Oilers Projected Defensive Pairings Based on Captain's Skate
The Oilers' captain's skate may have painted a picture of their defensive pairings for 2023-24.
Yesterday, we discussed the Edmonton Oilers' projected forward lines based on last week's captain's skate. Now, for the second edition of this two-part series, let's dive into the defensive pairings that we saw during the practice.
Top Pairing: Nurse & Bouchard
During the captain's skate, we saw Darnell Nurse and Evan Bouchard link up on the top pairing. Nurse has been the team's number-one defenseman for multiple seasons, and that is expected to carry over to 2022-23. Meanwhile, Bouchard showed during the playoffs that he has elite potential, and he will be aiming to build off it in 2023-24.
If utilized during the regular season, this defensive pairing would be interesting to see. Both of these defensemen have the potential to put up at least 45-point campaigns this season. However, with Bouchard specifically being an offensive defenseman, I do wonder if the better fit would be continuing to pair him with the defensively responsible Mattias Ekholm. They worked beautifully together last season.
Second Pairing: Ekholm & Broberg
Speaking of Ekholm, we interestingly saw him work with young defenseman Philip Broberg. The 2023-24 season is a crucial one for Broberg, as the 2019 eighth-overall pick is looking to prove that he can reach his full potential. At this point in his career, he has yet to take that big step. Perhaps playing with a grizzled veteran like Ekholm could be the jolt he needs to do that.
Ekholm has shown since joining the Oilers that he can make the players around him perform better, so I like the idea of this potential pairing. We also should not overlook that they are both from Sweden. This added element could make Ekholm a great mentor for Broberg moving forward.
Third Pairing: Brett Kulak & Cody Ceci
Brett Kulak and Cody Ceci were seen working together as a possible third pairing. Truthfully, this duo has the potential to be a strong bottom pairing. Kulak's two-way game is underrated but quite effective. Meanwhile, Ceci might benefit from taking a smaller bottom-pairing role instead of playing top-four minutes.
Overall, this pairing would have the potential to provide reliable defensive play while the Oilers' top guns get their rest. Vincent Desharnais could also swap in occasionally on this pairing, but he will primarily serve as the club's seventh defenseman.
Nevertheless, we saw some interesting combos at the Oilers' captain's skate. We will need to wait and see if these end up being the pairings that they use on opening night from here.