Last I checked, Andrew Cogliano was third in NHL scoring among rookies. 21gp, 4-9-13, Even.
12:18 at EVs, 3:40 on the PP, and 2:00 on the PK, 17:58 overall tonight, -1. This compares to his first NHL game when he played 10:35 at EVs, 3:54 on the PP and didn't see any time on the penalty kill.
Cogliano made so many good to great plays 8 miles from the Vancouver net that frankly I'm a little in awe. Earlier this fall I said he was Butch Goring, but you know that's a little bit of "he reminds me" married to a whole lotta hope. It's time we establish the Oilers are onto something here.
Folks, he's 20. Fast as lightning, has some jam and some skill too, plus a brain in his head and a desire to win. They can shove the Calder, the NHL doesn't give awards to the hinterland anymore, but this kid is ours.
And he's from Toronto. A real-life Dave Keon born in the shadow of Harold Ballard's big fat mouth and the Oilers drafted him.
I'm a little giddy.
He's like mini-Horcoff except I think his hands (especially at speed) are a bit better.
ReplyDeleteSomeone force him to take 500 face-offs a day. ;p
Nice game from Cogs after a few rough ones.
ReplyDeleteHe's definitely a gamer at all times though. You have to like the fact that he's always willing to stick his nose in there.
Agreed with RiversQ - the guy just doesn't seem to quit and get his nose dirty. Furthest thing away from a soft hockey player.
ReplyDeleteOn the flip side, Nilsson is reverting back to his old, inconsistent play.
Meanwhile, O'Marra is 8th in team scoring in Stockton (ECHL).
Hey, at least we have Plante, and rumours are floating that Lou (Devils GM) wants him.
Thinking back over the game, Nilsson was in the general area where offense occurs with possession and options several time.
ReplyDeleteI don't recall one outstanding scoring opp. from any of them.
"Thinking back over the game, Nilsson was in the general area where offense occurs with possession and options several time.
ReplyDeleteI don't recall one outstanding scoring opp. from any of them."
12 - 10 - 83 hemmed in the vancouver defense for close to two minutes with a great cycle, which led directly to the reasoner goal as mitchell and edler were out there for the whole shift
Nilsson being exactly as advertised: looks good when on, terrible when off. Until he finds any consistency he's a tweener, assuming he ever finds it.
ReplyDeleteAs for Cogliano, I remember when Toronto passed on him at the draft MacKenzie was saying they would regret it. Looks like the kid from Toronto is proving MacKenzie right. He really does look great. He struggled pretty badly in the pre-season at times, but he's getting better every week.
Then again, they got a good one in Rask too. Good thing they didn't piss him away like they do with all their blue chip prospects. Oh wait...
RE: Bob McKenzie - his son played on the same team as Cogliano. Not saying anything...but just saying.
ReplyDeleteI recall he used to post on HF back in the day too - he'd always pipe every so often to mention Cogliano is a player.
It was a good pick.
Who is better though? TJ Oshie or Cogs?
As for Cogliano, I remember when Toronto passed on him at the draft MacKenzie was saying they would regret it.
ReplyDeleteI think the Oilers are really ahead of the curve when it comes to drafting players out of Junior A.
In recent years it seems like some of the biggest steals of the late first round are coming out of junior A. Zajac, Cogliano, and then you have some very nice looking picks like Oshie, Riley Nash, Chorney(2nd), Raymond (2nd).
Heck with the way Turris is destroying the NCAA it looks like he perhaps could have went first overall.
It seems like teams are wary of drafting out of Junior A or don't have the resouces to scout those games, or both.
Whatever the reasons, it looks like the Oilers are really taking advantage of being in on the ground floor of the movement.
Between Oshie and Cogliano it's hard to say, at least not for a few years anyway. Then again he wasn't available when the Oilers drafted so we can't really lament not getting him.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Plante, I've only seen him in one game (apparently, he's played two) all year. His back must be some kind of buggered.
