Wild horses, couldn’t drag me away. Hockey’s renewal comes in fall, when the leaves have turned and the air begins to chill. I’m reminded of fall mornings of my youth, watching activity increase at the town rink and the buzz of excitement about the season to come. The Maidstone Jets. They played about 500 feet from my house, so I got to see all of their home games and a few in Turtleford, especially if the two teams met in the playoffs.
The Lloydminster Border Kings, North Battleford North Stars, Rosetown Red Wings, I heard them on the radio (CKSA, CJNB). The WHL Saskatoon Blades played good hockey, Bernie Federko played for them, and they were on CFQC Saskatoon.
Then there was the NHL. I was a Boston Bruins fan, had their hockey cards lined up C-L-R (Esposito-Cashman-Hodge, Bucyk-Stanfield-McKenzie, Bailey/Walton-Sanderson-Wesfall) and then on defence (Orr-Dallas Smith, Don Awrey-Ted Green, Rick Smith) and in goal (Gerry Cheevers, Eddie Johnston). Harry Sinden the coach then GM, Milt Schmidt the GM then down the line after losing Daniel Bouchard at the 1972 expansion draft.
It’s always a blast to see how teams are built. You can run through the last two months of comments on this blog and feel the certainty in the comments. Will the Oilers run as you expect opening night? Certainty doesn’t work like it did in 1972.
THE ATHLETIC!
- New Lowetide: The Oilers and the Cooper Marody experiment are at a crossroads
- New DNB: Oilers voice their frustration over top prospect Dylan Holloway’s injury setback
- Lowetide: A set roster? Oilers training camp gone wild? Expect the unexpected
- Lowetide: Xavier Bourgault and his ETA with the Edmonton Oilers
- DNB: Warren Foegele Q&A
- Lowetide: Dylan Holloway’s season and why patience is vital for Oilers’ prospect
- Lowetide: Oilers reasonable expectations for 2021-22: Goal differential
- Lowetide: Oilers’ reasonable expectations for 2021-22: Goal scoring
- New DNB: Mailbag.
- Lowetide: Oilers’ potential Olympians are a small group with maximum possible impact
- Lowetide: What should the Oilers expect from Cody Ceci in his first season?
- Lowetide: Why Oilers can expect an offensive rebound from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
- Lowetide: Projecting the 2021-22 Edmonton Oilers opening night lineup
- Lowetide: Why Oilers fans should be excited about the progress of Maxim Berezkin
- Lowetide: What should Oilers expect from Duncan Keith in his first season?
- Lowetide: Did the Oilers find the new Fernando Pisani when signing Derek Ryan?
- Jonathan Willis: Tyler Benson, Devin Shore and the 4-year difference between a prospect and a has-been
- Lowetide: What should Oilers fans expect from Zach Hyman in his first season?
- Lowetide: Dylan Holloway headlines new arrivals for Bakersfield Condors in 2021-22
- Lowetide: Why Oilers fans should expect more trades and a deep playoff run this season
- Lowetide: How much playing time will Evan Bouchard get with the Oilers this coming season?
- Jonathan Willis: A resurgent Zack Kassian could be an important part of the Oilers’ scoring
- Lowetide: How many goals will Jesse Puljujarvi score for the Oilers next season?
- Jonathan Willis: Oilers 2021-22 depth chart
- Lowetide: Oilers top 20 prospects, summer 2021
Injuries aside, this group will be dressed opening night. There’s plenty of discussions about what the lines might look like, Zack Kassian may get a big push in an effort to spread out the scoring. Nuge at center? Hyman on right wing? A third line of Foegele-Nuge-Puljujarvi? I don’t think so, honestly the team is paying Zach Hyman a pile of cash and that’s a clear indicator he’ll be on the No. 1 line. My guess: Hyman-97-Puljujarvi; Nuge-Draisaitl-Yamamoto; Foegele-Ryan-Archibald. We’ll see.
A new addition to the group in the form of a PTO (Colton Sceviour) who is a pretty close comparable for Josh Archibald. Not certain where this is headed, but Archibald is the man with a contract so bet on him. There’s room for one or two defenders from this list, along with an extra goalie and 3-5 forwards. I’ll guess Koekkoek, Shore, McLeod, Yamamoto, Benson and Turris but it’s going to be an interesting race among the ruins.
