Q&A: Woodcroft on Benson’s ‘gift,’ the next step for Bouchard and acting like a proud parent watching the Oilers

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The record isn’t what Jay Woodcroft wants, but he’s hardly fretting. After all, there are some mitigating factors when it comes to the slow start for the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors.

They’ve played without their starting goalie for almost the entire campaign, plus ailments on their team (currently Kailer Yamamoto and Cooper Marody) and with the parent Oilers has resulted in a patchwork roster.

Although winning seven of 15 games can be classified as treading water at best, Woodcroft has found other reasons to be pleased.

“What I really like about our group is you can see it coming together,” the head coach said.

Mediocre victory-to-defeat ratio aside, there’s another thing that uplifts the coach.

The AHL is a developmental league, primarily in existence to supply the big club with talent. Ethan Bear, Patrick Russell and – as of last week – Caleb Jones are all players who played exclusively or predominantly with the Condors last season and are now making an impact in Edmonton.

That list is expected to grow for the Oilers, perhaps sooner than later. The NHL team particularly lacks depth and scoring options up front and there’s a slew of prominent prospects in Bakersfield.

Woodcroft spoke to The Athletic after a Condors’ practice about his team, the young skaters with NHL potential and the joy he feels when seeing his former players help the Oilers.

Note: This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

You’re 7-7-1 through 15 games. What are your thoughts on the season so far?

We’ve left some points on the table. We’ve played some good games and found ways to not win them. Early in the season, we severely out-chanced, outshot (opponents) but found a way to make a critical error and it ended up where we didn’t get the points that we wanted.

There’s been a lot of flux within our entire organization – players moving up and down. There have been a lot of injuries, not only in the NHL but at the American Hockey League level here as well. Shane Starrett who was an AHL All-Star last year has been out since the third game of the season. That’s a big one for us to absorb. We’ve had key injuries to some key people up front and as well on the back end. It’s been a year where we haven’t dressed the same lineup at any point. It’s been a different lineup every night.

We’re figuring out what we are. We’re trying to play towards our identity of being a hard-working group, a group that values sacrifice and ultimately executes. That’s what we’re looking to do.

How much has Shane Starrett being out early with a groin injury impacted your overall record?

(Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports)

Well, he’s an AHL All-Star goaltender. Any time that he’s not in your lineup, you’re not as good of a team without him being an option for you.

That said, what an opportunity it is for our two young goaltenders to come in and grow their personal games. We’re quite comfortable with both of them. Stuart Skinner has seized the net here over the last little bit. He’s finding ways to win games under tough circumstances.

The way both of our young goalies were handled last year – where they both had time in the East Coast league, both had time in the American Hockey league – that led us to have trust in them. Knowing what they bring to the table every day, they’ve gone through the process of trying to establish themselves as American Hockey League full-time goaltenders. We felt good enough about both those guys last year to put them in playoff games.

This year, we’re looking for them to continue to grow and take steps in their personal games to establish themselves as everyday, all-the-time American Hockey League goaltenders. They have that opportunity because of Shane’s injury.

It sounds like Starrett is getting close to returning though.

Yeah. He should be back pretty soon here.

But probably not by the next game Thursday, right?

We’ll see. He’s been out here practising. He’s diligently working at getting better. When he’s ready, he’s ready. I worry about the guys that are available right now.

Tyler Benson was a guy who was thought to have a real chance to make the Oilers. He didn’t. How has he overcome that disappointment to carry on in his second pro year?

Any human being would be naturally disappointed of falling short of their personal goal. That’s why he’s here. He wants to be in the National Hockey League.

What I like about Tyler is his attitude and work ethic. His gift is his work ethic. The puck hasn’t gone in the net at the rate that he’s wanted it to early in the year. But he’s worked his way through that. He’s one of our leading scorers. He’s finding a way to contribute and help our team win.

He’s the epitome of what we’re all about here in Bakersfield – and in Edmonton. We want players to have to earn the jersey. Nothing’s going to be given to anybody. It’s earned, not given. We proved that as a coaching staff with our group last year. That’s gonna make Tyler and some of our other prospects better in the long run.

Kailer Yamamoto has had his share injuries lately. You even said he’s banged up right now from the previous game. (Yamamoto didn’t practice on Tuesday.) Is not being able to stay healthy the main thing holding him back?

