Oliver Kylington - The Forgotten Draft Pick

[travel_dude]

The last thread for Ollie is over 2 years old and I can't bump it up.

 

How good has he been playing?  Pleased to see him take camp by storm and give Sutter a reason to believe in him.

Zadorov scratched in favor of him.

2nd in D scoring, just one point behind Ras.

Doesn't get the PP time that Hanifin does, but he seems like a safe option.

 

Keep it up Oliver!

[bosn111]

I am happy that Kylington has made big strides this year. He is looking really good and fits well. He is earning his playing time and has really stepped up. In many ways I swish Valimaki had been put on the same path. Overcoming the disappointment of being sent down multiple times has lit a fire for Kylington and he is now proving himself. Would he be the same without that initial disappointment and learning in the A for a few years?

[travel_dude]

1 hour ago, bosn111 said:

I am happy that Kylington has made big strides this year. He is looking really good and fits well. He is earning his playing time and has really stepped up. In many ways I swish Valimaki had been put on the same path. Overcoming the disappointment of being sent down multiple times has lit a fire for Kylington and he is now proving himself. Would he be the same without that initial disappointment and learning in the A for a few years?

 

Give the coach props for recognizing the talent and pointing out the things he didn't like.

He seems to take it in stride a bit more than Valimaki.

Not every prospect has the same path or inspiration.

 

I suspect you either see Hanifin get sat or moved to play with Tanev.

But I think Kylington is done as a 7th D.

They want to see him play with every other guy.

Find his weakness, if any.

Plug other holes.

[The_People1]

Kylington has come a long way and looks stronger than ever before.  He used to get pushed around and loses all battles.  Also, years ago we had puck movers galore.  Giordano, Brodie, Hanifin, Andersson, and even Gustafsson.  We needed big stay at home D.  Timing is everything because now that we have a bigger and slower D, someone like Kylington is the perfect offspeed pitch.  He is what this D group needs.

 

In terms of PP time, I think that will come.  He's a better puck manager than Hanifin and is better entering the zone with possession.

[Sarasti]

6 game point streak now for Kylington.

Happy to see him showing that high-end skill that had him, at one point, as one of the top D-prospects in 2015 (alongside players like Hanifin, Provorov).

Consistency was always an issue but outside of how solid Andersson and Hanifin have been Kylington has been arguably our best D-man so far.

[robrob74]

On 11/6/2021 at 8:54 AM, The_People1 said:

Kylington has come a long way and looks stronger than ever before.  He used to get pushed around and loses all battles.  Also, years ago we had puck movers galore.  Giordano, Brodie, Hanifin, Andersson, and even Gustafsson.  We needed big stay at home D.  Timing is everything because now that we have a bigger and slower D, someone like Kylington is the perfect offspeed pitch.  He is what this D group needs.

 

In terms of PP time, I think that will come.  He's a better puck manager than Hanifin and is better entering the zone with possession.

 

I felt they didn't give him a chance in the last few years. Imagine if Kylington was playing all of last year. He looked good in the time I saw, and no different than the rest of the D minus Tanev and sometimes Hanifin last year. I think Kylington was showing flashes of it the last few years, and coaches just haven't been willing to give him a leash. 

[travel_dude]

47 minutes ago, robrob74 said:

 

I felt they didn't give him a chance in the last few years. Imagine if Kylington was playing all of last year. He looked good in the time I saw, and no different than the rest of the D minus Tanev and sometimes Hanifin last year. I think Kylington was showing flashes of it the last few years, and coaches just haven't been willing to give him a leash. 

 

Sutter had very little context for evaluating him.  Can't really fault him for that.

First game?  An uneven game against the Oilers.

I don't know about your viewing this season, but I have seen a different Kylington.

The skating was always there, but the defensive awareness has improved 100%.

He ain't perfect, but he's been the kind of player that blends with Tanev.

He's been a fit with basically every D he's played with.

 

I hope that Sutter can get Valimaki back on track.

Worth too much to let fail.

[The_People1]

3 hours ago, robrob74 said:

 

I felt they didn't give him a chance in the last few years. Imagine if Kylington was playing all of last year. He looked good in the time I saw, and no different than the rest of the D minus Tanev and sometimes Hanifin last year. I think Kylington was showing flashes of it the last few years, and coaches just haven't been willing to give him a leash. 

 

I wrote Kylington off two years ago to be honest.  I just never thought he had it between the ears to get to where he is today.  Offensively, he's faster and smarter.  Picks his spots and isn't over confident like before. He plays it much more safe and patient now.  As a result, he has limited the damage he does when he turns the puck over.  This change alone has turned him from AHL material into an NHL player.  Defensively, he's also stronger and doesn't hang onto the puck too long like he used to resulting in turnovers.  He moves the puck quicker than before.  He's someone that you can trust in a defensive role now.   His development defensively reminds me of Brodie.  Early on Brodie was so weak defensively but then he learned.  Kylington is becoming this.

[travel_dude]

[travel_dude]

Cool story about Kylington....

 

https://calgaryhockeynow.com/calgary-flames-oliver-kylington-maturity-leadership-nhl/

[jjgallow]

Always been a big fan of Kylington.  Hoping he can keep it up.   Some guys just need that extra year to sort it all out, hoping that was the case here.

[travel_dude]

7 minutes ago, jjgallow said:

Always been a big fan of Kylington.  Hoping he can keep it up.   Some guys just need that extra year to sort it all out, hoping that was the case here.

 

Well, guys can regress but the things he is doing well look consistent.

The mistakes he makes are not frequent nor end of the world.

There were a dozen or so giveaways last night.

One made by Kyler and we had 5 guys back.

What, we needed one player to do the work?

Who was covering Willie?

 

 

[conundrumed]

16 hours ago, travel_dude said:

 

Well, guys can regress but the things he is doing well look consistent.

The mistakes he makes are not frequent nor end of the world.

There were a dozen or so giveaways last night.

One made by Kyler and we had 5 guys back.

What, we needed one player to do the work?

Who was covering Willie?

Kyl is now angry about his mistakes, he's owning them. I think in the past he was downtrodden by them and tentative worrying about the next one.

Not saying that observation is correct, but maturity plays a big role with young players. I like that he broke his stick over the crossbar, rather than put his head down going to the bench knowing he'll catch hell. That's the distinction for me. You can look at any player in the league. If they aren't getting angry (and I don't mean at the refs), they're missing the biggest emotion in the game. That's just the nature of the game. A burr under your saddle makes you twice the unrelenting player.

[travel_dude]

23 minutes ago, conundrumed said:

Kyl is now angry about his mistakes, he's owning them. I think in the past he was downtrodden by them and tentative worrying about the next one.

Not saying that observation is correct, but maturity plays a big role with young players. I like that he broke his stick over the crossbar, rather than put his head down going to the bench knowing he'll catch hell. That's the distinction for me. You can look at any player in the league. If they aren't getting angry (and I don't mean at the refs), they're missing the biggest emotion in the game. That's just the nature of the game. A burr under your saddle makes you twice the unrelenting player.

 

I love the spirit.  When he had a chance to end it in OT, he was furious he didn't get the touch he wanted.

He may or may not want to be the hero, but he wants to win the game.

A mistake that costs a goal is one thing, but how you buckle down and try to avenge it is something.

He appologized to the goalie and was told, dude you just scored a goal for us.

 

Him and Ras are relentless in their coverage of players.

Never see either of them leisurely skating back on an EN rush going the other way (Hanifin!!).

If Valimaki would take a lesson from Kylington about how to handle being sat, he would be back in the lineup.

No pity party, just go 100% in practice and any game you get.