Now Cody Franson is off to Chicago on a professional tryout offer but who does that leave for the Oilers to pick up that would come in under say $2M? I’ve got a couple of ideas, some realistic and some not.
Dennis Wideman
What has Chiarelli been known to do with the Oilers and something Glen Sather used to do quite a bit? Pick up reclamation projects, build ’em back up, and then sell then on the high.
Dennis Wideman is a player Chiarelli has traded for and traded away before. He’s familiar with him, Wideman is a righty, he’d be an okay add for the PP due to his shot if that’s something you’re concerned about, and he’s a vet.
He seems to tick off the boxes plus my man on the inside has said they spoke earlier this summer.
PLUS
If the refs decide to screw the Oilers over, Wideman’s there to take care of that… Just kidding!
Cody Franson
If the Oilers were one of the last two teams in on Franson before he decided on Chicago, there’s the very real possibility that Edmonton could pull out the “Versteeg” card and watch how he does during Blackhawks training camp and if Franson impresses, sign him before he signs with Chicago.
Mark Stuart
I can’t see him being any better than Eric Gryba but the PK could use him.
A Trade
The verbiage on McKenzie’s tweet said “add” an experienced defenseman. So, we shouldn’t rule out a trade either. “Experienced” tells me that the candidate would probably be a player in the last year of his deal and closer to 30-35 years old than a younger RFA given the kids coming up.
Bob Stauffer has mentioned Mike Green on numerous occasions. He’ll be a UFA this summer, he’s a right shot, and he’s probably more of a PP specialist these days than 30 minutes a night defender but he’s got a hefty contract to be adding him for the entire season.
Toby Enstrom and Jason Garrison are also upcoming UFAs who could work the man-advantage. Although Enstrom is a lefty.
A long shot might be 40 year old Zdeno Chara. I’ve mentioned him before and of course I realize the relationship between Chiarelli and Sweeney is frosty at best but if Boston is out of it and/or Chara wants out to try and win another cup, the Oilers could afford his salary with ease. He’s not a like-for-like replacement for Sekera but the two played together at the World Cup last summer very well. Chara is a helluva mentor to the young dmen too.
What do you think? Should the Oilers even sign/trade for someone with the plethora of younger depth they have coming up through the minors? Not only that but there’s the new signings from earlier this summer like Auvitu or Stanton.
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I love it! The NHL season is drawing closer each and every day and things are really starting to roll now that each team’s players are starting to arrive for early on-ice sessions.
Add to that the release of each team’s rosters for the 2017 Youngstars Classic in Penticton, BC.
Teams taking part are as usual the Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, and Winnipeg Jets.
— BLH (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast} (@BeerLeagueHeroe) September 22, 2015
That being said, let’s take a look at some of the notable players that will be strutting their stuff on the weekend! I’ve got the players sorted from forwards to defense to goalies.
VANCOUVER CANUCKS
Brock Boeser Jonah Gadjovich Kole Lind
These three forwards will be causing havoc for their opponents, no doubt about that. Boeser might be the best sniper in the tournament. Gadjovich, to me, is like a Pat Maroon type. Big guy who can move and has hands. Kole Lind was on the Oilers radar this summer and was the pick a lot of pundits had their eyes on for Edmonton but he can skate quite well, he’ll muck it up, and he can score.
Olli Juolevi
Juolevi might be the best dman in this tourny. He’s very much in the Olli Maatta mold. Cerebral Professor X-type who plays in all situations. A smooth skater with high-end puck moving skills. Look for him to be the man getting the puck up to Boeser or Lind on the break and zipping it in from the point on the man advantage.
Thatcher Demko Michael Dipietro
A couple of high-potential goalies here folks. Might just save the Canucks asses on an occasion or two on the weekend. The two goalies couldn’t be more different in terms of physical stature, Demko is 6’4″ and Dipietro is 6’0″, and goaltending style, Demko uses his huge frame more while Dipietro is very athletic and more chaotic, but both are excellent prospects for a team that will be in dire need of a goalie who can back stop their rebuild.
Kailer Yamamoto Joe Gambardella Kirill Maksimov Ostap Safin
I’m very curious to see how Yamamoto does in this tournament. There’s no doubt that he should be one of the better forwards along with Boeser, Jankowski, and Harkins. I’m more looking forward to watching Gambardella, Maksimov, and Safin because I don’t know as much about these guys apart from what the Youtube scouting has brought me.
