BLOG: Tippett praises play of young Oilers, provides outlook on playoffs

EDMONTON, AB - Oilers Head Coach Dave Tippett checked in with 630 CHED Oilers Now Host Bob Stauffer on Monday from his home in Arizona for an update during the National Hockey League pause.
At the time of the League hiatus, the Oilers hold a 37-25-9 record through 71 games, Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid are first and second in League scoring with 110 and 97 points, respectively, and many other Orange & Blue team members have made major steps individually.
Among those players that have evolved their games are Ethan Bear, Kailer Yamamoto and Caleb Jones. The three former Bakersfield Condors have made their mark with the big club and left Tippett impressed by their play.
"There's no way you'd know that they're going to be that impactful," Tippett, looking back at Oilers Training Camp, started.
"When Ken (Holland) decided to buyout (Andrej) Sekera, one of those young defencemen was going to have to step up and get an unbelievable opportunity to do so. Bear was the guy right from Training Camp. I remember looking at him in Training Camp at the first session he was on. He was flying around, he was smiling, he was enjoying life. It was like he knew this was his time. You love to see a kid take an opportunity like that."

In his first full campaign with Edmonton, the former Seattle Thunderbirds rearguard has five goals and 21 points, averaging 21:58 of ice time a night. Bear's also been one of the most durable Oilers this season, not missing a single outing.
"I would be amazed if there's a young player in the League that's had as big of an impact on his team as Ethan had on our team. The minutes he plays, the roles we put him in, it's hard to imagine where we'd be without him," Tippett added.
Praise for Yamamoto, who has 11 goals and 26 points in 27 games this season, and Jones followed.
"When Yamo came in, Yamo just took it another step again. Jonesy was a bit of a different one because he came in and he was filling spots here and there but I really like the way he's trending also. He's kind of a today's style NHL player where he can move the puck, he's a smart enough guy where he defends well enough and understands the game.
"I give those young players a ton of credit for coming in and not just saying, 'Hey, I can do the job, but I can do it really well.' That's made us a better team."
Although there remains some uncertainty with regards to how the NHL will operate the rest of the season and when, Tippett provided his perspective on the playoffs, which he thinks will be played at some point.
"I think the teams that have a belief and a desire that they think they can win will get up and going quick," the bench boss said. "I read a story this morning about Doug Armstrong of St. Louis talking about his team and will they be ready. They're going to be ready because they have the knowledge of how to be ready and they have the desire to win back-to-back. The teams that will have that desire to jump in and feel like they have a chance to win will be the ones that will be the most motivated."
The Oilers are second in the Pacific Division with 83 points and would be matching up against the Calgary Flames if the playoffs were to start currently.
"I think our team has that mindset," Tippett continued. "We're still a young team but I think there's still tons of growth and they recognize if we get in that situation, it's an ability for our team to grow. I think we have arguably two of the top players in the world that have an impact on just about every game. When you have players like that and a team playing a strong team game around that, we'll be one of those teams that I think has a chance to win. A chance to jump in there and have a good run."