Friday, September 9, 2011

Oilers Rookie Camp 2011-2012



Forwards (17)# Height Weight Date Of Birth Age Birth Place
73 Cameron Abney 6' 5" 200 23 May 1991 20 Aldergrove, BC, CAN
51 Philippe Cornet 6' 0" 196 28 Mar 1990 21 Val-Senneville, QC, CAN
71 Drew Czerwonka 6' 2" 194 1 Jul 1992 19 Wolseley, SK, CAN
69 Travis Ewanyk 6' 1" 176 29 Mar 1993 18 North Vancouver, BC, CAN
79 Brett Ferguson* 6' 0" 185 6 MAR 1990 21 Vibank, SK, CAN
70 Curtis Hamilton 6' 2" 206 4 Dec 1991 19 Tacoma, WA, USA
64 Milan Kytnar 6' 0" 190 19 May 1989 22 Topolcany, SVK
57 Anton Lander 6' 0" 194 24 Apr 1991 20 Sundsvall, SWE
66 Ryan Martindale 6' 3" 183 27 Oct 1991 19 Oshawa, ON, CAN
72 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 6' 0" 171 12 Apr 1993 18 Burnaby, BC, CAN
63 Kristians Pelss 5' 11" 175 9 Sep 1992 18 Preili, LVA
68 Tyler Pitlick 6' 2" 195 1 Nov 1991 19 Minneapolis, MN, USA
92 Toni Rajala 5' 10" 163 29 Mar 1991 20 Parkano, FIN
61 Tobias Rieder 5' 10" 180 10 Jan 1993 18 Landshut, DEU
76 CHASE SCHABER* 6' 0" 194 3 Jan 1991 20 Red Deer, AB, CAN
59 COLIN SMITH* 5' 10" 157 20 JUN 1993 18 EDMONTON, AB, CAN
75 Antti Tyrvainen 5' 10" 198 3 Apr 1989 22 Seinajoki, FIN
Defencemen (9)# Height Weight Date Of Birth Age Birth Place
82 Jeremie Blain 6' 3" 195 19 Mar 1992 19 Le Moyne, QC, CAN
88 Brandon Davidson 6' 1" 202 21 Aug 1991 20 Lethbridge, AB, CAN
81 Taylor Fedun 6' 0" 190 4 Jun 1988 23 Edmonton, AB, CAN
78 Martin Gernat 6' 5" 187 11 Apr 1993 18 Slovakia
45 RYAN LOWERY* 5' 11" 189 6 Sep 1988 22 Inverness, IL, USA
80 Martin Marincin 6' 5" 196 18 Feb 1992 19 Kosice, SVK
87 David Musil 6' 3" 196 9 Apr 1993 18 Calgary, AB, CAN
85 TYLER SCHMIDT* 6' 1" 211 13 APR 1990 21 WINNIPEG, MB, CAN
84 Colten Teubert 6' 4" 195 8 Mar 1990 21 White Rock, BC, CAN
90 WES VANNIEUWENHUIZEN*6' 3" 205 20 Apr 1992 19 Chilliwack, BC, CAN
Goaltenders (3)# Height Weight Date Of Birth Age Birth Place
50 Adam Brown* 5'10" 165 12 Oct 1991 19 Yorba Linda, CA, USA
1 Tyler Bunz 6' 2" 203 11 Feb 1992 19 Regina, SK, CAN
30 Olivier Roy 6' 0" 180 12 Jul 1991 20 Amqui, QC, CAN
* Training camp invite

Forwards - Obviously, all eyes will be on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. He's going to have to go through all the progressions (ie. rookie camp, training camp and exhibition games, first 9 games of the regular season) in order to be a mainstay on the Oilers this year....Other forwards to keep an eye on are Anton Lander, Tyler Pitlick and Curtis Hamilton. All three of them will be getting there first taste of North American pro hockey. It will be interesting to see how they are utilized by the organization, how they adapt and how long will it be before they are mainstays on the Oilers....Happy to see Brett Ferguson get a shot. "The Nuge's" teammate in Red Deer brings a feisty defnsive center style that could potentially get him a pro contract somewhere down the line....Ryan Martindale is a player yet to endear himself with the Oiler staff. He had a solid year for the 67s, we'll get a chance to see how he's progressed after having a rough go in his first rookie camp....Interesting to see Toni Rajala's name on this list. Speedy winger is a darkhorse to make some noise at camp.

Defense - Happy to see Colten Teubert's name on this list, he'll have a great opportunity to shine during rookie camp and show his wares to the masses....I wonder how much Marincin and Gernat will get a chance to play together, could be a reuniting of the twin towers....Blain is getting some buzz about a strong half-year in the Q. We'll get a chance to see how his game translates to the pros....David Musil, I'm very lukewarm to him. It will be interesting to see how his first pro camp goes. If the rookie camp games turn into a gong show like they usually do, he might have a chance to make a mark....Brandon Davidson will get a chance to continue to impress, he has a good shot of playing full-time in OKC this year.

Goaltending - Bunz and Roy will battle tooth and nail with each other. Both see opportunity to be "the next one" in line for the startets' gig. Should be interesting to see how they one up each other....Adam Brown is a solid choice to bring in as a 3rd goaltender. Backstopped some strong Kelowna teams in the past. He brings some credentials, is a battler and will push Roy and Bunz to emerge, a definite darkhorse to surprise.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Off Season Transactions Grading 2011



A look at the Oilers transactions during the offseason:

A The dealing for Ryan Smyth for Colin Fraser - This was a deal from the heavens. They essentially got Smyth for free therefore found their mentor that can still contribute. Will fill a key role for a rebuilding Oilers team.

