The Edmonton Oilers defender is on the outside looking in.
The Edmonton Oilers defender is on the outside looking in.
EDMONTON -- It's good to have an extra.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ImX2XLHyjc[/embed]
Just in case.
This principle applies to many aspects of daily life, including hockey. That is why teams like the Edmonton Oilers (and others) have more players than they need for a game.
Extra, just in case.
After the first game of the 4 Nations Faceoff tournament, Team Canada received bad news: One of their defenders would miss some time.
Shea Theodore of the Vegas Golden Knights has been ruled out for the remainder of the tournament. This is terrible news for Theodore, who played just under seven minutes in Wednesday's game against Team Sweden.
However, this could present an opportunity for someone else.
Dallas Stars defender Thomas Harley is reportedly going to be an emergency replacement. Chris Johnston reports that the Stars' blueliner will be on standby in Boston.
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This is great news for Harley but bad news for the Oilers. It means that both Darnell Nurse and Evan Bouchard have been overlooked again.
Nurse and Bouchard each have unique skill sets that would be advantageous for Team Canada to have on its roster. Unfortunately, they are opting to do things differently.
Bouchard's being overlooked is a major misstep (in my opinion). While he is a high-event player, it's tough to believe that Team Canada's management passed up an opportunity to have Bouchard dish the puck up the ice to Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, and Mitch Marner.
Additionally, everyone knows about the famed "Bouch-bomb" and how lethal that shot is for the Oilers' powerplay. Yes, Team Canada already has Cale Makar, but having more defenders like him doesn't hurt.
Either way, Bouchard will take the time to relax and recover. But Team Canada really missed an opportunity here.
Hopefully, it doesn't come back to haunt them.
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