Safe to say that Gambardella is your Bryan Rust/Conor Sheary type whilst Kirill Maksimov is definitely the Syril Snipes of the group. The puck follows him around and he pops ‘er in. Ostap Safin… Well, he does quite a few things well but nothing amazing. I’ve seen highlights of him hitting guys, dangling them, passing through them, and sniping on them but I’m just not sure what kind of player Safin truly is. Hopefully we’ll have a better idea after the weekend.
That said, I wouldn’t be surprised of Gambardella stands out the most given he’s probably the oldest player at the tournament at 24 years old.
Dmitri Samorukov Ethan Bear Caleb Jones William Lagesson Ryan Mantha Ziyat Paigin Sahvan Khaira
The defence is where it’s at for this year’s Youngstars roster. None of the other teams possess the same amount of high-end defensive prospects this year and that’s a credit to Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli and his scouting staff. Finally, the Oilers have some defense coming up through the pipeline.
No Darnell Nurses this year, so I’m not sure who’ll be fighting Hunter Smith when Edmonton plays Calgary but there are some boys with some BIG clappers here. Paigin, Mantha, Bear, and Samorukov can all fire the biscuit while Jones and Khaira are VERY good skaters. Surprised Lagesson is there given other Swedes like Dahlen and Petterson for Vancouver are skipping it but he’s your Hjalmarsson. Stay at home, blocks shots and plays a physical game.
Dylan Wells Stuart Skinner
Edmonton’s goaltending depth is finally taking shape and these two beauties should represent the Oilers for a long time if everything goes to plan. Also, we might be seeing them both playing for Team Canada at the World Juniors this Christmas. Skinner falls into that Dubnyk range though, so he might take a while to get there. Whereas Wells has shown enough progression so far that it leads one to believe he’s going to be a pro sooner than later. I’m not saying Matt Murray fast but within the next 4 years isn’t out of the question.
Spencer Foo Dillion Dube Mark Jankowski D’Artagnan Joly Andrew Mangiapane Matthew Phillips
It’ll be speed and skill this year for Calgary. All of the players listed above are highly skilled and can move like the wind. Foo was up for the Hobey Baker award this past season and had Oilers fans all up in a rage when he signed in Calgary instead of his home town. This is a slippery group that’s for sure.
At 34 years of age, it’s nice to finally see Mark Jankowski getting a shot 😉
But more seriously, this Calgary team should be very entertaining to watch from a pure skill perspective.
Rasmus Andersson Josh Healey Jusso Valimaki
I’m telling you now, Valimaki is a player you’ll want to keep an eye out for because he’s the new shiny toy for Calgary but Josh Healey will be the guy that draws you. He’s a bonafide maniac out there. I was hoping the Oilers would sign him because he’s a predator and I’d rather have him on my team than have my team play against him. Skillers better keep their heads up when he’s on the ice.
Tyler Parsons
If Parsons isn’t the best goalie at this tournament, I’m not sure who will be. Maybe Demko? The Flames have a good one here in Tyler Parsons. He’s ridiculously solid between the pipes and he definitely gives his team a chance to win just by showing up every night.
Ummmm. What happened here? I thought the Jets had one of the best prospect collections in the NHL. None of them are coming? Well at leasts Jets fans will get to see a very hard working Jansen Harkins. A very blue collar type he is.
Logan Stanley
Hello up there! Standing at a massive 6’7″, Logan Stanley shouldn’t be hard to find on the ice. Maybe he is Hunter Smith’s dance partner this year? A couple of near 7-footers dropping the mitts is something I’d watch.
Mikhail Berdin
Can’t say I know a lot about this fella but from what I have read, he’s been performing well in the USHL and is a long-term project for the Jets.
Some notable absences:
Jonathan Dahlen, Elias Petterson, Jesse Puljujarvi, Tyler Benson, Kyle Connor and Kristian Vesalainen will not be playing for a variety of reasons.