Kailer is a great asset for us in the organization. He’s attacked every day with an energy and a mindset to get better. His skill is obvious. I’ve been really impressed with his persistence, his stick-to-itiveness, his willingness to get in there and battle versus bigger and physically stronger people. Him finding a way to play inside them, to win pucks, to not be deterred by physicality – I’ve been really impressed with him this year.

He started off the year gangbusters offensively. Has slowed a little bit on the production side of things but has been all over the chances. It’s that old saying where you worry if you don’t get the chances.

He works hard in the gym. He’s trying to be as strong as he can. He’s taking care of himself in practice. He’s taking care of himself off the ice. He’s doing what he needs to do to try and become an every-day NHL hockey player. He’s shown that he can make that league.

For him to go through hiccups here production-wise or small hiccups in his personal game, this is why he’s here – to figure it out – so that when he gets to the highest level, he has something to draw on.

I know Cooper Marody’s out with a lower-body injury right now, but he was very productive last year. What does he need to do to make the next level?

(Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports)

He’s continuing to work at his 200-foot game. Cooper’s very skilled, especially, at the American Hockey League level. He’s put up numbers. You can’t deny that.

But for him to get to that the next level, he may have to start in a top-nine role, whereas down here he’s playing in the top three or the top six. It’s the ability to earn his teammates’ and his coaching staff’s trust to be put in situations where if he has to defend top players at the NHL level he can. He’s learning that at his level.

Learning how to defend big, strong people down low – small details that centremen need to understand and perform on a daily basis, they have to be automatic. We know that if he can get that down, he does have skill. He can finish (chances). But he’s gotta make sure that he’s being put in those situations.

The way you gain that type of ice time is to and earn that type of trust is being able to do it every day, all day. It’s about coaches and teammates knowing that they’re going to get.

There’s a real need for a third-line centre in Edmonton. Do you think he can seize that role if he can round out his game?

What I would say is that’s in front of him in his line of sight right now is trying to be the best American Hockey League player he can be and trying to develop the skills where, should that opportunity arise, he’ll be ready for it. This is part of the process of why they’re in the American Hockey League.

Our job as a coaching staff down here is to make sure we’re engraining details, engraining habits and holding players accountable with ice time and that sort of thing to make sure that when they do get to Tipp (Oilers coach Dave Tippett) and his staff that those things are automatic.

William Lagesson has had two stints with the Oilers this season and hasn’t gotten into any games. Has it been challenging when he’s been back here to get him going?

It’s been a start-and-stop season for him. He’s worried about what he can control and what he can control is his work ethic, his professionalism, his attention to detail. He fits our team down here like a glove. Any time he’s with us, he makes us a better team. He’s an absolute warrior on the back end. He’s someone who has the trust of the coaching staff. You know what you’re getting every time William Lagesson plays in a game or comes to practice.

There are three rookies here that Oilers fans are really interested in – Evan Bouchard, Dmitri Samorukov and Ryan McLeod. What have you seen from those three players in their first AHL seasons?

(Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images)

Well, first of all, I’d add (Kirill) Maksimov in that group, too. He’s an important player for our organization.

With Bouchard, his natural gifts are obvious to the eye. He makes a great first pass. He has a low panic point with the puck. His ability to get his shots through is a gift. Those are great things.

He’s in the American League to continue to grow his defensive side of the game. That takes the form of how quickly he sprints back to pucks to break them out. It takes the form of how detailed he is with his net play. How physical he is around our blue paint. It’s learning the consistency of doing that day in and day out against grown men.

He’s played a lot. He’s had a lot of good parts to his game that are showing up – and then there are some learning moments for him, too. That’s all part of the process. We’re enjoying working with him because this guy comes to the rink with a fantastic attitude. He’s giving himself every opportunity to succeed.

Samorukov is another player where there are a lot of good parts to his game. He’s an enjoyable person to be around. He’s very much endeared himself to his teammates.

What I didn’t realize about him was how adept he is in the offensive zone. He has a good shot. He picks his spots for when to jump into the cycle. He’s been working at details of his game such as his rush reads, his detail around his net, understanding the opponent and who you’re on the ice against and what their capabilities are. Those parts of a young defenceman learning his craft in a man’s league.

