During the 2010’s, the Oilers found NHL talent off off Broadway three times. Martin Marincin (Slovakia), Jujhar Khaira (BCHL) and John Marino (United States Premier Hockey League) all came from the walkabout leagues and nations (sorry Slovakia, I’m quite fond of your hockey players). Perhaps Michael Kesselring and Tomas Mazura add their names to the list in coming years. Is this a year to invest in an obscure league or nation again? Probably.
THE ATHLETIC!
The Athletic Edmonton features a fabulous cluster of stories (some linked below, some on the site). Great perspective from a ridiculous group of writers and analysts. Proud to be part of The Athletic, check it out here.
- New Scott Wheeler: Why Oilers prospect Raphael Lavoie is the shot creation king.
- New Lowetide: How can Andreas Athanasiou — Ken Holland’s big bet — help the Oilers?
- Lowetide: What are Evan Bouchard’s chances of making the Oilers in 2020-21?
- Jonathan Willis and Lowetide: Who are the Oilers’ top 10 prospects and where do they project in the NHL?
- Jonathan Willis: How do Connor McDavid’s first five NHL seasons compare to the all-time greats?
- Lowetide: Oilers 2020 draft: Are fans ready for Oil Kings’ Jake Neighbours?
- Jonathan Willis: Oilers need to keep feeding their currently rich pipeline of defensive prospects
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: How a series of oddball jobs prepared Ken Holland for his front-office career
- Jonathan Willis: 2020 NHL offseason goalie market: Team needs, free agents and trade possibilities
- Lowetide: Oilers Ryan Nugent-Hopkins far more than ‘also in photo’ contributor
- Jonathan Willis: Building the best all-time Oilers roster, with a twist
- Lowetide: What are Tyler Benson’s chances of making the Oilers in 2020-21?
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: ‘They were looking outside the box’: Oilers’ distinctive third jerseys still stand out
- Lowetide: If Oilers draft for skill, Seth Jarvis likely to be best available
- Jonathan Willis and Lowetide: Should the Oilers pursue Taylor Hall this summer?
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman and Jonathan Willis: The results are in: How you voted in our inaugural Oilers fan survey
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: How the Oilers are preparing for an NHL draft in June
Wheeler does fantastic work and this article on Raphael Lavoie is a must read.
THE HINTERLANDS 2020
- LC Tim Stuetzle, DEL. Dynamic player, highlight reel offense and dangerous on every rush.
- LW Lukas Reichel, DEL. He has skill, speed and plays with abandon.
- LW Dylan Holloway, Big 10. Big power forward. He has a great shot and is a strong skater.
- LW John-Jason Peterka, DEL. A speedy winger with skill, and not yet the sum of his parts.
- LW Carter Savoie, Sherwood Park Crusaders (AJHL). Small, fleet skill winger.
- RD Michael Benning, Sherwood Park Crusaders (AJHL). Impressive skills, can transition well.
- LD Yan Kuznetsov, H-E. He’s 6.03, 201 and 18 and completed a season of NCAA. hockey.
- LW Blake Biondi, USHS. High skill, great speed.
- G Devon Levi, CCHL. Impressive .941 SP.
- RD Ian Moore, USHS. Massachusetts offensive defenseman.
- LD Wyatt Kaiser, USHS. Two-way defenseman, best Minnesota HS blue.
- RD Ethan Edwards, Spruce Grove, AJHL. Impressive speed and skill puck mover.
At No. 20, one wonders if Reichel or even Peterka will be considered by Edmonton’s scouts. I think the Oilers might take Savoie if he’s around at No. 82, but my list has him going right at the start of the third round. Benning is also worth considering in that third round. Later names I like include Moore, Kaiser and Edwards.
HINTERLANDS 2019
- RD Moritz Seider, Mannheim (DEL). An actual teenage giant (6.04, 198) with a Condor wingspan.
- LC Alexei Protas, Belarus (Belarus). He’s 6.05, 195, and has great hands.
- RW Filip Koffer, Padrubice (Czech). Nice hands, he showed well at the U18’s.
- RW Michal Teply, Liberic (Czech). Big scoring winger has some footspeed issues.
- RW Yevgeni Oksentyuk, Shahkter (Belarus). Small and highly skilled, he rocked the U18’s.