Young Stars Classic Schedule
Penticton, BC – September 8-11, 2017
GAME TEAMS DATE TIME
Game 1 Edmonton vs. Calgary Sept. 8 4:00pm
Game 2 Vancouver vs. Winnipeg Sept. 8 7:30pm
Game 3 Winnipeg vs. Edmonton Sept. 9 7:30pm
Game 4 Calgary vs. Vancouver Sept. 10 2:00pm
Game 5 Winnipeg vs. Calgary Sept. 11 10:30am
Game 6 Vancouver vs. Edmonton Sept. 11 2:00pm
Have I missed anybody? Let me know in the comments below!
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I can feel hockey season drawing closer and my thirst to write is growing. Not only that but the BLH Youtube channel is getting more and more subscribers every day and a good way to get that out there is to write some more. Not that we make any money from either the blog or the Youtube channel (we don’t, it actually costs us money) but that’s beside the point. We’re here to offer you something a bit different from what’s out there.
You should head over and subscribe to our channel. It may very well be the 5th best thing you do all day and if you dig Oilers videos or prospects videos with cool tunes, you’ll be moderately happy with the decision.
There are some good convos going on in the comments of our 2018 top ten prospects videos you might like.
Today I want to present to you some questions going into next season for the Oilers that are burning a hole through my head bone.
Be forewarned, this is a bit of a long one.
10. How Many Games Will Cam Talbot Play
Dadbot played in 73 regular season games and 13 playoff games in 2016/17. In total, that’s 86 games of action and a helluva workload for one guy. He gave us a 2.39 GAA and a .919 SV% in the regular season and those are numbers I can accept but I’d like to see improve marginally next year.
We all know that coach McLellan picks a no.1 netminder and rides him till he drops but one has to think that no.2 Laurent Brossoit will get more than 8 games in 2017/18, right?
During last year’s campaign, we saw Brossoit put up a 1.99 GAA and a .928 SV%. Encouraging numbers to say the least. I know one of his weaknesses in the past has been his glove hand but from what I know of Brossoit’s work ethic, that glove won’t be a weakness any longer.
Answer: Cam Talbot will play 65-70 regular season games barring injury in 2017/18. Brossoit will see the rest
9. Which Milan Lucic Will We See in 2017/18?
I think we’re going to see a more svelte Milan Lucic this year. He knows that his foot speed will grow to be more and more of an issue as the years come and go. We also know that he’s a very motivated and hard-working individual and with that, we’ll see the Milan of old. The one whose 5×5 numbers were dominant but with the added feature of having great PP numbers as well (Thanks to 97).
But here’s the one thing I’d personally like to witness, a better D-zone game. He was caught more than once versus the Ducks in the playoffs last year not coming down the boards deep enough to gather the puck and was left witnessing a GWG for the other team.
Now, I’m not concerned with Lucic scoring 40 goals or getting 60 points. I know what he brings to the table and I love that but he’s got to be better in his own zone when it counts.
Answer: Just as it took Talbot, Sekera, Larsson, and others a season or less to acclimate themselves to the team and its systems, Lucic has had his 1 year grace period. He knows the system now, he knows what is expected of him and we’re going to see the Lucic we all know and love because if we don’t, you can be sure as shit he’ll hear it from the fanbase.
8. How Will the Oilers Do Without Andrej Sekera?
Excellent question. I think that the Oilers ARE going to suffer without Andrej Sekera. Even though he hates passing McDavid the puck he’s still one of the team’s best puck-moving dmen. 5×5, I don’t believe that Darnell Nurse or Matt Benning will be able to reproduce the things that Sekera does best.
This could result in the Oilers spending more time in their own zone because they’re unable to move the puck out. Last year we’d see Kris Russell use Sekera as the out when retrieving the puck in the d-zone and if Rej wasn’t available it was off the glass and out.
I suppose it’s at all possible that Russell takes on the Sekera role and is tasked with moving the puck more responsibly. He is, after all, a great skater and can pass the puck.
Answer: The Oilers WILL suffer without Sekera.
7. Which Rookie Could Make the Team?
Well, there are a few vying to do so eh? Kailer Yamamoto, Ryan Mantha, Caleb Jones, Ethan Bear, Joe Gambardella, Joey Laleggia, Ziyat Paigin to name a few.
My thing is, whose spot are they going to steal? The only way a rookie makes it to the opening night roster is if an injury to a regular puts him there.
If I had to say who had the best shot, I’d probably say Laleggia or Gambardella. I like their age and I think they’ve got enough grit to go with their skill that McLellan and Chiarelli would have a tough time saying no if they outplayed Khaira or Puljujarvi.
