The long hockey season is already underway in parts of the world, Maxim Berezkin has played in six KHL games while averaging about 4:17 a night and not scoring. Maxim Denezhkin has played four VHL games and has an assist. Matej Blumel, who some believe is waiting to sign an Oilers contract in the future, has played four games in the Czech league, 0-1-1.
Perhaps the most pleasant surprise early this season is Patrik Siikanen, who has played four games in the Liiga (Finland) and has two goals. Those two goals equal his entire output in the same league one year ago.
Tonight, Oilers rookies play the Flames rookies, both teams lacking a lightning rod prospect but there are men who will play tonight and in the NHL down the line. Let’s have a look.
THE ATHLETIC!
- New DNB: Cooper Marody Q&A
- Lowetide: Oilers preseason stories of the past, from Tony Hand to Leon Draisaitl
- Lowetide: The Oilers and the Cooper Marody experiment are at a crossroads
- 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: What should the Oilers expect from Cody Ceci in his first season?
- Lowetide: Projecting the 2021-22 Edmonton Oilers opening night lineup
- Lowetide: What should Oilers expect from Duncan Keith in his first season?
- 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: 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?
POSSIBLE LINEUP TONIGHT
Line 1: Raphael Lavoie-James Hamblin-Xavier Bourgault: This line has a volume shooter (Lavoie), an accurate sniper with passing ability (Bourgault) and a smart center who has skill and is a perfect veteran mentor for these talented wingers.
Line 2: Matvei Petrov-Henrik Rybinski-Tyler Tullio: The second line features another volume shooter (Petrov), an agitating winger with skill (Tullio) and determination, and a righty center with size who is one of the best playmakers among the forwards.
Line 3: Ostap Safin-Devin Brosseau-Dino Kambeitz: Safin is a PF with an edge when he’s on, I’d love to see him play the way he has teased during his career. Brosseau is a fine playmaker with experience and Kambeitz brings some bite to the lineup. He does have some scoring ability and is signed to an AHL deal.
Line 4: Brady Burns-Drew Englot-Tim Soderlund: This is a makeshift line and I have a feeling some of these men will move up depending on the score. Burns is a small and very skilled forward from the QMJHL who is one of Edmonton’s best forwards based on math. Englot is 6.03, 190, a righty and a November 2002, hard working center with a no nonsense attitude. If MacT were coaching tonight he’d be on the 1PP. Soderlund is part of a trade with Chicago and as Swedish Poster has been telling us, he has speed and tools but the results have not followed.
Pairing One: Markus Niemelainen-Mike Kesselring: Two men coach Jay Woodcroft knows and has coached some, I was impressed with both during their time with the Bakersfield Condors. Watch for Niemelainen’s good mobility and size, and for Kesselring’s creativity with the puck.
Pairing Two: Philip Broberg-Filip Berglund: A natural pairing as they played together for Skelleftra in the SHL. Broberg is a fast train on ice and his coverage is good. He sometimes makes the wrong decision, but that’s what youth is all about. Berglund is an older prospect and should stand out in this group despite being new to North American rinks and hockey. I’m looking forward to seeing him this fall and believe he is being overlooked by most fans (understandably).
Pairing Three: Dmitri Samorukov-Phil Kemp: The early star of rookie camp is Samorukov, who is bigger, stronger and faster since he last attended a camp. As I’ve mentioned through the summer, he is a player with a chance to play in the NHL this season. I projected him to get into some games in my RE series. Kemp is the type of defender you have to actively watch in order to appreciate, he has shutdown potential.
Goalies: Olivier Rodrigue, Ilya Konovalov: The rookie games are often split (30 minutes each) between goalies, and perhaps we see it tonight. I believe both goalies have NHL potential, Rodrigue’s road probably a little longer but things can change in a hurry. Konovalov, for me, is a goalie close to being NHL-ready and may be there now. Will the Oilers trust him? We’ll see.
FALL 2014 ROSTER V GOLDEN BEARS AND POST GAME COMMENTS
Mitch Moroz – Leon Draisaitl – Mitch Holmberg
Vladdy Tkachev – Bogdan Yakimov – Greg Chase
Travis Ewanyk – Jujhar Khaira – Kale Kessy
Connor Jones – Kellen Jones – Kyle Platzer
Jordan Oesterle – Dillon Simpson
Darnell Nurse – C.J. Ludwig
David Musil – Martin Gernat
Laurent Brossoit
Ty Rimmer
NOTES
- Mitch Moroz gets another push, as does Mitch Holmberg. Draisaitl looked very good in G2-Penticton, hopefully we’ll see more of those ridiculous passes. 100% chance he makes the Oilers.
- That second line is gold. Big Russian center blocks out the sun, the RW has skill and yaps more than Tikkanen, and the LW is the hockey personification of ‘it came out of the sky‘.
- Khaira hasn’t been given one damn break on linemates at EVs this camp, and that continues tonight.
- That 4line should be able to play the Golden Bears at par tonight, lots of experience there and some penalty-killing acumen.
- Oesterle-Simpson have some chem, I’m beginning to think we’ll see them early in the year down in Oklahoma territory.
- Nurse gets Ludwig and that’s freewheelin’ Bob Dylan—we may see a minus or two with this duo.
- Musil—Gernat should be able to dictate a few things out there tonight, this should be Martin at his best.
- Brossoit-Rimmer would be my choice for ‘two goalies I’d like to see again’ from the Penticton camp.
Can Ostaf Safin stay healthy this year and, importantly, find some consistency in the AHL and put himself back in the conversation as a real prospect? At least earn himself a second NHL 2-way contract?
