Tag Archives: Nazem Kadri

Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL

Jumping In Head First

I’m going to be touching on a few things here including the game tonight that I’ll miss due to work. GRRR! Also, I want to touch on the anti-Eberle fans and then on a more serious note I’ll be talking about a serious article from The Oilers Rig that has had me thinking and I hope you can help me with my thoughts a bit.

**WARNING! THIS POST HAS QUITE A BIT OF FOUL LANGUAGE IN IT. PLEASE GO ELSEWHERE IF YOU’RE OFFENDED BY SWEAR WORDS. IF YOU DO STAY AND READ AND THEN DECIDE TO EMAIL ME ABOUT SAID LANGUAGE, I WILL PROBABLY REPLY WITH THE SAME SORT OF LANGUAGE. THANK YOU!**

Oilers/Maple Leafs: McDavid vs. Kadri

I’m very interested in seeing how this is going to go down. Will Kadri try to go at McDavid like he did in TO? Will Lucic do something about it if Kadri does? How will McLellan work the last change?

I think that Connor is going to take this match-up very seriously and very personally. He looks like a man of immense pride and being embarrassed like that in TO has surely left a mark.

How will the Oilers combat Mitch Marner? What if Darnell Nurse was out there every time Marner was? Do what Arizona with OEL on McDavid and just have a single dman tasked withs shutting Marner down.

Will Auston Matthews and William Nylander have a better go this time around? They were pretty quiet in the previous game. Do you reckon that RNH will be given the job of taking care of the Maple Leafs’ kid line?

This should be a beauty of a game and in comparison to the last two versus Arizona, it should feel like 1987 all over again!

JORDAN EBERLE

Are you one of the fans that is yearning for the Oilers to sit Eberle in the press box for a night to “teach him a lesson”? Or are you the kind that wants the Oilers to deal him right now?

Ain’t happenin’ folks!

Eberle is the team’s best RW, period and he’s on pace to put up 25 goals and 60 points! You can’t even argue that Puljujarvi is one bit and he’s the closest one! WHY would you want to trade that?

Ebs scores, forechecks like a mutha fucker and he’s been backchecking like crazy this season. More than any other season that I can remember.

Do you think he’s lazy in the corners and too weak?

Remember how he and Hall and Nuge used to work that cycle in year’s past? Yeah, he had to go to the dirty areas to do that.

Look, I’m mad at him for missing that assignment in front of the net vs. Arizona too and I absolutely HATE how he has to dribble the puck 3 or 4 times before letting it fly but you win as a team and you lose as a team. The Oilers, and Eberle himself, had plenty of chances to score earlier and they didn’t. Boo hoo, we move on to the next team.

I mean if you’re going to pick on someone, be consistent. Get on Pouliot’s back.

ON A SERIOUS NOTE… This is Where I Jump in Head First.

As I laid in bed trying to get to sleep I had a Joe Rogan podcast playing in the background and today’s guest was a professor from the Univ. of Toronto and they were talking about social justice warriors and the likes and it got me thinking about an article I read from my old haunt, The Oilers Rig.

http://www.theoilersrig.com/2016/11/sports-email-abuse-2/

The article was from the site’s content manager Megan Fowler and she had an encounter with an unknown follower who happened to show a lack of appreciation for her fondness of Taylor Hall and proceeded to call her a cunt. Neh! A stupid cunt.

Now I’ve dealt with Ms.Fowler in the past and I’ll be honest, the interactions weren’t that pleasant. It was more business-like than I was used to and we didn’t see eye-to-eye because we’re on the opposite sides of the Hall debate and had no problems letting each other know. Don’t get me wrong, she wasn’t a stupid cunt or anything. But I left the Rig family soon after to concentrate on things here at BLH. Shows how smart of a guy I am…

I’m torn and a bit confused about my whole feelings on Ms.Fowler’s experience and that’s why I’m writing this. I’d like to know more about the situation and in the process, hopefully, learn more about myself by exposing my underbelly a bit on the topic and most likely open myself up to some public shaming due to my lack of empathy. Hooray! And a pre-emptive thank you for taking the time to read perhaps a different viewpoint.

Honestly, I just want to know if my wheels are aligned or if they’re in dire need of an adjustment.

