Klim Kostin was drafted over 50 spots before Dmitri Samorukov in the 2017 draft. Both men have had uneven career paths, but Kostin has played in more NHL games in the five seasons that have passed. It’s a fun trade, because it’s the kind of deal we talk about often (dealing from strength to weakness). How has Kostin developed in those years, compared to (say) Kailer Yamamoto, Nick Suzuki and Michael Rasmussen?
THE ATHLETIC!
- New Lowetide: What’s Oilers prospect Reid Schaefer’s NHL ETA?
- DNB: Oilers’ missing pieces? Trade strategy? Breakout player? Mailbag
- Lowetide: 5 areas for Edmonton Oilers roster improvement in 2022-23
- DNB: Projecting Oilers’ opening-night roster
- Lowetide: Is Oilers’ Connor McDavid facing Hart Trophy voter fatigue?
- DNB: Ryan Murray, Dmitri Samorukov try to make up for lost time in fight to crack Oilers
- DNB: Dylan Holloway’s emergence for Oilers puts Jesse Puljujarvi’s future into focus
- Lowetide: Is this the year an Edmonton Oilers player wins the Calder Trophy?
- Jonathan Willis: Jakob Chychrun would look good on the Oilers, but is there a deal to be had?
- Lowetide: Oilers cuts headed to AHL Bakersfield. What will it look like?
- DNB: 10 observations from the first week of games
- DNB: Oilers’ Connor McDavid may have 50 goals in his reach, but a bigger goal remains
- Lowetide: How Jay Woodcroft’s Oilers training camp differs from previous coaches
- Lowetide: Are Edmonton Oilers’ recent trades supported by analytics?
- DNB: How Edmonton Oilers’ salary cap and training camp impacts roster decisions
- DNB: Darnell Nurse’s big-money contract with Oilers isn’t going to change who he is or how he plays
- DNB: 10 questions to address in training camp
- Lowetide: Edmonton Oilers’ right wing options on skill lines may be shifting
- Lowetide: The truth about Jesse Puljujarvi and the Edmonton Oilers
- DNB: Jack Campbell is determined to win in Edmonton: ‘I’m ready for this’
- Lowetide: Making the early call on Edmonton Oilers’ 2018 draft haul
- Lowetide: 9 Bold Predictions for the 2022-23 Edmonton Oilers
- Lowetide: Edmonton Oilers reasonable expectations for every player in 2022-23
- Lowetide: Who will the Oilers trade for cap purposes?
- Lowetide: Oilers top-20 prospects, summer 2022
NHLE’S FOR 2017 DRAFT FORWARDS (11-20)
This is based on my rankings, not the actual order of selection. Among forwards, I think we can say Nick Suzuki and Robert Thomas are a cut above, with Martin Necas and then Kailer Yamamoto slotting in. Michael Rasmussen was late to the NHL but seems to have figured it out. Kostin and Andersson trail the pack.
I hate giving up players before you know what they are, and in the case of Samorukov there is a history of struggle at a new level and then sustained success thereafter. In my most recent Top 20 prospects (here) he ranked No. 8, behind only Philip Broberg among defensemen. Edmonton gave up a player who could emerge as something more than he appears to be on the day of the trade. That’s the most powerful thing you can say about dealing Samorukov.
Klim Kostin is listed as a center, shoots left, and plays right wing, so there’s some utility there based on a quick glance. He has played 46 NHL games, scoring 5-6-11, so is still a prospect based on my definition (less than 50 NHL games). Why did the Oilers trade for him? He is skilled, can skate, battles well along the wall and will engage physically. Where will he play? I’m intrigued by him, he has some nice things. On a team with 97, 29 and 93 as centers, it’s possible he lands on a line where the offense ignites. That’s always been the issue for him. His possession numbers don’t scream high rates of success but the sample is not massive. I understand why Edmonton made the deal, suspect Kostin will play in the NHL with the Oilers this season, possibly early in the schedule.
WAIVERS
There are a pile of men on waivers today, several would be attractive fits for Edmonton. I don’t see the club reaching out on any of these players, but they are worth discussing.
- RW Emil Bemstron, $900,000 times two years. A skilled winger with speed, per 82 NHL games he has posted 13-12-25. He’s 23, from Sweden and I think he could flourish with the Oilers centers.
- RW Buddy Robinson, $750,000 times one year. He’s a gigantic winger who can bring truculence and win board battles. His possession rates are solid relative to teammates.
- RW Gerald Mayhew. He makes $750,000 and in his NHL career (57 games) he has 13 goals. I don’t care if he lives in a shoe, that’s production.