Despite being distant bells, Samorukov, Broberg and Konovalov have enough pro experience in Europe to make it to main camp with some momentum if things go well. Keep an eye on Markus Niemelainen too, the Oilers have a need for big men with shutdown ability and mobility. He could be a recall option during the season.
AS THE WORLD TURNS
This is one of my favourite boxscores of the century, you can see the future rolling out in front of you. Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Darnell Nurse and Ethan Bear would all make the NHL and prove themselves worthy of important roles on an NHL team. Whatever took place since that night, the 2015 rookies have made their mark on the NHL over and over again.
THE NEWS IS OUT, ALL OVER TOWN
Where do you get your news? When I’m live on the air today 10-noon on the Lowdown, I’ll visit this site’s comments section many times. People tend to drop off news items here. I also follow Rishaug, Gazzola, Gregor, Wilkins, everyone who is consistently down at the rink. Most of the big news items in summer come from the national reporters, but in the next three weeks local reporting is your life line.
LOWDOWN WITH LOWETIDE
At 10 this morning, TSN1260, we’ll hit the ground running with massive Oilers reporting from Rogers Place as rookie camp gets underway, and we’ll talk NFL Thursday night as well. 10-1260 text, @Lowetide on twitter. Talk soon!
The best Rolling Stones song Gram Parsons ever wrote
Truth.
I’ve always preferred The Flying Burrito Brothers version better. Not sure if that will earn something thrown at me or not.
NEW for the Athletic: Oilers preseason stories from the past from Tony Hand to Leon Draisaitl.
https://theathletic.com/2830569/2021/09/17/lowetide-oilers-preseason-stories-of-the-past-from-tony-hand-to-leon-draisaitl/
Im waiting for the results of the weigh-in results from yesterday. Where would we find those.
@frank_seravalli
·
2h
Also mentioned in
@DFOHockey
story: #NHL has gotten feedback from GMs concerned about third goalie availability with illness/injury. Bill Daly says we may see an addition of a “goalie taxi squad,” which could operate in similar fashion to taxi squads last year.
Oh boy. How many goalies are we allowed in this taxi?
That would be pretty much perfect for the Oilers.
Though I guess Koskinen is the one who’d need to be sent to the taxi squad if they’re going to ensure 3 NHL goalies on Oct. 13th.
Agreed, although I would keep all 3 regardless in the case of the Oilers.
A lot easier to play a game with 5 dmen than with a dman wearing goalie equipment if things go south in a hurry.
Yeah, I guess.
Perhaps I’m too trusting, but I figure if both goalies come down with Covid (that’s what you’re suggesting, no?) the league won’t make the Oilers play for 2 weeks with the zamboni driver in net.
My main concern with the goaltending is general shittyness. Having 3 ‘NHL goalies’ is good because you can hedge bets a little in case any of them decide to have a shitty year (that is, my concern is far less about being stuck without any reasonable goalie for an extended period).
Not necessarily both coming down with covid. Groins are a concern for me as well. 😉
I just think that 2 extra forwards in the PB in the given circumstances makes less sense to me than one extra forward and one extra goalie.
Yet another advantage for teams that their AHL team nearby.
In Toronto and Winnipeg their #3 goalies are just down the hall.
In Montreal, Vancouver and almost Ottawa, they’re a Uber ride away.
Sure, goalie cover is obviously the more critical one.
It seems like travel for those who are vaccinated shouldn’t be difficult though, we should be back to normal in terms of call-ups.
So for me having a 1C goalie under team control remains more important than their actual location.
Having that goalie practice and be integrated with the team, and also not taking up a development spot in Bakersfield would be ideal though.
I have been suggesting this as a possibility for a few months and it would be massive for the Oilers – of course, if waivers applied, as it did last year, that would likely create issues.
Yes, I remember you chimed in after I first brought up the idea of keeping 3 goalies out of camp.
Keeping 3 goalies on the roster and having a taxi squad for an extra goalie is not quite the same due to salary cap and max 23 roster player implications.
True. You added an obvious detail.
That would be in keeping with your usual posting practice.
Not quite obvious in my opinion.
Keeping 3 goalies on the active 23 man roster was (and is) a real and legit possibility – even Holland has mentioned it as a possibility (although not his preference).
