Tag Archives: Oilers

Edmonton Oilers, Jack Gruninger, NHL

Oilers News: Herbers Hired, Nemisz AHL Deal, Schultz Arbitration Date, Ice District

The Oilers have hired University of Alberta Golden Bears head coach Ian Herbers as an assistant coach. Herbers began his coaching career as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Rampage (AHL) in 2003. He joined the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit as an assistant coach in 2004 and remained there for 3 years before becoming head coach of the ECHL’s Johnstown Chiefs. In 2009, Herbers joined the Milwaukee Admirals as an assistant coach, and spent a brief period as head coach in 2012, before becoming head coach of the Golden Bears. Herbers has coached the Golden Bears to 2 championships. He has also crossed paths with Todd McLellan before. Herbers played for McLellan’s Cleveland Lumberjacks in the 2000-2001 season.

Herbers replaces Rocky Thompson, who left the organization to become the new head coach of the Windsor Spitfires. He joins a new look coaching staff of head coach Todd McLellan, and assistant coaches Jay Woodcroft and Jim Johnson.

Photo Credits to Grant Black / Calgary Herald

According to Oilersnation.com, the Bakersfield Condors, Edmonton’s AHL affiliate, is closing in on a deal with former Flames first round pick Greg Nemisz. Nemisz, a two-way forward has spent most of his career in the Flames organization, and most recently in the Hurricanes organization. The deal with Nemisz will be an AHL contract, and while he will likely attend Oilers training camp, he is unlikely to secure a spot with the big club.

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The Oilers have plenty of forwards at the AHL level, and from looking at this, I think it’s perfectly reasonable to suggest that we see one of these forwards in the NHL to start the season. With all of this talk of buyouts, perhaps Purcell is a candidate? Or, maybe a forward is being traded? Things to keep an eye on. At the moment, several of these forwards will be starting the season down in Norfolk, Edmonton’s new ECHL affiliate, assuming there aren’t a ton of injuries.

Justin Schultz’s arbitration hearing is scheduled for July 24th, 11 days from now. This arbitration will open up a second buyout window for the Oilers, regardless of whether Schultz actually goes to arbitration or not. Personally, I’d be surprised if he went to arbitration, but you never know.

Finally, the Katz Group and Oilers Entertainment Group officially announced today “Ice District.” No “the” in front of “ice.” It’s an interesting name, one that received some criticism, but it emphasizes the culture of the city and the importance of hockey to Edmonton. You can take a look at the Ice District website here.

The only hockey tidbit from the press conference came when Bob Nicholson said that the Oilers will be in the playoffs when they move into the new building. We shall see, Bob. We shall see.

Brennen York, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, NHL Entry Draft, Prospects

Oilers First Round

Well, the 30th pick has been made and the first round has come to a conclusion. The Oilers made noise on the draft floor moving picks 16 (Barzal) and pick 33 to the New York Islanders in exchange for Griffin Reinhart. Many have criticized this move, but it will prove to be a valuable addition to the Oilers roster. Not only does Reinhart bring a strong defensive presence, he also brings the experience factor the Oilers lack. Yes, I know he’s 21, so “experience” isn’t exactly a trait that would pop into your head immediately, but if you take a glimpse at his track record you will be more than impressed.

Aside from that trade, the Oilers clearly won the day as they walked away with the greatest prospect to come along in the past 30 years. McDavid means a new era for the Oilers. His unprecedented speed and puck skills will take the NHL, as well as the Oilers, on to a new level. If the Oilers walk away with zero picks throughout the remainder of the draft and still acquire an A+ rating given the caliber of player they left with.

Granted, selecting Mathew Barzal at 16, and one of Bittner, Roy, or Harkins at 33 would have been a memorable haul, but the Oilers chose to address a position which they were shallow on. Reinhart creates depth on the blueline, and for the first time in years, the Oilers can potentially say no to adding another left handed defenceman.

All in all, it was a solid day for the Oil, but it doesn’t end there. Tomorrow is when we’ll see picks and players on the move, possibly Nikita Nikitin on his way out, as well as the chance a goalie is added to the fold. It will be an exciting day, and for once Oiler fans have faith in management.

Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, Jack Gruninger, NHL Entry Draft

2015 NHL Entry Draft: Live Blog

With the 2015 NHL Entry Draft less than half an hour away, we’re here to give you all the latest updates.

There has been quite a bit of action today, particularly out of Boston. The Bruins have traded Dougie Hamilton to Calgary for 3 draft picks and have also traded Milan Lucic to Los Angeles for their first as well as goalie Martin Jones and a prospect. This gives the Bruins picks 13, 14, and 15 in the draft, which they are currently using as trade bait to try and grab Arizona’s pick at 3rd overall. If that deal doesn’t get done, Arizona will make the pick and will likely select Erie Otters centre Dylan Strome.

