I dont think this OEL thread should have been merged. I understand the OP was a "player inquiry" but I tried to find a OEL or Ekman-Larsson thread to post his accomplishment in.. now there will be none for someone else to find. Plus it was also interesting and highly relevant to see the early season discussion and expectations for him.
Should have renamed the thread if you didnt like the player inquiry part of it.. but I think you lost a pretty good thread by merging it to this one. The stats I went to the trouble of collecting and expectations are now lost because nobody will read the thread as it was intended and nobody will find it by the thread title. Lots of fans would have been interested in an OEL thread but not this Player Inquiry thread.
Seriously though, the sky is the limit with OEL. He's just SO smart. He very rarely makes a mistake and his skating is exceptional. I love everything about his game. He isn't even filled out yet, I imagine when he does he'll start throwing the body a bit more too.
EDIT: Just realized the OEL part was for this season... oh well, april fools
I still have trouble truly appreciating OEL for his offense. His defensive game is just so much more refined. I honestly think he scores goals (the ones from the point) more by accident. He should be inserted back into our regular list of shootout players though.
OEL is one guy that I would evaluate most on his plus minus. I expect it to be stellar in the years ahead. He will be not only a shutdown defenceman, but also an offensive force with his ability to shoot and pass.
I still have trouble truly appreciating OEL for his offense. His defensive game is just so much more refined. I honestly think he scores goals (the ones from the point) more by accident. He should be inserted back into our regular list of shootout players though.
Maybe, but he joins the rush enough (IE: his SHG) that I think he'll usually end up with 10+ goals.
I dont think this OEL thread should have been merged. I understand the OP was a "player inquiry" but I tried to find a OEL or Ekman-Larsson thread to post his accomplishment in.. now there will be none for someone else to find. Plus it was also interesting and highly relevant to see the early season discussion and expectations for him.
Should have renamed the thread if you didnt like the player inquiry part of it.. but I think you lost a pretty good thread by merging it to this one. The stats I went to the trouble of collecting and expectations are now lost because nobody will read the thread as it was intended and nobody will find it by the thread title. Lots of fans would have been interested in an OEL thread but not this Player Inquiry thread.
I still have trouble truly appreciating OEL for his offense. His defensive game is just so much more refined. I honestly think he scores goals (the ones from the point) more by accident. He should be inserted back into our regular list of shootout players though.
I don't think that's fair. His 9.2 shooting percentage is a little high for a defenseman, but it's nothing crazy. But he's taking enough shots (141 through 79 games, though that's the second lowest total in the top 15 defenseman goal scorers), and while his slapper isn't a cannon, he's very smart and accurate with that wrister. When you're shooting from that far out, you're obviously beholden to fluky bounces, so there's going to be some variance from season to season for that reason, but as long as he keeps shooting, he should be able to sustain goal totals in the 10-15 range. As he matures, I suspect his assist totals will rise, too, both from developing his passing skills and from improving his shot to generate more rebounds.
Everyone likes the Lidstrom comparisons because he's a Swede, but he reminds me much more of Scott Niedermeyer. The skating is flawless and he makes everything looks so easy out there. His play has also made some Coyotes believe that Yandle is expendable not even a year long into his new contract. What a player!
Maybe, but he joins the rush enough (IE: his SHG) that I think he'll usually end up with 10+ goals.
If he's this good scoring goals "by accident" from the point. How good will he be once he matures? It's a scary proposition to think he's a 13 goal scorer already as a 20 year old.
Everyone likes the Lidstrom comparisons because he's a Swede, but he reminds me much more of Scott Niedermeyer. The skating is flawless and he makes everything looks so easy out there. His play has also made some Coyotes believe that Yandle is expendable not even a year long into his new contract. What a player!
Dunno, I think the Lidstrom comparison is best.....his awareness on the ice and vision is impeccible........just has an amazing ability to control the overall game. He's already a better defensive defenseman than Niedermeyer (I grew up in NJ and watched Scotty for a good portion of his career, especially when he was younger).
Yandle plays a lot like Niedermyer minus the bad turnovers and void of Scotty's skating ability. I agree on moving Yandle given the number of young quality defenseman on this team and at least 3 are very good offensively (OEL, Rundblad and Schlemko).
I wouldnt call his goals more of an accident. Very often he is putting himself in open ice and when he gets the puck he puts it very accurately into the net. great wrister. hes nailed the top corners a few different times recently.
Dunno, I think the Lidstrom comparison is best.....his awareness on the ice and vision is impeccible........just has an amazing ability to control the overall game. He's already a better defensive defenseman than Niedermeyer (I grew up in NJ and watched Scotty for a good portion of his career, especially when he was younger).
Yandle plays a lot like Niedermyer minus the bad turnovers and void of Scotty's skating ability. I agree on moving Yandle given the number of young quality defenseman on this team and at least 3 are very good offensively (OEL, Rundblad and Schlemko).
The same could of been said for Niedermeyer. I think the only thing that really separates the two was Scott's mobility while Lidstrom almost always prefers the simple play. Don't think it's really fair to say that any one skill set of OEL's is better than a proven Lidstrom but I would argue that his skating ability is more on par with Niedermeyer than Lidstrom. Gormley plays the game like Lidstrom with his active stick and heady play.
I wouldnt call his goals more of an accident. Very often he is putting himself in open ice and when he gets the puck he puts it very accurately into the net. great wrister. hes nailed the top corners a few different times recently.
This is an accurate assesment IMO. He thinks the game so well that he is getting the puck to the net where good things happen.
Where does one even start evaluating goals that are accidents and not accidents for heaven's sake.
Not sure if it's old news but OEL played most of this season with a broken foot. Apparently he blocked a shot against Colorado in the 5th game but they did not think it was very serious at the time.
Not sure if it's old news but OEL played most of this season with a broken foot. Apparently he blocked a shot against Colorado in the 5th game but they did not think it was very serious at the time.
Not sure if it's old news but OEL played most of this season with a broken foot. Apparently he blocked a shot against Colorado in the 5th game but they did not think it was very serious at the time.
