Raphael Lavoie trying to adapt his game to earn spot on talented Oilers roster

EDMONTON — Without getting a point, Raphael Lavoie still managed to make his point Monday night in Winnipeg. 

As the Edmonton Oilers trundled through their second straight pre-season loss, this one a 5-0 setback to the Jets, Lavoie was their most dangerous offensive player, along with Dylan Holloway. 

Now, eventually, that effort will have to come with some actual points. But in his first pre-season game in two years, the second round pick from 2019 (38^th overall) was all around it for an Oilers team that has drawn a blank offensively so far this pre-season. 

“You do want to have a progression every year,” the 23-year-old Lavoie said, when asked about his chances of sticking in Edmonton. “So I feel like that's making the team. I am supposed to be better the more I'm here with the organization.” 

Lavoie had a first period look on a high rebound that he rifled into Brossoit’s pads, and just failed to score on a wraparound in the second period. He finished the game with four shots on net, tied atop the Oilers with Holloway. 

Lavoie, a top-six player as a junior and in Bakersfield last season, finds himself battling for a bottom-six role in Edmonton, on a team that will likely break camp with the minimum 12 forwards on its 21-man roster. 

So, how does Lavoie make the NHL roster? 

“Be very valuable defensively,” he said. “I'm probably not going to be a top-six guy here, so you’ve got to bring something to the table. If that's being reliable defensively and being trustworthy on the ice, and that's what it's going to be. 

“You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to play in the NHL,” he reasoned. “You know, I'm not the only guy that had to adapt his game to get to the next level. So that's just what I'm trying to do. Trying to stay here as long as possible.” 

Certainly not. It’s a scenario head coach Jay Woodcroft has watched play out time and time again, on an Oilers team that gets harder to make every season. 

“It's typical of a lot of high-end players that come out of junior or college hockey,” began Woodcroft. “They're used to commanding the lion's share of ice time because of their talent, (but) the higher you work your way up the food chain in the professional hockey world, you realize that there's only so many jobs. 

“What Raph is referring to, it is an understanding of what job might be available here with the Edmonton Oilers and having to adjust his game in order to just find a chair. Your hope is, as a young player on the bubble, to play well enough so that you earn your chair. Then when you get the opportunity for more, you command more with your play. That's where Raphy is at.” 

It gets even harder when you consider that the Oilers are going to carry just 21 players this season. With the extra skater almost certainly a defenceman, Lavoie will have to find himself inside the Top 12 forwards to avoid a demotion. 

“It’s that old saying,” Woodcroft quipped. “These are the times we live in. He's going to have to find his way to command his place on the team.” 

The good news?  Lavoie is now waiver eligible, which means he’ll have to clear waivers if he is demoted to Bakersfield. 

Teams like Montreal, which might like to add a six-foot-four Quebecois winger to its smallish lineup, will be watching performances like the one Lavoie laid down Monday. 

“I've been with this organization for a while now, and I'm going to try to stay here,” he said. “I'll try my best, and if it doesn't work out then we'll go through waivers and we'll see what happens. But for now I'm just focused on staying with the Oilers.” 

The Jets dressed 11 regulars at the Canada Life Centre, while the Oilers had four: Their third defensive pairing of Cody Ceci and Brett Kulak, plus youngsters Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway. Chad Pickard went the distance in goal for Edmonton, watching the Jets build a 1-0 lead after 40 minutes into a 5-0 final score. 

“The wheels kind of fell off in the third there, but I’m proud of the effort,” said Pickard. 

“We gave up 15 shots through 40 minutes, and I thought we ran out of gas a bit in the third period,” Woodcroft said. “In terms of the compete level of our kids, we got a lot out of them tonight.”