- W Alekseo Heponiemi. He makes $750,000 and is 23. Elite passer, quite small.
- RW Julien Gauthier. He makes $800,000 and would be a good fit for what the Oilers are seeking. He has size and speed, scores well in the AHL. Still just 24.
OILERS POSSIBLE OPENING NIGHT ROSTER
CONDORS NHLERS
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
I’m writing this after publishing the post, but wanted to get it out there and this might take some time. My heart is full today. That’s such a ridiculous saying, I’ve read it many times and perhaps even felt it from time to time. I have so many reasons to give thanks today.
I am healthy, pursuing the things I enjoy and doing it as a career. The book is off to a great start and I owe you a thanks for purchasing in impressive numbers for the first week of release. The blog is doing well, The Athletic articles are being read and you folks tune in to Lowetide and Jamieson in strong numbers. For all I thank you.
My family is more than good, save for Mrs. Lowetide who is a little under the weather and not sleeping well (for once it isn’t my snoring). BOTH kids are gainfully employed, love their jobs and finding their way. If you’re a parent, you know the last several years have been tough for young people, isolating at a time in their lives when they should be making the best memories. I’m overwhelmed my children are enjoying those opportunities now.
Finally, a gigantic thanks to my employer, Ziggy. She has forgiven me for not placing here in the dedication of the book, and for not giving her writing credit on the cover. She is 11 now, showing some signs of age. We had a tough time getting her in for a haircut recently (we forgot to book the damn thing!) and she panted night and day, had less energy. Since her haircut, she’s our energetic puppy again and doing ridiculous things. The turkey was grand, there’s still some in the fridge as everyone seemed to sleep all night. I hope you are well, and that good things are coming your way and for your family too. Enjoy what might be the greatest Edmonton fall season of my lifetime, hockey season ahead!
NEW for The Athletic: Why Oilers’ Evan Bouchard will be a key to 2022-23 season
https://theathletic.com/3673128/2022/10/10/oilers-evan-bouchard-2022-season/
o
Asking the AHL to record and publish time on ice numbers is not unreasonable.
So Broberg seemingly not making the roster is a slight disappointment though obviously there’s nothing saying he won’t be back in short and hitting the ground running. We’ve seen it before with prospects on the cusp, a few weeks in the AHL before moving up and never looking back.
He didn’t quite look like himself in the preseason games I saw, a large part of it imo was that he didn’t play his own game, seemed to focus on the defensive side of things and keeping it simple. I understand the reasoning in this, clean up in your own end before trying the more difficult stuff in the NHL setting, but wrt to Broberg, and you saw it in the SHL as well, he loses a lot of what makes him the player he is when he simplifies too much and he becomes passive ending up a worse player defensively as well as offensively.
He’s at his best when he’s highly active in the defensive zone, pro-active in the neutral zone and constantly trying to hit lanes offensively. Which will have him on the wrong side of things at times but you need to take the good with the bad with Broberg. I don’t like him as a box out, play simple with the puck type of guy, yes there are times when that’s whst you have to do as D(most of the time really) but that shouldn’t be his mindset imo.
It boils down to which player you want, what upside you want, Broberg with his physical tools and solid passing technique can certainly make a career out of boxing guys out and get the puck to safe spots but I think there’s more to the player and would like to see him try for the stars before maybe reverting back to a simpler game. If it turns out his skills aren’t quite up to the task he can always scale back. But I think it’s far too early for that at this point.
Another part of his so so preseason (though tbh I didn’t see him quite as bad as what I’ve read from others, could ofc be bias on my part) could be the much mentioned 12 lbs of added mass this off season. I was concerned when I first read it as we’ve seen it before with prospects, they get overly eager and gets too heavy too quickly.
Now I really hope the added mass was a side effect of intense strength training and not a conscious effort to make gains because the latter would be an absolutely silly thing to focus on for a pro hockey player.
The physical trainer he worked with in Sweden this summer is one of the most respected in swedish hockey and one of the two main go to guys for swedish NHLers in the summer (he’s also the father of Minnesota Wild 2022 first rounder Liam Öhgren). So I assume the added mass was a side effect of a young guy with a good frame to build on doing a lot of intense strength training but even so I always feel a bit iffy when young players add a lot of mass.