Having a pseudo-taxi squad for goalies is an entirely different situation as that 3G wouldn’t count against the cap (well, unless over $1.125M like Mikko) and wouldn’t count on the 23 player roster. Waiver is an issue unless they “fix” the issue they had last year.
I had been posting about the potential goalie taxi squad for weeks now – a different concept completely than 3 goalies on the active roster.
@Bob_Stauffer
·
2h
A quick observation today from
@EdmontonOilers
Rookie Camp… Dmitri Samorukov is going to be an interesting prospect to watch in the future. Big MAN, can skate.
In the words of the Emperor.
Goooooooood, goooooooooooooooood.
It never ends.
@TomGazzola
·
3h
Ilya Konovalov was on the ice for today’s session but left early. Jay Woodcroft says the goalie is working through a bit of an injury.
This is bad for my dream of 5 goalies in a taxi.
Woodcroft trolling me in his presser today, talking about how Dave Manson worked his way up coaching through minor hockey to junior hockey, riding the buses, paying his dues.
That is pretty funny.
Prince Albert Mintos AAA Prince Albert Raiders WHL
Can confirm. Nothing quite like him being behind the bench and yelling at you in that raspy voice when you screw up a call in AAA lol
I’m super excited to cheer for a team that boast both McJesus AND our Lord and Sceviour, Colton Christ. I shall create and altar for each on my bar.
Wild horses?
Not sure about them, but one thing I am certain of are them thar Crazy Horses… this song has been a recent obsession of mine lately.
Enjoy…. if you dare ?
https://youtu.be/QXQVSTfhoRo
LT was probably thinking Gino…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD77kyQYifc
there was a Rolling Stone named Gino?
I think LT has better taste than Vanilla Vanelli tunes, yawn. I think it it would be more like this:
https://youtu.be/SQTHB4jM-KQ
I totally caught LT’s reference, but came across Crazy Horse in the last few weeks and it was such a completely unexpected gem, I absolutely had to share….
What the actual…?! That was surreal!
I am gllad you lliked it! ??
Which one is Donny?
Keyboard, it kind of adds a Tom Morello-like vibe, 30 some years before he appeared on the scene, eh?
Your C-L-R thing is messed up. Esposito, Stanfield, and Sanderson were the centres.
Cashman, Bucyk, and Bailey the left wings. Hodge, McKenzie, and Westfall were the right wings.
Too bad Sanderson wasn’t able to keep himself on the road.
I did that on purpose, waiting for someone to mention it! I even started it off right! 🙂 Great job!
My one vote may not go very far, but it is absolutely for CLR and it made me happy that you did it today.
The only thing CLR is good for is removing calcium, lime and/or rust.
gonna need a really big bottle….cause rust never sleeps.
I will put my prediction out there:
Game 1 of the playoffs will have Smith in net. Game 2 will have Konovalov
So you are predicting the Oilers lose their first playoff game….
And their second playoff game.
Yep! I am thinking that regardless of anything, Smith gets the first start due to his veteran status and being Tippet’s guy for so long.. but when it doesn’t work Konovalov will be too good to be ignored
i agree these are likely but I would really like to see some imagination during TC. The Holloway situation takes some of the possible permutations off the table but I would still like to see for at least one game
Hyman – McDavid – Kassian
Foegele – Draisaitl – Yamamoto
Benson – Nuge – Puljujarvi
McLeod – Ryan – Archibald
Hyman – McDavid, Draisaitl – Yamamoto, and Nuge – Puljujarvi as the anchor pairs. Just to see.
That is really unfortunate news on Holloway. SInce his first surgery his scaphoid only healed 30%. Scaphoid fractures really suck since the blood supply goes past the bone and then comes back to it making it a notoriously poor healer. Hope they get this figured out but guessing his time frame is gonna be more than 3 months
You are knowledgeable on this subject.
Can I ask if you think him playing with the injury could be a significant factor in the slow healing or is it “simply” the nature of the challenges for this bone to heal?
I can understand if you don’t want to weigh in and of course it is impossible to say for sure if playing hurt did further damage.
Thanks for any insights!
