The Edmonton Oilers may be tempted to attach the new Oiler to the hip of Connor McDavid, but there is another forward that could be a better winger for the captain.
The Edmonton Oilers may be tempted to attach the new Oiler to the hip of Connor McDavid, but there is another forward that could be a better winger for the captain.
Early in the off-season the Edmonton Oilers added veteran forward Connor Brown. While some speculate he could find himself on Connor McDavid's wing this season, there is another winger - who's been with the team for a few years - who should get an opportunity to line up next to the captain.
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Warren Foegele has spent two full seasons with the Oilers. He was originally brought over in a deal with the Carolina Hurricanes - with Ethan Bear the piece going the other way. He has tallied 26 and 28 points respectively, this past year achieving the feat in 15 less games played than the year previous.
Foegele lead all Oilers in dangerous fenwick for percentage (DFF%) with 58.9%. DFF% is the ratio of dangerous fenwick for and against. Each shot is given a danger value based on shot location, distance and type. In Foegele's case, the Oilers are able to get more dangerous shots on the opponent's net than dangerous shots allowed on their own net.
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This hasn't resulted in a flood of goals, but if he were to play with McDavid his opportunities would increase dramatically. In 2022-23 he only played 26 minutes on a line with McDavid and Zach Hyman. The line scored one goal, didn't have any goals scored against them while out shooting and out chancing their opposition while on the ice. That sample size is obviously too small to draw a significant conclusion - however Foegele spent a good amount of time playing with Leon Draisaitl. Looking at how he did with Draisaitl may give us a clearer picture of what Foegele could do with more ice time.
Playing on Draisaitl's wing this past season saw Foegele collect 7 of his 28 points. This is significant for two reasons - he only played 15% of his total time on ice for the year with Draisaitl, and that production represents 25% of what he accumulated during the season. If we prorate that production he experienced with Draisaitl over 50% of his total time on ice for the season, it would come out to 19 points. An additional 12 points on top of the 28 he already had in 2022-23 would have given him 40 points on the season. That would have been a career high, beating out his previous high of 30.
While his time with McDavid last year was minimal, his production alongside Draisaitl suggests he can produce when given the right deployment. He should at least be given the opportunity to prove how productive he can be with the team's best player.
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