The Edmonton Oilers have signed center Ryan O'Marra to a contract. There was some speculation that the club would turn their back on him this year and go in a new direction.
It is a very tough sell. Why would the Oilers sign O'Marra and let Marc Pouliot go? Why would they retain O'Marra and cut loose Robert Nilsson?
Let's see if we can build a case.
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Ryan O'Marra's minor league career could best be described by Santo & Johnny's Sleep Walk through Christmas 2008. We've discussed him a few times on this blog (click on 'O'Marra' below) and by math or by "saw him good" this was not the player the Islanders drafted in 2005 (EDM would select Andrew Cogliano 10 slots later).
It appears his turnaround began when the (since departed) Rob Daum arrived in Springfield. O'Marra: "I was drafted by New York (Islanders), and when I first joined their Bridgeport club two years ago, I was playing first line and on the power play. It's different for me now. I started this season as a fourth-line guy, with a role that wasn't really defined. That made it hard to find a rhythm. (When Daum arrived) He took me aside and outlined the steps I'd have to take. He put me on a checking line, and I was able to relax and play. I'm more of a defensive centerman now."
So, we can give credit to O'Marra for embracing a role that Pouliot rejected and that Nilsson could not fill. Guy Flaming (as always) has a terrific article that includes a couple of money quotes from Daum on O'Marra's development.
His most recent season is easily his best statistically. O'Marra went 2-0-2 on the PK, 1-0-1 on the PP and 9-6-15 at equal strength (in 74 games). His AHL career numbers before this past season were 101gp, 7-17-24. This was an improvement. What other numbers should we consider? 6.02, 208.
His plus minus (-19) was third-worst among regular forwards, although we should give him (and Colin McDonald, -25) some credit for playing on the checking line and against some of the AHL's better players (anecdotal evidence, nothing available via math).
I don't have any idea why the Oilers cut loose Pouliot and Nilsson and kept O'Marra, save for the fact they wanted a fresh start, bigger players with grit and that O'Marra has indeed shown some improvement. He does not appear to be the same calibre player as the two first round picks who were sent away, but it looks like O'Marra will get a chance to prove us wrong.
Here's hoping he does it.
His +/- should improve against the toughs this year as he should have two things that they didn't last year.
ReplyDelete1st pairing AHL D to help
DD or JDD in net
So O'Marra hopefully will turn into an actual AHL player.
Now if the Oilers could get more actual NHL players.
I believe that Pouliot was really close to being an Actual NHL player, I wish he would have embraced the 3C given his size, skating and RH draw.
I think there are two reasons why a player like O'Marra gets signed and Pouliot does not:
ReplyDeletea) as you said LT, he is willing to shape his game into what the Oilers need and want from him ( a defensive centre).
b) O'Marra might count against the 50 contracts but he is not adding to the log jam at Forward in the NHL. I know most of these logs are not NHL players, but if the Oilers add a Free Agent or two (or even try outs) then the coaching and management staff will have to make some tough cuts. Pouliot could make those cuts more difficult and O'Marra will not.
Pouliot's no longer part of the core age of forwards the Oilers are trying to build around. O'Marra however should be right at the old-end (along with Cogliano). I think that's why he was kept while Pouliot and Nilsson were dumped. When Penner and Hemsky eventually go, look to see them traded for players drafted after 2005.
ReplyDeleteI assume that it all comes down to waiver eligibility; O'Marra's not waiver-eligible, is he? Pouliot was the better player along pretty well any dimension you could choose, but he couldn't be stashed in the minors without risk of losing him.
ReplyDeleteWithout knowing anything about these three players' attitudes, I wonder how many of ST's decisions are based upon being a good character in the dressing room. I think that there might be a major focus on culture in the room and moves like retaining Strudwick are all about that. Perhaps these moves are about that as well.
ReplyDeleteIt may be that the goal this year is to ensure that the room is full of fun, sacrifice for the team, hard work, etc.
MAP - the very first prospect I took time to follow after he was drafted. Unknown to many, he was a top ten Q forward before Crosby joined Rimouski.
ReplyDeleteAside from being mediocre on a 30th place team, nothing wrong with Pouliot other than being injury prone as well as refusing to accept the reality that he's not a top six NHL player.
