Taylor or Tyler?
That was the question that swirled around this year’s NHL Entry Draft as the two top prospects were equally worthy of going to Edmonton as the first overall pick.
Taylor Hall won out over Tyler Seguin, the latter going to Boston.
Shortly after putting on the sweaters of their new NHL clubs, both Tyler and Taylor talked about wanting to be a contributor this year, their hopes for a good season and their desire to make the team out of camp.
That they would be on the opening night roster of their respective clubs, even on draft day, was all but certain.
However, staying on that roster for the rest of the season wasn’t as sure a thing.
NHL teams are allowed to play a first-year, junior-eligible player a maximum of nine games, and still return that player to his previous junior team.
The idea being that the NHL team should pretty much know what they have on their hands after nine games in the big league to the extent that they will be able to decide whether or not that player is truly ready for the NHL.
Looking at Tyler Seguin’s performance to date in Boston, it seems as if the 18-year-old Ontario-native has earned a spot on the roster in Beantown.
In six games, Seguin has posted a goal and two assists along with a minus-two rating. Additionally, he is winning 48.4 percent of his face-offs. By comparison, Boston’s top center, Patrice Bergeron, is winning 50 percent of his draws.
These aren’t bad numbers for a boy playing in a man’s league for the first time in his life.
Seguin has been playing on the third line with veteran Mark Recchi, a player he met and bonded with even before the draft while visiting Boston to interview with the Bruins.
Having a player like Recchi (who, at 42, is old enough to be Seguin’s father) take Seguin under his wing is a rare honor for a first-year player and has certainly assisted Seguin’s transition into the NHL.
Provided he remains on the roster, Seguin will play his ninth game in the NHL on Wednesday, Nov. 3 against Buffalo.
While it could be the last time he touches NHL ice this season (once returned to juniors, a junior-eligible player cannot be called back in the same season), all the early indicators suggest Seguin will remain with the big club.
In Taylor Hall’s case, the situation isn’t as clear-cut.
On top of the pressures that all first-overall picks feel as a result of that status, Taylor Hall has the additional honor (or burden, as the case may be) of carrying the future of a franchise on his shoulders.
Since their run to Game 7 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals, the Edmonton Oilers have floundered among the bottom of the NHL standings.
As they continued their rebuilding efforts, the team wanted a player around which to create an identity and believe they found it in Taylor Hall.
In addition to being an outstanding hockey player, Hall has the maturity and leadership potential to warrant such distinction.
In fact, team president and five-time Stanley Cup winner Kevin Lowe bequeathed his famous No. 4 jersey to Hall prior to the season, further instilling the club’s hope and confidence in the young player.
Be it the weight of that number on his back or simply first-year jitters, Hall hasn’t exactly impressed through his first seven games in Edmonton.
He has just a single assist and a minus-four rating to date, and, despite playing an average of 17 minutes per game, has registered only 13 shots on goal.
Another factor that could play a part in Hall’s early struggles is a lack of the kind of support that has assisted Seguin’s development.
Unlike Boston, Edmonton is devoid of the likes of a Mark Recchi, a successful, well-traveled veteran who knows the game inside and out.
Indeed, Edmonton is a young, relatively inexperienced club, and in Hall, is looking for a young player to emerge into a superstar.
That’s a tough thing to do when playing with teammates who are largely trying to make a name for themselves as well.
The Oilers have until Friday, when they face the Chicago Blackhawks on the road, to decide if Hall will remain in the NHL or be sent back to the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL.
Regardless of Hall’s early season struggles, he’s likely to remain with the Oil, if only out of hope that he’ll soon transform into the dominant player Edmonton so desperately wants him to be.
Will Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin remain in the NHL? Most likely, yes.
However, while Seguin seems to have earned a spot in Boston with his play, it is the hope the Oilers have in Hall that will likely keep him in Edmonton.
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