The Edmonton Oilers' X-Factor is neither Connor McDavid nor Leon Draisaitl...
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have been dominating the NHL in scoring for the past few seasons. They are and will be the face of the Oilers organization for a long time. The Alberta squad has some good young players on their roster that will push the organization to make some big decisions.
Offensive defenseman Tyson Barrie has been the Oilers quarterback for the past year. He finished first in scoring among NHL defensemen last year with 48 points in 56 games. However, he could be overtaken by prospect Evan Bouchard fairly quickly, according to what head coach Dave Tippett has hinted.
The Oilers hold the 21-year-old defenseman in high regard. He could even be one of the team's key pieces, starting this year.
https://twitter.com/Ken_Campbell27/status/1441128562195529737?s=19
The young Ontario native was paired with Darnell Nurse, the Oilers' top defenseman, at the opening of Oilers training camp. A nice vote of confidence from the Edmonton coaching staff.
Bouchard had 5 points, including 2 goals, in 14 games with Connor McDavid's team last year. He spent the majority of the campaign in the Swedish second division where he had 17 points in 23 games. He was the tenth overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft.