Theoretically he could catch on somewhere else and make me look a fool(I know I know), but so what - Oilers are a 30th place team hoping to rise up from the ashes with their shiny new rookies. They've given Pouliot several seasons and he's done next to nothing in any of them.
Next...
I think you have hit that nail on the head. O'Marra has, belatedly, figured out that he has to be excellent at something.... "anything" to help this organization. It is not at scoring. If he can kill penalties, win draws and play tough opposing players.....there are organizations that have that need. Like us! for the 3rd year in a row.
ReplyDeleteExpect he will play most of season in OKC and if he does the above well... we get a good piece to add to the puzzle
To join the chorus, it's not a sexy signing by any stetch. But here's a guy who'll clear waviers, and like you said, he's embraced a role that Pouliot did not (checking line center, pk role player).
ReplyDeleteIf (and it's still a big if) he can continue to develop then it's a good small ball signing.
And if he's to remain in OKC in that role and is just an injury call up, so be it.
But as I continue to look at the roster and see a gaping hole for a player who can do this, perhaps O'Mara may find himself in the mix. Stranger things have happened.
it would be nice to see the oilers sign an NHL player, as that's the league they play in.
ReplyDeletethese multitude of farm team signings is good for depth but there is 2 months before pre-season games.
if Sour grapes gets traded for anyone, it hopefully is for Someone...like a 1(b) goalie...or a captain...or a non O'related guy. thank god O'Brien resigned with the green and blues.
29 other clubs have the opportunity to sign Pouliot but don't hold your breath. Soft, injury prone and Vanilla. Maybe the Wild sign him for 500k.
ReplyDeleteVanilla.
ReplyDeleteAhhh
Everyone's favourite MacTism
From a team basis, choosing O'Marra over Pouliot does not make sends. From an individual basis, it does.
ReplyDeleteIt was time to cut bait and move on on Pouliot. Maybe being released will be the wake up call that he needs. He has just been hitting the snooze button here. He is replaceable.
O'Marra does not have the same abilities, but if Daum is correct, he is wide awake and has 2 years on Pouliot to make himself valuable to the team.
sorry 'sends' should be 'sense'
ReplyDeleteIf he can find this again, he might have a shot at being a good 3rd/4th liner:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Fi5u_-hfs4
Just a quick note - Guy has him listed at 208lbs in his article(THN has him at 207lbs). That's a lot of extra beef.
ReplyDeleteIt probably has a lot to do with his signing.
Moose, I watched the video. That was definitely a late hit, borderline dirty hit, and certainly a boneheaded hit. I'm hoping he's stayed a physical presense but that he's left that kind of play in the past.
ReplyDelete"I don't have any idea why the Oilers cut loose Pouliot and Nilsson and kept O'Marra"
ReplyDeleteFirstly, the fact that they got rid of the other two has nothing to do with O'Marra, and vice versa.
As for why they kept O'Marra
he's (surely) on a two-way deal, and will help the farm club. You already stated the size+grit factor. He could be a 4th line centre next year if he has a strong year in the AHL, and a decent bottom-6 call-up option this year.
Cutting Nilsson was an easy choice - he was about to be overtaken by Paajarvi, Hall, Eberle, and Omark, 3 of which have long futures with the club, and 3 of which were cheaper as well.
As for Pouliot, I'm not really sure why they cut him loose. I thought he'd fill the 3rd line RW slot if need be. I always liked his game, if only he'd have stayed healthy and given a more consistent effort.
"That was definitely a late hit, borderline dirty hit, and certainly a boneheaded hit."
ReplyDelete50% of all Pronger's hits are dirty. That's what makes such a force.
I would rather a questionable hit than a player that questions hitting.
Peter: I would have agreed with you, but now that the Oilers have signed Cam Stewart to a 1-way deal the Pouliot issue is a mystery.
ReplyDelete"I would have agreed with you, but now that the Oilers have signed Cam Stewart to a 1-way deal the Pouliot issue is a mystery"
ReplyDeleteAny word on Morency?