Since he’s been shutdown for a long time now, I very strongly doubt it.
this bone is notorious for doing this
I’m bummed out I really thought Holloway was going to storm the league starting out on the wing with Leon or Connor then moving to Centre in a few years. He would become the power Centre we’ve been missing since Arnott left town in a haste.
The timing of Yamamoto and his agent meeting with Holland on the evening of September 14 followed by Colton Sceviour invited to a PTO on September 15 has me wondering if these are related.
They are both RW, so I wonder if Holland is inviting Sceviour to fill in as veteran depth in case KY doesn’t sign. Or maybe Holland is trying to stack the RW to use as leverage in negotiations.
Just spitballin.
The Archibald thing (if there is a thing) blowing up more publicly also coincided. The Sceviour invite likely didn’t have anything to do with either situation, but you never know. I’ll say that Sceviour would certainly be a more obvious replacement for Archibald than Yamamoto though.
Most likely this.
@jimmathesonnhl
·
21h
While agent JP Barry tries to hammer out new deal for Kailer Yamamoto here, maybe he mentioned to GM Ken Holland he also has client Colton Sceviour, with 500 NHL games, looking for PTO. The forward will be on tryout after playing last season in Pittsburgh
Ahh thanks for that, did not know they shared agents.
I think the Sceviour PTO relates more to concern around the Archibald situation. Sceviour isn’t a skill guy and isn’t even a placeholder in the top-6.
Now if Holland signs Galchenyuk to a PTO, that’s leverage on Yamamoto.
True. Starting think that Holland’s just starting to stack the RW in case there is a situation with Archibald and KY doesn’t sign.
I like to give Marody an opportunity here
I know they’re not applying for the same job exactly, but have to think the removal of Holloway as an early season dark horse opens a crack more daylight for Benson. Maybe buys time for his first real shot at a rookie season.
Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) Tweeted:
Some notes from Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly at NHL/NHLPA media tour: partial capacity in Montreal & Vancouver; awaiting guidance in Ontario; full capacity in Alberta & Manitoba (1/x)…
https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1438528215396634628?s=20
Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) Tweeted:
Cap expected to go up $1M for next season; report on Evander Kane situation expected before opening of training camp; investigation continues into Chicago, no timeline on that.
https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1438528826850566147?s=20
I have little doubt that Broberg will look like one of the best 6 d-men at camp. I don’t believe that would mean that he’s NHL ready as these types of players (high skilled prospects with size and speed) almost always shine during camps. We have a long history of the fanbase, or portions of it, calling for teenagers to make the team based on excelling early in camp and the player being nowhere near NHL ready: See McLeod, See Puljujarv, See Broberg.
Broberg just turned 20. Sammy is 22 and coming off a better season in a better league. I think both start the season in the AHL and, of course, AHL play should determine call-up (well, along with skill-set and NHL need when the call comes) but, to me, one is much closer to the NHL than the other and that is without taking in to account Sammy’s many years playing in North America.
Broberg is going to pop quickly though.
Konovalov – he could be ready for the NHL this year – he really could.
LT….Those three lines for Boston were so skilled. And nasty. What a lineup. I think with 1 more offensively talented dman, they may have won 1 or 2 more cups. Taken some pressure and demands off of Orr in the playoffs.
Orr’s knee, the WHA (the Jacobs were cheap), and dumb protection lists for expansion drafts did them in.
One or two more cups?…..They did not hab what it takes.
I would almost add McLeod and Shore to the list of “certain Oilers” although, I guess, if I say “almost” then they aren’t certain, are they.
I am 98% sure they are both on the roster.
I agree that Hyman will get the first reps as 1LW with McDavid but, for me, part of the reason this player is so valuable is his versatility – not only his ability to play both wings and impact all games states but his ability to help drive an outscoring depth line.
I would assume/presume/hope that when McDavid and Drai are loaded for certain in-game situations, Hyman is not on the wing and, if the load is for more than a shift, he’s helping an outscoring 2nd or 3rd line.
—————
There has been talk about Foegele getting early reps on the 2nd or even 1st line. For me, I’d like the org to put the player in a position to suceed, the place where he has had success in Caroline – that 3rd line role. 100%, he can be used up the lineup situationally and maybe even part of full time as the games and/or seasons move along, but I would like him to get comfortable on his new team in the position we know he can thrive in.
