Dylan Holloway came out of the gates flying for the Edmonton Oilers in training camp and the rookie tournament. He won a spot on the team and even showcased enough talent to start out on the second line. A rookie mistake caused a goal early in Game 1 and he hasn’t been the same since.
Holloway then got less ice time that game before suffering an injury in just the third game of the season. He returned to the lineup in the Oilers’ eighth game of the season, but in his absence, everything started to click with the new lines and the team is now on a three-game win streak. Holloway returned to the lineup and was slotted in on the fourth line. That’s not the place anyone likely envisioned him playing this season if he was on the Oilers, and there may not be a good spot for him until later.
The Oilers’ top nine has played very well in Holloway’s absence. They’ve been able to run an 11 forward, seven defencemen lineup, something familiar from last season when Jay Woodcroft first took over as head coach. It’s not good for the development of a young developing player like Holloway to receive fourth line minutes and no special teams time once entering the NHL. This is why I’m making the case that he should be sent down to play in the American Hockey League (AHL), not as a demotion, but for a combination of other reasons.
Oilers’ Top-9 Has Been Excellent in Holloway’s Absence
In the four games Holloway missed, the Oilers scored six goals in two of those games. They switched up lines and have a legitimate top nine that is a threat at both ends of the ice every shift. The top six has actually done more shuffling than the third line that has looked very good since being put together.
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Ryan McLeod didn’t need any confidence boost as he’s been great this season and appears to be on the verge of a breakout. However, Jesse Puljujarvi and Warren Foegele surely did need the boost. Foegele’s play has been rewarded this season with a promotion to the third line. That was the original place in the lineup the Oilers had hoped he could play in and he’s held onto the spot upon Holloway’s return. Puljujarvi was the other forward that needed to raise his confidence after a lackluster second half to last season. He just scored his first goal of the season, and even though the offence hasn’t come like it did at the start of last season, his play looks more sustainable and realistic.
The Oilers’ top six looks good regardless of where the players play, but the team has recently found two lines that have been very effective scoring goals these past few games and have resulted in wins. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is on pace for a career year alongside Connor McDavid with five goals and 11 points in eight games. A few seasons back, Nugent-Hopkins had his best season in the NHL on a line with McDavid, scoring 28 goals and 69 points. It wasn’t until McDavid got injured the following season that chemistry was formed with Leon Draisaitl, which kept Nugent-Hopkins on the second line until now.
Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman are thriving on the top line while Evander Kane is playing extremely well and has found chemistry with Draisaitl. Both can score goals and fans already knew Draisaitl is one of the best passers in the game, but Kane is showing his playmaking ability as of late and making key plays to set up goals. The most prominent was with 37 seconds left in the game against the Chicago Blackhawks with a feed through two defenders to set up the game-winning goal for Draisaitl.
It’s not long into the new formation of this top nine for the Oilers, but it has been great. None of the lines or players have given the coaching staff any reason to make a change, so it leaves Holloway stuck on the fourth line playing eight to nine minutes alongside Derek Ryan and Devin Shore.
It’s not as traditional, but the Oilers have often run 11 forwards and seven defencemen due to the inexperience of some members on the back end and the weaker play. During Holloway’s injury, the Oilers went right back to running 11 forwards and seven defence. The forward group has no problem with the extra minutes as it even benefits the Oilers by having players like McDavid and Draisaitl on the ice for a few more shifts per game. The defence also benefits by having different options and pairings while allowing Markus Niemelainen an easier entry into a full-time NHL role. On top of not needing a change from the successful format the Oilers have been running, it is bad for the development of Holloway to be sitting on the bench so much.
Bad for Development for a Prospect to Play Fourth-Line Minutes
The proposal is to send Holloway to the AHL for now. He does belong in the NHL, but the Oilers are very deep this season and there isn’t room in the top nine for him right now. Sometimes it’s unfortunate for some players how an opportunity can pass them by quickly with an injury or one bad play (from ‘OILERS NOTES: Holloway says he’s ready to go after hellacious hit,’ Edmonton Sun, Oct. 26, 2022). But rest assured, he will have a place in the top six eventually.
Instead of playing just over eight minutes a game on the fourth line with no special teams minutes, Holloway can be a top player in the AHL. He will most definitely be getting top power-play minutes on the Bakersfield Condors as well as potentially some more time killing penalties. With the injuries to some of the prospects such as Tyler Benson and Raphael Lavoie, the team could actually use him right now.
Holloway missed at least half a season of development when he got injured at the beginning of 2021-22. Despite looking good in training camp, that wasn’t against the best opponents from each team. The competition gets even harder when he’s matching up against other teams’ top players as well.
A bit more time in the AHL won’t hurt him at this point, it will only get him more confident in his abilities before he is called upon again. Injuries are bound to happen on the Oilers, so Holloway could realistically play many more games in the NHL than the AHL even if he is sent down soon. This way he receives the ice time no matter where he’s playing and the Oilers are better off in the short-term and long-term for it.
The Oilers are going to need to figure out a way to open up a permanent spot in the top nine at least for Holloway. That will likely involve moving one of their middle-six wingers in Puljujarvi, Foegele, or even Kailer Yamamoto. That decision doesn’t have to come right now as Holloway is inexperienced and those three are playing good hockey for the Oilers right now. But the decision will likely have to be made by next season since the Oilers’ rookie will have to have made the jump to the NHL full-time by then.
