Yamamoto has high hopes
As far as predictions are concerned, Kailer Yamamoto is not guaranteeing another gold medal for Team USA at the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. Nor is he promising that he will lead the tournament in scoring.
But, the 19-year-old is willing to go out on a limb when it concerns the Edmonton Oilers.
They’re making the playoffs, he said. And who knows, maybe Yamamoto will be back in the NHL by then to join them in their pursuit of a Stanley Cup.
“Definitely,” Yamamoto said when asked if he expects the Oilers, who are stuck in second-last place in the Western Conference standings, to be in the post-season. “I mean, they have so many weapons on that team. I think once they start getting on a streak, they’re going to get it rolling. They’ve had some unlucky bounces this year that have just kind of took some games away from them, but I think once they really start to get things going, they’re going to be a really dangerous team.”
It’s been six weeks since Yamamoto was sent back to the Western Hockey League after unexpectedly making the Oilers’ opening-night roster and appearing in nine games. During that time, he’s never forgotten about the team that drafted him 22nd overall and then gave him a chance to play briefly on Connor McDavid’s line.
“I follow them every game,” he said. “I try to watch as many games as I can, but even if I can’t, I definitely know who’s doing what. I text Leon Draisaitl a lot and Adam Larsson and talk to Drake Caggiula a little bit. I probably talk the most to Jujhar Khaira. I grew up playing with his younger brother, so it made it a little easier to connect with him.”
Yamamoto feels for them. But, he also believes in them.
After all, the Oilers believed in him. Noone—notevenYamamoto—hadexpected him to make the team out of training camp. For one, Yamamoto was tiny. Only 5-foot-8 and 154 pounds, the 19-year-old seemed too small even for the WHL. But he not only beat out Jesse Puljujarvi for a temporary spot on the roster, he proved that he was a goal or two away from sticking in the NHL for good.
“I never really thought I would make the team, but as it went on I started to do a little better and it showed me that I can stay up here and was close to making it,” said Yamamoto, who had no goals and three assists in his ninegame stint with the Oilers. “It’s obviously disappointing to go back, but playing those nine games gave me a big boost of confidence and really helped my game and showed me how fast I can play, showed me how to grow up and be a man and act off the ice. It was really good for me.
“I just have to take a couple of more steps and work on some things in junior. I think once I figure those things out, I’ll be there.”
Since returning to the Spokane Chiefs, Yamamoto has scored 12 points in 13 games. It’s not the torrid pace he was on last season, when he shot up the draft rankings with 99 points in 65 games. But, Yamamoto is more concerned with developing into an all-around player, something he will have an opportunity to showcase at the world juniors in Buffalo.
“Obviously, we have a little bit more added pressure now that it’s in the States this year and we’re defending (the gold medal),” said Yamamoto. “But, I think you just have to acknowledge that we have a lot of pressure, and that once you acknowledge it, you have to throw it behind you and look at every game the same with the mindset that you’re going to win every game. That’s how I look at it. I’m going into every game looking to win it.”
Yamamoto, who was cut from last year’s team, is expected to be a key contributor to the offence this year. He has been playing on a top line with Ottawa Senators prospect Logan Brown and Buffalo Sabres prospect Casey Mittelstadt, who dominated the summer showcase tournament by combining for two goals and seven points in wins against Canada and Finland.
“I think we’re really dangerous,” Yamamoto said of a U.S. team that has five returning players from the group that won gold in an overtime shootout against the Canadians last year, as well as three draft-eligible prospects. “We have a lot of weapons. I think every guy on our team can score goals, but we’re also really good defensively, too.”
It sounds a lot like his assessment of the Oilers. Like that team, it’s just a matter of putting it all together.