- LW Premysl Svoboda, Litvinov (Czech U19). Torched his junior league (32, 22-33-55).
Several of these names weren’t chosen, that’s the nature of the Hinterlands. Protas got picked, but came over to play in the WHL during the season so had more exposure (remained on the Central Euro list).
This completes my list of players from each draft pool, and gives us 140 names for my final top 125 that will publish June 1. Here is the breakdown by league/nation:
- OHL 30
- WHL 25
- USHL 23
- QMJHL 17
- Sweden 15
- Finland 11
- Russia 7
- Germany 3
- AJHL 3
- USHS 3
- NCAA 2
- CCHL 1
I used to combine the NCAA/USHL names but the USHL became a monster. I used to do overagers but it became easier just to include them in their own leagues/nations. Now, who did I miss? Let me know. There were 29 USHL, 17 WHL and 15 OHL players chosen inside the top 125 one year ago.
This year I’d say the OHL will have the most players chosen from the top 125. Now the good news: Unless something unforeseen happens, today’s article is the last draft item before June 1.
I like the idea of Broberg experiencing the playoffs, and practicing with the big club. Assuming William Lagesson, Evan Bouchard and Dmitri Samorukov are along for the ride, that’s a large pile of the 2020’s blue getting a peak of their possible future.
LOWDOWN WITH LOWETIDE
A packed show this morning, TSN1260. At 10:20 Bruce McCurdy from the Cult of Hockey at the Edmonton Journal will talk Mike Smith and the Oilers unrestricted free agents. At 11 Joe Osborne from OddsShark will join us to discuss UFC 249 and KBO. Corey Graham pops in at 11:25 to set the stage for the 2014 Memorial Cup semifinal which will air this evening at 6 on TSN1260.
Go up a few more. 😉
Suspect the turning point was when HH saw that even the Nextest Great One Brogan Rafferty was willing to poke fun at himself here.
New for The Athletic: Swedish export Noel Gunler offers the Oilers a worthy draft target: https://theathletic.com/1809791/2020/05/14/lowetide-swedish-export-noel-gunler-offers-oilers-a-worthy-2020-draft-target/
Happy birthday! When you said that you started at CKUA in ’69 I was thinking that you must be around 70 now… about ages with my parents.
Just reading now…
So some yahoo at RBC Capital today issued a “hold” rating for the Bank of Nova Scotia and a price target of $59CAD. He’s also expecting more EPS this quarter than last. Seriously.
I’m assuming he was drunk while working from his living room. Or, you know, I’m a bank too, and I’ll scratch your back, if…
Of course, the share price jumped over $2 on the fresh rating. Madness.
We live in a world where cheerleading is more important than reality. And that has nothing to do with Covid.
Hmm… wonder if RBC has a position they need a good exit price for…
Lol… in the case of modern economic history, that’s a good idea… it was WWI that had the more profound effect… and it still perpetuates today.
(Don’t tell Hunter)
But vis-a-vis women… we men are always at least one war behind lol.
Bill Coull’s a ringer for Clarence Boddicker.
Honest question. Is there any other facility in the NHL that has two rinks, all the associated dressing rooms and hockey infrastructure, as well as a five-star hotel, all linked together by pedways?
My wife tells me I am always a war behind. 😉
€√¥£€^$,
Great post. Thank you.
I want to say this without being insulting, so likely I will screw it up…
But you have aged well over the 20 years I’ve been reading your posts.
I by far prefer this iteration of your online self than the ones you presented in say yr 2000 HF & Oilfans, or in 2010 here at LT’s.
In recent months especially, you have often been a joy to read and have demonstrated an ability to laugh at yourself that I don’t recall previously (maybe that’s me, dunno).
So thank you for being more of what I suspect is truly you and less a contrarian-at-all-costs troll, and I really do sincerely wish you a great Birthday. Here’s to many more at-bats…
It’s all so WWII…
Harpers Hair,
Great intro. And agree about the boiling.
But you lost me at “drain the fat”, lol
#ketof4life
Harpers Hair,
thanks for this
Have you ever added potatoes..(cubed or mashed)..?
Alright, thanks. I have copied and pasted into my recipe file for the next time I am in the mood for a meat pie.