I’m not female so I can’t say I know how Ms.Fowler feels nor have I been called any sort of cunt before. But a part of me says if she’s going to passionately write about her team and be combative and have the words “Salty AF” (AF = as fuck) in her Twitter handle, then she should be prepared to have some shit slung at her and when it does come her way; she can’t go crying on social media and through her site about it.

I don’t know why but there lingering questions for me.

  • Did the email only contain the sentence, “Hey you stupid cunt, why don’t you cry about Taylor Hall some more?” Because ironically, that is a pretty cunty email to send if that’s all it said.
  • How do we know it was a guy that sent it?
  • Was it a person from Great Britain where the term “cunt” is fairly widespread and common?

The ego takes a bit of a hit there when someone calls you a name (especially a cunt in North America) and nobody likes to be disrespected be they male or female but the reassurances needed by Ms.Fowler, a grown adult and teacher, are also a question for me. She claims that it’s not the first time and certainly won’t be the last but if it’s happening so often, is there something there that should be reflected upon? I mean, what’s the motivation in posting an entire article on being called a name and why does she care so much about this one person’s opinion?

She claims that it’s not the first time and certainly won’t be the last but if it’s happening so often, is there something there that should be reflected upon personally? I mean, what’s the motivation in posting an entire article on being called a name and why does she care so much about this one person’s opinion if this is a common occurrence?

  • Social justice?
  • To shed light on women in sport and the abuse they have to endure?
  • Needed attention?

In Ms.Fowler’s case, she kinda made her own bed with her pining of Taylor Hall but hey, we all have our favorite players and even I’ll say that trade was questionable. My favorite band was Blink-182 when I was younger and I can say from experience, I did not want to admit that amongst my more punk rock engrained friends and I never wore a Blink shirt to the Warped Tours I attended… Stayed safe and wore Anti-Flag shirts 🙂

I guess personally, I just don’t feel the need to bring to light the garbage that someone is trying to toss on my lawn so I can say “Hey! Look at what happened here! This is an unspeakable offense!” I suppose I’m more of the type that says, “Wow! Whoever sent that is obviously having a tough time in life, I hope things get better for them but a name only has the power you give it.” And honestly, there are worse things to be called than a stupid cunt, unless you feel that you might be a bit a cunt and are pissed someone has finally called you out.

I imagine I’ve done my own but of shit-disturbing by now and there will most definitely be someone who’ll ask me, “What if that happened to your daughter?”

Well, the answer to that is, don’t worry about my daughter because it’s none of your business. I appreciate the concern but we’ll handle it.

I figure in this instance there’s some person out there laughing his ass off feeling empowered by what has transpired. So has Ms.Fowler really done anything to combat this sort of offense?

All of That Being Said…

Megan has obviously gone and done something so well that it has irked someone enough into showing their own insecurities to you by taking the time to email her and call her a cunt. She’s obviously talented at what she does and since taking over at The Rig, the site has gone stratospheric!

One must give credit where credit is due and often times when one cannot find it in them to give said credit, they go the other way and try to tear down what that other person has done.

You see, that’s the thing about the keyboard warriors. So so so so insecure and they believe that their opinion of you or your works counts for something. The mindset of “If I’m wrong then you’re a dick” is the most fucked up and childish one I’ve come across but I find it rare in public settings because those people tend to be taken care of one way or another. Give a guy a keyboard and the safety net of knowing they may never have to meet the person their denigrating though and it’s on!

In the end, I really believe that the sex of a writer is unimportant. Good content comes from everyone and everywhere, male or female or transgender, but if you’re being a cunt, you’re fair game.

So don’t be a cunt.

The comments section is open for your thoughts. Thank you!

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Edmonton Oilers, Kosmic Burrito, NHL

Lucic and Russell… Mistakes? These Kosmic Oilers Thoughts and More..

Awwww yeeeeaaaah! What’s up! It’s your Psychedelic Pspaceman, the Electric Cowboy, a.k.a. Kosmic Burrito back with a hot fire mixtape fo’ that azzzzz….

What? No? My bad, wrong trip….ugh this is so awkward now. I better go take off my M.C Hammer pants.

Hey BLH’ers, it’s been a few minutes since we chilled, and I’m excited to be back here in the Beer League Heroes Universe! What I’ve got cooking in the Kosmic Kitchen today is a healthy mixture of random thoughts and different trips that I’ve been on. Bon appetit!

