Yamamoto set to take best shot with Oilers
It’s just a few more sleeps for Kailer Yamamoto until his long-awaited chance to make the Edmonton Oilers.
Again.
He survived the final cuts last season, showing signs of the vision, hands and elusiveness the Oilers hoped would translate to the National Hockey League when they drafted him 22nd overall last summer, but it wasn’t enough to lock down a permanent gig, and nine games later, he was back in junior.
This time will be different, he says.
“Last year, I didn’t really know what to expect, didn’t know what I was getting into,” said the diminutive 19-year-old, who admits it was a little overwhelming to walk into a dressing room and see Connor McDavid and Milan Lucic, then look across the ice and see Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“Being 19 and seeing that, you’re like ‘Oh my.’ One day, you’re watching them on TV, and six months later, you are playing against them. It’s pretty crazy. Playing against Crosby ... he was my childhood hero.
“But now, I just look at them as players. We all play the game we love. This time, I feel a little bit more comfortable. It’s a thrilling time and I’m looking forward to it.”
The Oilers want this to happen as much as Yamamoto does, if not more. If he doesn’t make the team out of camp this time, Yamamoto knows it will be there for him eventually, and that in all likelihood, the wait will have been for the best.
But the Oilers, who’ve missed the playoffs 11 of the last 12 years, do not have the luxury of patience. At least not at the coaching and management level.
Fans will show up and fill the building no matter how long it takes for the organization to be good again, of that there is very little concern. But for head coach Todd McLellan, who has three new assistant coaches after last year’s failure, including a couple of head coaching candidates in Glen Gulutzan and Trent Yawney, the time for serious progress is now.
And general manager Peter Chiarelli probably doesn’t want to be standing there justifying why he should stay on as GM after trading Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle and then missing the playoffs for the third time in four years with Connor McDavid.
This isn’t to suggest that the season rests on Yamamoto’s shoulders; there are plenty of other factors that will determine what direction the Oilers take this year. The blue-line is an issue, goalie Cam Talbot needs to rediscover his form of two years ago, Lucic needs to earn more of his $6-million salary than he did last year, special teams need fixing, and the big and supremely talented Leon Draisaitl needs to impose his will on a game more often than once or twice a week.
There is a lot that needs to be better with this team.
Chiarelli has worked hard in the summer to solidify his bottom six and address the issues that plagued them on special teams, signing Kyle Brodziak and inviting Scottie Upshall and Alex Chiasson to camp on PTOs.
But unless some surprises come jumping out of the woodwork this season, there is not much depth or wiggle room in the top six. McDavid, Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins can be counted on, but after that, it’s a cast of players who should be wearing question marks on the backs of their sweaters.