I think it's obvious that O'Marra was signed because he was born in Tokyo, and the Oilers are looking to break into the lucrative Asian hockey market. It was simply a commercial decision - a brand thing. You can also bet on seeing a couple of Koreans on the roster come training camp.
ReplyDeleteSorry. GREG Stewart. Greg Stewart. Not Cam Stewart.
ReplyDeleteSorry to be off topic, Lain, but recently on Tyler's site you talked about Fred Shero. That's an interesting fellow.
ReplyDeleteWe all know that he influenced Quinn in a big way, it being his first gig as an assistant. Plus we know it influenced Ted Nolan, who sent Fred a letter when he was a struggling coach in Sault Ste. Marie. Fred was dead, but his son Ray, just a kid out of college then (now Penguins GM) replied. He sent Ted a "big box of stuff". Nolan claims it changed his whole career.
You see the Russian influence on Freddy early. (As an aside, do your hockey history buddies have any old CCCP gamesheets from games played in Germany in the 1960's?) Some time ago a reader sent me some gamesheets with Corsi recorded in the mid-sixties. I accidentally deleted the email. My memory tells me it was in the German language, I'm sure of that. The word for "Corsi" was long and seemed strung together, as many German technical terms do. But the numbers made perfect sense. And, despite popular anecdotal evidence to the contrary, the Russians were Corsi beasts of the nth degree, like Chicago vs an AHL team, just crazy.
If you could put out some feelers to our hockey history buddies, something will surely turn up. I would appreciate it a tonne if you forwarded that to me.
The other thing with the Russians ,and Shero, was the five-man-unit thing. Short shifts, and extremely short shifts from the 4th line, who double over the first D pairing ... that's key to that.
I went over some Quinn game sheets from the first half of the season and you see it plain as day. That's why the C&B boys were tracking 1-2-3, 1-2-3 with the D I suspect. Renney was following Quinn's forwards shift for shift, as much as he could at least.
It's old school now, but that shit was cutting edge in it's day.
It moved me to look at something else as well. You can see the shift in Quinn's philosophy from front half to back half of the season. All cool.
This won't be of inerest to many, bu you can email by clicking my name at he IOF blog, Lain.
As an aside, there is something bright blue and rubbery stuck under the T key on my laptop. It won't come out.
ReplyDeleteSmart money says it's debris from Bratz, Littlest Pet Shops, or Polly Pockets. In any case I have to press extra hard on the T right now, so I'll be missing a few of them in the near future. So if you read what I write ... just add your own 't's mentally.
Vic - I've spoken about this before here once or twice and you might find it of interest. My memory may be wrong but I think LT is aware of this as well.
ReplyDeleteI have a book called 'Riding on the Roar of the Crowd' which is an anthology of hockey writing. Some is fiction, some nonfiction. Most of its pretty damn good and a lot of its interesting stuff.
There is a chapter from Tretiak's autobiography about Tarasov which many would find interesting but in reference to this conversation the most interesting section is something called 'The Flyers' Bible" which Shero presented to an international coaching conference in 1976.
Really great stuff. Not sure if it can be found online. I've always thought about posting it but its fifteen pages so a little bit outside of the time I have.
Sixteen rules. Some are very detailed. Some are not. In a couple he directly references the Russians and explains how he is emulating them. In a couple of others he references them and explains how he is preaching something different but interestingly enough it is because of the talent and the system (professional North American) that he is forced to take another tact, essentially because the players are not talented enough and he hasn't the time to teach them to play the system.
If you're interested in Shero its a good start if you can find the damn thing.
Thanks Pat. I just ordered it online.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting BD
ReplyDeleteI've been watching the 72 Summit Series [Father's Day gift].
Canada was still "better" than the commies
But there were many areas where the Soviets had passed the NHLers.
You can also see where today's game is a blend of the two.
Its great hockey [so is the 74 Series].
Its amazing how a middlin NHLer like Henderson just shone in both series - in 72 with Ellis, in 74 with MacGregor
Continuing off topic.... this past week Stauffer interviewed Todd Nelson and ,in the course of the interview asked who was his biggest coaching influence was, and Nelson said Barry Trotz. Said when he played for Trotz in AHL mid 90's that he was on the very cutting edge.