I thought he looked pretty good last night.
I don’t see any comments past 7.32 pm. Plus they’re not sorting properly.
Been a quiet site for awhile. Hopefully gets busier soon.
`180 comments in late summer is a good number and views were the best in several weeks last night. There’s an ebb and a flow, but things appear to be building again.
Sorting probably depends on your pov. If you want the latest, you can click on indivudual posts on the sidebar to the right. At the top of comments, you can prompt “oldest first” or “newest first” and you’ll get that presented to you. Still have to go walkabout for the newest responses though, and that we can’t fix due to the style we’re under now. I like the system overall.
Damn. I thought the game started at 7PM.
Damn. Samorukov hurt on the first shift?
Damn. The Flames are dirty b#st#ards.
Yes they are. I think we might need a couple of those type of guys. Pretty much know what the Flames game plan is going to be vs Oilers.
I think we knew that the day they hired Sutter.
And the big Dirty Birds weren’t even playing.
Tkachuk, Ritchie, Lucic and Zadorov will gibe Kassian nightmares.
While losing the hockey game. Teams with less talent have been trying this forever.
Because it is the only trick they have and sometimes it works.
If the refs call penalties as in the rule book and don’t worry about how many a team gets, the shames will be golfing early
I’m not worried about what the Flames will be doing next May. I am worried about how many Oilers they will injure during the regular season.
It will be a war of attrition.
Single games don’t mean much.
Just a a reminder that Sutter won two cups with teams that played heavy hockey.
Yup. He had more talent though I believe.
First step for Sutter, though, is to thug it up. He knows he needs talent to win but I think he resents that he does.
There will be blood on the ice before this season is over.
Just a reminder, Sutter’s Flames were 15-15 under him.
Not his roster though. Winning is a process for Sutter. First he instills the blood lust in the troops and weeds out the weak.
That won’t make much of a difference for this Flames roster though.
Sutter weeds out the weakest of his roster and is left with.. a weak roster.
Yup, flames were better before the Sutter hiring, and that’s even taking in to account the “dead cat bounce”.
Yup, the players will have an entire training camp, etc. with Sutter, and that is real – of course, a longer period really just means that, the players will likely find Sutter’s “motivational tactics” getting old fairly quick.
The main thing here is that the flames really didn’t improve at all this off season. Coleman is a nice pick-up, expensive, but nice, however, overall, that team might have got worse this off-season.
I guess we should get used to this..
I fear so.
Perhaps LT should preemptively add this to his blog post every day.
Such an odd statement from someone that loves to discount examples from even 5 years ago because of how the game has changed and is changing.
Just a reminder that Ken Holland built more than 2 Stanley Cup winners, largely, by acquiring veterans to help a younger core.
Great – and McDavid/Drai/Nuge/Hyman/Barrie will give the entire flames team nightmares on the PP
I’m guessing you may be the only one around here that thought maybe there’s a chance those dirty birds would dress for a rookie game.
Just a reminder Sutter hockey flamed out and missed the playoffs, they were a worse team down the stretch and there’s a stench in the dressing room.
You may be in for a long season of cleaning up dirty bird shit. But it’s you, so you’ll just move on to which ever team is in first place and give them hearty reach arounds until that blows up in your face.
Dirty bird cycle.
The flames are poised for a run up the standings – or so I’ve read!
I’d rather have Kassian, Hyman, Foegel, and Nurse…
Hyman, Foegele, Keith and Perlini can all handle themselves. We still need a bad ass D-man.
LT, can you delete my post with wrong time, I don’t want to mess it up for anyone
Done.
Sorry, it is 7:00
It is 6 MT on Monday, no?
https://www.nhl.com/oilers/news/oilers-2021-rookie-camp-content/c-326153954
I thought so, but Tony Brar said 7:00
Fair enough. ?
They are. I was disappointed in Tullio. Thought a game vs flames rookies was a tailor made game for his style, and he was barely noticeable.
Tulio is still a junior-aged prospect and these games, while part of a “rookie camp” feature prospects of varying ages. How old is Berglund, for example?
Lets not forget, Tulio is a nice prospect, but he was drafted in the 5th round less then a year ago. I anticipate a strong year as a captain, and he’ll light up the scoresheet, but he’s going to be a bit of a project if he ever makes the NHL.
Nice to have hockey back. Oilers streaming has improved a lot.
Oilers like to start them young playing 4-3 hockey in a 2-1 league.
Other traditions upheld, untimely injuries to promising young players. Fuck the Flames.
Horrible, dangerous hit on Borgault. He seems okay. Lots of banged up players including Sammy, Kemp, Broberg and Rybinski
Bad hit from behind. Phlegm players learn early to be dirty, How pathetic
The Battle of Alberta will be back and real. The Flambes will get the Oilers ready for playoff hockey.
Get used to it, they are going to exact a toll on our team this season.
If the ref calls it by the rule book the shames will be out by the new year
Calgary rookies playing Sutter hockey.
You mean dirty
Uh yea, dirty…..
I’m shocked.
I wonder if Rybinksi is under consideration for an NHL contract or if he is mainly here trying to earn an AHL deal. There’s certainly enough room at the 50 man list for forwards.
No one has really stood out as head and shoulders above the others for me so far, but Rybinski and Bourgeault are showing well.
I think he has a chance. Edmonton doesn’t have much to send to Bakersfield at center.
I’d guess only an AHL contract at this point. I don’t believe Holland has given any Jr or College free agent an NHL deal yet (with the Oilers), though he’s signed lots to AHL deals.