If you want to focus on heavy strength training off ice you need to balance it with a lot of technical stuff(both skating and puckhandling) on ice or you risk having a hard time adapting to your new physique if you make a lot of progress in short time. Because even with modern strength training, which is more dynamic, it is impossible to gain perfectly balanced strength in the weight room. I know the high end physical trainers love to talk about how hockey specific their regimen is but even so there’s no getting around that you won’t add your strength and weight perfectly balanced for your hockey needs.
Now this could very well be a footnote in a few weeks once he’s gotten used to his new body, maybe dropped a few of these extra pounds and by then the added strength should be beneficial.
But I do hope that his focus for next off season is skating and skill, skating and skill, I do love my strength training and it’s an obvious part of any pro hockey player’s off season but I hate when players say “my focus this off season was getting bigger and stronger” no your focus should be improving as a hockey player, part of that is getting stronger but let’s keep your priorities straight. I wouldn’t mind Broberg picking the brain of McDrai about their off season routine, Draisaitl because, like Broberg, he came into the NHL pretty top heavy but seems to improve his core and leg strength every year while not losing a step, and McDavid because his superpower, like Broberg, is his skating yet it seems like he’s added a step every year. I think there’s still a lot more to get out of Broberg’s skating and would love to see him explore that.
Oh look I’ve rambled for half a novel again. I actually just came to say that Jeremias Lindewall’s team after a promising start with two wins has crashed back to earth with four straight losses and a ridiculous 29 goals against in these losses looking every bit the bottom feeder everyone expects.
No points in the last four outings for Lindewall and he sits at one point in six games so far. While producing might prove difficult if the last streak is what the team truly is he has to do better or we’ll have to start writing him off completely as a prospect. So come on Jeremias take it up a notch!
Thank you. Excellent post.
I wonder if him going into camp thinking that the 3LD was his job to lose changed his mindset – I agree that he looked tentative, while Niemo with nothing to lose, played more assertively.
Going back down and getting his mojo back is the way.
Your half novels are good reads.
With Broberg, I’m wondering what he needs to do to justify his 8th overall selection vs mid first round where he was projected. The physical tools are obvious – I guess the bet is him putting it altogether to be a top pairing guy, but does that look like the aggressive player you’re describing? It probably does if they’re taking him so high, and if that’s their projection for him, I wonder what the message is game to game for him.
There’s a heckuva player there in my mind. Even before his summer program I thought he was stronger physically than Klefbom at the same age. Remember that pin behind the net last season? Frank Costanza-like feat of strength.
If his body has changed, or if he’s just feeling some jitters, that’s fine. A stint in the A ought to clear things up. This refresher will be a footnote years from now. And let’s recall, he was drafted later than Nurse. Getting a player in the region of that good when it comes to skating, possession, vision, passing and defending would be a win. And I think the potential is there.
Regardless, he will have an NHL career and very likely a positive one. Actual NHL Players™ are always a gordsend. Ask management about Ryan McLeod.
and he’s still very young for a Defenceman. 21y 107d
Just got back from a helluva time in Abbotsford.
Merry Thanksgiving, Every One!
…
So, in submitting their opening lineup, the TML came within $4 of maximizing their LTIR.
Jim Rutherford said “hold my beer” and hit absolute zero.
https://canucksarmy.com/news/how-the-canucks-managed-to-set-the-perfect-opening-day-roster-to-maximize-their-ltir-relief
Some of these cap stories miss major points. Toronto is within pennies but have 20 players. That isn’t really success.
Congratulations to the Vancouver Canucks on winning the first annual Cap Gymnastics Cup. A banner will be raised to the rafters to commemorate this franchise-defining achievement. It will reside next to their other Championship banners as a testament to the Club’s dominance over the rest of the NHL.
Henceforth knows as the Raffert-ers.
@CapFriendly
·
1h
This is a first ever! The Vancouver #Canucks have a perfect LTIR upper limit of $82.5M. No Dollars wasted whatsoever!
Cap Hit: $86M
Cap Space: $0 ($3.5M in LTIR Use)
Roster: 22 (13F – 7D – 2G)
LTIR: Ferland ($3.5M)
https://capfriendly.com/teams/canucks?twitter_img=1665442397
I think that’s a much better representation of a successful roster than the 20-man roster in Toronto. And I’m a Dubas fan.
I used to overpay my Income tax by $1 so the Feds would be forced to create and mail a $1 refund cheque, a small act of passive aggressive revenge.
What’s the penalty for being $1 over the cap?
Wow. Non playoff team starts new season without improving their roster while blowing all of their cap is being celebrated
So, it appears LAK will go into the season with 5 RHD.
Brandt Clarke made the roster after a great camp.
