Over the past few weeks, Edmonton Oilers have effected a transition that some had foreseen for quite some time. Deeply-respected but aging vet Derek Ryan had already seen his ice time dwindle to single-digit minutes per game. He lost his role on the penalty kill unit, and the calls also diminished for his skilled right-shot stick in the faceoff circle. The next step was for the every-game utility forward to see his games cut back to about one per week: Dec 16, Dec 22, Dec 29, Jan 04, Jan 11, and then none at all.
Phase Two occurred on Jan 14, when the Oilers recalled Ryan’s fellow University of Alberta alumnus and heir apparent, Noah Philp, from their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield. Philp had gotten a three-game trial earlier in the season and fared OK, but this second recall was borne on the winds of change. Philp was inserted into the line-up in Ryan’s old 4C spot for the very next game, and for the three after that. Ryan watched the first three from the press box before being placed on waivers on Sunday. He subsequently cleared and has subsequently reported to Bako.
With the exchange, the Oilers got younger: Philp is 26, Ryan 38. They also got bigger: Philp is 6’3, 198, Ryan 5’10, 185. They lost a boatload of experience: Philp had 3 NHL games when recalled, Ryan 603 when sent out. But what, really, has changed?
So far, not a whole lot. Philp has indeed played the last four games, logging ice time of 8:42, 7:42, and 10:17 in the first three of those. With Connor McDavid out of the line-up with suspension on Monday, the thought was that the four remaining pivots: Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Adam Henrique and Philp, would take on additional work.
That’s not how it worked out for Noah Philp, who logged just 5:15 against Washington Capitals, the only Oiler below 10 minutes on the night. It was his least ice time to date, moreover it was less than Ryan’s lowest total (6:13) in his 33 games.
My Cult of Hockey colleague David Staples summed up his performance in our traditional player grades:
- Noah Philp, 4. He didn’t play much and was quiet out there when he did. GAS: ES +0/-0; ST 0/0
What did this player actually do in those 5 quiet minutes? I decided to review each of his 9 shifts and isolate my attention on the aspiring young Oiler. Here are the resultant shift notes.
Noah Philp shifts vs. Washington
- 2:21 – 2:54 = 0:33 TOI
Change on fly with puck going into WSH territory, Philp’s line with Corey Perry and Kasperi Kapanen vs. Caps fourth line of Eller-Raddysh-Frank. Joins the forecheck, provides puck support for Kulak who holds the blueline, receives pass to right of net, holds off Lars Eller, cycles to Perry, receives return pass, cycles around boards to Nurse. Draisaitl line takes subsequent draw and scores. - 4:52 – 5:21 = 0:29 TOI
Change on fly, puck in neutral zone, vs. Ovechkkin-Strome-McMichael. Assumes good puck support position, gloves down Perry’s high pass in the neutral zone, carries, then bobbles puck just inside WSH blueline. (Giveaway). Assumes good position defending EDM blueline against the counter, then inside the zone but no more involvement as puck flies over glass. - 7:42 – 8:19 = 0:37 TOI
Change on fly with Oilers resetting in own zone vs. Strome line. Takes Nurse’s outlet pass and quickly zips a short tape-to-tape pass to Perry, who angles it deep into the o-zone corner. Philp bustles in, lays a light Hit on Trevor van Riemsdyk and engages in a 50/50 puck battle, chips puck to Kapanen up the wall. WSH recovers puck and breaks up, with Philp disrupting the rush in the neutral zone, helping Oilers regain possession. Joins Perry on subsequent rush, takes his pass and shoots from high slot, but van Riemsdyk tips it into the netting (Attempt Blocked). - 11:41 – 12:41 + 1:00 TOI
O-zone faceoff against P-L Dubois (with Protas and Wilson), Puck goes mainly sideways and is ultimately recovered by Kapanen, though officially recorded as a Faceoff Loss. WSH recovers behind own net, Philp establishes position as the high forward and shows good skating fundamentals in shadowing lateral movement of the puck. Solid positioning pays off as puck comes into his range, and he quickly pops it over to Kapanen on the side wall. Play goes other way, Philp provides strong cover as first forward back, then goes all the way behind the net to engage, then win a puck battle with the massive Dubois. Chips puck safely to Ekholm, then gets on his horse to join rush with Kapanen, play give and go, leading to a low-angle shot attempt by Philp which is blocked by Matt Roy (Attempt Blocked). With his shift nearing a minute and his linemates stilll working the o-zone walls, he hustles to the bench for a safe change. - 22:54 – 23:03 = 0:09 TOI
