Opening Day Roster

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe just about everyone under the sun has the Oilers opening day roster figured (or we all believe we have it figured ) and it looks like so:

Hall	Nugent-Hopkins	Eberle
Smyth	Gagner	Hemsky
Paajarvi	Horcoff	Omark
Eager	Belanger	Jones
Hordichuk	Brule
Whitney	Gilbert
Peckham	Barker
Sutton	Smid
Chorney
Dubnyk
Khabibulin

The lines may not be set but the players seem to be.  If Brule is bought out then it leaves an opening for a training camp stand-out.  If not, the only player that I could see possibly squeezing someone out is Jeff Petry.  Anton Lander is probably good enough too but he'll probably get some seasoning in the AHL before his call-up.  The real question is what will the roster look like after game 9.  Will RNH stay or be sent to junior?  Who will replace him on the roster if he does?  We wait and speculate...

This 'n That

Thoughts to catch you up on:

This post was brought to you by the # 5

This is what Ryan Strome saw on his garage when he came home from the draft.  I guess it was getting dark.  It's probably a lower number than many thought it would be, and that is understandable. Ryan Strome went ahead of other talented and highly rated forwards Sean Couturier and Mika Zibanejad.  That being said he's not as controversial as Mark Scheifele at 7 ( and even that can be rationalized as I did here on darft day).

I guess I was in a larger minority than I thought, however, being of the opinion that the Islanders were taking him 5th, as now I have won not just ONE but TWO radio/internet draft contests this year based largely on this selection.

Final Day Observations at Oilers Development Camp

I mostly watched as a fan today and I missed the shoot-out.  Also no autographs ( so no "single question interviews" ).  That's the bad news.

The good news is that Nugent-Hopkins looked better today than yesterday.  In the 3-on-3 he used his speed both laterally and in straight-away bursts effectively.  He found open ice, created open ice and made quick accurate passes look too easy (not flashy, just highly effective).  He darted around, circled, and indeed always had his head up.

 I did make just a few specific observations:

Pictures from the last day of Oilers Development Camp

Nothing exceptional here, just some amateur photos of the kids.  I'll be posting some observations from today a little later this afternoon. 

Today's Oiler Prospect Fan Fodder: The single question interview

I'm not a guy who would likely take an autograph from a fresh 3rd rounder that's far from a guaranteed NHL'er but I figured, if nothing else, he has solid blood lines.

So I let Dillon Simpson ( Dillon is on the right in the above pic and Tanner House is front and centre ) sign a hat I had earmarked for RNH or any established pro I may have seen lurking ( Doug Weight is in town, Ales Hemsky was on the ice testing his shoulder in a light skate with the kids a few days ago, Ryan Smyth and/or Shawn Horcoff might be the kinds of guys to consider popping by to see the kids etc ).

 I didn't take any other autographs but I had the opportunity to ask a quick question to each of 4 Oilers prospect invitees.  The question I chose:

Oilers Development Camp Observations:

My viewing of the Oilers development camp today presents a small sample size but I've tried to make good use of it.  I focused in on Colten Teubert, Anton Lander and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.  I made only a few observations on the other players but I'll share what I have.

Bryan Helmer receives the AHL President’s Award

As per a release on the the OKC Barons official site.  Some more info at the official AHL site here.

As per the AHL's site:

"The President’s Awards are given to an AHL organization for excellence in all areas off the ice, and to an AHL player in recognition of his outstanding accomplishments in the past year."

P.K. Subban is another former winner.  The award seems to have fairly broad parameters for who is eligible.  A player and a franchise receive the award and the player does not have to play for the franchise that is co-winning.

Interesting to note, Bryan Helmer and Andrew Lord are already on board for OKC next season, so if making AHL lines, their names should be included.  I'll add a note to my current depth charts on the subject.