A- Signing of Ryan Jones - 2yr/1.5 mil/yr - Ryan Jones was a pending UFA that was essential signing for the Oilers. It gives the Oilers a PKer that can play hard on the puck. Stabilizes the 3rd line with some two-way play. Price and term are perfect.

B Signing of Lennert Petrell and Antti Tyrvainen - Petrell is an experienced European hockey player that will bring a varying amount of ability to the Oilers organization, while Tyrvainen is a prototypical 4th line, in your face, pepperpot. Both of these players will help out with OKC with, perhaps, the occasional cup of coffee in the bigs. Both will fill a role, but neither will bring a lot of offense to the table.

C Signing of Ladislav Smid - 2yr/2.25 mil/yr - Ladislav Smid was a player I had pegged for the trading block. So, when he got his deal I was a little stunned by it. Term is fine, money is a little high, but overall, likely to be a signing that, eventually doesn't pan out. Smid needs to find an inkling of offense to justify this deal. All in all, he still adds to the depth on the D.

A Signing of Ben Eager - 3yr/1.1 mil/yr - Ben Eager's signing gave me great relief, as the Oilers have finally found an agitator that can back things up. He can take a regular shift and be a 4th line veteran fixture while kids ride shotgun with him. Term is fine, money is fine. Might be a year too long, but we'll see. The PK is going to have to get better with Eager in town.

B+ Signing of Darcy Hordichuk - 1yr/825K - Initailly I thought this signing was a bit of overkill with Eager just being signed a couple of hours previous. But, nothing wrong with having two agititors if one goes down. Term is good, price is right. He'll be a good guy to have around when some vindication is needed.

B- Signing of Cam Barker - 1yr/2.25mil - Low risk/high reward signing, but unless the Oilers find another top pairing Dman and push everyone down a rung, Barker will likely drown in the deep end this year. Barker is what he is, a cannon on the power play that will survive in limited even strength time. We'll see how his year plays out, but as it stands on today, someone on the D is setup to fail.

B+ The signing of Eric Belanger - 3yr/1.75 mil/yr - If the name Eric Belanger was replaced with the name Jason Arnott, I would have given this an A. Alas, it was not meant to be. The Oilers NEEDED a veteran center that could help out in multiple areas and thats what they get out of Belanger. Money is good, term is probably a year too long considering Lander will be breathing on his heels soon. Either that or they have big plans for one Mr. Shawn Horcoff. All in all, Belanger is a player that I'm happy the Oilers have put into the fold.

B The acquisition of Andy Sutton - Kurtis Foster served a purpose as a right handed shooting Dman, but he had a bad year last year. The Oilers could have still used his prowess, but I'm guessing the Oilers want to give a bigger role to Jeff Petry next year. Andy Sutton is a large body that plays tough and blocks shots. His presence will help the PK and add to the toughness quotient. But if he playing any higher than the bottom pairing, its a mistake, much like it was for Foster last year.

B+ The signing of Corey Potter - Two-way deal - Interesting signing of Corey Potter, in the sense that the Oilers can use him as veteran AHLer or he might have a shot at making the big club, mostly because of the fact that he shoots right. Led his AHL team in +/- (+25) and led his team in playoff scoring (9 pts in 12GP) as a Dman. Two very nice achievements.

C The Signing of Josh Green - Two-way deal - Josh Green was a signing that was meant to give OKC some vet depth. Problem is he'll probably be put in a position where he will relied upon to score goals, and for him those days are long gone, if they were ever there. He's a character guy that will understand his role, so in that sense its a good signing.

B+ The signing of Theo Peckham - 1yr/1.075 mil - Good money on the signing. Was hoping for more term on this one for the Oilers, like 2 or 3 yrs, but it looks like the organization still favors Smid over Peckham these days. Peckham is a jackhammer that will keep hammering his way up the depth chart. I think eventually he can become a middle pairing Dman, paired with an offensive type.

B The signing of Yann Danis - Two-way deal - The Oilers needed a goalie that can ride shotgun with Olivier Roy in OKC. Although I'm not sure if he's going to be enough of a threat to ultimately replace Nikolai Khabibulin. He'll be an interesting observation come training camp. He has posted some real solid numbers in the past.

B The signing of Ryan Keller - Two-way deal - It will be interesting to see how Ryan Keller fits in the Oilers organization. He's likely ticketed for OKC, and will be relied upon heavily to score goals down there. The question will be whether or not he can handle the pressure of doing so. He is coming off a season of 30+ goals, a solid postseason where his team (Binghampton) won the Calder Cup. He's really the only proven AHL scorer that OKC will likely boast this season.

A- The dealing of Andrew Cogliano - It was something that needed to happen and was likely long overdue. The fact that the Oilers used a lot of resources on him and the return on it was a 2nd round pick in 2013 is a little besmirching. The good news out of all of this is....the Oilers centers are getting deeper and better.

C The signing of Ryan O'Marra - Two-way deal - OKC team is getting pretty deep and I thought it would have been a good time for the Oilers to pull the pin on O'Marra. But on the other hand, the vet depth in OKC is a little lacking. He'll be a good guy to have around, I just hope he doesn't get in the way of kids that have earned their way on the team.

C+ The signing of Taylor Chorney - Two-way deal - At this stage of the game, Chorney isn't any more than an AHL Dman and he's about to start his journey towards the NHL all over again. The Oilers could use another vet Dman in OKC, so its no surprise that he is back.