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Edmonton Oilers: Cam Talbot Ready for Spotlight

By Diana Driscoll

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Edmonton Oilers fans have a lot to be excited about. The dismal season they had is behind them, and the team has acquired a couple of key pieces that make them a stronger. Of course everyone, including me, will be watching Connor McDavid as he makes his debut at the pro level (which is pretty much a given). But what I am really excited about is seeing former Rangers backup goaltender Cam Talbot (possibly) serve as the Oilers No. 1 netminder. It seems he’s pretty excited too.

"“It’s going to be a great opportunity for me here, to be able to come in and work with a good young group of guys and obviously a group that’s headed in the right direction. I’m happy to be a part of it.” [NHL]"

Talbot will have to battle it out with Ben Scrivens and Anders Nilsson in training camp for the coveted starting spot. Can he get it?

Well, he and Nilsson are in a similar situation. Both haven’t played many games at the NHL level. Nilsson has played in 23 games and has a 9-9-0 record with a .898 save percentage and 3.05 goals-against average. Talbot has played in 57 games and recorded a 33-15-5 record with a .931 save percentage and 2.00 GAA. Obviously, Talbot is a bit more established, but, just like Nilsson, he is still relatively new to the NHL.

So while Nilsson is still competition and should be treated as such, Talbot will really have to usurp Scrivens if he wants the No. 1 spot. Scrivens is coming into his third season with the Oilers. While in his first he only played 21 games, he took on the majority of the workload this past season playing 57 games. And while his record this season was awful (15-26-11) you can’t just blame it on his performance. We all know goaltending wasn’t the only area that doomed the Oilers.

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Overall, throughout his career, Scrivesn has played 129 NHL games, and posted a 42-56-17 record with a .905 save percentage and 2.90 GAA.

I have no idea how Scrivens and Nilsson are going to perform in training camp. But do I think Talbot should be cautiously optimistic? Yes. I believe this spot is his for the taking. In my mind, Scrivens and Nilsson will be the ones trying to prove they are better suited for the No. 1 spot than Talbot.

Should Talbot do anything differently? No. He should come in and continue to warm up the same way, and get himself into the game mentality as he normally does. The only hurdle for him, if he were to win the starting position, would be the workload.

"“I think as a backup you kind of get a couple weeks between starts to get yourself prepared and get ready. Now there are a lot of back-to-backs and a lot of stuff like that,” he said. “If you’re playing night in and night out your mindset has to be that much more sharp and ready for the challenges that lie ahead night in and night out. I think that’s going to be the biggest hurdle moving forward and I think I’m pretty prepared for it.” [Oilers website]"

He isn’t used to playing back-to-back games and has not had the experience of carrying a team throughout an entire season (although he did carry the Rangers when Henrik Lundqvist was sidelined). If the self-proclaimed late bloomer continues to play the way he did during the Rangers 2014-15 season, particularly in Lundqvist’s prolonged absence, than I believe he has a really good shot at laying the foundation for a career as a No. 1 netminder.

Either way, whether Talbot earns the No. 1 spot of not, he will surely help boost the Oilers’ GAA from a season ago, which was 30th in the league (3.37 per game). Really, just having Talbot on the roster elevates the Oilers goaltending situation.

This is one season Oilers fans should be really excited about. They have the pieces and potential to put together something great.

Next: What's Going on with the Canucks?

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