(Sean Walker plays both sides)
If Clarke falters, they have Jordan Spence just down the freeway and he’s already too good for the AHL.
Summarizing!
With a goal and an assist, Chiasson paced the Kings of Wheat to a 3-2 win. For his efforts, he was named the game’s 1st star.
He now has 4+3 in four games to start the season. Early days, but good arrows.
Just as expected:
Gregor:
Hamblin reassigned to AHL. Demers released from PTO. Oilers roster is as we expected for day one. Broberg on it, but will be a roster switch tomorrow.
Nugent-Bowman:
Oilers expected season-opening roster:
F — McDavid, Kane, Yamamoto, Draisaitl, Holloway, Hyman, RNH, McLeod, Foegele, Malone, Ryan, Puljujarvi.
D — Nurse, Ceci, Kulak, Bouchard, Murray, Barrie, Broberg.
G — Campbell, Skinner.
———–
Now, the question is, if its Broberg and Malone for Niemo and Hamblin/Shore, or Broberg and Malone for Janmark….
I’m sure it will be the former but think Janmark >>> Shore (notwithstanding camp) and, if Niemo isn’t going to play on Wed, that’s the best lineup.
If Yamo can’t go, they might need Niemo to go 11/7.
I thought they were going to give Demers a deal but I was wrong (though totally ambivalent about the result either way).
Niemalainen will be a happy man though. Shore seemed happy enough about clearing that you’d have to think he and Niemalainen will be back up once the opening day business is done.
“The #Oilers have loaned forwards Devin Shore & James Hamblin to the @Condors
in addition to releasing defenceman Jason Demers from his professional tryout (PTO).”
Chiasson gives the Wheaties back the lead with a second-period tally, his 4th of the season.
He intercepts an errant pass in the neutral zone, blows past a d-man caught flat-footed and snipes glove-side:
https://twitter.com/TheWHL/status/1579567229418754049?cxt=HHwWgsDShdeB4OsrAAAA
Now Chiasson gives thanks for an aPPle as the Wheaties go up a pair in the third.
https://twitter.com/TheWHL/status/1579582504490921984?cxt=HHwWgMDTmef65usrAAAA
Interesting that the Leafs will be in the same situation as the Oilers and under LTIR but with only a 20 player roster submission instead of the 21 that the Oilers have. At least we have flexibility to ice 20 even after we sustain 1 injury (before emergency recall). Leafs are much more likely to be playing less than a full roster. Their situation gets even more tricky when Liljjegren returns from his injury, provided they have nobody else on LTIR.
They did the smart thing and didn’t trade Kerfoot for peanuts and magic beans. There will be some nights when their top players will have to play so extra shifts.
Lots of teams are in the same predicament this year.
I don’t believe there a lots of teams in off-season LTIR that had to submit a roster of only 20 players. By my count the Leafs, Lightning and the Flyers are the only ones.
Not trading Kerfoot is fine, but if they end up having to run a roster of 19 players 10-15 nights over the year that is still a disadvantage. My point was there was consternation over the Oilers running a roster of 21 if they ran into injury issues, but at least the Oilers have cover for one extra player to run a full roster.
Leafs have an excellent top end of the F group but they’ve downgraded their depth every off season over the past 3-4 years (e.g. lost Mikheyev this summer and Hyman last summer, etc) and they’ve also gone into this season with the most question marks they have had in goal over Matthew’s tenure.
Nic Hague signs with VGK.
3X$2.3 million.
Huge bargain.
Do you think? He’s been mostly a 3rd pairing defenseman for them to this point.
6’4” 221…23 years old.
Big hitter, fighter, 25 point pace on a struggling team last season.
Higher TOI/GP last season than Kulak…400K less cap hit.
Will likely get more opportunity as he develops and VGK top 4 ages.
Whats not to like ?
I have whiplash from your many posts talking about how smaller, fast, puck moving D are the future to hyping up a 6’4, 221 lb D cause he is a hitter and a fighter.
He’s see the majority rather impressed with young Truckelainen, his internal demon twitches have been painstakingly searching for a champion to break him free of this suffocating prison.
He’s a big hitter, fighter, and he scores. Always thought Thor would be more of a bullish center instead of just hammering on the back end.
22 point pace and missed more than a third of the season due to injury.
He has one major in his career, and had barely a hit per game last year, so ‘big hitter, fighter’ is questionable and then some.
Fine enough player, but declaring him a ‘huge bargain’ is clearly premature.
https://www.hockeyfights.com/players/23263/videos
The best part about you posting the actual fight is that he gets absolutely fed by Marcus Foligno. Not even close to a tie.
