On Friday afternoon, it was announced that the Edmonton Oilers signed defenseman Travis Dermott to a professional tryout.
The 27-year-old has played in 329 NHL games since being drafted 34th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2015. He has put up 62 career points. Needless to say, he is not meant to be used for offensive purposes. He is familiar with the Oilers, having played for the Erie Otters and been OHL teammates with Connor McDavid and Connor Brown. He was also coached by Kris Knoblauch when playing for the Otters.
Dermott is left-handed, and Edmonton has enough of those at the moment. I haven’t paid enough attention to him, I can’t tell if he is strictly just playing on his left side all the time or if he can play both sides of the ice. Even if he makes the team, it’s the right side that fans are more concerned about. They especially need a good partner for Darnell Nurse on the second pairing. Whatever the case may be, having depth and insurance in key positions isn’t the worst thing in the world. We’ll see how he does.
