Do we know what Noah Philp’s NHL arc is yet?
Not really.
He’s had two call-ups from Bakersfield, getting three games in the early part of the Edmonton Oilers’ season and now he’s played eight more as part of his test drive as the Edmonton Oilers’ fourth-line centre to see if they recall Derek Ryan or have to make a trade there.
Against the Toronto Maple Leafs Saturday, he was a healthy scratch as Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch opted for left-shot winger Mattias Janmark in his spot.
Philp has looked like an NHL player on most shifts, a right-shot centre, which is exactly what the Oilers require in their bottom six. He’s a younger, bigger version of Ryan, who has cleared waivers and is now on the farm at 38 (a goal and an assist in two games there) because he’s 12 years younger and 20 pounds heavier.
But is he better, now?
The Oilers only have one right-shot centre on their roster — they’re overloaded with righties on the back-end — with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Adam Henrique and the sometimes Janmark.
They want to see if Philp has the goods to be a regular here, and contribute some offence, maybe also as a sometimes penalty-killer in a third forward pair.
Again, they may be looking for a veteran, older right-shot in a trade as they were with Sam Carrick last March and Nick Bjugstad before him.
“I like what I see from Noah’s game. He’s a big body, we like that he’s 26 and the size is nice and he’s a good skater. He’s shown he can play in the league, now it’s the next level. Not just playing but making an impact. That’s what he’s working on now,” said Oilers GM Stan Bowman.
“He’s young, but not that young (26). It’s the inexperience at the NHL level and we said that in training camp when he had a very good one. If he wasn’t going to play here (regularly) then we we wanted him to play (so sent to Bakersfield) and I think that’s where we are now.”
“If he’s going to stay in the lineup, we’ll keep him.”
Philp’s usage has been tied to how the game’s going. Philp has sometimes been a spectator in the third period of games if the Oilers are up and down a goal. When you’ve got McDavid and Draisaitl and you can double shift them, then Philp is the odd-man out.
Or, maybe they slide Janmark into Philp’s spot role for his defensive prowess. At Monday’s practice before the team flew to St. Louis, he was sharing the centre spot with Janmark and Connor Brown and Vasily Podkolzin were on the wings.
How do they know if Philp’s good enough if they don’t trust him late in games, even against teams like Detroit, who are fighting to make the playoffs in the East, not win the Stanley Cup? Or see him in a learning-moment match up against the Leafs when the coach defers to experience on his fourth-line?
Against Detroit, Thursday, he played three shifts in the third period, one less than five seconds.
In all, he played 7:26, just 12 shifts, three and a half fewer minutes than any other forward, with Janmark at 10:50. And against the Buffalo Sabres, the worst team in the Eastern Conference, he got 6:49.
Against the Washington Capitals, a yardstick game, less than six minutes.
Philp is around the action, and did set up Zach Hyman for a nice goal against Vancouver in the Jan. 23 blowout of the Canucks, his second NHL point.
But the small ice-time? Is this helping the Oilers decide if he stays here?
They’re batting that one around.
Needing more reps
“He didn’t play hockey last year and we’re trying to get him a lot of reps. Whether that’s AHL or NHL. We’re monitoring that. Yeah, we noticed last game (Detroit) he didn’t have as much (minutes),” said Bowman, who could send him back to the Oilers farm team in Bakersfield during the NHL break to get games in.
“That’s a good option for us.”
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch says he likes what he sees, but not that often, it seems.
Philp actually played more in his three-game look against Nashville, Calgary and New Jersey (Oct. 31-Nov. 4), averaging 10 minutes, than his last eight games (8:13). Now some of that is determined by power plays the Oilers get, cutting into Philp’s 5-on-5 time, but that’s not a whole lot to build a resume on. Or maybe it is.
On this current stretch of games, he’s only had two nights in double-figures, both against Vancouver.
“I think he’s giving us what we expected. We wanted a guy who adds some speed to our lineup, I think he’s great getting in on the forecheck, finishing hits. He’s strong, he’s been moving the puck up really well,” said Knoblauch.
“Once in the second period (against Detroit), it looked like he was checked about two or three times and he was still able to transport it all the way into their zone. Those plays are really important, that’s what we’re looking for. Not so good on the face-offs. But I think other than that, it was a really solid game from him.”
But against Toronto on Saturday, he sat.
And, those faceoffs? Fourth-line centres need to be good at those.
Ryan was a team high 60.3 per cent on 229 draws.
Right now, Philp is 41.7 per cent on 72 faceoffs. A rookie learning his way.
By way of comparison, Draisaitl and Henrique are an exemplary 54.9, with Draisaitl taking the most draws on the team, a whopping 896, exactly 300 more than the next highest guy Henrique. Nugent-Hopkins is 52.2 per cent (268 faceoffs), McDavid 47.7 per cent (522 draws), Janmark 44.3 per cent on 70 draws.
Bowman agrees that Philp needs to be better here but that’s a work in progress.
Ryan still an option
“He’s pretty good in the American League. It’s a step up here, players are better and that’s (better faceoff percentage) going to come with more experience. These guys (NHL) are the best in the world. Going up against them isn’t easy,” said Bowman.
They haven’t shut the door on Ryan, either.
Bowman said it was a tough conversation sending Ryan to the American League after he had last been there nine years ago when in the Carolina Hurricanes organization.
“I don’t know if this a permanent thing with Derek. We were honest with him. We told him we wanted to see where Noah was at. I told him we valued him (Ryan) as a player. He’s a great guy and an important part. He’s not gone and forgotten about. He’ll get another chance. We just don’t know when.”
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