Keeping in mind that Laleggia has turned into quite the minor league goal scorer and that’s AFTER he lost the Hobey Baker Award to Jack Eichel as a defenseman.
Gambardella put up 3 pts in 6 games for the Oilers farm team after he signed with Edmonton. He’s an older prospect at 24 years old and I’m thinking the time it takes him to get used to the pro game will be much shorter than say a 20-year-old.
Could Gambardella and Laleggia be the next Sheary and Rust? It’s possible.
In my opinion, Yamamoto will be sent back to Junior before the regular season starts. The Oilers will be taking the Mitch Marner route with him and they’ll be better off for it.
Answer: Joey Laleggia or a longshot in Ziyat Paigin
6. Where Will Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Be Traded?
IF he’s traded it’ll be to a team that needs a top 6 centre (duh!), who has the cap room, and the adequate prospects and picks to send to Edmonton to acquire him.
Also, what will the Oilers need? Scoring on the wing? A face-off specialist? PP Cannon?
The rumoursphere has Ron Francis looking for a top 6 centre and they’ve got the cap room and prospects to offer for RNH. Elias Lindholm, Julien Gauthier, and Roland McKeown are a few tasty names I like.
If Detroit could find a way to shed some salary, I think Nuge would be a good replacement for Zetterberg when the Swedish captain decides to step away. I’m sure the Oilers would love a Tyler Bertuzzi or Evgeny Svechnikov.
If Turris and Tavares leave their teams as UFAs next summer, do they become candidates for Nugent-Hopkins? Same goes for the St.Louis Blues, they’re top centre is Paul Stastny and he’s set to be a UFA who’ll make $7M this season.
Is that a deadline trade that interests you? Meaning Nuge to the Blues for Stastny plus picks/prospects? I’d like a kid like Robert Thomas in the Oiler system or maybe even Tage Thompson. Stastny is not too shabby on the dot (55.7% last year) and scores a bit better than Nuge. Maybe the Oilers find a way to re-sign him at a reasonable price or the deal him at the draft after the playoffs.
Answer: I’m going to say he’ll be heading to the Eastern Conference just like Eberle and Hall before him. Will he reunite with his former Decade of Darkness linemates in the Metro division? Would be interesting if he did.
5. Will These Players Take the Next Step in Their Development and Which Ones Will be Impact Players? – Darnell Nurse – Jesse Puljujarvi – Matt Benning – Anton Slepyshev – Drake Caggiula
If the Oilers are to have the same amount of success as they did last season, I believe that all five of these players will need to take the next step. They’ll all need to contribute to the wins a bit more than the losses but will any of them be “impact” players?
I think that Nurse showed us last season before his injury that he’s right on par with his developmental curve. And this being his 3rd full season, I believe that he’ll be someone that the Oilers can count on and a player whose identity on the team and what he brings to the Oilers will be that much clearer. I don’t think 25-30 pts is out of the question for him IF he playes all 82.
Jesse Puljujarvi, if he’d only played fewer games last year he’d be a Calder candidate this year. Is there some conspiracy with the Oilers and the Calder trophy? It’s maddening the kinds of players that could’ve won the Calder but didn’t for the Oilers. Anyways, I think that Pulju will be a top 6 on Draisaitl’s line with Lucic.
The one thing with Pulju though is that he loves to do the deep swoop and carry through the neutral zone, much like Leon and Connor. So how will that affect things if he’s on either line? Is the 3rd line with Strome or RNH and Jokinen a better place for him? Easing him into the NHL a bit more sounds like the path I like because we’ve got players that can swap with him if needed. Give the Grinnin’ Finn some PP time to boot and we’ll be seeing that magic we’ve been waiting for all this time.
As for Benning, Slepyshev, and Caggiula, I think it’s not far fetched for the two forwards to put up 12-15 goals each with 20 being the high because I think we can solidly say that Caggiula and Slepyshev will get the entire season with the Oilers as oppose to last year where Slepy got half a season and Caggiula only played three-quarters of it.
I’m worried about Benning though. It’s not called the sophomore slump for nothing. Yes, we saw good things out of him last season but let’s just be ready in case he’s not.
Answer: I see a step back for Benning but a step forward for Nurse, Jesse, Caggiula, and Slepy.