He’s had some really good moments and some learning ones as well. The growth in his game is going in the right direction. He’s an exciting player for the organization.

McLeod has an NHL body type or frame. He has an NHL speed dimension to his game. He’s versatile. We’ve used him in a bunch of different roles, including down the middle – which is his natural position – but also on the wing. He backs other teams’ defence off. He is unafraid to take people on 1-on-1, which is a great mindset to have.

He has parts of his game he needs to focus on in order to get to that next level. We’re encouraging him to shoot the puck, to stay in plays, to make sure he’s playing inside all the time. We’ve seen some good growth in his game. What I think separates him is his penalty-killing ability as well. He’s a very good penalty killer, very trusted. Decent faceoff man. There’s room to improve there, but he works at it. He’s somebody that everyone in our organization is happy that he’s in our organization.

Kirill is a guy who put up decent numbers in major junior. He’s learning his way in a man’s league. He’s learning how important practice is and how important work habits are and to bring it on a daily basis. He’s managing pucks in the neutral zone much better than he was at the start of our season.

There’s more offence for him to show because I know he’s put up some good numbers (in junior) and he has a very good shot. We’re encouraging him to shoot the puck more. He’s another guy we trust to put out on 5-on-4 penalty kill situations. A lot of times we put McLeod and Maksimov together. They have a little bit of chemistry. He’s a young man that is going through the process. You can see that he’s getting better.

With Caleb Jones being with the Oilers now, what’s been the biggest reason for that call-up? What has he done so well this year that’s allowed him to get there?

Well, you talk about someone who may have been disappointed with not making the big club out of training camp. He came down with a mindset of being the best he could be every day.

One thing a lot of people don’t know about him is how serious a student of the game he is. He watches hockey. He talks hockey. As a coaching staff here, we put a lot of emphasis on him on the pride in defending, the pride in understanding the value of preventing goals as much as trying to go and win the game on every shift. We talked about this with him all the time: his chance-ledger at the end of the game. Are you influencing things positivity on the offensive side while, at the same time, not showing up at the scene of the crime defensively? That’s hard for young defencemen to do.

But if you look at the process that we’ve tried to go through with these young players as a staff here, it’s having them go through this sequence of events so that eventually when the time comes and they do get that call, they’re prepared for it. You can see that with Ethan (Bear). You can see that with Caleb. You can see that with Patrick Russell. Guys that are working their way into the collective trust of the organization, the collective trust of the coaching staff at the highest level at the National Hockey League, that isn’t by accident.

Those are work habits, details, that they’ve worked on down here on a daily basis. For us, with this new generation of players that’s coming through, that’s the perfect case study right there. Those players have come through, they’ve worked at their craft, they’re professional at their work habits and they’re finding success on a good team in the National Hockey League. They’re contributing members of a good team in the National Hockey League.

That’s our street credibility as a coaching staff. We’ve shown that if you keep putting your focus not on the end result but on the process that’s gonna get you there, when you do get your opportunity, you’re gonna be ready for it.

I was going to ask you about Ethan Bear and Patrick Russell because both seem to have the trust – within their roles – of the coaching staff in Edmonton. Does anything surprise you about that?

No. They’re showing that their hard work has paid off to get them to that level and they’re continuing to work and develop at that level under Tipp’s coaching staff. That’s phenomenal because they’re getting better. Their habits, their professionalism, their stick-to-itiveness in times of adversity has led them to that point. We got to see that up close and personal on a day-to-day basis. It wasn’t always smooth with those players. They had to go through some teachable moments. They came through (them) and they kept working at their games.

For us as coaches, we’re like proud parents to see those players go up there and they’re excelling. It makes it easier to sell when you see these players go up. They’ve come through that adversity. Now they’re getting their shot and they’re doing well.

And Bear has mostly played on the top pairing and leads all rookies in ice time.

What a credit to Ethan Bear. What a credit to the work he put in last year when he didn’t receive an NHL call-up. He stuck with it. His relationship with our defensive coach Dave Manson is special – as is it with all our D down here. To see him up there and not only survive but to go there and excel in the role he’s been placed in, that makes us as coaching staff feel like proud parents.

(Top photo of Tyler Benson: Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)