Welcome to LWOS Hockey’s summer series, Call to the Hall, where we take a look at the next great player from each NHL franchise to get called to the Hockey Hall of Fame. There are a few caveats, the player must be active, and must have played 300 games (or 150 for goaltenders) with the franchise.
Call to the Hall: Edmonton Oilers
Though not as lengthy as some other clubs, the list of Edmonton Oilers in the Hockey Hall of Fame is a veritable who’s who of some of the greatest players of all time, from Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Paul Coffey to Adam Oates, who finished his career with 60 games in a Oilers uniform in 2003-04. The “Boys on the Bus” created a dynasty that ultimately brought home five Stanley Cups, and the greatest players of those championship teams have all been enshrined.
Fast forward to today, where hopes of building a new dynasty on the backs of players such a Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid have yet to yield fruit – in fact the opposite is far more true – but the franchise is very close to putting it all together thanks to the emergence of those players.
For the purposes of this series however, there’s really only one player who can be considered based on games played. For franchise cornerstone Hall, the same reason he can’t be considered for this series is the same reason he could get knocked down a few pegs in the Hall of Fame debate: injuries, which have limited him to 299 career games. Instead we’ll go with his frequent running mate, who has built quite a tidy little resume for himself.
Jordan Eberle
The reason it seems like Eberle has been around forever despite playing just five NHL campaigns is because of his incredible junior career, which put him in the spotlight earlier than most. The native or Regina, Saskatchewan got the opportunity to suit up for his hometown Pats in 2006-07 and lead the club with 28 goals as a rookie. He followed that up with 42 goals and 75 points the following year to finish in a tie for fourth in scoring in the WHL, a league traditionally not known for gaudy point totals.
The Oilers liked what they saw in the talented scoring winger and took him 22nd overall in the 2008 NHL Draft. From that point on, Eberle’s stock skyrocketed, largely thanks to some heroics on the international stage. He would lead Team Canada to the IIHF World Junior Championships final in 2009 and 2010 on the back of an incredible 26 points in only 12 games. He’s best known for his goal with less than six seconds remaining in the 2009 semi-final against Russia to tie the game, a moment considered among the greatest in international Canadian hockey history, and burying another in the shootout to help propel Canada to the final, and ultimately a gold medal.
The next year, Eberle would score twice in the 2010 gold medal game against the Americans, but would have to settle for silver as Team Canada lost 6-5 in overtime, though he did take home tournament MVP honors. TSN in Canada has since named Eberle the top Canadian World Junior player of all-time.
Further adding this his incredible junior resume, Eberle would finish his final season in the WHL with the Pats by scoring 50 goals and 106 points in just 57 games, earning the 2010 CHL Player of the Year award.
Needless to say, Eberle was ready to jump to the Oilers full time in 2010-11. He had a solid, if unspectacular, rookie season in Edmonton, potting 18 goals and 43 points, finishing in the top ten among NHL rookies in both categories, and leading the Oilers in scoring in only 69 games.
The following season Eberle broke out in a big way, setting career highs in goals (34), assists (42) and points (76), tops in all three categories on the Oilers, in 78 games. He would play in the 2012 NHL All-Star Game for his efforts and also finish second to Florida Panthers defenseman Brian Campell in Lady Byng Trophy voting thanks to his paltry 10 penalty minutes (a hallmark of Eberle’s which should garner him future Byng consideration, as he’s averaged only one minor penalty every eights games so far in his career).
Though Eberle’s pace has dropped off somewhat over the last three seasons (it’s now closer to 0.8 points-per-game compared to his 0.97 points-per-game in 2011-12), he’s remained a dynamic scorer on a simply awful Oilers squad which hasn’t been able to finish higher than 12th in the Western Conference during his tenure. He’s added two more 20-goal seasons (28 goals in 2013-14 and 24 goals last year) and was on pace to break 20 during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season as well. He’s also topped 60 points in three of his five NHL campaigns (and, again, would have hit that number during the lockout year as well) proving that he can not only be productive despite the toxic environment around him, but also be incredibly durable despite his relatively small frame (he’s missed just seven games over the last four seasons).
In total, through 356 NHL games Eberle has 120 goals, 164 assists and 284 points for a 0.8 points-per-game average – all this by the age of 24. Those aren’t lofty totals by any means, and hardly worth Hall of Fame consideration on their own, but there are two other factors at play when considering his potential future candidacy.
The first is of course his international resume. While we’ve taken a look at his international career at the junior level, Eberle has also suited up for Canada five times at the IIHF World Championships, scoring 34 points in 37 games. He helped Canada take home gold in 2015, and his 13 points were good for second in tournament scoring. In total, Eberle has scored 70 points in 60 senior and junior level international matches.
The second factor is one of the biggest questions everyone in the hockey world is asking this summer: With the addition of McDavid, what might the Oilers become? When Edmonton won the draft lottery back in April, few could have been happier than Eberle, who is likely to line up beside McDavid on opening night, and perhaps for many years to come. How might playing wingman to a generational talent increase Eberle’s already solid offensive output?
Nothing is certain when prognosticating the future, particularly when it comes to guessing at the Hall of Fame credentials of a player with the majority of his career still in front of him, but given Eberle’s offensive acumen and excellent shot, his great mind for the game, his durability, and the extremely fortunate set of circumstances he now finds himself in, it doesn’t take much to suggest he’s on the right path.
Multiple 100 point seasons might not be in his future, but to say he could average between 30-40 goals and more than a point-per-game while running shotgun to McDavid isn’t out of the question, nor will his Hall of Fame candidacy be if that is the case. Add in the fact that he’s just 25 and has many prime offensive production years left, and Eberle could very well be one of the “Boys on the Bus Version 2.0” to get inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame one day.
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