8 total fights… 1 in 2021, 2 in 2018, 3 in 2017 and 2 in 2016.
real BIG fighter bud. (he also got his ass beat in most of these fights BTW)
CHL Defenseman of the Year – Nicolas Hague.
No such award.
Big players who do not hit or fight are worthless because not only do they not deliver what the GM’s are paying for, but they generally waste valuable ice time for players who might actually deliver.
Only bad teams have bad players, like this apparent plug.
What’s not to like? How about an uber entitled, often injured star player who sucks $10,000,000. out of the Vegas cap? Or the vezina goalie given away to another team?
Vegas have been exposed as another paper tiger.
Let them spend the season jostling for position with the Flames, before the inevitable playoff whipping – because the playoffs show that superior players win series more often than not.
And both of these also ran teams, despite icing reasonably talented players are doomed to remain just that – also rans.
Are you picking him to win the Norris
Nugent-Bowman advising that Tip said Broberg was kept off the ice for “roster management” reasons.
I think this means that he will definitely be assigned to Bakersfield after 3pm today and this was to ensure he didn’t get hurt and couldn’t be assigned.
There is the possibility of getting “the best lineup” for Wed which would have Broberg down and Janmark up and a 20 player lineup roster for Wed.
Further changes can be made for Sat, if needed.
You mean Woody (not Tip).
Not to be a schmuck.
Move makes sense given the bonus structure.
@DNBsports
·
10m
Oilers’ Devin Shore had cleared waivers. He and Leon Draisaitl hugged in the dressing room. Shore mock cheered and said, “No one wants me!”
Shore said the last 24 hours were stressful, adding he likes the hockey situation with the Oilers. He and his family really wanted to stay.
@DNBsports
·
3m
Jay Woodcroft said it was a good sign that Kailer Yamamoto was on the ice today. He added it’s too soon to say if Yamamoto will play in Wednesday’s season opener vs. VAN.
—————————–
If Yamo can’t go on Wed, we may see the team go 11/7 to start or send down Broberg and call up Hamblin.
Very cool story highlighting the human side of the waiver wire. Thank you.
Was there anyone showing more enthusiasm and cheering louder during the playoffs last season, than Devin Shore? He is a player who truly gets how his role can help the team. Even if he is player 21 in the press box, or player 24 sent down to the minors, he realizes that his efforts help to inspire the players that play ahead of him to give their full effort to stay in the line up. Healthy competition is good. And the players know, even if they are not on the ice with the big club, they are part of the team and contributing to any success the team has. That starts with Holland, and comes down through the coaching staff and the team leadership.
was just gonna comment how that image has stayed with me ever since. completely redefined my understanding of who Shore is and where he slots with the squad.
Glenn Gawdin on waivers, interesting option. 25yr old Righty Centre, near ppg in AHL, prolific scorer in junior, 6’1. Making $762k for 2 years. It might be worth claiming him now that Shore and Malone have cleared…
Because no one asked for it, a Koski update! He is currently rocking as the #1 goalie for Lugano in the Swiss league – 0.937 SP in 7 games compared to the backup’s 0.857 in three games. Lugano is lead by the dynamic duo of Markus Granlund and Brett Conolly up front, and Marco Mueller (RD) and Mirco Mueller (LD) on the back end, who I dearly hope are playing on the same pairing. Don’t even get me started on the wonderfully named Austrian legend Raphael Herburger.
Devin Shore clears waivers.
Damn you Jeff Petry!
Roster Usage Tip v. Woody
Last year – number of players that had less than 15% of TOI/game (9 minutes)
Woody (38 games)
0 players with less than 9 TOI – 26%
1 player – 26%
2 players -26%
3 players – 13%
4 players 8%
Change from Prior coach – Foegele and Kassian, Benson sent away
Tip (44 games)
0 Player with less than 9 TOI – 16%
1 player -12%
2 players 28%
3 players 31%
4 players 12%
Common player on this list Benson, Sceviour
THE CONTEST FORMERLY KNOWN AS DEATH MARCH™:
now known as – HUNTER1909’S OILERS DYNASTY MARCH™
Here is how it works.
Same rules same everything and all of the previous records will be retained for posterity.
Here is how to play: Predict the total points that Oilers finish the season with.