Twin Daddy Talbot

Man, has this guy been magical or what? Ok Ok, minus that Buffalo game and Talbot has been money so far. After a slow and rough start last year, he has erased any doubts in my mind of that becoming a reoccurring trend this season. First off, though, congrats to the brand new Daddy! Twins as well! Wow, that makes his start to the season that much more impressive to me. I’m a father myself, I have three sons aged nine, eight, and five. But I could not imagine having to handle two newborns at once, AND being an NHL netminder. So that is why my hat is tipped to you, Papa Cam. Twins, and a great run so far.

As of today, his stat-line looks like this: He has a GAA of 2.31 which is tied for 20th in the league, and he sports a SV% of .927 which places him 15th in the league. He’s played in 11 games and his record is 7 W’s, 3 L’s, and 1 OTL. I think it’s safe to say that he’s cementing himself as a true Number One netminder in the NHL. My only fear is that we’re going to have to give him a rest soon, and eventually have to give The Monster his turn in net. DUN DUN DUNNNN…

Tyler Pitlick Needs to Stick…With the Team

To quote the incomparable Mr. Gord Downie, “It’s been a long time running. It’s well worth the wait”. I think this can apply to Tyler Pitlick, who looks like he has finally arrived. But for how long, though, right? I mean yes, he is filling a 4th line role quite admirably, but they have some dudes coming back from injury sooner or later (IE: Hendo, Pakarinen, & Caggiula). And hockey is a business, right? But Pitlick for sure has my backing. I love this guy; he hits anything moving, has blazing speed, and his tenacity for the puck is fantastic. After all the setbacks that he’s had from injury, *knocks on wood* I hope that this is finally the year that he gets to play a full season. He’s been great so far and his work ethic is incredible. I’ll even step out on a limb here, if Pitlick can play a full season and was actually bumped up to 3rd line minutes, I think that he could score 15+ goals and possibly add another 15+ helpers. Like I said, he’s been dynamite in his role so far this season. I for one hope that he sticks it out all year. I can’t help but root for the underdogs, I mean, I am an Oilers fan right? So far this season, he has posted a stat-line that looks like:

11GP 3G 1A 4P 0 +/- (he’s on track for 21 goals at this point, can he maintain that pace? Probably not)

Considering he only has seven points in his entire NHL career (all of 38 games played), this is a fantastic start to the year for him. The Oilers have benefited from a healthy Pitlick in the lineup, I’m sure we can all agree on that. I for one would rather see Pitty stay in the lineup than Hendo or PakMan. But that’s just my opinion

Is Eberle Getting Feistier in His Old Age?

Is Ol’ Man Eberle getting a bit grumpier as time passes? Seriously, though, is it just me or has this guy’s “board play” vastly improved this season? I’ve made a point to literally try and watch every game this season, and so far it’s been mission accomplished. Yes, I am married with kids, so I know that some dudes are probably like, “He’s lying! Every game and he has a wife and kids! How does he do it?”. Easy, my wife is mad cool and I live in Toronto, so my kids are usually in bed during most games. So back to Oscar the Eberle, from my view on the couch it looks like he’s definitely worked on his board game in the offseason. He’s playing a way more physically confident game this year than any other season that I can recall, which isn’t a whole lot since my mind has subconsciously erased many bad Oilers memories. But his attack on the forecheck has also kicked up a notch, and me likey! I don’t know if this is a result of the addition and influence of Milan Lucic, if it is something that Jordan set out to work on this offseason, or if it’s just happening with his “old age”. But I hope that Eberle keeps it up all year. Up until this point, he has a stat-line that goes a little something like this:

11GP 3G 4A 7P -5+/- (I’d definitely like to see some more goals from Eberle)

The Looch

At the very start to the still-young season, I thought that Lucic was playing a strong, physically dominant game. But his play as of late has lacked that edge, most specifically I’m thinking of the Toronto game. Man, they could have used his muscle during those 60+ minutes in the 6ix. But I’ll touch on that game a bit later on. All I’m saying is, they signed Looch to lead, bang, score, and intimidate/police the ice. I hope that version comes back, and real soon! I have no worries that he won’t return. But a “physically quiet” Looch is an ineffective Looch, and that’s the version that has been hitting the ice recently. Milan’s stat-line is looking alright to start the season:

11GP 4G 3A 7P 0 +/- (he’s on pace for 30 goals at the moment, that I can’t complain about)

Is the Russell Honeymoon Over?

