My article at The Athletic today focuses on 36 men who I consider prospects and their possible future. I think this year’s group most resembles the summer 2003 talent pool. Sam O’Reilly may become Jarret Stoll (with better speed and a lesser shot), Max Wanner could be Matt Greene without the draft pedigree. Matthew Savoie? He could be the slightly less electric Ales Hemsky, who had already graduated as a prospect by the summer of 2003. The rugged soul of the Oilers was a concern then, you can see Coke Machines down every aisle of the 2003 top-20 prospect list. Will the current crop of physical Oilers develop as well, or better, than the 2003 group?
TRUCULENCE
As someone who has observed the Oilers franchise since 1972, I can say with some confidence that we are seeing a change in the weather. It has happened many times in the past, in fact the 1972-73 Alberta Oilers featured rugged defenseman Allan Hamilton and some willing combatants up front in Jim Harrison and Ken Baird. That Oilers team also featured a true gentleman in Val Fonteyne, by the way.
Through the years, the toughness marbled through the roster came from Doug Barrie, Barry Long, Frank Beaton, Dave Langevin, Peter Driscoll, Dave Semenko, Cam Connor, Dave Lumley, Pat Price, Curt Brackenbury, Lee Fogolin, Mark Messier, Paul Coffey (seriously, he took a lot of penalties), Kevin Lowe, Ken Linseman, Don Jackson, Kevin McClelland, Pat Hughes, Dave Hunter, Steve Smith, Marty McSorley, Jeff Beukeboom, Esa Tikkanen, Kelly Buchberger, Craig Simpson, Dave Brown, Adam Graves, Dave Manson, Scott Mellanby, Louie DeBrusk, Luke Richardson, Shayne Corson, Scott Pearson, Jason Arnott, Bill Guerin, Bryan Marchment, Bo Mironov, Doug Weight (oh yes he was), Ryan Smyth, Drake Berehowsky, Bill Huard, Sean Brown, Georges Laraque, Mike Grier, Jason Smith, Ethan Moreau, Igor Ulanov, Steve Staios, Scott Ferguson, Chris Pronger, Raffi Torres, Matt Greene, Zack Stortini, Laddy Smid, Sheldon Souray, J-F Jacques, Shawn Horcoff, Jason Strudwick, Theo Peckham, Steve MacIntyre, Ben Eager, Darcy Hordichuk, Mike Brown, Luke Gazdic, David Perron, Matt Hendricks, Andrew Ference, Keith Aulie, Zack Kassian, Eric Gryba, Darnell Nurse, Patrick Maroon, Milan Lucic, Jujhar Khaira, Adam Larsson, Evander Kane, Klim Kostin, Leon Draisaitl, Vincent Desharnais, Corey Perry, to name a few. I didn’t include guys like Connor McDavid and Taylor Hall, although both are plenty tough and can dish it out.
I listed these names to make a point. Going back to Glen Sather’s days, the Oilers have always been tough but had that toughness marbled through the lineup. Most of these boys could play. I love finding out about NHL history, and two stories have stayed with me for these 60+ years.
First, Sather. During the final WHA season, Slats observed a skinny Mark Messier win a fight over Oilers’ center Dennis Sobchuk easily, and drafted him. I have zero idea if Sather knew Messier would be Messier, and the draft day reports included old timey sayings like Messier was ‘raw boned’ but that decision gave this Edmonton Oilers franchise the rugged soul so many of you fret over to this day. Messier, no one will argue against me here, could play in any situation. He was a mur-diddly-urderer on the ice, but he could play the game well.
Second, Sam Pollock. Tired of watching his beautiful skill Canadiens get pushed around, Pollock acquired John Ferguson and Ted Harris, and elevated Terry Harper and Jacques Laperriere over a two-season period in the early 1960’s. The Montreal Canadiens became a lot more difficult to play against. I should mention their captain, Jean Beliveau, was universally respected but no shy violet (based on my father’s reporting). In my own mind, I think Leon Draisaitl maybe plays a similar style in terms of physicality.
I don’t object to rugged players, in fact I love watching them help the team gain an edge. I know for a fact that Milan Lucic was highly useful with the Boston Bruins. He was less so for the Oilers. The Bruins acquired Lucic for a second-round pick, the Oilers spent millions and compromised the roster to get him to Edmonton.
I don’t object to rugged players. I do object to fracturing the roster to get it done. No to Rasmus Ristolainen.
36 men pushing to make the Edmonton Oilers over the next few seasons. Here’s the state of the prospects list.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5771349/2024/09/20/edmonton-oilers-prospects-stock-watch-2024/
Edmonton Oilers
@EdmontonOilers
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29m
Warren Rychel has been promoted to #Oilers Director of Pro Scouting, Zack Kassian has rejoined the organization as Pro Scout & the team has also added Aaron Nagy, Erik Elenz, Dominik Zrim & David Evanochko to their hockey operations staff.
I do believe depending on how spry Podkolzin is for the first 1/4 of the season whether are not obtaining some turbulence is needed. Podkilzin has been given his wish with a fresh start I do believe he hits it out of the park. If Emberson-Podkolzin-Skinner-Ardvisson-Stecher-Brown all have a plus after their name look out N.H.L
@frank_seravalli
Among a series of hockey ops promotions, #Oilers announce they have hired Dominik Zrim as Director of Hockey Strategy.
Zrim is one of the brains behind the now defunct @CapFriendly
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1:48 PM · Sep 21, 2024
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And the hits just keep on coming.
Per Stauff:
Casual observations through first 3 days on ice @EdmontonOilers Training Camp:
Noah Philp 6’3″ RC and Jayden Grubbe 6’3″ RC have had some good moments.
Phil Kemp 6′ 3″ RD battling to be a depth D.