Is Samorkov hurt? I haven’t seen him since the head shot during the first shift.
Got caught on the first shift, haven’t seen him.
I suspect so, his hit on Duer on his first shift ended badly for him. He bounced off him and hit the ice, it seemed he skated to the bench immediately afterwards. Kaldis is taking his spot.
Hopefully just a scare and is being held out as a precaution and is not his repaired shoulder…
Very excited for tonight’s game, mainly because Bruce McCurdy’s article where he tries to eat LT’s lunch as bard of the game waxing poetic about the sites and sounds.
The player I am most interested in watching Samorukov. Him making the NHL this year is key to both short and long term success for this D corps. Going full Bear ala ’19 and earing a top 4 spot would be amazing.
Second player I am looking at is Lavoie. Now that losing one of Puljujarvi or Yamamoto written in pencil by the Keith contract has been chiseled in stone by the Yamamoto one year deal.
Third is Berglund – RHD depth is gold.
This seems a little exaggerated, no? Of course, I hate the Keith deal, so no disagreement on that act of foolishness. But there will be ways to keep both of them on the roster. A lot can change in a year.
Exaggeration on a hockey blog, yes I am guilty, and unrepentant.
Ha! Yes indeed!
Oh and on another note, for Modo’s last preseason game earlier this week Jeremias Lindewall was suddenly moved up to the first line after spending the entire preseason in the bottom six and looking like he’d start the year on the 4th line. A bit surprising but the combination of the team having trouble scoring and him getting the GWG the game before may have contributed.
They won the game but he didn’t get any points and his line didn’t score either so my guess is still that he’ll start the year on the 4th line but at least this shows that the coaching staff have him in mind for a bigger role.
Game night oh how I’ve missed you. Will be fun to see BroBerglund reunited. Their styles match pretty well so should be a strong pairing cobwebs and, in the case of Berglund, very little experience from the smaller ice be damned.
From Broberg I’d like to see if his game is starting to get cleaner, more reliable and more of his highlight reel plays actually ending with some actual production instead of moments of brilliance that almost became something. He’s got so much ability, so much skill and tools but he needs to be more in control of that skillset on the ice, needs all those tools to connect at the same time more consistently. He can play a pretty safe, contained game if told so but that’s not optimizing his ability, you want him to be this force of nature type of player while still being in control and he’s not quite there yet. When things do fall into place I think he’ll move pretty quickly from “not NHL ready” to quality top 4 D with gamebreaking ability but it’s not where he’s at right now.
I have an example on that lack of cleanliness from the last viewing I had of him last season during the SHL playoffs. I turned the game on some time late second, early third period and the first thing that happened was Broberg getting the puck in the neutral zone, controlling it while doing crossovers backwards, turning forward, accelerating into the offensive zone blowing past the entire opposing team on the outside, cutting inside to the net, firing a wrister over the goalie’s shoulder but also an inch over the crossbar, almost highlight reel goal, then quickly moving back to the blue line, after some hard work from the forwards getting the puck back on the blue firing a good shot forcing a quality save. After the following face off he first pinches perfectly to keep the play alive, gets the puck back moves deep but when trying the dangle loses the puck and possession for his team. Late in the game with his team down a goal and the goalie pulled he once again uses his skating for an easy zone entry, makes a clever little play to his forward by the half boards, gets back into position, the puck moves around a bit, he finds some open ice after a quick read and react and gets a nice pass for the one timer but almost misses the puck completely connecting only with the heel of his stick. His team loses possession and the puck goes the other way but he manages to get the puck back in the defensive zone winning a foot race and then nicely angling off the opposing forward but once in control of the puck he suddenly blows a tire when turning to skate the puck up ice and play ends up in the corner with his team losing crucial seconds and eventually the game.
So yeah that’s what I mean with his lack of cleanliness, he’s mostly fine, but then he has a sudden mishap where he blows a tire or coughs up the puck, he makes these highlight reel plays where he almost connects but not quite, the shot is a little to high, the pass is slightly off, the puck jumps off his stick just as he’s about to tuck the puck in after some crazy dangle. I think him growing into his body and getting stronger will help him a lot. He’s had a very ambitious off season it seems, in Sweden he was working with one of the most reputable trainers amongst NHLers, Andreas Öhgren, training alongside guys like Nicklas Bäckström, Gabriel Landeskog and even Daniel Sprong who made it to Sweden to work with this guy. Then he went to Biosteel camp which is pretty rare among Swedes, followed by arriving early at the captain’s skates. So he’s certainly been training like an NHLer this iff season.
As for Berglund I think he’ll play a pretty simple game tonight, outside of being at development camp a few years ago I think he has very little, if any, experience from the smaller ice so I could see him focusing on positioning and finding his rythm. Hopefully he can at least show off his shot which is a beauty when he’s on his game and some strong passing. I will be interested to see how his pivoting from backwards to forward and winning puck races on dump ins will look on the smaller ice as that’s an area where he might get into trouble at the NHL level. Overall quickness. Obviously the first game and far from NHL level so you can’t draw too much conclusions from it but still, it’s something to look for. When he moves his feet I think his skating is fine but on the smaller ice there’s much more start and stop so it will be interesting.
Don’t know what to expect from Söderlund, he should be able to make some plays against this level of competition. I watched his interview from the other day, hadn’t seen him without gear for a while. Funny how in his draft year he looked like he was 14 and now aged 23…he still looks 14. Might explain why he’s struggled with the transition to pro hockey and finding any kind of production against men despite a pretty nice set of skills.
