The Chicago Blackhawks gave up an underrated and talented young defenseman in the Taylor Hall trade with the Boston Bruins. Alec Regula has developed nicely and is now proving to be a future NHL talent, maybe as soon as this season with his new team, the Edmonton Oilers.
At 20-22 years old, the Blackhawks did give him a shot in the NHL, playing a total of 22 games, but he was too young and undeveloped. He has taken the time and now really showed up to the Oilers' training camp, vying hard for a spot on the opening night roster.
Plenty of people watching Regula during the preseason are raving about him and he has a chance to be the seventh defenseman for the Oilers to begin the season.
The Oilers' right side is weaker with Evan Bouchard on the top pairing, but only Ty Emberson and potentially Troy Stecher in the mix. The latter may have played 66 games for the Oilers last season, but there is a clear direction that Edmonton is going, and that's younger. Regula is only 25 years old while Stecher is 31.
Regula didn't even play a hockey game last season, so what he's doing is even more impressive. He has outlasted Josh Brown already in the Oilers' camp. He is described as having a lot of safe skill, which is only positive.
When asked how he can contribute to the Oilers' lineup, Regular answered, "I think I can help the team move the puck. Get the puck into the hands of the special players they have so they can make a lot of plays." This is exactly what a team like the Oilers need, even if it is just someone coming into the lineup sometimes.
Regula has really impressed in training camp so far and Oilers' insider Bob Stauffer even included Regula on the list of players he can see on Edmonton's opening night roster, highlighting internal growth and development.
It was the right move to trade Regula at the time the Blackhawks did to get a player like Hall after a strong showing with the Boston Bruins. The team didn't need Regula at that time and still don't with how much talent and players fighting for spots on the defense there is in Chicago. Moving on from players who eventually start to come into their own is what happens when there are plenty of talented players drafted and developed and not enough space.
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