Reply With QuoteWay too many guys ahead of him in the pipeline now. That 3yr return trip to Europe pretty much sunk his chances in the pecking order. Nothing but minimal expectations for him until he's back in North America and works his way up the ladder again.
Toni Rajala
Do you guys see him making it in the NHL? Pretty decent rookie season in the AHL for Oklahoma City, posting 17-28-45 in 46 regular season GP and 2-7-9 in 6 playoff games so far. Size is an issue at 5'10" and 163 lbs. Lots of competition from better players in Edmonton, too... RNH, Eberle, Hall, Yakupov, Gagner (RFA), Paajarvi (RFA), Hartikainen (RFA), Hemsky (UFA in 14/15), Smyth (UFA in 14/15)... What do you guys expect from him (if anything)?
Way too many guys ahead of him in the pipeline now. That 3yr return trip to Europe pretty much sunk his chances in the pecking order. Nothing but minimal expectations for him until he's back in North America and works his way up the ladder again.
14 Team NHL Salary Cap Dynasty -daily starts
H2H, Salary Cap 95mil, Player actual salaries (all)
+/-,G,A,GWG,PTS,STP,PIM,SOG,HT,BS,GAA,SO,SV,W
Starters: 12 Forwards, 6 Defense, 2 Goalies
Forwards: Domi, K.Connor, Kessel, Parise, Monahan, Point, Rantanen, Kucherov, Panarin , M.Martin, Reaves, Marner
Defense: Butcher, K.Russell, Pelech, Girard, Klingberg, Larsson
Goalie: Rask, Hellebuyck
Reserves: D.Strome, Jo.Benn, Polak, C.Crawford , M.Jones, A.Dell, Koskinen
Prospects: Soderstrom, Sorokin, J.Dahlen, Kaprizov, Yamamoto, Makar, Starrett , F.Sandstrom, Timmins, T.Terry
Fantrax TAHL 2013 & 2018 Champion
Only way Rajala makes the big club next year is if there are big changes coming in Edmonton. There just isn't room for another diminutive winger on the Oilers right now. Perhaps he gets the call as an injury replacement but he's not breaking camp with the wingers already in tow. That's not the worst thing in the world though. If you can afford to be patient with him there may yet be a future for him in the NHL. I love that he went all the way down to the ECHL to pay his dues last year. Shows a real willingness to pay his dues to make it to the show.
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