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The last cut was the deepest for Edmonton Oilers centre Leon Draisaitl — mainly because it was him.The Oilers trimmed down to 23 players Monday morning at the expense of the 19-year-old former third overall draft pick.
After making the team straight out of training camp a year ago, largely because previous management was caught flat-footed at centre and had to rush him into the job, Draisaitl is now on a more realistic path to the NHL.
“I thought he was really close,” said general manager Peter Chiarelli. “He did everything we asked him to do. His skating has improved. I was quite happy with him.
“What we told him was we have to look at the big picture. You had a good camp, you outplayed some people, but play ramps up, things change, the dynamics of the game change as the games progress in the regular season.”
And they want him to ramp his own game up accordingly so he doesn’t get left behind, like he did last season, prompting his return to Junior after 37 games.
“We told him we want you, when we call you up, to stay here for good,” said Chiarelli. “So you have to work on the 200-foot game. Offensively you can play in the NHL right now, you have to work on the 200-foot game and the little stuff on the defensive side of the puck.
“We tried to send him with a good message. He was upset. but I think at the end of the day he will realize it was the right move. when that day will be I’m not sure.”
Draisaitl improved his game since last fall and had a very strong camp, but with the Oilers a lot deeper up the middle this season the organization can afford to be patient. They are hoping the AHL will do for Draisaitl what it did for Anton Lander and Oscar Klefbom.
“For him it’s a tough thing, when he goes down the checklist and looks at some of the things he’s accomplished,” said head coach Todd McLellan. “We want to build a long career for him and we want longterm success for our team and right now we feel it’s best for both if Leon spends some time in the American League.”
CAPTAIN’S LOG
There has been much speculation about the Oilers removing the captaincy from Andrew Ference this season, and nobody at Oilers practice Monday categorically denied it’s going to happen.
They didn’t say it will, either, just to stay tuned.
“You’ll probably hear something from Todd and myself tomorrow or the next day,” said Chiarelli.
It’s no secret the 36-year-old defenceman will play a significantly reduced role this season. The question remains whether his new capacity allows him the same voice in the dressing room.
“There will be nights when he’s in and out of the lineup,” said McLellan, adding the captaincy is something they’ll all talk about. “We’ve had great conversations with Andrew about that situation.”
Ference says he has always been a team player and a good solider and has never had a problem putting the organization ahead of himself. So if they need him to sit out or to play fewer minutes, then that’s the way it has to be.
“You accept any role,” he said. “That’s the way I was brought up … you’re told to play a certain way, you play it. When you’re tapped to go, you go.
“It changes game to game if you’re a player like me. I’ve never been that upper echelon, 1-2 guy. You get bounced around. When there’s injuries you play a little bit more, when there aren’t, you play less.
“When I started my career I was in and out of the lineup and at the end of my career I’ll be in and out. That’s just the way it is. It’s a player’s job to be ready for whatever the coach wants.”
BEN AND GONE
Ben Scrivens cleared waivers Monday and will report to AHL Bakersfield, where he will share the netminding duties with Laurent Brossoit.
McLellan and Chiarelli liked what they saw from him, they just liked what the saw from Anders Nilsson, who didn’t allow a single goal in training camp, better.
“It wasn’t easy,” said Chiarelli said of sending him down. “I had a meeting with him this summer and asked him to focus on a few things and he did.
“He did everything that we asked him to do. I also told him that we’re going to have a competition for two spots.”
Chiarelli, who described Scrivens as a “legitimate NHL backup,” will likely find an NHL home again before long.
“I think Ben, at the very least, will be depth for us,” he said. “But I think he will be somewhere else at some point.”
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