To say that this is a hot topic amongst the Oilers blogging community, would be an absolute understatement. Hot? More like a smoldering inferno of molten hot lava, burning within the Universe’s most active volcano. It’s the perfect scenario for the old “Analytics VS Non-Analytics” argument, FOR REAL!

Straight up though, I love analytics. I think that they add so many other dimensions to how we can track a player’s performance, flow of the game, etc… But with that being said, I am not going to pretend that I understand every advanced stat or even what goes into how these geniuses track them HaHa! That’s why I’m extremely happy that I work with the man, G-Money. Whom I personally believe is one of THE BEST in the Analytics/Advanced Stats world. I usually ask G any kind of analytical question that I have, or how a player’s advanced stats looked after a game. The man is named “Money” for a reason people.

So onto my Russell trip, the beginning of the season I thought he was looking pretty decent and playing a well-rounded, strong game. I was (unrealistically) wishful that he put some of his analytic woes behind him for good. But his play since around game five or six (somewhere around there) hasn’t been that great, it has kind of dropped off. Which has only added more fire for the analytics side of the argument. Plus, you can just clearly see that he isn’t playing that same strong game that he displayed through the first five or six. Hmmm, I think that history shows you which player we’ll see for the rest of the season. Don’t get me wrong, he’s fearless to put his body on the line and block all those shots. I also like his speed, and willingness to play the puck and move it up ice. But I think it’s a “what you see, is what you get” type of thing from here on out. But here’s to hoping that he proves me wrong for the Oilers sake. Currently, Russell has a stat-line that looks like this:

11GP 0G 3A 3P 6+/-

Did Hell Freeze Over? And No! I’m Not Talking About Another Eagles Reunion Tour!
Anton Lander scored a goal…what the what? My mind is blown…that is all.

10GP 1G 2A 3P 4+/- (Seriously, Anton Lander scored and is on pace for eight goals!)

Nazem “The Rat” Kadri and the First Installment of McDavid VS Matthews

First off, I’ll give credit where credit is due. The Toronto Maple Leafs did a decent job of shutting down Connor McDavid and they did it using a “Layered Defense” system. It wasn’t just Nazem Kadri himself. But let’s be honest, he did a great job of playing that annoying, pesky, “Esa Tikkanen” type of shadow role. He was very Esa-esque that night.

But back to the “Layered Defense”, the first layer was obviously Nazem, and then the second layer was most commonly Morgan Reilly. The third layer, and the one that the infamous Toronto Media wasn’t talking about was the great game by Frederik Andersen. All they talked about was Nazem Kadri’s defensive coming out party. Yes, the Leafs played Connor annoyingly well, but also look at that game this way, they faced an insanely hot Freddie Andersen that night. He stopped 44 out of 46 shots….PURE FIRE! So I think that was what really shut Connor and the rest of the team down.

But back to “The Rat”, why the bloody hell didn’t someone like I don’t know, ummm, Milan Lucic go and push him around, intimidate, or even face wash him and talk some smack for Pete’s sake? Dude, it was so infuriating watching his antics take place. It’s not just Looch’s fault either, ANYBODY should have stepped in and put an end to this Rat pushing around their captain. Like honestly, what the what? They better not let that kind of crap take place again.

So I think that was what really shut Connor and the rest of the team down HaHa. But back to “The Rat”, why the bloody hell didn’t someone like I don’t know, ummm, Milan Lucic go and push him around, intimidate, or even face wash him and talk some smack for Pete’s sake? Dude, it was so infuriating watching his antics take place. It’s not just Looch’s fault either, ANYBODY should have stepped in and put an end to this Rat pushing around their captain. Like honestly, what the what? They better not let that kind of crap take place again.