I love everything you post.
I’ve posted this before, but it’s not like I am a frequent poster. This is a line up configuration I believe could weaponize the Oilers assets and have a solid EV output, given the concerns with the D line-up.
Assuming the Dcorps lines up like this (my Oilers Fan angst: a healthy season for Darnell will be key, otherwise things could go off the rails pretty quickly) :
Nurse-Barrie
Keith-Ceci
Russell-Bouchard
This could be a very effective line-up IF guys like Kassian (a notorious, in my mind, slow-starter), Benson and Perlini impress early. Perlini is in a great spot given his history with Tipp and his contract.
For me the wild cards are Archibald (will he play this season due to apparent vax-stance, is he even in Edmonton yet?), Turris (how does he look early) and Marody (did he improve is speed and/or quickness and compete level).
Perlini-CMD-Hyman, surely Perlini can do at least as well as Rattie did….
RNH-Drai-Kass
Foegele-Ryan-JP-Carolina linemates reunited, all excellent at EV play
Benson-McLeod-Yamo-All familiar with each other from Bako days. Could be a very effective 4th line
It would be exceptional if Perlini could transform from being a marginal NHLer to first line winger on a playoff team. As you note, McDavid can make pretty much anyone better… but there’s nothing in Perlini’s past that suggest we could expect him to prosper on a first line that must outscore the opponent’s best players. IMO, Perlini will be fourth line energy guy who can move up in a pinch … or AHL.
I beg to differ. The only place Perlini has a shot is as a top 6 winger. He is simply not a gritty player, but he can fly and he has an excellent shot.
He scored 31 goals in his first 2 NHL seasons where he played 131 games. In his second year he was 2nd in goals on the team.
Since then he has played 108 NHL games for 3 different teams over 2 seasons and scored 15 goals in that time. He played in Europe last season. In total that is 46 goals in 239 games in 4 seasons. He is 25 yrs old.
Pat Maroon played 204 NHL games over 5 seasons and had 26 goals when he came to Edmonton as a 27 year old. Primarily playing with #97 he scored 49 goals in 154 games over 3 seasons.
Perlini is big and fast, a #12 overall pick and his 1st NHL coach is the Oilers coach. Zach Kassian, who is big and fast and a #13 overall pick had 2 consecutive 15 goal seasons (his best goal totals of his career) when he got time in the top RW slot with Edmonton. By this point Kassian was 27, had played NHL 387 games where he had a total 52 goals.
So to recap pre-McDavid:
1. Maroon 27 years old 204 GP 0.127 Goals per game
161st overall pick
2. Kassian 27 years old 387 GP 0.134 Goals per game
13th overall pick
3. Perlini 25 years old 239 GP
0.192 Goals per game
12th overall pick
So why won’t Perlini get a look at 1LW?
That’s quite a decent argument.
As to ‘why not Perlini?’. Aside from “Zach Hyman”, I’d add that both Maroon and Kassian had done enough of the things required of NHL players to have become established regulars (for multiple seasons) before getting a shot on McDavid’s wing.
Perlini, instead, found himself in the press box and then out of the league.
He clearly has some of the tools required for the job, but lacks (or lacked) enough others that he couldn’t find an NHL contract last season.
Zach Hyman can also play RW, not sure why everyone thinks he can only slot in at LW on this roster.
Perlini played for 5 different NHL Head Coaches. That is a pretty damn big factor, in his 3rd season that was the only time he had the same HC as the previous year to start a season.
Kassian only had that kind of HC consistency when he got to Edmonton (TMac 4 yrs in a row) and Maroon had that in Anaheim for 4 seasons and all 3 in Edmonton.
Tippett is on Perlini’s side and if he shows any kind of polish, he will get a legitimate shot. I think we will be able to figure that out fairly early. It is strange to me that no one has expressed this as even a remote possibly other than me.
This isn’t Ty Rattie or Tomas Jurco or Marcus Granlund we are talking about here. This is a 25 year old who scored 17 goals in his 2nd season and who had 31 NHL goals on his resume before his 22nd birthday.
He is a proven NHL goal scorer, he is a big and fast dude and he has never played with a player like Connor McDavid. He is motivated to get back in the league and IMO he has a better than 50% chance here, let’s see. I am very curious.
Ha, when I posted I’d forgotten you listed Hyman on RW originally.
I didn’t know about the coaching instability. That wouldn’t help a player obviously, though it being the reason for Perlini’s struggles seems like a bit of a stretch.
Anyway, I agree Perlini should/will get a legit shot at a lineup spot. 50/50ish to make the team seems reasonable. And if he shows well it’s certainly possible he could see time with McDavid at some point. Though based on scoring 40-3-1-4 in 18-19, then falling out of the league, I don’t think McDavid time is too likely.
Granlund had scored 224-43-32-75 (with a season of 19 goals at 22), and Jurco 201-22-29-51, by the age of 25 FWIW. They weren’t so fundamentally different from Perlini (199-45-27-72) IMO.
It’s a nice idea, lovely if it somehow worked out. But you are ignoring all the things that limit his game and have left him taking a short term contract at minimal salary to stay in the league. This isn’t just about coaching turbulence (that can’t have helped), it’s also about constraints in the player. For all the Pat Maroons, there are many more who don’t somehow come good later in their careers.
Hope it works out just as you say, but there is a reason that no-one’s pencilling Perlini onto the first line other than yourself.
