BLOG: Foegele & McLeod look to stay consistent in top-six roles

EDMONTON, AB – “If you're a top-end guy, you’ve got to do it every single night and I think they're taking big steps right now,” Leon Draisaitl said. “They're playing really good hockey.”

It’s one thing to have success in the top six when injury or other reasons necessitate a player’s elevation in the lineup, but It’s a whole different beast trying to carry that success over a longer stretch of games – let alone an entire season.

After putting together productive individual runs on the second line with one the NHL’s best in Draisaitl, forwards Warren Foegele and Ryan McLeod are on their way to establishing themselves as effective second-line options for the Oilers as they attempt to continue their career-best stretches on home ice against Philadelphia.

“I think that's the big separation between being a good player and a great player – they do it every day on a consistent basis," Foegele said.

“For us being given that opportunity to play in the top six, we have to do the same.”

The trio has played with enormous confidence over the last six games, generating plenty of offence off their combined speed, forechecking and playmaking abilities that’ve helped them maintain plenty of puck possession and execute zone entries.

"I think it's working mostly because we've got three guys who are making a lot of plays," Draisaitl said. "They are good on the forecheck when they get pucks in deep and recover them, but a lot of it has to do with them just being able to maintain possession, not give it up and making plays.

"I think a lot of it is one puck play making good decisions, but also, the speed of Foegele and McLeod being able to push back the defencemen. That makes it easier for entries, so we've been able to spend a lot of time in the offensive zone."

Foegele has been at the forefront of Edmonton’s five-game win streak with nine points in six games since his elevation into the top six on Dec. 19 against the New York Islanders to begin Edmonton’s three-game road trip before the holiday break. The productive stretch for the Markham, Ont. product included his first career five-point game on New Year’s Eve in Anaheim with two goals and three assists.

"I think a lot of it has to do with confidence and getting the trust of my teammates and my coaches," Foegele said. "I think when I first came here, it was a struggle and I found that over the last year, it's kind of been going uphill and I'm just trying to make the most of it every day."

Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said during his pre-game media availability inside the Hall of Fame Room at Rogers Place on Tuesday that the left-handed winger’s ability to play his off-wing on the right side helps play into his strengths with a heavy shot, plenty of speed, and a large 6-foot-2 and 204-pound frame.

With the added bonus of having coached Foegele when both were with the Erie Otters during the 2016-17 OHL season, Knoblauch had a good foundation to build off when deciding to lift the winger into the top six.

“There are disadvantages of playing your off-wing, but there are a lot of advantages,” the bench boss said.

“One, breaking the puck out against a pinching defenceman is much easier than playing your strong side. Another one is playing your offside on entries, coming into the offensive zone and being able to cut to the middle of the ice where it's so much more dangerous. You can make plays there. Another one is being able to one-time a puck. Warren can shoot the puck as hard as anybody. He's very dangerous in those situations."

“You just try and put players in positions where they're more comfortable, but also who they're playing with. Right now, I think he feels pretty comfortable.”

Meanwhile, McLeod has contributed five goals in his last five games to go along with three assists from a left-wing role instead of his natural position at centre, which has allowed the 24-year-old to use more of his speed on breakouts and in transition.

McLeod was a solid contributor defensively in Edmonton’s first 28 games of the season, but this solid offensive stretch by 40^th-overall pick by the Oilers at the 2018 NHL Draft was something that was just waiting to happen, says Knoblauch.

“There was some frustration early in the season with his goal production, but a lot of that had to do with just being unlucky,” Knoblauch said. “Right now, he's benefiting, getting the goals and he's been around the net a little bit more. He's been playing with guys with a little more confidence, a little more playmaking to set him up to score goals, but I think for the most part all season he's played pretty well.”