Change of plan today (but keep the course to Stanley)

I didn't make it out to development camp this morning for a variety of reasons. So I'm going to try again tomorrow and Saturday, but for now, some fodder:

 This is a projection of what the Oilers lines / depth chart might look like around the time we are competing for Stanley. Think of this as being our '14-'15 year or maybe our '15-'16 year. I decided to assume that any player drafted by the Oilers currently in the Oilers system has a great chance of sticking with the team for the next few years if we want them. Players with longer contracts also got a push to likely be here ( see: Ryan Whitney ). By this same standard I decided not to bank on Andy Sutton, Ryan Jones, Cam Barker, Eric Belanger or Ben Eager being there. Give or take trade / free agent signings and releases / future first rounders ( imo ) the Oilers Stanley Cup lineup / depth chart could look like this:

Going to Development Camp

I'm going tomorrow morning so you can expect I'll post about it tomorrow afternoon.  I wonder if #83 will show up for some more light exercise.   I'm very interested in all the players but will probably be looking hardest at are Anton Lander, Colten Teubert, and RNH to see if any of them look sharp in early July.

More Draft News?

I think that the Dean Millard and Guy Flaming of the The Pipeline Show have another solid program lined up tonight!  They also post on and operate one of my favorite blogs Coming Down The Pipe.

The show airs on the radio on the TEAM 1260 AM Tuesdays from 7pm to 9pm and Saturdays from 10am to 12pm ( followed on Saturday by Nation Radio, another favorite program of mine).

Zack Stortini Signs in Nashville

...as per the Predators official sight.

I'm glad he got a new contract.  I really liked the person and felt bad he wasn't a fit here anymore but the fact was he wasn't.  He was a loyal Oiler and a hard worker.  People who have read my Todd Marchant piece will know I value those things highly.  The Huggy Bear didn't always look pretty and the Zack Attack was somewhat over-rated, but he was a willing thrower most of the time and did a lot of heavy lifting ( and above his weight class at times ) in his day.

Good luck in Nashville, Zack.

Oilers Defensive Depth Chart **UPDATED**

Below is a chart of how I see the defensive depth from the NHL locks to the guys likely to get a look at camp for NHL or AHL duty.  They are listed by handedness they shoot. This should be a good guide for anyone trying to make their pairings for the NHL or AHL teams.

Puck Passionate on Nation Radio !!! ( well kind of...)

Big Thanks to Allan Mitchell of Lowetide and Oilers Nation for giving a shout out to the blog on the air!

Todd Marchant... and how important he was

Todd Marchant was the dramatic hero of an overtime goal in game 7 of the first round of the playoffs in 1997.
 The goal lead to the Oilers' first playoff series victory in 5 years or my entire memory of the Oilers.  It was a huge thrill and easily one of my most memorable hockey memories period.  I was crazy excited, and pumped because CuJo had made one of the most memorable saves I remember in my life only moments earlier.  Doug Weight and Jason Arnott were the only stars, but Todd Marchant and his big time play allowed a generation to believe in the Edmonton Oilers for what they were at a time when they weren't what they once were, and everyone knew it.  Hell, Todd Marchant is second only to Ryan Smyth as the poster boy for what the Oilers of his era were.

Oiler Forward Depth Chart **UPDATED**

Below is a chart of how I see the forward depth, from the NHL locks, to the guys likely to get a look at camp for NHL or AHL duty.  They are listed by position and have the handedness they shoot beside them.  This should be a good guide for anyone trying to make their lines for the NHL or AHL teams ( at least for forwards ).

BACK!

 FROM THE LAKE!

 

JUST AS THE OILERS COME BACK FROM THE FREE AGENT POOL'S FRINGES! 

 

  WITH A RENEWED EFFORT TO CLIMB FROM THE DEPTHS OF THE NHL STANDINGS

 

THE OILERS HAVE AN ALMOST PLAYOFF QUALITY NHL ROSTER!!!

 

OUR AHL TEAM SHOULD KICKS ASS THE NEXT FEW YEARS!! 

 

LEFT WING HAS NEVER BEEN SO DEEP!!!

 

WE MADE SOME TRADES!!!! 

NOW WE ONLY NEED A LIMITED OR INJURY FREE SEASON TO COMPETE!!!

AND RUMORS OF OTHER NEWS TO COME SOON!!!