
Panikt-Thompson-Crombeen
This list could go on but very few teams actually have a incredible bottom 6 forward core. Nothing earth shattering here but nonetheless maybe its time to relax on picking apart our bottom 6 forwards and focus in on other others for growth and improvement. IMO, Edmonton has always been more focused on bottom 6 forwards then most teams fans in this league. Just a thought to ponder through a real slow summer.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
'A closer look into the Oilers Bottom 6 forwards'
What Gets Us Found:
Ales Hemsky,
Anton Lander,
Boyd Gordon,
edmonton oilers,
forwards,
Mike Brown,
NHL,
Ryan Jones,
Ryan Smyth
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I think you missed the point completely. Of the listed bottoms 6 lineups, 4 are playoff teams and 4 are non-playoff teams. I think there is a huge discrepancy between the bottom 6 lineups in the playoff teams and the non-playoff teams as well. The teams that made the playoff teams all have exceptional role-players among their bottom six players, to name a few - higgins, hansen, pavelski, burish, sutter... all very grindy players who put up solid points in big games. Players who become household names in may and june. At least Pavelski and Sutter, anyway. Some have some very solid prospects amongst their bottom six as well, two way prospects. Conacher, Zibanejad, Bennett, Schroeder. Players that can play in their top six someday, but right now are better suited to learn the two way game while surviving through their shorter minutes by using their high-end skill as a crutch. I think the oilers thought process with Hemsky is awful. He has no defensive game and will be a hole in the 3rd line with two very two-way, gritty players. He will be feeding passes into Gordon and Jones' feet all year and Gordon will lose favour with fans because of it. If we were talking about a player like Perron moving down I would be more open, as he plays more of a grinders game, bringing skill while driving the net.
ReplyDeleteMoving Hemsky or Nick Schultz as soon as possible for whatever viable 3rd line option is going to be a key for this team.
I hear where your coming from and respectfully get your point. Those role players you mention on 4th lines? Granted I am with you on that but IMO Edmonton has no concerns this year on the 4th line. It's the third line. Saying Hemsky has no defensive game is under estimating his ability. Hemsky carries the puck out of his own end quick and actually spends more time in the offensive zone then in his defensive zones. Rarely do you find hemsky caught for any period of time in the defensive zone. Not to mention, with Hemsky talent and skill up against another team's 3rd line forwards and/or 2nd pairing defencemen?
ReplyDeleteSome of the other players you mention who have potential, it is only that. It's not been proven to this point they can actually perform night in and night out. Schroeder for example....may not be what your thinking he is. Sure he works hard but verdict is still out if he can even be a NHL player long term.
Guess only time will tell. The other thing about role players....they work best in playoffs but don't do much for you in the regular season to make the playoffs. Obviously we don't see things the same on this point and that was the reasoning behind the blog