ReplyDeleteThought about what BD and Vic were talking about and am always amazed that Nashville is consistently competitive and are tough to play against in playoffs.
They have made playoffs 5 of the last 6 years and have not drafted in the top 5 since 1998. Good management and good coaching
Ugly guy, though
The Other John: They never seem to win in the Playoffs tough. Did they win a Series yet?
ReplyDeleteI would rather a questionable hit than a player that questions hitting.
ReplyDeleteA guy who plays on the edge and occasionally crosses the line (say once a season), that's something one can live with. Means the player is pushing it.
It's when cheap play becomes their MO rather than an excursion past the point of acceptable aggression (i.e. Matt Cooke) that said player becomes a disgrace, distraction and, mostly, a liability.
So my grandpa passed away a few years ago and had a box of Oilers memorabilia. I skimmed it at the time but never took a good look. Finally did so this week and found a program from the Oilers first NHL home game, with accompanying certificate of attendence.
ReplyDeleteGonna get that bitch framed, yes sir.
On topic, it's amazing how simply being coachable can extend your lifespan.
Messier did worse than that in practice. :-)
ReplyDeleteSeriously, this is hockey.
Vic: I'm on it. SIHR has some exceptional people and I'll scoot over there after this and knock on a couple of doors.
ReplyDeleteIn the book Shero: The Man Behind the System (page 127) he says:
In my day, Lindsay, Abel and Howe were the best line in hockey. Lindsay was the right winger, Abel was the center and Howe was just a rookie and on left wing.
That line functioned as a unit. They did things according to their leader, Mr. Abel. The three of them had worked out their plays and knew what they were doing.
But that wasn't enough, because their defensemen didn't know what was on their minds. The defense was left out, which is wrong.
Their system was incomplete because it wasn't a 5 man unit working together.
Seriously FPB
ReplyDeleteLeaving aside the 06 "lightning in bottle" Oilers which we all know made the playoffs at the absolute end of the regular season: WTF would the Oilers playoff record be in the first decade of the 21st Century???????????????
6 series wins?
7 series wins?
8 series win?
You are shitting me....Too low???...how about 10 series won?
Wait you say the correct number is MUCH MUCH lower than that....just how low?
Because Trotz ain't exactly coaching the 1927 Yankees for his lineup. Whats there payroll again.... $10+ million less than us. Must be doing it with mirrors
The Oilers would kill for the 2000- 2007 Predator draft record
'06 was no fluke. If they had goaltending earlier, that would have been a top 4 team in the WC.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, Trotz and Poile have done well.
LT: any reason why my comment was deleted from the Gregory Stewart thread? It was the last comment of the thread and concerned the Pronger and Smyth trades.
ReplyDeleteI didn't think there was anything inflammatory in there but I'd like to hear your side of the story.
Dennis: I have no issue with you, and no issue with Robin Brownlee. If you have an issue with him, please address it elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteHe has more power than I thought:)
ReplyDeleteDennis: I'm asking you as a friend. I don't want this to become an issue because it isn't mine. If you choose to proceed, I'll shut down the blog. I am NOT going to be your voice on this.
ReplyDeleteLT: I don't think you should shut down the blog because I'm not afraid to say what most people think of that guy; I don't want to be the reason why guys can't read your stuff so the best thing for you to do is just ban me if you feel like it.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to be the cause of this blog shutting down but I'm also not going to stand for what he stands for and when he said he had editorial control over your posts I simply couldn't believe it.
So please don't shut down your blog on account of me; it isn't fair to everyone else.
Dennis: Then take that one area somewhere else. Please. I enjoy your comments, and honestly have endured more shit from you than anyone. Reason? I like you, and your comments.
ReplyDeleteI have no clue what has happened between you and Robin Brownlee. None. I can tell you that I go through life treating people as they treat me, and Robin Brownlee has been nothing but class to me (and this goes back years).
So, whatever the issue, and again I don't give a rat's ass what it is, please don't use this blog as an avenue to make your point.
LT: I've appreciated the rope but it's been awhile since I've been ultra-caustic but, yeah, we've had the occasional tiff but if I didn't enjoy your stuff I would've stopped reading a long time ago.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, drop me an email at mwhite.dking@nf.sympatico.ca