Phil Kemp is exactly that type of player I cheer for, partly because his story is powerful on a human level. Kemp is so close to becoming an NHL player, but he’s been waiting in line for Vincent Desharnais and that was a big hurdle.
The next step for Kemp is a strong training camp. That means establishing himself as a viable option behind the assumed RH depth chart of Evan Bouchard, Philip Broberg and Cody Ceci. We’re not certain the Oilers will begin the season in this way, we could see Ceci (rider) dealt or even Broberg could be part of a package (although that seems a distant bell).
Kemp owns a cap hit of $775,000 and there is no defender in Bakersfield with a lower total. He represents room to wheel financially. The numbers that Eric Rodgers supplies us annually show he is a strong shutdown blue in Bakersfield. Last season, Kemp’s 58 percent even-strength goal share led all Condors defenders, and it was 55 percent (and tops among Oilers prospect D) the year before.
I know that isn’t the best possible intel, but it does show us he’s been reliable for the last 135 NHL games.
Kemp, like all Oilers prospects who haven’t had the opportunity to make a real impression on Kris Knoblauch during an entire training camp, will get his chance in the fall. I’ll be cheering for him.
He’s the modern Larry Mavety. I’ve told this story many times, but Mavety would always be in the fall guides and magazines; he’d get maybe one sentence that went “Doug Barrie, Ray McKay and Larry Mavety are also in the mix.” The mix. Man, the mix didn’t treat Larry Mavety very well. The mix laughed at Larry Mavety. Passed on him every time, and then caused coaching staffs to forget his name all year long. One time I was reading a summary of an Atlanta Flames game, saw the name Randy Manery and thought it was Larry Mavety. No sir. Not even a minute of NHL ice.
Even guys like Gerry Odrowski–once injured in a game playing for the Oakland Seals in NYC (against the Rangers) and had to be taken to the hospital. The team forgot about him (he was released from the hospital and had to make his own way home. Good lord what an awful thing to do to a person)–in what must have been a difficult moment. Ordrowski enjoyed an NHL career. Not Mavety.
Not one game. Not one minute. Oh sure, he played in the WHA but never played a game in the National Hockey League. He was close, by God. Never got the chance.
Phil Kemp has played in one NHL game, and hopefully he’ll see many more. That one appearance may not seem like a bunch, but 50 years from now his grandkids can look in the Guide and Record Book and see Grampy’s name. I think that’s very cool.
New for The Athletic: Oilers have major scoring talent ticketed for the AHL in 2024-25
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5648202/2024/07/21/oilers-bakersfield-condors-matt-savoie/
solid article, as many do, I like what Jackson has done so far.
Hope everyone is having a great summer.
I am 100% NOT on board with a Stan Bowman hire by the oilers in any capacity, it actually makes me spit venom even talking about it. Of all the good things happening this will not go over well with me as an Oil fan.
I hope it isn’t true.
Would really like to see Kemp perform well in camp, would be great to have a guy step up for the RHD spots.
In regards to Bowman, Quenneville, et al. They weren’t junior interns. They were leaders of their team, who deliberately let someone suffer the depths of hell hang so as to:
a. make sure they had a chance to win the Cup;
b. celebrate the joy of doing so unencumbered once they had won it; and
c. continue to profit from the win, both in terms of monetary gains and ‘joy’ gains, for as long as possible.
It was a decade before the s&*t started to really hit the fan. That isn’t a “we didn’t know” thing. That is a choice thing. Deliberative and cynical choices made, and made again.
I am 55 years old. I still suffer from the effects of sexual assaults I suffered as a child. It affects me as a person, a husband, a father, an employee.
I will die early in life, in part, because of it.
Does Bowman deserve a second chance. Maybe, sure. Still don’t want him anywhere near the team I love.
Full disclosure, one of the reasons I survived those earlier years is because I attached some of my happiness to those early Oiler teams (and the Eskimos as well – Brian Kelly all the way!)
At the very least I do think that there should be a recognition of the pollution re: his gains. To whit, on the Cup, strike his name. Don’t remove. Strike. Big ugly ‘X’ over each letter of his name of the Cup. Same with Quenneville.
Get that done and THEN they can start again. Clean as snow.