Matt Savoie has shown some flashes on RW.
Victor Arvidsson works!
97/29 good!
Coach says seeing Philp, there will be an opportunity for him “in the future” – doesn’t sound like he’s in contemplation to take Ryan’s spot out of camp.
Makes sense. He’s been off for a year and needs time to get his game back.
Would have been very concerned if he was able to take a year off and be immediately in the mix.
Knobby continues to get asked about the PP and if he’ll use PP2 and, today, once again, he essentially says there is not going to be any material changes. The first PP unit will stay in tact and will get the vast majority of PP time. He’ll try and work to get PP2 a bit more involved.
Riffing off the Jamie Drysdale comment below. A quick google shows that he had surgery for a sports hernia in April. He is now skating and ready to start the season. That puts it at about 5 months recovery. If we apply that to Evander Kane, understanding everyone is different and Kane had additional injuries requiring repair, it would put his return at late February. Just in time to get up to speed for a playoff run.
Might be a better guess to say that would be the earliest we’d see him
LT: nice truculent list. Toughest guy missing IMO is Jamie Troy, a hard-as-nails RW from the 1977-78 squad.
That was the year that the Birmingham Bullies had 4 guys north of 240 PIM, none of whom played as many as 60 games. Legends like Gilles “Bad News” Bilodeau, Frank “Seldom” Beaton, Steve “Demolition Durby” Durbano & Dave “Killer” Hanson of Slapshot! fame.
All other WHA teams had at least 2 goons with further redundancy recommended. The Oilers had the rookie Dave Semenko & thuggish d-man Ron Busniuk, but brought on Troy at midseason to toughen up the roster.
There was a fan club in the old Section 2 that used to chant: “We want Semenko! We want Troy! Come on Sather, put out the boys!”
I can vouch for that chant. We heard it loud and clear from the opposite side of the Coliseum, and joined in.
A memory undisturbed from 45+ years ago, now fresh. Thank you sir.
Love it!!
Sather would laugh and once in a while put them out after the chant.
He’s the wrong Rasmus
The wrong Risto too.
Let us not forget the 2nd rounder for Lucic was an Oiler pick for Samsonov. He did his job well, but a thought experiment:
If the Oil had taken Lucic, you wonder if all the coke machine picks would have happened.
Assuming Looch would become Looch regardless of circumstance, and that the Oil picked him would it be:
A) Even more Coke machines in later rounds because of a Looch hit.
B) Less CM picks because that need was fulfilled. The D was still filthy post 06 even without CFP.
All the ifs will drive a man mad. Happy Saturday from Banff for the first day if Autumn.
What am I missing on Risto Rasmusailen?
11 years in the league, never made the playoffs, a minus player every single season (-182 for his career), 40 points in 171 games in Philly while his ice time dropped from 21 minutes to 19 to 16, still has three years to run at $5.1 million. What is the appeal?
As an aside – has Ristolainen’s name been thrown around much in the rumors?
Is he the only established D who’s been linked to the Oilers in rumors?
I know Giordano, Schultz and Barrie (others?) were all talked about as PTOs, but I haven’t seen/followed much else in terms of rumored trades.
Jamie Drysdale has resumed skating after sports Hernia surgery. Young right shot defenseman.
Not that he has been linked to the Oilers.
Just some Flyer RHD the Oilers might consider instead of Rootsy.
Ha! I did not expect today’s post to be leading there!
I think Ristolainen is a little better than his reputation (which isn’t to say that he’s good). But even if he’s a bit better than his reputation it’s still really difficult to envision a reasonable trade with him as part of it.
Too much salary unless the Flyers retained. And if they retain (for 3 seasons) that’s going to cost too much justify.
It’s a poser. I know Seravalli mentioned Ristolainen recently so I am guessing that this is where it came from since he and Gregor are pretty tight.
I’m not so sure Rasmus is truly rugged.
He has size but I question his toughness.
I wouldn’t claim to be any kind of expert on Ristolainen but if I was asked to list his attributes I’m not sure ‘toughness’ would even occur to me. It certainly doesn’t show up in PIM.
I have to assume there is a rumour out there I have not heard concerning what the Oilers would offer in return.
No to Rootzy.
I do think Oilers management values Josh Brown’s toughness and, with Vinny moving on and Kane out for an indefinite period of time, the initial plan is for him to play more games than not at 3RD.
Can he be a nightly 3RD on a team with cup aspirations?
I think we are going to find out.
LoL. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you for sometime now.
The regular-season Oilers and the playoff Oilers are two different entities.
We talked about this all summer, OP. Honestly.
Yes, and I’m posting that my initial position on the intent of the singing seems to have been wrong.
I’m not sold that he’ll be able to handle the role as the fanbase or coaching staff requires but we are likely going to find out and I am hopeful that my original position on his abilities is also proven wrong.
And I’m saying that this is a moment when we (both of us) can contemplate the value of repetition and the value of voicing an opinion once. Respectfully. I do it too. I’m sure folks are sick of my constant yammering about Max Wanner and Matt Savoie, as an example. Anyway, I’ll move on.
Prospectamity!
The last player the Oilers drafted gets to be the first NAmateur to partake of regular-season play, as Bauer Berry and the Jacks of Lumber open their season this day.
It’s unknown whether Berry has a future in the fire escape trade, but it’s more certain that his value will be in his own end of the ice. He scored but once in 59 reg season games yesteryear (along with one in 8 playoff games). Are more crooked numbers in store for him this season? We wait.
It’s at
onetwelve o’clock and time forlunchhockey (Girouxville time). Hum de dum dum dum…But I remembered a voice from the past, “Gambling only pays when you’re winning”
Looking forward to another season of timely prospect updates. Keep ‘em coming, Tarkus!
Seconded!