Teubert should be a fan favorite of Oiler fans for the next decade. Seriously.
The only problem is that he has to make the team. Not an easy task, in that the Oilers have a bunch of youngsters coming along at the same time.
The burning question I have about Colten Teubert: can he play hockey well enough to be an NHL regular?
OKC Prediction for 11-12: 70gp, 2-12-14 (.200)
NHL Prediction for 11-12: 4, 0-0-0 (.000)
- You're an ass. Oiler fans can appreciate finesse defensemen. Hmmm. The average Oiler fan would trade you Tom Gilbert for Jason Smith straight up and Smith has been retired for two years.
- Okay, name the blue in front of Teubert. In terms of style, Teubert is a stay-at-home. The men blocking him (he's a RH) are all left-handed: Andy Sutton, Ladislav Smid and Theo Peckham. From what I can tell there are no right handed defensive defenseman in his way.
- Cool. What has to happen in order for him to break TC with the team? Injury. I don't see any other way and it's probably two injuries.
- Who are the RH defensemen ahead of him? Right side is probably Gilbert, Barker and Petry. That would be my guess, with LH being Whitney, Smid, Peckham and Sutton (who may be able to play right side). Barker is a lefty but the Oilers are set up like the 1979 Expos (only opposite).
- That doesn't seem too much to handle. Well, I don't think he makes it this fall, and then there's Taylor Chorney and Corey Potter to consider. Teubert also has issues at the AHL level--he's certainly ahead of Alex Plante based on the fact the Oilers went out and paid a big price to get Teubert. However, an NHL job is not assured. He needs to develop over more AHL sorties.
- Is he on track? We'll see. There's always going to be a segment of the Oiler fanbase that buries him because he came over for Penner, and Teubert isn't the sort of prospect who is going to post big boxcars. So I think we'll have to rely on callups and plus minus and how much they play him on the PK. Coach's comments, that kind of thing.
- What will he be when he gets here? His AHL coach with the Kings (Mark Morris) said "he is an old school defenceman in my books; the type of guy that everybody will appreciate over the course of time. He's not going to wow you in the beginning, but I think over time he will prove that he is a force to be reckoned with and he can be a reliable, dependable defender."
- For a math blog there isn't much here. Well, it's getting better and there are blogs moving the conversation forward for minor leagues. Those C&B boys and girls are doing some fine things in terms of qualcomp and we're getting there. Roger Neilson left a roadmap, and the bright pupils are mining the numbers. We're farther along than the Chris Hajt era and that's for sure.
- Do you think he'll have a career? He has a real chance. The Oilers are devoted to him in a big way and the depth chart has similar player types who could be offloaded if he develops. Behind him is only Alex Plante (among DD) and the guy has an intimidation factor that borders on crazy.
- What will he look like when he gets here? At the time of the trade, LAK GM Dean Lombardi said "I would say that he started off a little slowly, coming out of his draft year, but he arguably was one of our most improved players down there. I think, probably, the one reason I was able to do this is because we have Matt Greene. What I saw in Manchester was very much, in a lot of ways, a young Matt Greene. So I think Edmonton has got a good player here. He certainly has an m.o. that’s attractive. I think he’s still got some development to do, but there was no question that, with what I saw in Manchester, that he’s on the right track. Like I said, if I didn’t have Matt Greene on this team — and hopefully Greener is going to be here a while — this is something that I would have looked a little more hesitantly at.”
- So he's Matt Greene? From that family.
I'm really looking forward to seeing what Colten Teubert does this upcoming season. He's a player type the Oilers sorely lack and I think he's got tremendous upside. Seemed like a fairly personable guy from the vids I saw of development camp.
ReplyDeleteSmid with balls
ReplyDeletePeckham-Teubert is going to be a beauty pairing for a long time IMO. Imagine getting that matchup in a 7-game series. By Game 3 the mere mention of the word "corners" would send you into fits.
ReplyDeleteThe paring's true effectiveness will be determined by how responsible defensively they can play. If they can hold their head above water against pretty good competition and do solid work on the PK, then you've really got a good combination on your hands. As Steve MacIntyre has proven, your toughness is only valuable if you can play the game well enough to use it. That would be a very scary shutdown pair indeed.
Smid with balls
ReplyDeleteUm, Smid's got balls. I sometimes think he's got a second pair where his brain should be, actually.
Tuebert is 21 and has this year and next before he needs to clear waivers.
ReplyDeleteGiven the type of game he will need to play (shut down coverage guy), the more time in the minors the better.
He had that mis-diagnosed wrist injury thorough last summer and the early part of last season (go figure eh Lombardi?). That no doubt hampered him.
I am hoping for big things. If he can stay healthy he could be a decent 3/4 from the Jason Smith/ Steve Staios/ Lee Fogolin/ Matt Green tree.