There was a full decade and then some people. They weren’t junior interns. They HEAVILY profited from ignoring the evil therein and then spent 2+ years spending those gains to make themselves presentable again. Small price to pay if you want to be cynical about it.
Thank you for sharing. I cannot imagine.
Thank you for telling your story.
Can’t believe someone would downvote this after you were brave enough to share something so intensely personal.
Respect
Agreed and thanks for telling your story.
2 questions:
1) Is Ekholm an option on his off-side? Is Nurse? Bouchard?
2) Is Stetcher/Brown/Kemp the solution to 3RD to start the season?
1) No (no,no) and 2) maybe.
I think Stetcher, if healthy, should be able to handle 3RD.
At least until the TD.
So:
Bouchard
Broberg
Stecher
With Josh Brown and Phil Kemp as cover.
That’s one blocked shot way from a right side of Broberg, Stecher, Brown….
That’s a different issue.
Not many teams have the depth to weather losing their 1RD. We certainly don’t.
If Florida loses Ekblad, they’ve got Kulikov or Nate Schmidt as options.
If the Avs lose Makar, they’ve got Josh Manson as 1RD. Good luck with that.
Does anyone outside of the Bruins (McAvoy, Carlo, Peeke) or ironically Utah (Durzi, Marino,Kesselring) have the depth?
I keep circling back to durzi. Like if he was openly available and oilers didnt even make a pitch is something i’d love to know.
1) From all I’ve heard and read, the ability of a d-man to play the off-side without too much drop off is mostly skating and footwork and this doesn’t seem like Ekholm’s forte. Further, from accounts (others that have done the research), Ekholm’s results on the right side in Nashville were quite poor.
2) Those are currently 4RD-6RD, likely in that order – if they get moved from 3RD-5RD, that’s not really a solution, in my opinion – one injury away from…. yikes.
A few months after the Oilers drafted Kemp, I saw him play at a Yale game in New Haven, CT. My amateur prognosis from that very limited sample size of watching him was that he’d be a good AHL player but he’d only get a cup of coffee at the NHL level. Here’s to hoping I was wrong and that he will get many steak dinners in the NHL.
Mark Hunter to be named GM tomorrow?
Not a confirmed rumour but that’s what I’ve heard.
https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/rumor-oilers-ready-to-announce-new-gm
Quoting the source Ryan posted yesterday.
Am I supposed to read every comment from previous days before I make a post?
No, I was just pointing out that this was not a new source – for those who did read Ryan’s post and the subsequent discussion on it on yesterday’s post.
That is all. I thought it was important to note that this was not a second source of the same rumour.
Fair. I didn’t see anyone talking about it so I was just trying to start the conversation. I’m sorry I didn’t read yesterday’s posts and didn’t know you guys had already spoken on it.
It can be very frustrating to post here, seems people don’t like new posters and like to jump all over anything from someone they don’t know. That’s the reason i got defensive. I just want to talk Oilers man 365. This appeared to be a place I could do that but it’s always so freaking negative.
No problem.
Don’t be discouraged. There are lots of good posters/people here.
Keep on bringing your Oilers thoughts, this is the place to do it.
The article also mentions that Stan Bowman could be joining the team as a special advisor. I replied to a post yesterday here, but that would be a terrible decision, and was surprised to see how many down votes that common got.
The down-votes are a surprising bad look for Lowetide’s community. Smart people know he was a mediocre GM who inherited all the pieces from Tallon. Yes the team won a couple more cups from the assembled pieces, but Bowman proceeded to do poor things with the team – and give out some of the worst contracts in NHL history.
The fact that he hid a case of sexual abuse within the team is horrible, but even just a footnote in the shitty legacy of Stan Bowman.
I would love to hear actual rationale from someone as to how Bowman could add any value to this team.
I have no idea what Bowman could or couldn’t offer in that role but I would point out that at present the Oilers have two Special Advisors and 3 AGM’s in hockey ops.
One man shows carry the danger of no checks on decision making but anybody who has worked in government or large corporations also knows that too many cooks in the kitchen rarely turns out the best tasting meals.
Well, based on the input from Sheldon Kennedy detailing SB’s efforts in creating and delivering respect training for hockey teams, he could be a special advisor for respect within the organisation.