————
If Kailer is not there for game 1, I hope that they don’t default to Kass at 2RW but give Marody, and even Turris, a real opportunity to earn the spot. Yes, Turris – if he’s slow and awful at camp, boom, cut his ass, but he very well could bounce back with a much more normal off-season without contracting Covid.
Do you actually believe Kailer’s a shoe-in with Leon like he’s coming off a 20 goal campaign the man scored 8 goals last year and is unsigned.
No, I don’t believe he is a shoe-in but I believe he is the front-runner.
You keep talking about Kass being all energized, etc. – he hasn’t had any success more recently than Kailer.
You can’t have it both ways, can you.
If Foegele has instant chemistry with Leon I can see the new look Oiler starting on the second line. I can also see the 2 Zach’s starting on the first line. Oilers need to get out of the gate Tippett can’t worry about hurt feelings.
No sure how Zack on the first line, in the name of a hot start, makes any sense at this point. He’s shown less recent ability to hold a top 6 spot than Yamamoto.
I believe the coaching staff want Foegele on the 3rd line to start the season.
well, only HH can ;)…
I agree that Marody and Turris should get a real shot, but LT posted the numbers yesterday.
Kassian has a better P/60 (1.62) over the past 3 seasons than Turris (1.32), Puljujarvi (1.23) and Archibald (1.14) and is just slightly back of Yamamoto (1.74). (Also better than Marody (0), obviously)
IMO, even with Yamamoto signed, Kassian should be legitimately in the conversation for a top 6 RW job, based on his own past performance.
I’m not sure what Kassian did three seasons ago is useful data. Same with Turris. Occasionally players over 30 recover, but often delaying the decline is the best they can do.
The 18-19 season also included an overwhelmed, 19 year old Yamamoto, (17-1-1-2) and a Hitchcock-handled, 20 year old Puljujarvi (46-4-5-9).
Larger sample size is often good, but at the beginnings and ends of careers, I’d bet on plotting a trajectory, not finding an average.
The numbers are the whole of the last 3 years, not 3 years ago. Kassian scored 2.21 P/60 one season ago (19-20), and was in the top 60 in 5v5 scoring that season. He also turned 30 this year, so ‘end of career’ is debatable and remains to be seen.
Your point about including 18-19 for both Yamamoto and Puljujarvi is fair though, both do show better when you exclude that season from their numbers (Yamamoto 1.95 and Puljujarvi 1.53).
I see Kassian as a real option in the top 6 (recall I said ‘in the conversation’, not he should be there) because his results in the not so distant past were really very good. I’m thinking mostly of his time with McDavid, but if you go back further he’s been a decent 5v5 scorer. His 5v5 P/60 since he’s been a regular: 1.91, 1.82, 1.12, 1.66, 1.29, 1.32, 2.21, 0.97 (also 1.15 and 1.04 in his first 2 partial seasons).
Yamamoto’s seasons are: 0.50 (9GP), 0.31 (17GP), 3.16 (27GP), 1.28 this season.
Puljujarvi’s seasons are: 1.45 (28GP), 1.25 (65GP), 0.80 (Hitchcock, 46GP), 1.53 this season.
Sure, trajectory, but I’m not seeing any clear separation between Puljujarvi/Yamamoto and Kassian that makes me think things like ‘I hope they don’t default’ to Kassian in the top 6.
I myself believe Kassian was nursing more than a broken hand last year. I think he’s going to make at least 2 people eat crow when he pops 18-20 goals this season.
I could see 18-20 goals (or not). If it happens, more than 2 crows will be consumed.
I also believe energy players like Kassian and Archie were neutered more than other players with the lack of fans in the stands.
That may be so with Kass – its been widely speculated. If it is true, then its a horrible look on Kass – a professional athelete making over $3M per year to perform. The rest of the players in the league were able to perform in the circumstances but Kassian needs fans? Come on Zack, be a better professional (in true).
Sidenote: I like Kass as a person and a player (some of his game).
Ah come on. Carter Hart had the worst SV% season in 20 years, and the Flyers still signed him to a 3 x $4M bridge deal. Kassian certainly isn’t the only one to reportedly struggle with the conditions this past year.