I gave up making pie crusts some time ago when I discovered Presidents Choice Puff Pastry. It was the answer no matter what the question but unfortunately they stopped selling it a few months ago and I haven’t found the perfect answer yet. The puff pastry Superstore replaced it with is crap though.
Just for you.
As I mentioned earlier…I have been surrounded by Francophone women for most of my adult life.
All their extended families made Tortiere as a Christmas Eve tradition.
While I respected their traditions, I found their traditional recipes to be bland and forgettable.
So, I went to work and changed it.
The traditional recipe involves boiling ground pork until it is tasteless despite the addition of some spurious spices like cloves and sage.
So…here it is.
INGREDIENTS:
A double crust pie pastry.
You can create your own or use a mix.
1 pound of ground pork
1 package of packaged sausage meat (comes in a tube at most supermarkets)
Seasoning salt to taste
1 whole large onion (diced)
Lots of garlic
5-6 large brown mushrooms (diced)
1 can of high quality mushroom soup
3-4 tablespoons of sour cream
The secret ingredient (one teaspoon of curry powder)
DIRECTIONS
Do NOT boil the fucking meat.
Sauté the pork and sausage meat with onions, garlic and mushrooms seasoned with the seasoning salt.
When browned…drain the fat.
Return to heat and add the mushroom soup, sour cream and curry powder.
Simmer until thickened. This will only take a minute or two.
Let it cool until easy to spoon into pie shell.
Cover the pie with pastry and brush on butter and (optional) sprinkle with Parmesan.
Bake in a medium oven until browned. Remember the filling is already cooked.
Slice and serve with beet pickles (traditional) or a salad.
If you have leftovers, my family has always re-heated them in the microwave on Christmas morning and slathered them with ketchup.
Every single one of my Francophone relatives have insisted they get my recipe which I deem a badge of honour.
Enjoy!
Exactly my spot!
Was always a power hitter with a weak glove,
I’ll crush it.
Happy Birthweek!
Harpers Hair,
Who needs fancies … this org has a long history of “seen him good”. I have it on good authority you’re penciled in the cleanup spot in the second game of the doubleheader. Enjoy that B-day.
Hinterland Prospects of note:
1. Alex Young – RC – AJHL – One of my favourite Dark Horses (might not even be selected) – he is an overager headed to the NCAA. He consistently leads his teams in scoring. Great skater, versatile. Lead Team AJHL at the Junior Club World Championship with 4 goals in 5 games, as did another player. But his performance got rave reviews. He may not be picked, but I think he would be a really good pick up in the 6th or 7th round.
2. Grant Slukynsky – LC – USHS – Complete, competitive player with very good hands. Not fast, but good edges. Headed to Northern Michigan. Might be a 7th round pick.
3. Winter Wallace – RC – Shattuck’s St. Mary’s – Big and fast. Head to Lincoln in the USHL next year, then Michigan State the following year. Another one of those players with intriguing size and speed, might be a later 4th or early 5th round pick.
4. Blake Biondi eschewed the USNDP to stay at home and play high school hockey. Complete, competitive player with every attribute scouts are looking for. Might hear his name in the 3rd Round. A player to file away in the memory banks, could be a very good player.
Check back in a couple years to see how his College career is progressing.
Edmonton in Vancouver and Vancouver in Edmonton?
I have no idea.
Have to admit my “fancies” aren’t pretty these days.
Have a birthday this week…entering the top of the ninth and hoping for extra innings.
But it’s been a great ride.
Would the Pacific Division be in MInnesota or North Dakota? To make sure neither Vancouver or Edmonton have empty “home” ice.
Better DEFMN replying than others I can think of who would immediately start arguing about how long and how often.
I heard a proposal today that Edmonton and Vancouver could host the WC teams while Minnesota and North Dakota would host the EC.
Makes some sense.
A legend.
Rogers Place has the Oilers locker room, the Visitors locker room, the Oil Kings locker room, plus four other general purpose locker rooms, doubled up, which would probably be two NHL sized locker rooms. So lets say five locker rooms. The Community Rink has the McEwan locker room (men’s and women’s) plus four general purpose locker rooms, doubled up, making two more
So the Rogers Place complex can probably handle six teams easily, and probably eight in a pinch.
https://ckua.com/read/remembering-bill-coull/
I expect it comes down to things like availability of broadcast crews, lighting, dressing room space and access to training facilities.