A number of teams continue trade discussions on available players. With Martin Jones acquired, Boston could look to trade a goalie. Carolina is shopping around Jeff Skinner, but it seems likely that they hold onto him. Chicago needs to make cap space and could trade any one of Patrick Sharp, Bryan Bickell, or Kris Versteeg. As of now, Montreal seems to be the front runner for Sharp.

With Colorado’s addition of Carl Soderberg, it seems like a good bet that Ryan O’Reilly will be dealt, likely for a defenceman. Numerous teams are interested in him.

With LA’s acquisition of Milan Lucic, reports came out that they will likely buyout Mike Richards. We’ll see what happens there.

Nashville re-signed Mike Fisher today and continue to work on a deal for Mike Ribeiro. A couple teams, the Islanders and Canadiens, could look to move down in the draft to gain more picks in the second round.

The Rangers continue to shop Cam Talbot, and ideally they would like a first round pick. Pittsburgh continues to look for forwards. San Jose and Vancouver have had serious discussions regarding Kevin Bieksa, we’ll see if that trade happens. Also, Eddie Lack’s name is still out there as a goaltending option.

St. Louis was rumoured to be in the hunt for a first round pick and could try and trade either T.J. Oshie or David Backes. Toronto continues to shop Phil Kessel and Tyler Bozak, and could look to trade their second first round pick.

Note: All times are in Edmonton time. Refresh the page to view the latest updates.

4:49 – There is some talk that Boston may even be willing to trade Tuukka Rask. Unlikely, but that’s what everyone said about a Hamilton trade as well.

4:51 – BREAKING: Ryan O’Reilly close to being traded to the Buffalo Sabres. Details to come.

4:56 – It sounds like Nikita Zadorov could be part of a Ryan O’Reilly trade.

4:58 – It also sounds like Mikhail Grigorenko would be going to Colorado as well as a second round pick. On another note, talks between Vancouver and San Jose about Bieksa seem to have fallen apart. Vancouver wanted 2 second round picks.

5:10 – It’s unlikely at this point that either Lack or Talbot will be traded tonight, it could happen tomorrow.

TRADE: Buffalo has traded Nikita Zadorov, Mikhail Grigorenko, JT Compher, and the 31st overall pick to Colorado in exchange for Ryan O’Reilly and Jamie McGinn.

1. Edmonton Selects F Connor McDavid. The Oilers also debut a new jersey, it looks great.

2. Buffalo Selects F Jack Eichel.

3. Arizona Selects F Dylan Strome.

4. Toronto Selects F Mitch Marner.

5. Carolina Selects D Noah Hanifin.

5:45 – New Jersey and Columbus are discussing a trade. We’ll see if anything comes of it.

5:48 – The Devils will make their pick.

6. New Jersey Selects F Pavel Zacha.

7. Philadelphia Selects D Ivan Provorov.

5:57 – Toronto continues to talk to teams about the 24th pick. Jim Matheson is also reporting that Kevin Shattenkirk could be available.

8. Columbus Selects D Zach Werenski.

9. San Jose Selects F Timo Meier.

10. Colorado Selects F Mikko Rantanen.

11. Florida Selects F Lawson Crouse.

12. Dallas Selects F Denis Gurianov.

13. Boston Selects D Jakub Zboril.

14. Boston Selects F Jake DeBrusk.

15. Boston Selects F Zachary Senyshyn.

6:46 – It sounds like the Islanders have made a trade.

6:48 – Edmonton has traded the pick, details to come.

TRADE: Edmonton trades picks 16 and 33 to the New York Islanders in exchange for D Griffin Reinhart.

16. New York Selects F Mathew Barzal.

17. Winnipeg Selects F Kyle Connor.

18. Ottawa Selects D Thomas Chabot.

19. Detroit Selects F Evgeni Svechnikov.

20. Minnesota Selects F Joel Eriksson-Ek

7:22 – Peter Chiarelli having a lengthy conversation with Dean Lombardi…

21. Ottawa Selects F Colin White.

22. Washington Selects G Ilya Samsonov.

23. Vancouver Selects F Brock Boeser.

TRADE: Toronto trades pick 24 to Philadelphia in exchange for picks 29 and 61.

24. Philadelphia Selects F Travis Konecny.

25. Winnipeg Selects F Jack Roslovic.

26. Montreal Selects D Noah Juulsen

27. Anaheim Selects D Jacob Larsson

TRADE: Tampa Bay trades pick 28 to the Islanders in exchange for picks 33 and 72.

28. New York Selects F Anthony Beauvillier.

TRADE: Toronto trades pick 29 to Columbus in exchange for picks 34 and 68.

