Many fans of the Edmonton Oilers do not yet recognize the names of these players: Ty Emberson, Troy Stecher, Raphel Lavoie, Josh Brown, Travis Dermott, Noah Philp, Vasili Podkolzin, even Drake Caggiula.
They’re the mystery men of the Edmonton Oilers. But they’re also key components of this year’s team, players who will fill out critical support rules and do so on bottom basement NHL-wages.
On a per year basis, Podkolzin and Brown make $1 million, Emberson $950,000, Stecher $788,000, Lavoie , Philp and Caggiula all $775,000, but only if they make the NHL, while Dermott has yet to earn a contract.
But having useful role players at low salaries is crucial to the success of the Oilers this year and in years to come. If the Oilers pro and amateur scouts can’t successfully identify solid NHL players on bargain contracts, the team will not succeed in its quest to win the Stanley Cup.
This year, for instance, the Oilers had to move on from Cody Ceci, Dylan Holloway, Philip Broberg, Warren Foegele, Vincent Desharnais, and Ryan McLeod because they couldn’t afford to pay their wages under the salary cap. They lost no major stars but useful players, and two exceptionally promising ones in Holloway and Broberg.
To compete for the Cup, Edmonton is going to need players in the Bargain Basement Brigade to step up and succeed, sometimes in difficult roles, such as alongside Darnell Nurse on the team’s second pairing, a job the Oilers now hope Emberson can fill.
It’s not clear how many of members of the Bargain Basement Brigade will make the Oilers out of training camp, but many of them, or all of them, will be called upon this year depending on the injury status of the team.
Already a few of them have earned praised from Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch.
Here’s what he said about Drake Caggiula, who was with the Oilers for the team’s solid 2017 playoff run: “I think Drake has played really well. The puck went in the net for him. He’s been outstanding probably the best player maybe in the NHL pre-season right now. I remember his first exhibition game, he had three Grade A scoring chances in the first period. And tonight(against Vancouver on Monday) I think it was his first shift he had two other looks. I think he’s been a good player. I think he’s a player that can play in the NHL. Again we have to decide on what we need and who would stay and who would go.”
On Travis Dermott, Knoblauch said: “For him to get recognized and play his best game he has to be assertive, move the puck really well. He’s not a big guy. But he is strong on the puck. And he’s not necessarily going to push anybody over, but he gets in the hands and separates guys from the puck. He’s very quick, agile. I guess we just have to consider is he an upgrade on what we have right now? I think he’s had a good camp, he’s been getting better as we’ve gone on. We still have some difficult decisions to make.”
By my eye, Philp, Stecher, Caggiula and Emberson have excelled in pre-season. All of them can help an NHL team win. Dermott has shown he can hang in on a bottom pairing and Lavoie has flashed some talent on the wing. Podkolzin has played effective two-way hockey in a limited role. Brown has been iffy in his puck-moving, but enough of the Bargain Basement Brigade are getting the job done that I’m satisfied for now with the work of the Oilers pro scouts. They identified some promising candidates.
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