Tie breakers:
a) – How many points Connor McDavid gets
b) – how many goals Leon Draisaitl scores
c) – Where Oilers finish(1-16th in the West)
Deadline: Puck drop @ Game 6 Pittsburgh
To Recap:
1 – Predict Oilers final regular season point total
2 – Connormcdavid points
3 – leondraisatl goals
4 – oilers finish in the West(1-16)
Points: 104
a) 117
b) 53
c) 5th in the west, 2nd in Pacific
Points: 109
a) 145
b) 48
c) 2nd in the West
Here goes:
1 – 114
2 – 142
3 – 52
4 – 2
Speaking of bolt of blue, wife and I are flying to Vancouver next Sunday for New Order/Pet Shop Boys. So excited
Go West!
Enjoy what might be the greatest Edmonton fall season of my lifetime, hockey season ahead!
You are one of the great people on this planet, LT.
Thank YOU for this space to talk hockey on the ol’ Al Gore.
I don’t think there is any chance McLeod plays on the 4th line. That centre depth looks great, but I see Nuge playing left wing likely on the 2nd line but possibly on the 3rd with Mcleod
Interesting that Pittsburgh has Ty Smith on waivers.
A big fall for a Lowetide favourite who had a great start to his career in New Jersey.
Smith didn’t need waivers, so that is news. I know they sent him down, but was unaware they also waived him. Seems strange. 🙂
Smith was sent down to the team could be cap compliant on opening night. He has struggled for sure, but your post is not accurate.
Respectfully LT, Brogan Rafferty told me that Smith told him that he was on waivers.
I stand corrected!!
Ah, right you are.
It appears the acquisition of Petry has changed the complexion of their D.
What does Petry have to do with it? Ty Smith and Jeff Petry were acquired on the same day. It was clear on that day that Marino was traded for Ty Smith to make room for Petry on the right side. And even though Ty is listed and RD/LD, he played mostly LD New Jersey. Pittsburgh sent away Matheson (LD) in the Petry trade, but Ty wasn’t able to do enough this camp to so far beat out Dumoulin, Pettersson, Olivier or Ruutu (who they signed as a UFA 3 days before trading for Smith and Petry).
Ty Smith’s path seems closer to Ethan Bear’s where he played 20+ a night in his first season, but was down on the 3rd pair most of his next full season, traded to a new team and fighting for a roster spot. He is only 22 though so he could bounce back. Given that Letang and Petry are signed for 6 and 3 years respectively and Ty Smith’s forte seems to be offense and his is 5’11”, 180 lbs, he will be challenged to carve out a prominent role on the Pens any time soon.
I recall a time when there were accounts of Bouchard’s draft cohort passing him by…….
what about all the times you said he passed Bouchard on the side of the road???
Happy Thanksgiving LT.
I’m thinking the Russian swap is a good one both for the clubs and the players.
Blues are shy on D especially Perunovich w/ out 6mos
The Condors are shy on forwards. Gives them an opportunity to compete.
The other shoe that will drop is the next contract.
Both players have egos, and will push the issue of not playing in the big club for real $$.
Getting the same msg from a second opinion, a different coach, should poke some holes at that ego.
For Kostin, it sounds like he has the tools but lacks the consistency and the will to use them every shift. That’s something he can change and is on the player.
Basically, we’re wondering will the real Klim Shady please stand up, please stand up?
I’m reminded of a young Maroon.
Let it be so.
1) I’ve been a Samorukov booster for years, and I still feel he is NHL ready, if he had a year of 6D minutes he’d prove to be an every day NHL guy with some upside and I’m sad. With the said, although I don’t agree with Nimeo being ahead of him on the depth chart, it seems the was the case for coaching and/or magament and there wasn’t no longer a path for every day NHL minutes in this org. He was behind Niemo for the 4LD going forward position. Given the foregoing, this was a trade of a depth LD tweeter for a depth RW tweener, both near league min and both having cleared waivers. I’m “not happy” but the trade makes sense from that perspective.
2) I agree there are some intriguing names on the waiver wire, as always. I also agree the Oilers won’t put in a claim on any.
3) I also agree on the opening night roster (which will not match the 3pm eastern roster today, necessarily).
4) With the said, if they are going to assign Broberg (and Malone with him), instead of bringing Shore and NIemo up, if Niemo is going to be in the press box for opening night, why don’t they leave him and Shore assigned and bring up Janmark?
Janmark/Ryan/Foegle as a fourth line has to be the best forward group in the league, right?
I know Janmark under-whelmed in the pre-seson but he’s a higher tier player than Shore, right?
5) If something happens and they need a d-man for game 2, they can simply send Janmark down and bring up Niemo – there are days between those games and tons of time.