29. Columbus Selects D Gabriel Carlsson.

TRADE: Anaheim trades Kyle Palmieri to New Jersey in exchange for the 41st pick and a 3rd round pick in 2016.

30. Arizona Selects F Nick Merkley

Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, Jack Gruninger, NHL, Trades

Calgary Steals Hamilton From Bruins in Lopsided Trade

In typical Bruins fashion, Boston has traded a tremendous young player and received little value in return.

In an absolute steal of a trade that stunned many, Calgary has acquired defenceman Dougie Hamilton from the Boston Bruins in exchange for picks #15, 45, and 52.

The 6’5”, 212lbs. right-handed defenceman was drafted 9th overall in 2011 by Boston, and has already established himself as a top defenceman in the NHL. Hamilton has 83 points in 178 games in the NHL, which includes 42 points in 72 games this past season.

A restricted free agent, Hamilton had many rumours attached to him, particularly regarding offer sheets. Edmonton in particular was a team that many said could submit an offer sheet for Hamilton.

The surprisingly low return has led some to speculate that this was done as a “revenge move” of sorts against Boston’s former GM, although that sounds like a ridiculous thing for a professional hockey club to do. Other reasons have been suggested on Twitter for the poor return:

Hamilton will be a key fixture on Calgary’s blueline along with Mark Giordano and TJ Brodie. Here is some more fallout from the deal:

https://twitter.com/JonathanWillis/status/614516443527278592

**Update**

No wonder Edmonton didn’t make the trade.

Brennen York, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, NHL Entry Draft, Prospects

1 – Edmonton Oilers

A single day remains before the fate of the Oilers changes forever. It’s been an incredible off season thus far, and Oil Country is buzzing. After the complete dismantling of the MacT regime, Peter Chiarelli has fans talking non stop about what may come from the draft. There’s not a lot of words to describe what Connor McDavid will mean to the Oilers but one thing is certain, he will change the Oilers franchise forever. Though the McDavid pick will be one that is fairly easy, Chiarelli & Co. will have some tough calls when it comes to trades, the 16th pick, and the 33rd pick. 

When it comes to trades, no one is too sure what is going to come down. The Oil need a goalie and I do believe they address that in the next two days, however after hearing that the New York Rangers turned down two second round picks for Cam Talbot, I’d be a like nervous about going after him. Lehner is an option, but he has some question marks around him. Martin Jones name has also been thrown around, but the asking price will be the 33rd pick. 

In the end, Chia will have to ask himself whether or not to worth it when he could throw money at Devan Dubnyk or Antti Niemi. The 16th pick has fans excited, as the last time the Oilers had two first rounders they walked away with RNH and Oscar Klefbom. There’s been trade rumours around this pick for a while as the possibility of making a major deal for a big name defenceman became real after the lottery win. I do believe waiting until the Oilers are finally on the clock before making this pick because the value on that pick will never be higher given the fact that a player like Jeremy Roy or Timo Meier may have slipped. 

If they plan on using the pick, there’s going to be a lot of options on the board. Players like Roy, Meier, maybe even Kyle Connor could slip, but in the likely situation that they’ve all been selected, players like Guryanov, White, and Svechnikov would all be hard to pass on. The talk around using that pick on Ilya Samsonov is blasphemous given the going rate of goalies both on the open market and via trade. He’s a good goalie, but you don’t draft a goalie in the top 20 unless he’s the second coming of Christ. The 33rd pick, however, would be perfectly suited for a goaltender named Samsonov, or even Blackwood. The depth in net is scary, and adding a piece like Samsonov could prove to be a huge pick up. I’m still on the Emil Garipov train when it comes to a solution in net for Edmonton. He’s been putting up stellar numbers overseas, but convincing him to come over for anything less than 4 million may be a challenge. 

It will be the greatest draft in Oilers history, and I personally can’t wait to see what Pete Chiarelli has up his sleeves.

Draft Day Gameplan

– It starts and ends with Connor McDavid.

– Find a goalie. Whether you trade a 5th for rights, or trade for Talbot, don’t leave without a netminder.

– Hit it big with the 16th pick. There will be some good players left, go BPA.

– Find a defenceman. The Oil are shallow on the blue line, so finding a guy capable of playing top pairing minutes is vital.

Oilers Big Board

1. Connor McDavid
2. Jack Eichel
3. Dylan Strome
4. Noah Hanifin
5. Mitchell Marner
6. Ivan Provorov
7. Mikko Rantanen
8. Pavel Zacha
9. Lawson Crouse
10. Denis Guryanov

Who do they take?

Tough call. Could take Connor McDavid OR they could take Connor McDavid. At 16, I like Jeremy Roy.

Darkhorse?

At 16, maybe Debrusk. I doubt it. Will be a player ranked in that range. Noah Juulsen would be interesting.