The angst over the Yamamoto signing, while not surprising at all, is a bit much to me. Holland just signed a solid middle six player, that has definite 2nd line upside and adds much to the team aside from offence to an extreme value deal. While the player will have arb rights, he’ll still be an RFA with multiple years left before UFA status. My goodness, so much concentration over a one-year term. When did we switch from criticizing giving out too much term to too little term?
If Yamamoto “pops” and has a great year, that is a good thing for the team. If there becomes a cap issue, well, Yamamoto (or Jesse) would be tradeable for value and the Oilers look like they will have some forwards on their ELCs ready for the middle or top six – Lavoie and Holloway come to mind. Or, the Oilers do have some mid-cap players that are tradeable as another route.
I think the angst is mainly from the path to get to this situation – the Keith and Kassian boat anchors.
Excellent interview of Marody. He has no agent and negotiated his own contract. He comes across as more intelligent than your generic hockey player.
Easy guy to cheer for.
Calling Stephen Sheps…
A Whisky none of us can afford.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/karlaalindahao/2021/09/13/beam-suntory-releases-yamazaki-55-year-old-2021/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
you rang?
yeah no kidding. Even the Yamazaki 12 is verging on unobtainable these days. No way anyone will ever open that bottle.
Beam Suntory is doing a lot more brand positioning with collectable, undrinkable whisky these days, like this Bowmore that is absolutely bonkers. It’s a real shame for the rest of us who just like to drink the stuff: https://driving.ca/auto-news/news/lcbo-selling-85000-scotch-whisky-in-a-real-1964-aston-martin-db5-piston
Remarkable that some whisky is too good to drink.
So if it is too good to drink what is it? No longer a glorious libation but simply an investment to be sold for a profit.
I expect it’s nothing more than a status symbol to the buyers.
it’s exactly this – a status symbol, a trophy to collect dust on a shelf somewhere that might be flipped again, auctioned off or included in someone’s estate as it continues to appreciate in value in a super-heated luxury goods marketplace.
I never really understood why people collect whisky to let it sit on their shelf instead of consuming it.
The angel’s share takes a toll and years later, you just have a partially filled bottle to look at.
I’m right there with you. I won’t lie, my whisky shelf has grown a bit larger than I ever expected it to (covid-related boredom, mostly), and while it might take me a very long time to drink it all, no bottle will sit forever. It’s supposed to be enjoyed and shared, not just collect dust and gradually evaporate on its own. Where’s the fun in that? (If you find yourself in Toronto, pop by, I’ll pour you some really tasty drams from a safe distance).
Agreed. I find when my whisky starts sitting for about a year I start cooking with it if I can’t drink it.
On that note, Bunnahabhain 12 makes a mean whisky gravy.
That’s a nice offer – if I ever stay in Toronto I may take you up on it.
Siikanen is in Liiga and scoring early, great news! I never thought him to be much of a prospect, but a good arrow is what we want to see and perhaps he can get opportunities that Hartikainen (a favourite of mine, I loves them Finns!) didn’t get. I hope he is signed next summer, it would be good to sign a net front-type of scorer to add to the skilled shooters.
I am cheering like hell for the kid. A couple of fun facts, Siikanen plays on JYP, which is Brad Lambert’s, a consensus top 5 2022 prospect, team. Also Braden Christoffer, local boy and Condors alumni, is on the team as well.
As a Finn fan, I have also been cheering for Siikanen. If he pops this year that would be great – very little pulse to his career so far, unfortunately.
Holloway injury aside, I am disappointed that we don’t get to see Maksimov, too bad he didn’t come over early, like Sammy. I think he had a chance to make some noise, it would have been good to see how he compares to Lavoie in Rookie Camp and get a Headstart prior to Main Camp. I wish him a healthy start and season.
Wenner is another I was interested to see. I have not found any video on him, so of all the Oiler prospects, he is the biggest unknown. Hopefully he also has a healthy season and I will be keeping a close eye out for him.
That injury to Jake Chiasson is very unfortunate, I expected him to be a 30-35 goal and 80-90 point player in the WHL this season. Speedy recovery JC!
Is there any more news on the Chiasson injury? I was looking forward to seeing what he could do this season. Some quality players are moving on from that strong Wheat King team, there should be plenty of opportunity there when’s he healthy.
Nothing yet, other than shoulder, but expect he’ll likely be out for 3 months or so…
quite a few teams still dealing with FAs
I’m glad the oilers are locked and loaded now with the KY signing. This is a very good forward group with lots of possible effective line combinations and several skill guys pushing to get into the line up!
What’s Vancouver gonna look like with no Alien guy or Hughes
Even if they miss most of camp that will put the Canucks behind the 8 ball to start the season. Get off to a poor start and their season may be cooked.
Yeah with work visa issues and covid some of the Euros need to sign soon to start season on time
Calgary and Ottawa have a Tkachuck problem. 8×8 isnt enough for a guy who might only be a 65-75 point player? Matthew cheering it on is concerning.
Weird Matthew almost refers to his last name like a brand. Basketball has had that for years with Lebron to the Ball family.
Yup. A real team guy.
Well the other guy in Calgary is claiming the whole game
Yeah Matthew seemed to give the impression that Brady was willing to sign for less and be more cooperative with negotiations until his Dad and him stepped in.
But Matthew’s kind of personality seems to rub his teammates the wrong way so I’m all for it. Never change, Matthew!
I hope matt will be named captain. He is such a team 1st player, loved by his teammates and fans, loyal to the city that he will sign a long-term contract to stay his whole career in cowtown.