6) Happy T-giving yourself and I’m heartened that you and your family are well (feel better Ms. Tide). Erin and I are well although we have family (mine) and best friends (her) that are FAR from well and the arrows point down. We are getting by and, in fact, she is on a plane for Moroco in 3 hours – nothing like getting dropped off in the middle of the desert on a 49cc Monkey Bike with two friends and “see ya in Merakesh” 9 days later – here is hoping there are few bike breakdowns and finding places to stay and eat along the way is not too stressful. Good love to my wife!
Happy thanksgiving to our gracious host and all readers! There really is so much to appreciate in our lives, including another season of watching Oilers hockey.
Question for the group – I’d like to watch the Oilers on TV. Full stop. I don’t really want to watch other NHL games, or other sports. Any suggestions on the best way to go about that?
nhl66.ir
Usually around Black Friday SNNow has a promo on their service. I got it last year for $120 for the year. This is the regional service, I live in Alberta so I get all the games here.
If you are out of the local broadcast region, or travel a lot, you’d need their premium service and that does include all the other games from other teams.
Pirating is an option too but in my experience, pirated streams are also unreliable. SNNow is far from perfect but it’s not too bad. At $10/month I’ll take that over dealing with pirate sites and potentially security risks.
I assume you don’t live in Alberta? Because all you need is basic cable and the sportsnet heavy group of channels. IF you already have cable, thought would be cheaper than SNNow, if not, well, it’s not.
Prospectism!
Nothing says Thanksgiving like afternoon hockey. (Who am I kidding–many things say Thanksgiving more than afternoon hockey.) There happens to be one such match today, and it features Jake (Don’t Call Me Steve) Chiasson, who is off to a quick start with 3+2 in three games thus far for the Kings of Wheat.
IMO, the biggest thing he can do this season is stay healthy, as he has yet to play a full season in the Dub. The closest he came was 60 in his rookie season, followed by campaigns of 20 and 23 games, so is in danger of getting Benson’ed, i.e., missing crucial development time due to injury.
Puck drop is at 1 p.m. Meander River time.
OMG, 2 in a row.
“24 Hour Party People” and “Control”
Manchester, Joy Division, and New Order shaped a big part of the music we hear today.
Agreed, but why do you hate The Stone Roses?
Perhaps because Ian Brown hasn’t written a truly great song since 1989 and it’s difficult to compare a band with 1 absolute classic album (s/t), 1 middling album (second coming) and no output at all since then to a band that continued to innovate long after they had any business being innovators. I say this as someone who loved that first stone roses record – they’re not even in the same league as New Order.
Your words, they sting! But are true. Alas.
Sorry pal. I know how you feel. We all have those bands that we absolutely adore but when they’re compared to other bands from their era or scene, sometimes they fall short. For me, that band is Spiritualized. They’re way up on a pedestal when it comes to British guitar-rock bands for me, but despite the catalog and J Spaceman’s influence, they rarely end up on lists of the best bands of their era (even though Ladies & Gentlemen We are Floating in Space is just as good as OK Computer…).
Did you see the story about Ian Brown’s current tour though? No backing band – he’s just singing over essentially an iPod with backing tracks. It’s actually quite sad to see how far a once-brilliant songwriter has fallen.
Hastening now to Spiritualized’s catalogue-thanks for the recommendation!
Seconding the Spiritualized album selection. “No God, Only Religion” is utter chaos, and it is glorious. Whole album is good though.
July 19, 1986 I was lucky enough to be in Manchester for the “Festival of the 10th Summer” concert. New Order, The Smiths, OMD, Buzzcocks, and others I don’t remember anymore. Didn’t fully realize what an incredible event it was at the time, but I still have the tee shirt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkOr12AQpnU
Many here were pulling for Sami. So, in this instance, I take the more sombre version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISKQDCLpDSY
Both players need a 2nd opinion.
The Oilers are no longer the best organization for Samorukov because they cannot allocate the ice time at the NHL that he needs to transition, and the Oilers may have better candidates for that limited NHL ice time.
The Oilers are prioritizing winning over development at the NHL level, seemingly even when “forced” development might result in a higher team level sooner (i.e. Murray over Broberg).
And the Oilers sort of needed another forward with potential to push from below.
The perfect trade is one that benefits both teams and also gives the players a boost with their careers. Fans like to see the other team taken out behind the woodshed and and then sent home with empty pockets ala Glen Sather. I think the Samorukov deal is an actual hockey trade and could possibly benefit both sides. Between what was ahead and behind Sammy on the depth chart it has to be a positive move for him.