Of course, lots of NHL players struggled, they do every year – its professional sports. I’m sure a few others struggled with various parts of Covid-protocols. At the same time, I haven’t heard of another single player where so many think that his game took a 180 degree turn because of no fans and will come back completely with fans. I’m sure most NHL players “gain energy” from the crowd – I am not willing to let Kassian have the excuse of no fans but that’s just me. I’m also not positive that he will come back to 2019 form with fans back.
That’s certainly fair. And no, there’s definitely no guarantee he returns to 2019 form.
I understand that the numbers are the whole of the last three years. My issue is specifically with the first third of the data.
There are question marks around all three Yamamoto, Kassian and Puljujarvi. Yam and Kassian both had a down years.
Puljujarvi can have confidence issues and questionable hockey sense with the puck. Maybe that hockey sense improves as the game slows down for him and his confidence stays with him. Maybe thinking the game at the level of the best player on the planet is just difficult, but he eventually figures it out. Maybe.
With Kassian I think the issues are age, focus and motivation. Maybe age isn’t as big a deal as I think it is and the problem is just motivation. Maybe playing higher in the lineup and playing in front of crowds turns him into a top 6 player. Maybe he worked really hard in the offseason because he didn’t like how last season went. Maybe.
I think good Kassian is a second line player, and bad Kassian shouldn’t be in the NHL.
I think good Yamamoto is a first line player, and bad Yamamoto is 3rd liner.
I’m not entirely sure what Puljujarvi is, but whatever it is I like it.
But if you’re using 3 years of P/60 as your data the conversation should be about bringing Ennis back.
That’s a nice post, I agree with most of it.
I definitely agree the 3 year look isn’t fair or representative for Puljujarvi and Yamamoto.
I agree also that all 3 players have some question marks, as well as your characterization of what the questions are. I’d add injury as a factor for Kassian’s last season though, and I don’t feel like ‘age’ is very fair for a guy in his age 30 season.
We’ve gotten onto 5v5 P/60. That’s not the only factor in being a good hockey player obviously. It’s a little funny though that removing the first year that you’re objecting to actually helps Kassian relative to the other two: Yamamoto 1.95, Kassian 1.88, Puljujarvi 1.53, over 2 seasons. Ennis comes in at 1.79 fwiw.
So even with Yamamoto’s crazy good ‘debut’ in 19-20 and Kassian’s truly terrible 20-21 they’ve scored almost identically. Because of that, capping ‘good’ Kassian as 2nd line and having ‘bad’ Kassian out of the league, I don’t agree with.
Anyway, it’s all good. My original post was mostly trying to say that Kassian ought to be clearly ahead of Marody and Turris for a top 6 job (were Yamamoto not to sign).
The numbers (some of them at least) further suggest Kassian should be fully in the conversation even if both of them are signed/healthy. It seems like Holland and Tippett see it this way, and I can see why they do.
That’s reasonable. Unless something wild happens (like Hyman on the RW), all of these guys are going to get some quality minutes. Hopefully Kassian can do 70-15-20-35 season without significant PP time. That’s a useful player.
LT’s Reasonable Expectations are going to be difficult this year.
Haha, the RE will definitely be tough, no question there.
And yes, all 3 should see time in the top 6.
15-20-35 is really a very good 5v5 season. It would have been 84th among all forwards in the last 82 game NHL season.
Kassian has scored considerably better than that whenever he’s been with McDavid.
I didn’t say that Kassian shouldn’t be part of the competition but that he shouldn’t be gifted the spot without others being able to compete for it.
I’m calling it right now Kassian will score more goals then your boy Kailer. Book it!
That’s true, but I think the clear implication was that he’d likely be beaten out by Marody/Turris if they were given a fair chance.
I think that’s not very likely. I also think that Kassian has a higher upside for this season than those two AND is more likely to reach it.
No, that wasn’t the implication – it may have been inferred but I was not implying that. The hope was that Kass wouldn’t be just given the job by default but would be competing with the likes of Marody (and Turris).
Colton Seviour vs Cooper Marody.
That’s a horse of a different color.
Suggests that Oilers prefer size and physicality in their bottom six over tweener skill?
Is it Sceviour vs Marody? Or is it Sceviour vs Archibald’s anti-vax stance and Marody vs Yamamoto’s contract hold out?
Those horses look more similar.