4. Can the Oilers Stay Healthy?
Nobody can really say a team will stay healthy for the entire team but seasons like the one the Oilers just had are pretty rare. Usually a team has at least one decent player go down hurt, right?
What has been noticed and noted by Oilers insider Bob Stauffer is that teams have stopped taking as many liberties (In the regular season? We know what happened in the playoffs…) with the Oilers now that they’ve got the likes of Larsson, Nurse, Gryba, Maroon, Kassian, and Lucic lining up for them. Not only that but the flukey injuries have seemingly slowed down. No more skates on the head, toe-picking into the boards, or bruised egos slowing the team down.
Answer: Yes, they can. At least relatively.
3. Who Will Be Playing Right-Wing on Connor McDavid’s Line?
It’ll be a fluent situation. I think we’ll see nearly everyone that can play there actually play there. That means, Nuge, Strome, Pulju, Caggiula, Draisaitl, Slepyshev, and Kassian will get a shift now and then too.
Scotty Bowman believed in pairs and I subscribe to that belief as well. Trying to get three guys to come together for an extended period of time is nearly impossible. But you can get two guys who really feel it on the ice and interchange a 3rd guy in there depending on the night, the situation, and the opponent.
This shouldn’t be an issue but it will be knowing Oilers “enthusiasts”.
Answer: I believe that the majority of the TOI will go to one of Leon Draisaitl or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
2. Leon Draisaitl: Driver of his own line or Kurri to McDavid’s Gretzky?
I know there are those out there that aren’t sure if Draisaitl can drive his own line because he’s played one year with Hall and another with McDavid and his fancies apart from them weren’t as great as with those two players but let’s be real here. With Hall, that was Leon’s first real season and of
With Hall, that was Leon’s first real season and of course Hall was going to drive the offense. He was that much older and that much more experienced. Bet you he was wishing Draisaitl was his centre in NJ last season…
With McDavid, everybody’s numbers are going to go up, so it’s no surprise that Leon’s did as well. But Draisaitl is part of a very small group of men who can say they CAN play with McDavid. Hall can’t, Eberle can’t, Lucic can’t.
You can come at me with the small sample size and performances don’t matter during the playoffs all you’d like but those games are NOT even close to being the same as regular season games. They’re far more difficuly games to play in and they should be weighted differently.
That is exactly where Leon Draisaitl shines and has shined in the past. WHL MVP, Memorial Cup MVP, featured heavily for Team Europe as they nearly took Canada to three games in the final of the World Cup of Hockey, talisman for the German National team, and was tied for 7th in scoring for the playoffs DESPITE his team being eliminated in the 2nd round!!!
It’s the year of the German and Leon will be the best no.2 centre in the NHL. He’ll be recovered from not having to play hockey all summer and therefore those slumps we saw him go into last season will be shorter if at all this upcoming campaign. He’ll be back stronger, faster, smarter, and richer…
Answer: Leon will be driving lines ALL. NIGHT. LONG. ALL. SEASON. LONG.
1. Will the Oilers: – Make the Playoffs? – Win the Pacific Division? – Win the Western Conference? – Win the Stanley Cup?
Answer: Make the playoffs: Yes, the Oilers will make the playoffs and not as a wild card.
Win the Pacific: I don’t think they’ll win the Pacific. I still see the Ducks as the team to beat there. They’ve got the right mix of vets and talented young players as well as a stellar goalie and excellent defense. I see Edmonton coming in 2nd or even 3rd.
Win the Western Conference: Anything can happen in the playoffs and if they can get out of the 1st round injury-free and in relatively short order, then I do believe they can win the West. Although, my money is on Dallas to go to the finals.
Win the Stanley Cup: As said above, anything can happen in the playoffs. If you’ve got a goalie who’s on fire, elite generational forwards, a never die attitude within the supporting cast, it can happen. Pittburgh’s defense looked like something the Oilers would’ve iced in the DoD by the end of the playoffs last year and they still beat Nashville.
If I’m being honest, I’m thinking one more year before the Oilers are true Cup contenders.
I hope you stayed all the way to the end and if you did, a stick tap and a hearty slap on the back to you! Extra TOI for yourself next game!
What do you think about the questions I’ve raised here? Let us know in the comments below or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook!
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