O-zone faceoff vs. Dubois and mates. Cleanly loses draw (Faceoff Loss). Play transitions up ice, a low percentage shot is grabbed and held by S.Skinner. With a d-zone draw imminent, Philp is replaced by Henrique after just 9 seconds on the ice. - 23:53 – 24:56 = 1:03 TOI
Changes on fly as puck is transitioning out of WSH zone. Shows solid support positioning as puck is worked up along the walls, ultimately joining Bouchard to double team Raddysh, recover puck, and fire a hard backhand clearance that pops high off the wall and safely clears the zone. No more touches but more solid positional play, changes out safely as Oilers re-enter o-zone. - 31:48 – 32:02 = 0:14 TOI
O-zone faceoff vs. Dubois. Cleanly loses draw (Faceoff Loss). WSH breaks out but fails to enter EDM zone, whistle blows for gloved pass, shift over. - 44:50 – 45:15 = 0:25 TOI
N-zone faceoff vs. Dowd (with Duhaime and Mangiapane). Cleanly loses draw (Faceoff Loss), puck is shot in to EDM zone where it remains for rest of shift. Joins battle for possession in corner, one good touch, one less good one though both inconsequential. Shift ends after 25 seconds with an Edmonton penalty, albeit a super cheap one for removing an opponent’s helmet. - 50:33 – 51:18 = 0:45 TOI
Change on fly (with Podkolzin and Kapanen vs. Strome line) as puck is transitioning out of EDM zone. Joins cycle in WSH territory briefly but puck is broken out. Seconds later follows Podkolzin’s lead and joins puck battle in o-zone corner, helps win possession, then heads to slot to provide screen for Bouchard point shot which is blocked. Lands a light, uncredited hit on Roy who has just cleared the zone, heads for bench.
And that was that. Total opportunity 9 shifts, 5:15 TOI, average shift length 35 seconds, all at 5v5. Official stats pretty underwhelming with 2 shot attempts (both blocked), 1 hit, 1 giveaway, and 0/4=0% on the faceoff dot.
By eye his performance was OK: decent skating, exhibiting a good first step in reacting to the movement of the puck. I was generally impressed with his positional play: alert, well-placed for puck support with the ability to close quickly on the conflict point when appropriate. A couple of decent short passes, one calm zone clearance effectively using the boards to advantage. Other than those lost faceoffs, nothing that stood out in a bad way, then again nothing remotely dangerous either. By one count, Oilers controlled possession by 6 shot attempts to 1, but actual shots on goal were literally 0-0 during those 5¼ ultra-low-event minutes.
In part due to the closeness of the game and also in response to the way Caps coach Spencer Carbery was deploying his own depth players, Oilers bench boss Kris Knoblauch kept his newest forward on a short leash. But in the process, another opportunity to gauge what it is the Oilers really have with Noah Philp also ticked away.
And that clock is indeed ticking. Surely the whole idea of the Oilers recalling Philp when they did was to find out what they had well in advance of the trade deadline. That’s when the window closes on the possibility of trading for a replacement 4C, if the current incumbent is not deemed up to the task.
It may well be that those dribs and drabs of ice time will themselves ultimately be a reflection of the coach’s opinion of the player. Hard to believe we have already reached that point. One might guess the player will get more time and opportunity to show what he can do as time goes on, especially on those occasions where the squad isn’t battling tooth and nail down the stretch of another one-goal contest. Trouble is, it’s been quite a while since there’s been even one game like that, never mind a run of them.
For now it’s a situation that bears watching. Will Philp earn more trust and more minutes in the days and weeks to come? Or are his contributions already being deemed not quite up to the task?
Stay tuned.
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