What it’s Like Living in the “Center of the Hockey Universe” and Not Be a Leafs Fan
Annoying HaHa…as I’m sure that you are all aware, the Toronto Sports Media is absolutely bonkers! I’m almost convinced that MLSE owns TSN, and SportsNet. HaHa! But seriously, thank goodness for the internet and live streaming, the NHL Centre Ice package, Android boxes, and alternative media. But living here also has it’s perks, I can visit the Hockey Hall of Fame whenever, and enjoy the Raptors and Blue Jays as well. Not to mention that 90% of my friends are Leafs fans, and we LOVE talking smack with each other. Before McDavid got drafted, it was next to impossible for me to find some Oilers gear to buy around here. I had to do my shopping online.

Well ladies and gentlemen, thanks for tripping with me again! Until next time, stay trippy my friends!

As always, you can chat and follow me Twitter @kosmicburrito

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Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL

G10 – Oilers @ Maple Leafs: Beat By a Rat

Ok so let’s get a couple of things out of the way before we get into my review of the game. It was Ray Ferraro that called Kadri a rat during the broadcast, so send your vitriol his way if you don’t like the rat nickname for Kadri and the unpenalized play in overtime that led to Nazem Kadri scoring the game-winning overtime goal… These pics should basically sum it all up.

 

I’m no ref but I can see Kadri is using his free arm to tie up McDavid there… I believe my old coaches would tell me to skate a bit harder in this instance because in a normal circumstance this is actually a penalty.

Anyways, this is going to be par for the course for the rest of McDavid’s career. The other teams are going to be pulling these kinds of shenanigans all night long. I think the reason this one hurts a bit more is because Kadri was trying to goat McDavid into taking a penalty for most of the evening and was more or less doing a perfect job of being a prick. If there’d been a cheap shot or two, we might’ve been able to say Kadri was taking a page out of Esa Tikkanen’s book on how to be a shadow and a pest.

If the Oilers really wanted to win that game, they shouldn’t have hit the post twice. Problem solved.

THE GAME

Let’s start with the bad…

  • The Oilers can’t afford to complain about too much on the evening apart from some very shotty defense from Kris Russel and Andrej Sekera. They let the Leafs shoot at will 5×5 and right in the kill zone too.
  • Jordan Eberle and Milan Lucic have to be there for McDavid every bloody night. I thought that Eberle had a nice night regarding his forechecking game but Looch was completely anonymous apart from the little scrum that followed the Kadri push on McDavid.
  • Speaking of sticking up for your teammates. The Oilers are doing a much better job of it this year but is there some team-stated mandate that says they’re not allowed to set someone straight for their on-ice behavior?

    Kadri had his stick in the ribs of McDavid all night long. Why didn’t Maroon or Kassian or Lucic tune Kadri in? We know they were chirping him throughout the evening because Ray Ferraro would tell us every time… Baffles me that people are okay justifying it by saying, “it’s a different time.”

  • The Oilers are shooting but they’re not scoring enough. Are they running into hot goalies or are they not positioned right in the offensive zone?

https://twitter.com/Sun_Tychkowski/status/793658524249296896

How about the good?

  • I wouldn’t send Puljujarvi down right now. He’s finding his feet and it’s causing fits for the opposition who want to match lines or send out a specific crew to cover Connor. I loved his game now for about a week. He’s engaging in every situation and he’s gaining more puck confidence shift-by-shift.
  • Oscar Klefbom had a monster of a game! I don’t even know the last time an Oilers defenseman put up 8 shots in a game. We’ve been waiting to see him unless his Klef-bomb consistently and tonight will go a very long way towards his overall confidence on the offensive side of the puck. Perhaps we’ll see him become a focal point on the PP sooner than later.
  • Mike Babcock did a wonderful job of taking the Oilers 1st line out of the game BUT lucky for the Oilers they have two more lines that are capable of taking the reins of need be.

    Nuge’s line was buzzing all. night. long. And Draisaitl’s line as well. Both lines are very unlucky not to have scored a goal because I thought it was the best game of the year for all six of the gentlemen on those two lines.

  • Darnell Nurse everyone…

NEXT UP

The New York Rangers (7-3-0) are next on the docket and they are having an outstanding start to their year as well. Not that they were a bad team before but I know I felt they were in for a regression in 2016. I guess that’s not the case. Jimmy Vesey vs. Connor McDavid? Probably not but Ryan McDonagh, Vesey, Mika Zibanejad, and Chris Kreider all have 9 pts this year. JT Miller has 10 points! And not to be outshone, Rick Nash has 8pts so far… That is some spread out scoring… Edmonton is in for a real test.

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