Its almost an impossible task for a competitive team in this cap world, but it would certainly be nice to have some room
on the roster at waiver time. I think now more than ever before there are good deals that other teams just can’t squeeze in. Very much shopping in the discount aisle.
I’m not a big fan of the trade either. I think it’s more important to have depth on the blueline than on the wing. Feels like Kostin has already had his NHL test drive and Samarukov hasn’t.
I’m guessing this means that Broberg AND Neimaleinin were rated higher by Oilers management.
Kostin did look good in the game against the Oilers last year, so I guess we’ll see.
Of curse it means that. I don’t there are many hockey people on this planet who had Samorukov ahead of that those two prospects.
RW was scary weak at NHL depth. This move was necessary and smarter than standing pat and waiting to see if RW injury occured or not… y’know, so we can deal from a position of weakness. This is stellar work from the GM.
Can’t argue with you regarding the defense depth chart, although I don’t think Broberg or Neimaleinin played any better than Samarukov in preseason.
But why do you consider the RW depth chart so weak?
Hyman
Yamamoto
JP
Ryan
Foegele (possibly)
Bourgault (on the way)
Looks pretty solid to me.
Well, that depth chart is already “stealing” Hyman from the preferred left side and, for now, Yamamoto seems more banged up than they are letting on (not even on a normal line rush today) and Bourgault doesn’t seem like a realistic NHL option this season (and may not even be next October either – he could need some time).
Its not terrible, of course, but I do agree with the premise of the trade.
Hyman and Foegele are also on the LW depth chart too so overall, adding Kostin gives them a decent amount of cover up front on both sides. Yes Holloway is currently on the LW depth chart at the NHL level, but Holland is cautious enough to not leave himself completely exposed if it turns out Holloway is not quite ready to be a full time top 6 NHL player.
Oilers left D depth chart right now is Nurse, Kulak, Murray, Broberg, Neimaleinin and Koekkoek if he gets his personal issues straightened out. In the long run, Samorukov was very unlikely going to be ahead of Broberg and Murray has been steadier than all the rookies this pre-season. And has been mentioned before, what happens in pre-season games is only one of the important things that Woodcroft and his team use to evaluate which players will help them most in the regular season. Woodie and Manson got to know all three of those D very well over the last 2 to 3 seasons.
Samorukov became expandable as Holland needed insurance in another area on the team. And when it can work out that he can help the team and possibly also help Samorukov get another shot elsewhere, he helps his reputation with players as well.
Once Holland brought in Murray then old man Demer’s the writing was on the wall for Sammy.
Sami, Neimo, and Broberg we’re all given the talk at the end of last season. They were asked to come to camp in the best shape of their lives to compete for one roster position. It became clear throughout the preseason to the coaching staff that Sami did nothing to win the job, and that Neimo and Broberg had more to offer. Sail on Samoroukov. Welcome Klim!
May I ask what you saw Broberg or Niemo offering over Samorukov? Broberg is the future, clearly and is in another tier, even if his camp was middling.
Nimeo laid lots of hits, and big hits, and I’m not discounting the positive impact that has. At the same time, he was definitely not as solid as Samorukov who was quietly effective in the opportunities he provided – defend, get the puck, move the puck.
You are right, clearly the org has Niemo ahead of Sammy but your post, at least to me, writes like NImeo placed major separation over Samorukov, and I just don’t see it.
I was expecting the Thanks Giving post? Maybe thats the Xmas one (family update).
IMO, this is the first time in 30 years Edmonton has legitimate expectations placed on them …..
I LOVE THIS SQUAD. Prediction: EDM beats CAR in CUP FINAL ….
Wrote it, it’s at the bottom of the post. I had to tack it on because it was 8:35 or so and I thought it might take some time to write it, so posted it, then added the thanksgiving coda.
A most Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. It is the way that it should be; that good things happen to and for good people.
Ahhhhh !!! HAPPY THANKSGIVING LT & OILERS BLOG FAITHFUL !!!
Glad your Family is doing well.
6th Stanley will arrive in June. Bucklr Up!
Curious stat of the day: ex-Oilers 6th round pick Aapeli Rasanen currently leads the Liiga in scoring with 5g and 7a in 10 games alongside a 57.5% FO win %. Shooting % is running white hot, but I’m glad to see him continuing to improve back home in Finland!
Stampede Rasanen! Good on him.
Fun fact: His brother Iivari is a d-man who plays with Brind’Amour for Quinnipiac.
I always thought AR had a chance to be a late round sleeper pick, glad to see him having some success.