Oilers Prospect Update: Paul Fischer has found his stride

The Notre Dame defender loves to take on opposing teams’ forwards when he’s coming downhill. Fischer notices the Penn State forward pointing his right foot to the right wall, and his left skate is pushing towards the right. As a defender, that’s a tough position to attack from. You are basically standing still. Fischer makes a cut to the inside and gets off the quick shot. The Fighting Irish assistant captain is still pushing the puck in transition every chance he gets.

I have always been a fan of his aggressiveness, and it isn’t showing any sign of slowing down. I also appreciate how Fischer is trying to get the puck to the man in front in the above clip. There is a window of opportunity for a split second where a passing lane becomes available for the player in front of the net. The American prospect notices it; however, he can’t get it to the net. I thought a big positive from the weekend was how Fischer was constantly getting in the way of passing lanes, and his overall defensive game was excellent.

It was an excellent set of games for Notre Dame’s top defenceman, and I expect that this is just the start of a great year ahead. If Notre Dame is going to be a competitive team, Fischer will need to play well and play a lot. The natural aggressiveness continues to make his teammates around him better. I can’t wait for him to turn pro.

David Lewandowski on pace for a big season in Saskatoon

I have my worries about the German power forward that I have outlined before, but his playmaking is never one of them. Lewandowski is at 15 assists in 15 games played, with four goals added on. The Saskatoon import roams around the ice and can map out where other players are and will be. Lewandowski is incredibly efficient with his passing ability; he rarely misses a pass and continues to create lanes out of nothing.

One of my favourite aspects of Lewandowski’s game is the willingness to get into the middle of the ice whenever possible. Once he is between the dots, there are a lot of threats being made from the six-foot-three winger. Cutting into the middle draws two defenders to Lewandowski, and of course he finds the passing lane leading to the secondary assist on the goal.

Here is another example of Lewandowski getting in between the dots. When players can get into the middle, the game becomes much easier. When Lewandowski rotates up top as the F3 in the offensive zone, he draws two opposing players to him. This results in a whole ton of space for the left-side defenceman. Leading to a goal.

Lewandowski is excellent at reading his opposition. He notices the far-side defender is mostly covering the cross-ice pass, so he fires a one-touch pass backdoor to Hunter Laing. Unfortunately, it didn’t result in a goal, but it illustrates how smart Lewandowski is. I’m starting to believe the German forward might be able to get away with his lower pace of play with how efficient his puck touches are. Mix in the efficiency with his ability to protect the puck, and there is a translatable skill set. Lewandowski is a weapon on the power play. In the final clip below, he freezes the defender for a great scoring chance.

Give Lewandowski an inch, and he will take it. The power play artist is struggling to find his finishing touch so far this year, but I have no doubt he will start to score a few more goals in his upcoming games. I still want to see the skating take a step, but if he continues to play a solid wall game and can translate his efficiency to the AHL, then I’ll start believing that maybe the foot speed won’t be an issue.

The Windsor Spitfire prospects continue to have a good season.  Andrew Robinson is back from injury and has a goal and an assist since his return. Caden Harvey continues to impress in transition; the right-shot forward is also the top-line centre for the Spitfires. With four goals and 13 assists in 16 games, Harvey is on pace to double his point totals from last season. Below are some of his recent highlights.

Both the Windsor products are off to a better start than I first anticipated. A lot of players in the system have been great, but so far the goaltending position has been the story for the Edmonton Oilers and their prospect pipeline. What a change.