Glad that Yamo will be in the line-up, but I fear that the one year deal significantly increases the chances of us unable to keep both him and Jesse next year. With our tight salary cap situation combined with Nurse’s raise and the need to sign another goalie next year, we will likely need Keith to retire, or a trade of someone like Kassian (with minimal retention), Ceci or Barrie in order to keep them both.
We have his rights, and if he massively outperforms his contract its a win for the team. Regardles if we can afford him or not.
I hope Kailer has a great season as well. Just thinking long term. If you look closely at our cap situation, 2 x $2 million would have put us in a much better position than 1 x $1.2 million. In the summer of 2023, we will have more flexibility.
Lots of things can happen between now and next summer though. I doubt Holland is finished shaping this team.
The Barrie contract is very tradeable IMO. If Bouchard plays well this season I can definitely see Barrie being moved.
I was thinking this too. Bouchard has the opportunity here to jump up the depth chart. If he does they’ll be a few teams lining up for Barrie at 4.5mil next summer.
There is no way Chicago can allow Keith to retire. It would mean a ~7.5 million dollar cap recapture penalty for them at a time they need to resign all their top young players.
Meanwhile, the Oilers would get a ~3.4 million cap recapture CREDIT.
I hope Duncan knocks it out the park for the rest of this contract, but if he slows and is getting frustrated, would it hurt to offer him a lucrative job in scouting and development with lots of time in BC to spend with his family?
I would think Chicago would re-aquire him at that point and put him on LTIR.
Maybe the Oilers could pry Caleb Jones out of Chicago?
If that happened the Oilers should rake them over the coals, but no chance Holland would do that.
That would be smart.
And normally would cost a first.
Which should be the line in the sand.
At some point the ‘goodwill’ deals have to pay back.
Or you plainly suck as a negotiator.
Unless the other party has zero options. Which will come back on you.
Keeping Yamo and Jesse will be possible next year, but only if they trade someone like Kassian or lose cap elsewhere.
Or somehow don’t spend Koskinen’s cap on another goalie.
Whats with the extra security to log in? Is it the Russians?
Eastern Russians.
Yamo 1 year $1.175 mill. Nice.
Doesn’t get much better than that. I’m not sure if Yamamoto has top six hands, but he’s a quality NHLer and I hope the Oilers keep him around for years.
I can see why it took some time to get him signed.
That’s for sure. I’m very surprised the number is that low. You were right and then some.
Good to have him signed in any case.
Jesse’s number was my original prediction but so many here were convinced the number would be over $2 M I allowed myself to be talked into predicting a higher number for two years.
There is a narrative developing on this board that Holland always overpays but here is another example of him playing hardball when he has the cards to do so. Easier to negotiate when you don’t need something. If you have to have it you have to pay.
What did you think of the Matthew Tkachuk commenting on his brother’s contract negotiations yesterday? If I was Brady I would not be pleased.
A narrative? or the truth? A one year contract is not hardball lol. Trade on the horizon.
This type of deal happens with other teams (see Mangiapane as a good comp). Why is it going to result in a trade? Just because of what prior Oilers management groups did years ago? The player is an RFA and will still be coming out of this deal and has an opportunity to bet on himself. This doesn’t automatically mean he’s pissed and will want a trade.
Screenshot for reference ?
He scored 8 calls last year playing with the 2nd best Centre in the league and some folks around here think he’s automatically pencilled in for 2nd line duties. There’s only so many players that are allowed at the adult table. By this time next year Yamo will be playing in his home state of Washington. Book it!
LOL I’m good with that. I’m glass half full normally which isn’t great for predicting things like this.
I would say that both Jesse’s and Kailor’s contracts came in under expectations. Neither had a lot of options. Nuge & Barrie came in under expectation as well from what I read here.
Ryan and Russell were reasonable signings for what they bring. Archibald was a touch high imo and Turris was a swing and a miss but covid might be the explanation. I guess we will see on that one.
Kassian stands out as an overpay. Nurse? I think so but with UFA’s the GM has to decide if he can live without the player.
I’d say it is a narrative that he always overpays. He has also underpaid.
False!
Kenny overpays in salary or term on almost every transaction:
Nuge – 8 years
Nurse – AAV and length 8 years
Hyman – AAV and length 7 years
Kassian – AAV and length 4 years
Turris – AAV and length 2 years
Shore – AAV and length 2 years
Ceci – 4 years
Smith- 2 years
Ryan – 2 years
Koekkoek – 2 years
Yamo – too short (Jesse or Yamo will be traded. Book it)
*there appears to be a trend of tacking on years, and/or overpaying. You can throw the Keith trade in as an overpay as well. Not an attractive record.
Kenny gets credit for Smith’s first contract, Jesse, Barrie, and hopefully Foegele. Hmmmm.
Yeah, those pesky agents with UFA status. You’d think they would all be happy to just play for league minimum year to year.
May as well give them all they want and add to it?
Your opinion. The ‘False!’ comment from your previous post is unconvincing though.
But he even used an exclamation mark. What other evidence does he need? How many “Book it”s does it take to convince you?
He?
Sorry, I made an assumption.
I’m just playing Kert. You assumed correctly. The world is way too sensitive nowadays. You can use whatever pronoun you want with me, I won’t be offended lol?
Haha, you fooled me. I just want to make sure I’m generally attacking what people say, not the people themselves. 😀
Agreed on the narrative.
In terms of Tkachuk, well the lot of them (but Matthew in particular) seem like a bunch of a-holes. And no, Brady probably isn’t happy.