ReplyDeleteive been trying to find out what the deal is with plante for a couple weeks now, and havent heard anything really.... but yeah, his back must be buggered pretty good if hes been out this long
ReplyDeleteo'marra has been nothing short of a MASSIVE, MASSIVE dissapointment.... nilsson is about the player i thought he would be, so i cant say im dissapointed with him.... it sure is looking like that smyth trade is hinging on the plante pick working out though.... but if the rumors about lou are true, then we might just have somebody (plus lowe does seem to have a nose for finding dmen)
Though its still pretty early, I would take Cogs over Oshie. I see Oshie play a lot and I don't think he thinks the game nearly as well as Cogliano.
ReplyDeleteHe is also prone to bad penalties and seems to only have one move in the offensive zone.
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ReplyDeleteI really like Nilsson as a player and I think he will be really good in this league. But it will also take alot more time before it will happen.
ReplyDeletePersonally I feel he could have a development curve like Markus Näslund, a guy that was ahead of Pter Forsberg at senior level until age 20 but after that struggled alot until finding that game in the late 20's.
You can say the same things about the Sedin twins, it wasn't until the 5th year they took the play to the next level.
Unlike canadian player swedish players has a tendency to mature a lot later but can and will the Oilers have the patiance thats needed.
You know as crappy as this team has been this year, we are still sitting only 4 points behind Calgary. Thats in large part due to Calgary's early shittiness but it gives me a bit of perspective. I think that if we get some bodies back from injury we should escape the shame of a bottom five finish. I can see players like Cogs & Gilbert only getting better as the year goes along which fills me with some hope.
ReplyDeleteCogliano is a lot stronger on the puck than I had anticipated, he's not a big guy but he drives the net and protects the puck very well. There are shifts where he and 89 look like a poor mans 10-83out there. Offensivly he thinks the game well and has better hands than advertised.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of the Calder I know it basically goes to the rookie with most points so he has no chance to win it but name the last oiler to have a rookie season as good as Tom Gilberts?
ReplyDeleteAs for Cogliano, I remember when Toronto passed on him at the draft MacKenzie was saying they would regret it. Looks like the kid from Toronto is proving MacKenzie right.
Jon, I remember Don Cherry spent half of one his coach's corner glowing over Cogliano and ripping into the stupidity of the Leafs around the same time.
Then Cherry complained about the shortness of his segment.
Wait, that's every Coach's Corner...
Not much not to like about Cogliano: his speed is a real weapon, he seems to think the game at a similar high speed, and he's already shown capability on both special teams.
ReplyDeleteIn some respects he reminds me of the young Todd Marchant who made an immediate impact on the club at 21 with his speed and smarts. The Rooster (??) would appear to have a much greater upside in the offensive zone, and looks to be a primo two-way pivot for years to come.
Very encouraging (from his perspective, not necessarily others') that Cogliano leads the Oilers in P/60 at 2.60. (Horcoff 2.35, Hemsky 2.32, all others <2). That's unadjusted for special teams of course, and a guy like Hemsky with 85 minutes of PP TOI vs. <2 minutes of SH TOI should be expected to have a huge edge in gross PP/60. So let's have a further look at just those three guys (ES, PP, and SH P/60):
Cogliano: 2.03, 4.41, 5.24 (!)
Horcoff: 2.70, 2.80, 0.00
Hemsky: 2.00, 3.55, 0.00
Good thing Hemsky's been delivering the goods in the shootouts, cuz the rook has been eating his lunch in all three productivity categories.
I say give the kid more ice time. A lot more ice time.
Bruce, that "Rooster" thing wouldn't happen to be a John Wayne reference, would it?
ReplyDeleteNo idea, I just saw it in the paper this morning, and it sounded like a cut above the usual "Cogs". A real, actual nickname. A reference to his hair or something?
ReplyDeleteRooster Cogburn's an old Wayne movie. I haven't watched it but I know the title.
ReplyDeleteit's time for 13 to take 12's place in the top six and to shelter 89 on the 4th line and give him spot duty in the top three lines and some second unit PP duty. in '08, 13 is the kid horse that you want to bet on. It's interesting that while macT's given pushes to both 12 and 89, 13 hasn't gotten the nod yet. I'm looking forward to when he does, though, because he might have something to show us.
Hopefully, it happens soon because this 13-89 combo is bad for both of them. Coaches are dying to exploit that.
One other thing I was looking at today, any idea why Nilsson got the push with TOI and quality of linemates that Pouliot never did? I'd have a better idea of what we had in 78 if he'd gotten treatment such as that given recently to 12.