This may help to ensure that the situation that happened in Chicago does not develop here and put someone at risk.
Who better than someone who has lived through it and learned.
Why not just hire Sheldon Kennedy then? Why does the organization require Stan Bowman to help them understand that r*pe is bad?
The logic and support for this argument is madness.
There’s enough people here whose general reaction to “cancel culture” is to get their back up with any suggestion that the world ought to change in progressive ways. Even something as blatantly obvious as “don’t hire a guy to management who helped cover up r*pe in their previous management role.” There’s nothing you can convince these people of, their fear of a changing world has overwhelmed them.
Just out of curiosity have you read this?
https://edmontonjournal.com/sports/hockey/nhl/cult-of-hockey/stan-bowman-edmonon-oilers-gm-kyle-beach-chicago-blackhawks-block-jenner
I haven’t but I will. No time now. Thanks for sharing.
I hadn’t read that. Glad I did.
Yeah, I learned some things I didn’t know about how it all played out.
Thanks! Glad I read it. Still not interested in a Bowman hire even with his progression, good on him. No need to cancel just no thanks to the idea of him being hired.
I post very little as I am but an Oilers fan. I’m not knowledgeable about analytics. I’m not super opinionated about trades, contracts etc. I feel a big need however to reply with my utmost support for this post and I sincerely thank you “Chelios”. I absolutely agree with you on this issue. And further (I know I can go back and look but I’m also lazy) – can I have the text number again to add my name to the “Do Not Hire Stan Bowman” voice? Thanks
Here you go: +1 (587) 855-5645
Downvotes don’t always mean what you think they mean.
Usually they’re used to show disagreement with a poster’s thoughts, but I think they’re also used pretty liberally to express dislike of an idea without necessarily being in disagreement with a post.
For example I might post “The Oilers just announced that Bowman will get the advisor job” and that would get lots of downvotes even if it were factually correct.
fair enough. It was a statement of opinion though, not a fact/occurrence. So pretty likely the down-votes were disagreement to my opinion.
If Hunter is indeed tasked with being the next GM, I’m going to have to give props to that random new poster who popped up after the draft, saying the Sam O’Reilly pick was all Hunter and that he’d be named the next GM.
And then I’m going to want to know more about how he knew.
It was Ninja Warrior at 11:03 time stamp on July 2nd I believe.
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Mark Hunter will be the next GM. It is he who is pulling the strings behind the scenes between the draft and free agency. And he’s already done an amazing job. Should have been Leafs GM many yrs ago instead of Dubas. Why ppl praise the utter complete failure Dubas is beyond me. He destroyed the Leafs organization after being handed the most optimal situation in the league with young talent and all his draft picks and managed to bleed their talent and depth and squander many future picks. How he got rewarded for a performance worse than Chiarelli, by having a chance to destroy a 2nd legendary franchise in Pittsburgh, is beyond me. He is a very politically correct speaker who knows how to say the right thing. The 2 biggest analytics guys Dubas & Chayka are the 2 biggest Gm failures. Analytics has a place in hockey, a small place. it cannot be quantified like it is in baseball because baseball is 1 on 1 and the stats are more accurate and the game situation is always the same, unlike with hockey. it’s the equivalent of reading stat the same on an NFL defense when the team is up large and playing prevent defence. Thats what all these analytic thumpers fail to understand. A big part is that it makes them feel good, like they are a scout/gm just by sitting at their computer and munching numbers. Again analytics has a place, but a very small place in hockey
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There were others who also speculated it would be him but I think this is the post you are referring to.
That’s the one, thank you.
Leavins lists the usual suspects in his column this morning and then drops a name I hadn’t heard yet.
“I think there should be more talk about Mathieu Darche.”
Anybody know anything about him – Assistant General Manager and Director of Hockey Ops for Tampa Bay.
Stan Marsh?
More like Stan Darsh!
https://www.southparkstudios.com/video-clips/0el38f/south-park-more-like-stan-darsh
Saw this July 1st. Made some sense
rondo smith on X: “@thisistheevan think Oilers are hiring Mark Hunter as GM. My reasoning is the recent draft. They needed good intel to move into the 1st rd London Knight player . It was an aggressive move. They also took a London Knight at #196. Oilers had a surprise pick at #160 no one had this guy ranked,” / X
Nice work, both of you.