If he can avoid defensive breakdowns he will be a fan favorite for a long time.
Um, Smid's got balls. I sometimes think he's got a second pair where his brain should be, actually.
ReplyDeleteHe has balls. He just doesn't know how to use them.
Sutton won't be here longer than the year remaining on his contract. If Teubert shows well in the AHL this year, I think he'll step into Sutton's resident defensive asshole role in 12-13.
ReplyDeleteAt the time of the trade, LAK GM Dean Lombardi said "I would say that he started off a little slowly...
ReplyDeleteMaybe he started slowly because of that scaphoid injury your organization misdiagnosed, eh, Dean?
Asshole.
Teubert should be a fan favorite of Oiler fans for the next decade. Seriously.
ReplyDeleteThe only problem is that he has to make the team.
LT, that's just priceless! I'm sending you another dry cleaning bill. :p Way to ruin my morning coffee yet again!!!
It was the way fans run talented non-contact D-men out of town that originally started me thinking that GM performance is about a lot more than the GM himself, and the possibility that the fans are a driving force in setting a GM up for failure. And I mean this in general terms, not just for world class cities where everyone is proud to confess "we're all assholes here, but we can afford it".
ReplyDeleteA certain legacy segment of the Oiler fan base works it out this way: "we haven't got that kind of coin or cachet, but we'll beat you crapless for mentioning it".
Hmmm. The average Oiler fan would trade you Tom Gilbert for Jason Smith straight up and Smith has been retired for two years.
Dead straight.
Speaking of world class wannabees, I remember hearing that famous Frum/Ballard interview in my high-school years. Around the same time she's on Nelson Mandela's short list for an exclusive interview upon his release after 27 years in prison. The contrast was blinding.
I learned you can't please everybody all the time. A lot of people out there would trade Nelson Mandela for Harold Ballard straight up, back when Nelson was still alive and Harold was decomposing. The problem is that not all asshole genes are created equal. From his general demeanor, I suspect Harold suffered vascular distress; the sun never set on Mr Puck until after the prolapse.
As a fan there's nothing more satisfying than knowing your opponent is going to "pay the price" that sends lesser men scampering back to the KHL. Unfortunately, that phrase is actually a misnomer: there are two prices, if you count the one on the board as well as the one in the box; you need sand-paper *and* some sniper sights. After you intimidate your opponent senseless, you still have to get the puck up the ice to score some goals.
For one golden year we had both in one package, then the asshole gene kicked back like a rusty chainsaw.
Sad reality: Some assholes are assholes.
Teubert puts me in mind of one of the less angelic covers of "Swing Low".
ReplyDeleteThere are two camps about the current state of the Oiler franchise. One is hopeful about the "carry me home" part, the other never gets past "Swing Lowe".
It all rests on the broad shoulders of our dark saviour. Or not.
RadioHead:
I jumped in the river and what did I see?
Black-eyed angels swam with me
Courtney Love:
Swing low, sweet cherry,
Make it awful
Mark Knopfler:
And my long black Cadillac
Coming for to carry me home
As a crusty old classicist, I recognized Knopfler's name immediately, but all I recall about Love was the tragedy of a man who took the 1994 baseball strike way too seriously.
am i just high, or does anyone know what the heck he's talking about??
ReplyDeleteWhat I saw in Manchester was very much, in a lot of ways, a young Matt Greene.
ReplyDeleteOh, god. Don't make me suffer through that development process again. Trade or sign these guys. Don't devote years to building them only to trade them away when they are just starting to get useful.
...but all I recall about Love was the tragedy of a man who took the 1994 baseball strike way too seriously.
Ha!
Greene entered the NHL in 05/06, the fourth season after being drafted in 2002. He split the year between Edmonton and Iowa of the AHL, but established himself as an NHL regular the following season at age 23.
ReplyDeleteTeubert was drafted in 2008 and has since played two years of junior and one year in the AHL. He's a virtual lock to spend the majority of the season back in OKC, perhaps with a few NHL appearances sprinkled throughout.
That brings us to 12/13, an admittedly difficult time to talk about from this far out. By that time Teubert will likely be a real contender for an NHL position, but even if he fails to win a spot, he does not have to clear waivers. If back in the AHL, he would have to be considered among the top options for callups.
That's a lot of seasoning in the minors that Greene never had. He adjusted to the pro game mostly at the NHL level. As a result, I imagine that Teubert's adjustment period won't be as lengthy or as painful as Greene's was. Look at how a guy like Theo Peckham was able to step in after three seasons on the farm. The AHL does a very good job of turning Theo Peckham's and Colten Teubert's into useful NHL players.
To be clear, Greene spent the three years after being drafted at North Dakota of the NCAA.
ReplyDeleteI hope 'Tubes' makes the team.
ReplyDeleteWe traded 'Penner' for him.
He better make the fucking team. Tambellini.