I agree with all of your conclusions, Dennis. I was going to mention that while having the two rookie pros on one line will hopefully develop some future chemistry, in the present it is often a mismatch. It is to Cogliano's credit that he is putting up the points, and NOT putting up the minuses, suggesting he is not the one who needs sheltering.
ReplyDeleteCan only speculate as to why Nilsson is getting chances that Pouliot and Cogliano did/are not. Maybe it's that Row-bear is thought of as first-last-and-always an offensive player who needs to be on a Top Two line to produce, whereas the others are more versatile and can handle a two-way and/or defensive role? Or that Lowe needs Row-bear to start scoring to take the heat off the Smyth trade ... which frankly seems worse by the week, judging from the discouraging words on O'Marra and Plante and the latest disappearance of Magic Jr.
It is important to remember that almost all of our wingers are young: Torres 26; Penner 25; Hemsky 24; Brodziak 23; Nilsson, Pouliot, Jacques and (lest we forget) Stortini all 22, Schremp 21. As Torres, the old man in that group, is conclusively proving, consistency is an elusive attribute, so it shouldn't be too surprising when the 12s and 78s of the world are all over the performance map. They all have their nights of invisibility, and other nights we wish they were. It is to Cogliano's credit that at 20 he has had very few such performances to date; he seems to do something positive that catches my eye a few times every game. It's a long season, but at the quarter-pole he appears to be getting stronger.
I think Pouliot frustrated the Oilers with his inability to put the puck in the net. There's no doubt he's had poor linemates this spring and fall in the NHL but his ppg is poor even understanding there's a difference in the quality of pitching.
ReplyDeletePouliot is my favorite Oilers prospect between Hemsky and Cogliano (02-05), with Stoll being a 2000 draft, but he hasn't delivered.
Suspect he will in a new town.
Dennis: show up to camp fit. It a simple pre season test to earn the teams favor. Show you worked you a** off then you get rewarded. Pouliot has generated the kind of opportunities he deserves.
ReplyDeleteAs a teammate of anyone I ever played with I could accept less talent over lack of fitness and effort. Unless the talent was to sick to deny then you just rode them for having it easy.
Pouliot sure does not fit the last option.
You know, I wonder just how long the Oilers can keep Thor in the A? He had another two goals tonight and now has 11 in 19 games and he's +7 to boot. He didn't set the world on fire last year and he had just about the longest scoring drought in history, but he did finish 21/24 in terms of EV scoring and right now we need people in our bottom six who can keep their heads near sea level.
ReplyDeleteCurrently, that doesn't include guys like Sanderson and Gagner.
MacT mentioned Thor last week during one of the post gameday skate scrums so he looks to be on the radar.
I was so looking forward to following Cogliano (and wondering what Gagner would be like) and I haven't been disappointed. I've been quite impressed in fact, with them both.
ReplyDeleteOf course I will be hoping for another good game tomorrow but I'm really looking forward to watching the Chicago game on Saturday with their ol' teammates coming to town.
Hi LT - been travelling so have not been around much.
ReplyDeleteWe both liked Cogs a lot from the get go and I'm not surprised about your comments on his play away from the puck. Still remember him in his first WJC as an 18 year old - his defensive awareness was outstanding and obvious even then - he's just so fast and so smart and the combination is killer.
As for MAP - damn the Oilers are funny about developing kids - either you are favored or you are not - and few guys seem to change camps. Who knows what happens to him as his time in EDM seems about up.
Well, in discussing his last demotion, MacT wondered aloud whether he'd played 78 with the right kind of linemates. So, maybe he'll get the Nilsson treatment if he happens to get another call.
ReplyDeleteOn Cogs, no, you probably don't have to shelter him as long as you don't play him with Gagner. Gagner's EV death at this point. The guy has try and guts in him and will try and block the odd shot, but he's also weak as a kitten and is prone to the occasional blind pass to boot.
It's hard to argue that the Oilers aren't hurting '08 by letting Gagner play in Thor's place. The other side, of course, is you wonder if 89's learning enough in '08 failure as to accelerate possible '09 success.
Let's hope so.
Cogs in Michael Peca on 10
ReplyDeleteSorry, meant to say Cogs is Peca ON 10.
ReplyDelete