Matthew is his father with a bigger mouth. I would love to know what Melnyk thinks about this.
Or Dorian.
I would be tempted to phone the agent and withdraw the last offer and then not take phone calls for as long as it takes to change the tune. If Brady is as big a part of the future as I think he is you can’t afford to let him think he is bigger than the team.
That is: you can’t let him listen to his father and brother 🙂
Matt is a shit disturber on and off the ice.
The Tkachuk klan loves stirring the pot Matthew takes after his dad I would say Brady is the quietest in the bunch.
Sounds like Bob thinks he had a chance to go longer for a higher number but chose to go short and hope for a bigger payday down the road.
Sounds right to me.
@Bob_Stauffer
·
2h
Kailer Yamamoto bets on himself on a 1-year deal. Put up a stellar 11-15-26 in 27 GP in 2019-20. But was snake bit down the stretch with just 1 goal in his final 25 regular season games last season. Good bet to bounce back!
*squinting* Y’know if Oil go deep, and Yamo makes waves in the postseason, for one bright moment he caries the ‘Hemsky’ value contract for this squad.
Same applies to PJ. His unique PJ’ness seems to make the analogy work harder.
Lol, speaking of squinting, I read the “n” as an “r” and I was very confused for a half-second.
*calls optometrists office and makes appointment.
SIGN UP HERE FOR THE HUNTER1909 DEATH MARCH
http://www.oilersdeathmarch.com/marches/2021-22
You’ve gotta change the title to match the expectations!
Francis is going to need some more cap to weaponize for shut down defense. I smell a Yams for a retained Ebs down the line.
Definitely a trade on the horizon.
He’ll be part of the package for a real Goalie.
One year? Dumb contract. Should have made him sit.
Staple his ass to the third line!
Let’s take a moment to remember just how bad drafting Mitch Moroz was…though not as bad as the time they intentionally drafted players they knew wouldn’t make the NHL.
Dark, ugly days with a team controlled by lunkheads pretending to be semi-intelligent and fooling a bunch of people.
This Yamamoto deal probably turns into a deal similar to what Kevin Labanc did ($1M 1 year, followed by a bigger deal) but it does start the ball rolling on the “Jeff Petry Challenge” rollercoaster everyone enjoyed so much.
Short term gain for long-term pain.
Very questionable decision for a 1 year deal, with Jesse due for a raise next year. I think you nailed it, LT.
I see this playing out like Mangiapane and he was arguably a better player than Yamo when he signed his bridge deal for under $2.5×2 last year. I think the Oilers can bridge Yamo for another 2 years in that range next summer if he doesn’t explode for more than 45-50 pts.
This is a big year for KY. If he’s in the top 6 and does well that’s one thing. If he’s in the bottom 6 and does well that’s another thing. He will be pushed for right wing over next few years. He needs to excel on the PK. I think he’s traded next summer.
I believe that, when Lebanc signed his one year deal, he and the Sharks already had a longer term extension agreed to and, even though Lebanc had a tough year, the team followed through and signed the longer term, previously agreed to, deal.
I don’t believe that is the case with Yamamoto. His next contract is completely up in the year, dependant on play.
Per Gregor – One year, $1.175M for Yamamoto – same AAV as Jesse.
Good job!
Lets do this.
Yamo! ?
Also, Kevin Weekes reporting that Chara is heading back to the Isles on a one-year deal.
Boo!
Damn…I had a headline ready in case St. Louis was able to make good on their interest in him:
“Good Time Chara’s Got the Blues”
Last year the Oilers got their prospects on teams all around the world to play an develop in competitive leagues.
Going forward I think that strategy should be adjusted to more control locally over the development of the future players… moving the AHL franchise to Edmonton makes a lot of sense.
If there was any time for the AHL team to be in Edmonton, it would have been last year where they would have been able to give Benson (and Marody) some NHL games and get Bouchard some more reps down in the minors while he was waiting.
In a normal season, I don’t see the team being in Bakersfield being a massive issue with no border issue. It generally doesn’t take that long to get a recalled player to Edmonton, does it?
Yes it does.
There are no direct flights from Bakersfield to Edmonton so it involves either driving to a major airport or connecting flights.
Couple that with clearing customs and immigration and it’s at least a day long procedure.
Toronto, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Montreal and Ottawa all have their farm teams within a half day away.
Its a 2 hour drive from Bakersfield to LAX. I imagine if time is of the essence somebody on the payroll could drive a player there for a direct flight.
Depends on day of the week and time of day! Charter flight from Bakersfield including customs etc under four hours.
Yeah, that works too.
Bakersfield to LAX is 2 hours – a player can always be in Edmonton next day.
OP
I tend to agree with HH on this topic. I think distance is one aspect. I come at more from the quality of a top prospect’s life… access to the team’s top medical staff…the ability to stay in one apartment as you shuffle between teams for the player and girlfriend/wife…. Visibility to the NHL coach and GM.
I think it would add to the city and Ice District to have another hockey team in the city. It would give another price point for more entertain in the city.
Dustin Nielson is reporting that Kailer is about to sign for one year.
Wish it was two but it will be good to have this done.
Hockey night tonight, I am really looking forward to watching Sammy out there! I had been expecting and it really does seem that he is poised to make some noise at main camp.
Others who intrigue me are Lavoie, Konovalov, Borgault, Tullio and Petrov. As well as all the Dmen.
Here are Bruce’s observations from yesterday (much appreciated Bruce!) :
https://edmontonjournal.com/sports/hockey/nhl/cult-of-hockey/huge-defence-crew-stands-out-at-edmonton-oilers-rookie-camp
Finally, does anyone know of all the ways to watch, is it just through the Oilers website, or will there be YouTube and Facebook links?
