OILERS HAVEN’T FOUND RIGHT FIT FOR CAGGIULA
Forward wants spot to call home after shuffling in and out of lineup all season
Drake Caggiula was ready to face the music even before several of his teeth ended up on the ice amid a pool of blood last month in Anaheim.
It was a “pretty gross” scene, according to Ducks’ eyewitness Rickard Rakell.
The Oilers’ winger knows he’s had a very ordinary second NHL season.
He hasn’t found any traction with eight goals and 14 points in 50 games, moving all around the lineup, missing nine games to injury or sickness, and sitting out as a healthy scratch.
Do we know where Caggiula fits long term? Not in the least.
He feels he can be a top-nine NHL winger. But he’s also played in a checking role, and with the top dog, Connor McDavid. And that’s the rub. The coaching staff is still searching for where he belongs.
He’s played with the captain, he played with the since-traded Mark Letestu. He’s played both wings, on the power play, even killing penalties on occasion. He’s played in only three games where he recorded more than a single point.
On Saturday, he was in the press box as a healthy scratch. That’s a rarity since the days when he starred at University of North Dakota.
In 110 NHL games (60 last year, 50 this season), he’s amassed 36 points. Maybe he should have been sent to Bakersfield in the AHL last year as a rookie pro to get more work, but he had to clear waivers this season, so the Oilers couldn’t send him to the farm. As a result, he’s been an everywhere kind of guy.
“It’s been a major struggle. There have been spurts where I’ve played well and others where I haven’t. Times where I’ve gotten rewarded for playing well and others when I didn’t,” he said.
It’s been a major struggle. There have been spurts where I’ve played well and others where I haven’t.
He’s very much a bubble player right now.
“I’m not sure where I fit,” said Caggiula. “I’m still trying to figure that out. I’ve played left wing, right wing. Played on the first line, the fourth line, been a healthy scratch.
“I think I can contribute more offensively in a top-nine role, but I have to do it more consistently. I have to have more to show for what I’ve done.”
The Oilers organizational talent pool is very thin when it comes to young forwards, so Caggiula has a prime opportunity here. He just has to seize it. He can skate and he can hit, but after being one of the NCAA’s best players, he has to find a way to be a 35-40-point NHLer to be a top-nine guy.
“I don’t think many of us have reached our expectations after last season,” he said.
He’ll try to get down and dirty when he meets general manager Peter Chiarelli and coach Todd McLellan at season’s end during player exit interviews. But what does he want to tell them?
“I’d like to consistently play one spot,” he said. “When you play with consistent linemates, that definitely helps build chemistry, leads to more offence and stuff. I started out the year with Leon (Draisaitl) on the second line, but by the start of the (regular) season. I was on the third or fourth line and back to the first. It creates a bit of a whirlwind situation for myself. I need to find a spot in the lineup I can call home.
“But I need to play well enough so the coach has confidence in me and he can trust me. There’s been times where Todd’s had that with me and let me play 18-19 minutes, and others where I’ve played only six or seven. I have to build that trust. It’s been difficult. I was never a healthy scratch in junior and college until I got to the NHL.”
Caggiula has worn a full cage since a puck smashed into his face a month ago. It’s hot, the sweat builds and he can’t see out of it well, so he’s always taking it off to clean the windshield. He hopes to get it off later this week after seeing the dentist.
Rakell thought he saw six teeth on the ice, but Caggiula, who had badly swollen lips, corrected him.
“Not a great feeling for myself and people watching, maybe,” he said. “It was sickening, but that’s hockey.”
“Three teeth gone and one that was cracked in half. I’ve been to the dentist three times,” he said.
“I’ve had a root canal and need a couple more. I’ve had some root tips pulled out, and a cracked tooth filled in. Lots of needles, and they don’t feel good.”