Dose: Burnt and Hobbled

Tuesday was a busy night (and day, really). I think it’s probably a good time to go back to the recently resumed quick-hitting format to cover various bases, then.

BURN, BABY, BURN

So, the word is that the Edmonton Oilers will make like the Edmonton Oilers and let Leon Draisaitl play his 10th game of 2014-15, thus burning the first year of his entry-level contract. That makes it four consecutive high-end forward prospects who have made the immediate jump from the NHL Draft to the NHL level for a franchise that just can’t seem to get out of its own way.

(Darnell Nurse, seventh overall in 2013, didn’t make the instant jump. Still, as a defenseman, I’m not so sure that his instance really bucks the trend.)

One reaction that’s really tickled me lately is “Staying in junior would really stunt his growth.”

Oh, is that so? Let’s ask ourselves an honest question; what’s more likely to hurt a player’s development: dominating competition for another season while getting extra time to develop physically or playing limited minutes/getting dominated in too prominent a role at the NHL level? Sure, there are guys who become immediate stars like Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, but there are plenty of players who’ve probably had their confidence shaken by getting thrown in the deep end of the pool too early.

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Let's take Jonathan Drouin as an example. In 2012-13, he scored 41 goals and 105 points before becoming the third pick in the 2013 NHL Draft (that makes them COUSINS). The Tampa Bay Lightning made the bold decision to send him back to the QMJHL, where he SUFFERED ENDLESSLY in the form of a 108-point season.

And boy does he ever look worse for it ... as he lines up with Steve Stamkos.

(Granted, he didn't score as many goals in the Q last season, so obviously he totally regressed, right?)

As far as Draisaitl is fitting in, I think he basically gets an incomplete. Sure, his possession stats have actually been pretty neat, but he’s also started a ridiculous 81 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone. That’s not being protected, that’s being coddled. Considering that easy workload and half-decent linemates in Mark Arcobello and Benoit Pouliot, it’s hard to get too excited about one goal and two assists in nine games.

Interestingly/oddly, the Oilers are reportedly looking for more center help via trades. While the team wants to “insulate” Draisaitl (which is amusing since they’ve basically put him in bubblewrap armor deployment-wise), there’s the thought that he still may eventually return to junior even after burning the first year of his entry-level contract. So, basically, the already dubious “stunting his growth” argument goes out the window.

(Sits down for a minute.)

OK, look. The challenging last-name’d prospect could very well be solid as a bottom-six forward this season. I have no issue with Draisaitl in a vacuum.

What strikes me is what this means about Oilers management. There are basically two ways to look at this: a) they haven’t learned from their mistakes and/or b) they’re absolutely terrified of losing their jobs. One would think that the latter would be likely considering the strong playoff-drought-based evidence of the former, yet this is the type of chummy organization in which one of the league’s worst GMs (Kevin Lowe) doesn’t get fired as much as he gets promoted to a nebulous executive role.

I actually think this Oilers team is kinda sorta making progress, yet that doesn’t mean that their front office boasts the kind of makeup that can transition from good to great or even really transcend the current effort to merely turn mediocre to solid.

BLACK AND BLUE JACKETS

Good gravy, is there some form of voodoo curse on the Columbus Blue Jackets? Maybe it stems from all the beat reporters who’ve wished ill will upon the franchise for shooting off a cannon after home goals.

Anyway, it’s getting ridiculous for the Blue Jackets injuries-wise, and I wonder if it’s finally time that the remarkably scrappy bunch is buckling.

Hustle and heart (and most importantly, some very underrated players) can only take you so far when Sergei Bobrovsky’s on the mend for at least 1-2 weeks - honestly, when I hear “fractured finger,” I don’t think that a guy will just miss a few games, especially considering goalies can be in trouble when it hurts every time they use one of their hands - at least when Curtis McElhinney is your alternate option.

(Advice to FanDuel folks as well as day-to-day planners: exploit the Blue Jackets until Bob's back.)

Just take a look at the team’s staggering injury list:

Bob: 1-2 weeks (finger)

James Wisniewski: Week-to-week (finger)

Matt Calvert: day-to-day (upper body)

Nick Foligno: day-to-day (upper body)

Brandon Dubinsky: weeks/about a month (abdomen)

Boone Jenner: week-to-week (hand)

Nathan Horton: who knows at this point (back)

Add in Cam Atkinson’s scary skate-to-the-face and Artem Anisimov taking a tough hit last night and this team is just plagued by injuries. Seriously, I think “plagued by injuries” is usually a phrase that’s too-cute, but this is a straight-up infestation.

"Whether I've done something or somebody did something to the hockey gods, I've never seen anything like it," Todd Richards said to NHL.com. "It seems like every time we play a game somebody gets hurt. At least that's what it feels like right now.”

Can’t really blame Richards for being puck-agnostic once this is all over, honestly.

Looking at time on ice numbers from last night, Atkinson remarkably bounced back to play virtually the same amount (21:10) as Ryan Johansen (21:13). David Savard played 19:29. Scott Hartnell almost played 20 minutes, and while he didn't continue his scoring streak, just look at this stat line: -1, two PIM, eight SOG and four hits.

The point is: guys like Johansen and Hartnell will obviously feel that much more driven to produce with so many guys on the mend, so things aren't 100 percent grim. Granted, they're at least 95 percent grim, but still.

(Such a "shouldering the burden" drive explains why I'm oddly excited by what top players for the almost-as-injured Tampa Bay Lightning might accomplish. In both situations, don't expect things to be pretty, though.)

GIBSON ADVANCES ON ANDERSEN

Even after a slow start, I leaned toward John Gibson over Frederik Andersen ever so slightly, and I think I still feel that way. Since returning from his conditioning stint, Gibson has allowed one goal in two games and has two wins.

He stopped all 38 of the Chicago Blackhawks' shots to win a somewhat unexpected goaltending duel against the unknown Scott Darling. (Speaking of Darling: I’d ponder giving him a decent look over Antti Raanta here and there if I were Chicago. Raanta hasn’t really done much to distinguish himself beyond getting wins mainly because of the strong team in front of him.)

Anyway, my main reason to be more excited about Gibson is merely that there’s an underlying feeling that the franchise wants him to succeed. He’s got the pedigree of a higher draft pick and showed some flashes of brilliance in the playoffs.

Honestly, if one of Gibson or Andersen is your third goalie, you’re not in awful shape right now. Just don’t expect this flight to be without turbulence; both the team and the coach are known for being pretty fickle with netminders.

***

So much happened last night that I might have some stray observations on Thursday, what with tonight featuring a piddling two games compared to Tuesday’s twelve. Barring big news, I expect to continue to look at the NHL’s most interesting/productive lines, too.

For a full list of injuries and suspensions, click here. Go to Rotoworld's NHL page for breaking hockey news and more.