Just a thought, Archibald has been pretty anti vax on his siocial media. Is not present for captains skates and there is word the Oil currently do not have everyone vaccinated. So would this PTO be an attempt to find an Archibald replacement if he opts out of the season?
I don’t see it, honestly. The Oilers COULD waive Archibald and have him return when the risk is lower, but I don’t think we’ll see it. The big limitation would be flying and going across borders and that would be outside the team’s control. My guess is Sceviour will land on another NHL team if he plays well.
So what are the issues potentially re Archie flying. That could be a big issue. Also, does anyone know if Sceviour killed penalties?
He did. Less so last year, but he was a fixture in Florida (over 2 minutes per game all 4 years).
http://www.naturalstattrick.com/playerreport.php?fromseason=20202021&thruseason=20202021&stype=2&sit=pk&stdoi=oi&rate=y&v=p&playerid=8474098
They were from May 2020 – I posted them in a previous thread (well two of them).
Thanks
After reading them, if this is the only place where the speculation is coming from, I’m less concerned – it was from 18 months ago and doesn’t even mention vaccines – this was way before vaccines were available. Of course it’s possible he won’t be vaccinated but I guess we’ll find out the situation soon enough.
Daly says they only expect 10-15 unvaxed players if they don’t opt out any on Canadian teams are likely going to be only available part time and are candidates to waive if they can’t be traded south..
https://www.tsn.ca/nhl-expects-98-of-players-to-be-vaccinated-before-season-1.1694293
This is making me think of McDavid’s “everybody has a choice but choices come with consequences” quote a few days ago or whatever it was exactly.
Vaccinations have always carried some risk to a small number of individuals while always having benefits for the group.
When you decide to not get a vaccination you have essentially announced that you have decided you are more important than the group.
Not sure that goes over very well in team sports.
When I was in high school there was a meningitis outbreak in my city and a couple of high school kids died. They didn’t shut down the world, instead they set up vaccine clinics in every school and gave everyone a shot.
Everyone.
We’ve fallen very far in our society that we there is even a choice here. Indeed, you might say we don’t have a society at all, since the precondition of a society is that individuals are not more important than everyone else.
I don’t understand why vaccines are not mandatory.
Thanks, this is good info
I read this earlier as 10-15% unvaccinated. Good to realize it’s only 10-15 total players.
Let’s hope the Oilers don’t actually have 2 of them!
What? Tyler leaves and no guests booked for the show? I guess we know who did the heavy lifting around there. 🙂
It’s umbulliveable!
God damn you Hernan!
I love Hernan!
Darnell provides me with one of my favourite moments during the young star’s game.
https://www.hockeyfights.com/fights/129615
How’s Broberg looking? Is he lightning boots again or the broken man at the juniors. He could push for a roster spot on speed alone. Also does anyone have insight on Holloway’s injury medically, Holland didn’t really answer the question if the original surgery was done incorrectly or maybe wasn’t the ideal option in hindsight.
From reading, this injury is very tricky and it is not uncommon for the healing to go very slowly or simply not really take – from accounts, re-doing the surgery is not uncommon.
Doesn’t sound like it was botched (and I believe it was performed in Cleveland and not by the Oilers).
Scaphoid Injuries are notorious for poor healing – the area has very poor blood flow and the type of fracture can impair the already limited blood flow even further.
On top of this, the Scaphoid is a central bone of the carpal bones of the hand, and so function is severely limited with injury.
I doubt the original surgery was incorrect, but the revision surgery is concerning. He likely has a bone graft from his hip (i’m just guessing) in order to try to get the bone to heal.
IMO – 50/50 he returns to pre-injury form.
Damn…our best dman is gone from shoulder injury and now our best prospect is out for months with a concerning injury. Nothing is easy with this team.
I think the biggest battles in camp will be between Shore and Benson, Yamamoto and Foegele, and Stalock and Konovalov.
Man I hope there is at least one surprise performer in camp. A yute that pops.
Or, sticking with todays theme, a magnificent stallion who can separate himself from the herd.
I don’t see Foegele as battling for 2RW if Yamamoto is signed and around.
You see, consistency is as important to you as it is to Dave Tippett.
You prefer reporters who are consistently consistent.
“I also follow Rishaug, Gazzola, Gregor, Wilkins, everyone who is consistently down at the rink consistently.”