Is there a possibility that it is shown on the Oilers TV channel on Shaw or Telus or even through the NHL app? If anyone has knowledge of this, please share. Thank you!
Generally when the game is available on the Oilers Website, the feed is also available on OilersTV and Oilers Twitter (in the viewing region).
Of the 9 d at the Oilers rookie camp 8 are above 6’2
Last 4 teams standing in playoffs only one D under 6’1 and 200 lbs and that was Andy Greene. Size is still king for D
I agree. The only way around it is ridiculous ability and elite mobility. Not too many D like that around as I see it. At any size.
I like the way they have been drafting. They still value the skill set first (Tullio), but are looking for players with skill AND typical size and good to plus skating.
It is far more likely you will get NHL players from that tactic than chasing prototypes of NHL outliers.
I remember the Lucic whale hunts. Or finding some really small types that there was no way in heck they would ever give a real chance to. Wasted picks and 50 man list spots, as we saw.
They may not be the stars but two players I have been waiting to see are Kemp and Rodrigue.
Kemp because I have known him since he was about 3 years old, my oldest son played hockey with his older brother. The kid comes from a good family and he is smart. I know his style does not get rewarded much anymore but I am looking forward to seeing him.
Rodrigue because he is from Chicoutimi and his grandfather walks around kitted out in all Oiler garb, that’s a tough ask in a Habs town like Chicoutimi. He lives just around the corner from my ex’s parents and all he ever talks about is the Oilers giving his grandson a chance! I’m rooting for him!
Eric D.
Pacific
1. Edmonton Oilers
2. Vegas Golden Knights
3. Calgary Flames
4. Vancouver Canucks
5. Seattle Kraken
6. Los Angeles Kings
7. Anaheim Ducks
8. San Jose Sharks.
https://theathletic.com/2832237/2021/09/17/breakout-players-predictions-goalie-trades-eichels-future-duhatschek-mailbag/
That’s the same as my list except I had every 2 teams in opposite order
Vegas
Edmonton
Vancouver
Calgary
LA
Seattle
Sharks
Ducks
Agreed. I cannot see Calgary finishing ahead of Vancouver. The Flames are bad. Vegas is ahead of Edmonton for at least one more year.
Somehow the trolly guy missed this
Not at all…just waiting for all the shoes to drop before making “bold” predictions.
Based on what we know now, your list looks about right to me although I expect the Ducks may finish ahead of the Sharks given Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale are likely both going to be Calder candidates.
Also, since the game is mostly goalie, before laying any bets you have to consider which tandem could potentially steal the show.
I’ve got them ranked:
Seattle – Grubauer-Dreidger
Vancouver – Demko-Halak
Vegas – Lehner-Broissoit (not confident in Broissoit)
Calgary – Makstrom-Vlader (the latter has been lights out in the AHL)
Edmonton – Smith-Koskinen (huge bet on Smith might crater the season)
LA – Peterson-Quick (Quick MIGHT rebound)
San Jose – Reimer-Hill (porridge)
Anaheim – Gibson- Stolarz (maybe Stolarz surprises.)
Of course every season there is a team that exceeds expectations and another takes a step back from pre-season expectations.
At this point, I think it could be LA surging and Vegas falling off especially if Lehner gets injured.
Just for reference their SV% from this past season:
Dreidger — 27GP .927
Stolarz —– 8GP .926
Smith —– 32GP .923
Grubauer- 40GP .922
Brossoit — 14GP .918
Demko — 35GP .915
Lehner — 19GP .913
Hill ——– 19GP .913
Petersen – 35GP .911
Reimer — 22GP .906
Halak —– 19GP .905
Markstrom 43GP .904
Gibson —- 35GP .903
Koskinen – 26GP .899
Quick —— 22GP .898
Vlader —— 5GP .886
Gibson is probably a more likely rebound candidate than Quick. Markstrom has some work to do as well to get back to average.
Nugent-Bowman with a piece at The Athletic on his interview with Marody:
https://theathletic.com/2832838/2021/09/18/cooper-marody-qa-after-ahl-breakout-oilers-prospect-is-ready-to-do-anything-to-get-a-spot-in-the-nhl/
His primary emphasis this offseason: “strength, speed and skating”.
The famous quite from his interview with Gregor after his first AHL season is now ancient history, in my opinion.
Good to hear. Gives him a shot at least.
Speaking or Russians, Woody was asked about communicating with Konavalov. Taking aside that Jay thinks Woody’s English is better than being reported, he mentioned that he’s gone to Russia for 10 years in the summer to work with young players – that’s awesome.
Woody’s English is excellent.
So, who? Woodcroft’s English? Someone else? I can’t always keep up with your nicknames.
Woody from Toy Story. Voiced by Tom Hanks.
Keep up!
(I kid, of course)
Unfortunately Holloway is not gonna play which he would be the star of the show
I think the projected line (that were together for one of the two days and posted by LT) are set up well. Very excited to “see” if Lavoie and Borgault, the french connection, can create some real offence.
I want to see that Petrov shot and he has a tenacious guy in Tulio that may be able to help set him up.
The Skelefteea pairing from the past invading North America.
Sammy will not get scored on during this tournament and Konovalov will see his first taste of North American hockey – add Petrov to them and I’m excited for these Russians. Maksimov as well, I’m high on him for this season in the AHL – unfortunately, he is in the process of being “revacinated”.