I didn’t follow Dubas’ work in Toronto much, but he always seemed to put together great depth lines at a cheap price point.
If anything, where the analytics guys fall short, including Tulsky, might be in underestimating the importance of having savagery strategically placed in the lineup for the playoffs.
The summer isn’t over, of course, but am I the only one here underwhelmed by Tulsky’s 1st off season as GM?
What am I missing?
My bet is he is Mark Hunter
Not surprising the trade of 1st round picks and then the O’Reilly draft had Mark Hunter’s hand prints all over it..
Pretty sure that was what lit the fire in the rumour mill but I am not convinced that Jackson isn’t going to surprise us all with a name that causes us to go “who”?
The Rabbits that Jackson has been pulling you may be on to something with some unknown kid stepping up to the podium to welcome himself on and then immediately announcing a trade involving Ceci-Savoie for a cost effective RD-3.
Hehe. Let’s hope Ceci-Lavoie. 😎
Lavoie will play for the Habs who need big bodies just need to show them he can score at the N.H.L level. If stone hands Foegele and Yamamoto can score 20 playing with Leon Lavoie should be able to be on pace while we pump and dump him in the first half.
Seems like a high cost to potentially downgrade at RD…..
If Savoie is going, the return would have to be a legit 2RD upgrade.
What happened over the years with respect to his skating?
The scouting report says “Kemp is a good skater,” literally the second point of the first sentence.
Was it that he was good at that level, and others surpassed his speed/technique as they developed?
I’m really hoping Pelletier is putting in work over the offseason with the players and prospects. Aside from his famous name, I don’t see (hear or read) the impact he’s made. Could be a possible path to improve the team with no cap hit.
Ryan Holt was on the Oil Stream on Friday (Iwanyk filling in for Dusty and Gazolla) and Holt’s story line for the season is Olivier Rodrigue and he says he is going to be given every opportunity to be the true starter down in Bako.
This is great to hear. I think most of us would have presumed this is the case but I had heard rumblings that the org thinks Rodrigue is a few years away from NHL games.
Here is hoping that, if there is a call-up needed due to injury, Rodrigue has earned that over Delia who, although terrible recently, has NHL experience.
Here’s hoping that he is not picked up on waivers…
I would think there is almost a zero percent change of him being picked up. Never say never but most teams aren’t looking for a B prospect goalie with zero NHL games to keep on their NHL roster out of camp.
Still a few years away?
There’s slow-playing and then whatever this is.
6 years post-draft, and he’s still a few years away from being ready for an NHL game?
So, 9 years post-draft before he gets a look?
It’s beyond ridiculous.
They’ve also dumped the Sr. Rodrigue as goalie coach in Bakersfield.
Does this affect Rodrigue Jr.?
Did they hire a new goalie coach?
I’m not sure what to think about this prospect and his handling.
This not factually incorrect. They didn’t dump him, Sylvain wanted to move on and explore other opportunities.
Also, I wouldn’t take the hearsay as any more than what it is. Some rumblings from Gazolla or Rishaug (or someone along those lines – this was a few weeks ago and I can’t remember where I heard it) is not necessarily accurate.
As we are becoming acutely aware, the leaks have been sealed within this org.
Rodrigue split the games last years and, this year, he should be a true starter – solid next step for now.
Not factually incorrect seems like a good description of: “They’ve also dumped the Sr. Rodrigue as goalie coach in Bakersfield.”
The reports were that they “mutually parted ways”. There’s not been much discussion and he’s still listed on the Bakersfield website. Clearly not a priority topic, even though he’s one of the organization’s longest serving coaches.
“Mutually parted ways” doesn’t seem to happen if you played for the Golden Bears with the current head coach.
Sylvain started with the Oilers the same season that Schwartz did, and moved from Edmonton to Bakersfield when Olivier started with the Condors. This reads as a father doing everything he can possibly do for his son, and one can only guess that this decision has a similar motivation.