The arena in Vancouver was built to house both the NHL and the NBA and the NBA dressing rooms still exist.
The Pacific Coliseum is still in use as a hockey venue as is the Langley Events Centre where the Giants play.
I have no idea about those other Edmonton venues.
From a few weeks ago:
“We can’t play in a small college rink in the middle of a smaller community, because if we’re going to be centralized, we need the back of the house that NHL arenas provide, whether it’s multiple locker rooms, whether it’s the technology, the procedures, the boards and glass, the video replay, the broadcasting facilities,” said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in an interview with Canadian outlet Sportsnet.
Was referring to this idea.
“In addition to the arenas listed by Horgan, there are suitable rinks with broadcast ability in the Lower Mainland, namely UBC’s Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, the Pacific Coliseum, the Langley Events Centre, and the Abbotsford Centre”.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/horgan-bc-host-all-nhl-games-canucks
If the broadcast levels at those sites are the bar I’ll leave it to others to comment on broadcasting at the UofA, NAIT, and the DCA (used by Macewan) or other rinks. Would be hilarious if Northlands could be pressed back into service, but I’ll guess that’s too costly.
LOL.
I knew you would jump in right after I posted that.
I’ll bet you tell that to all the girls. 😉
Where are the suitable rinks in Edmonton other than Rogers?
The league expressly shut down the idea of any “neutral site” as non-NHL arenas don’t have the “back of the room” infrastructure – even the college hockey towns.
Of course, the league can change their minds but that was their stance the last time non-NHL cities were brought up.
Too spread out if they are playing in a bubble.
If played outside a bubble one case in a team and Dr. Henry will shut them down and the teams they have played and the teams they played. Even if they take that risk for the regular season games, they might still want to take the 2 weeks off at the end to shift into playoff bubbles where you are already in quarantine and can continue play.
Horgan also mentioned all games in Van with enough rinks to broadcast from. Same would work in Edmonton (avg. 2 cases per day this week). AB talked to Bettman earlier, and has moved on to exchanging proposals through the team.
A moot point.
Training camp for next season will be after the start of the Swedish League season.
Just heard BC Premier Horgan on the radio.
He spoke with Bettman today and offered BC as the host for ALL the remaining games of the NHL season at various venues including Vancouver, Victoria, Kamloops and Kelowna.
All have great rinks and tons of hotels.
BC has been exceptionally successful in combating Covid.
Something is going over my head with this response…..
The plan has been to bring him over for training camp and then loan him to the SHL for 2020/21.
Sure, if he’s blowing the doors off and makes the team out of camp, there ya go.
With that said, I think its highly unlikely he is going to pass the incumbents on the left side of the depth chart and force a roster spot – this is based on all the intel regarding his play and progression in the SHL.
There are also contract implications to an 18 year old playing 10 NHL games – decreases their waiver exempt years from 5 to 3, for example.
I’m sure they were because I remember that too but do not remember who.
Were any of them Sonny Rollins fans in particular? I seem to have heard a lot of Sonny Rollins on CKUA, and Art Blakey.
Can’t give you an exact year but it was already prominent when I stating there in 1969.
I expect it was always a part of the programming to some degree since Jazz was vey popular in the first half of the century.
Would you have an idea when Bill Coull might have started jazz on CKUA? Say, before or after 1960?
Will get it up soon.
Bill Coull led the way but there were others including Marc Vasey, Sev Sabourin, Ed Kilpatrick and…for a time…Tommy Banks.
The saga continues.
BTW whatever happened to your tourtiere recipe you promised?
Did I miss it?
Who was in charge of jazz at CKUA?
I remember hearing Quicksilver messenger Service every Saturday night; and other stuff that otherwise I would have never heard in a million years otherwise. Words fail me trying to describe my admiration of those two giants of radio.
Just listened to LeBrun on Vancouver radio and he confirmed Bettman continues to get push back from GMs particularly from Montreal which has 14 draft picks and Tampa Bay which needs the draft to shed cap.
Also says the league will finish this season no matter what even it means playing into December.