And possibly, just possibly, Sylvain is also frustrated that the Oilers didn’t give Olivier a single game during his waivers exempt period. And possibly, just possibly, there were some disagreements between Sylvain and an NHL brain trust that gifted Jack Campbell a huge contract then shoved the player in Bakersfield for Sylvain to deal with. And possibly, just possibly, that would be a very weird situation to be in, one where you both need to help your son and help rehabilitate the GM’s biggest boo boo in recent memory.
Josh Brown has been an NHL player for quite a while now. He has close to 300 games of experience. No doubt that he is right behind Stecher on the depth chart (and maybe even 7D to start the season if Stecher isn’t fully ready to go after his ankle surgery – although unofficial intel is recovery is going fine and he’ll be ready).
At the same time, I have zero desire to have Josh Brown in the Oilers lineup. It may have to happen but that wouldn’t be a good thing in my opinion. His experience and history shows that he is a replacement level d-man on a meh team.
My hope is that Phil Kemp passes him on the depth chart on merit. I don’t know that Phil Kemp can’t be 3RD on an championship team. I don’t know that he can but I don’t know that he can’t. Unless something changes drastically, which really is not reasonable, we KNOW that Josh Brown is not that player.
Phil Kemp is a great “team guy”, if nothing else. That doesn’t mean he should be on this team let alone in the lineup but his style of play is exactly what the team needs at 3RD and he’s a great guy to cheer for.
Here is hoping!
It’s official, Josh Brown is OP’s new Brad Malone.
I didn’t even mention him haha! I think Brown plays for the Oilers next season, the question is how much? 40 games?
Do you think its a good thing if Josh Brown is playing half the games for the Oilers and in the conversation for the lineup in May?
My guess, 15-20, but only against the weakest opposition.
If he plays much more than that, we will not be in a good spot.
Brad Malone’s greatest value to the organization was being the captain of the Condors and a great mentor for the kids learning how to be pros.
Josh Brown’s great value to the org is in the Ryan Stanton role!
We know Ceci cannot be a 3RD on a championship team.
I can’t wait to see some heavy weight tilts next year. Brown is a great signing for this reason alone. I really hope Brown isn’t afraid to punish those who take liberties on the skill guys and mainly McDavid.
Not a day goes by without OP dumping on Josh Brown. It’s becoming terribly UnoriginalPouzar.
Today’s blog is about Phil Kemp and, at least in my opinion, Josh Brown is direct competition for him – they are right beside each other in on the depth chart.
LT didn’t “bring up Josh Brown” but he wrote about his direct competition so I think its an apt discussion.
There is little doubt that Josh Brown is head of Phil Kemp on the depth chart. Just like LT I hope that Phil Kemp impresses at camp and I hope that he pushes for that 3RD spot outright and, realistically, first call-up.
I haven’t seen a single number or read a report that has been complimentary of Josh Brown’s game except he’s tough and can fight.
I get it you just can’t resist.
You have contributed two posts to today’s conversation – both of them 100% directed at me personally.
Do you have anything of substance to add to the conversation today?
Ok, I have not commented much since the season ended. Do not even read everyday. But Kemp is a favorite of mine and was before we even picked him. I suggested here that we should use a pick on him.
I have known Phil Kemp since he was two years old. I know his family well. A real good family here in Greenwich.
He is solid, he would be a great addition to the blue. I want to see him play D in the NHL. I will cheer like hell for him and so will my boys!
I was intrigued by him once we drafted him, and not going to lie… you singing his praises only increased my interest.
If he can skate and pass better than Vinny he can play if Vinny can. And play quicker. I haven’t seen him play as a pro so I have no read on his abilities
He scored a beauty at camp I think two three years ago?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhPG-zxMCVE
Thx
He’s a better passer, better offensive instincts than Vinny.
With that said, being able to do that at the NHL level is not a given.
I don’t think he’s a better skater than Vinny – Vinny was/is so long that he was able to close on players and close gaps so quickly when he was on his game. Kemp doesn’t have that attribute but he is a VERY smart defender, very positionally sound.
And in that one game, didn’t he play wing?
”C’mon kid. Show us what you got!”
3 shifts.
2 minutes 3 seconds,
and a MUCH better debut that Dimitri Samorukov…..