Candidates include Brad Moran, Ryan O'Marra, Linus Omark and Liam Reddox. As mentioned by Rishaug, the club may move Dustin Penner or Gilbert Brule over to center until #10 returns.
This is the second significant injury this week, following the Ales Hemsky groin injury on the most recent road trip.
Injuries have had an enormous impact on the Oilers over the last couple of seasons, and seem destined to do a lot of damage in 2010-11.
That lottery pick may not be as distant as it appears.
Yikes.
ReplyDeleteOk, so queue Traktor coming in with some genius remark about how the kids are going to take off now that they're not being "held back".
ReplyDeleteRight, sure, that's it.
This is about the same time as last year when we had a little winning streak and things went south. We're now short our best RW (and player, period) and our best center.
Calamity for Couturier? Arson for Larsson?
Whatever it is....this is not going to be fruitful in terms of wins. Hall, Eberle, MPS and Gagner will at least make it watchable.
PS: not to be an asshole, but I have to point out the irony of the false Todd White waiver claim rumor coming on the morning of the game where Horcoff goes down to injury.
ReplyDeleteAnd in a further case of irony, our center position being totally decimated by losing one of our two actual NHL centers may ultimately result in us drafting a top-notch center prospect in the form of Couturier or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
Well, technically, the Oil are sitting in a lottery position as we speak (5th)--so a lottery pick isn't that distant rankings wise. NYI will be hard to catch, though.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Katz bought insurance on that contract
ReplyDeleteLT: Don't worry, you know JFJ will step it up a notch as usual.
ReplyDeleteArson for Larson has a ring to it...
ReplyDeleteTambi - Note to Self - "Going for the lottery pick again - buy bottle of vodka on way to rink"
ReplyDeleteI can't decide from watching it...was that a dirty play by Perry? Careless play by Horcoff? What do you guys think?
ReplyDeleteI also like Capitulate for Coutourier
Crash for Coutourier
ReplyDeleteFeel bad for Eberle and Hall - they are about to get the MPS treatment as the water wings just came flying off. But hey - we still have Strudwick to tuck them into bed after the game. Let the meltdown begin........
ReplyDelete-It's funny. Even with Horcoff and Hemsky out, our forwards are still better than our D.
ReplyDelete-There are no words for the awesomeness that is Hall.
-The lines are going to be tough now.
Penner-Cogliano-MPS
Hall-Gagner-Eberle
Jones-Brule-Reddox/Omark
JFJ-Fraser-Stortini
-Oh and losing Horc should help the PK... Fuck.
I wouldn't worry about Hall...he's turning into Gordie Howe 2.0 in front of our very eyes.
ReplyDeleteHorcoff/Hemsky = injury prone.
ReplyDeleteDiscuss.
Re: the post tagging - Horcoff's one of our top twenty prospects?
ReplyDeleteThis is terrible. Horcoff was shoving it up the rear of all his naysayers this season and now this.
ReplyDeleteDon't know if I feel worse for him or the kids (Eberle or Hall). Whatever the call-up, it really messes up the lines.
Another dive for 5?
And of course, without anything intelligent to contribute, the usual suspects throw in a cheap one-liner about Horcoff's contract.
ReplyDeleteBut hey, I guess Andrew Cogliano will save the day, right? LOL
So, I am guessing that 'Hbomb' and 'Traktor' are not getting along? Seems like HBomb is trying to start an argument or something. Kind of distracting from the discussion. Just saying.
ReplyDeleteSo what's the upside here? We would have drafted 5-10 with Horcoff and Hemsky in the lineup. Now we'll be drafting 2-3 (the Islanders are epically bad and have injury woes as well). That's something to look forward to, right?
ReplyDeleteRight?
Brett Gee: Traktor has an extended history of, shall we say, low-value commentary on Horcoff.
ReplyDeleteI figured he'd chime in with some pointless one-liner, and I was quickly proven correct. We'll see what other "wisdom" he delivers to us.
As for the conversation - I said it above: about the only good thing that comes out of this is that our chances of a lottery pick are greatly enhanced now that the Oilers are down their best all around RW (and forward, period) in Hemsky plus their best all around center.
Given that "no Hemsky, no problem" was trumpeted around the same time last year, I'm guessing there's going to be fans that conclude that, somehow, we're going to be a better team because of this, since Hemsky's absence will mean more time for the kids and Horcoff won't be holding down Hall and Eberle.
Right. That's it.
jon k: that precisely IS the upside. One more high pick.
ReplyDeleteIf the Oilers finish 29th overall, they at worst guarantee themselves one of Couturier or Nugent-Hopkins at 3rd overall. At best, they could win the lottery and have their choice of Larsson or Couturier (note: given that the Isles already have Tavares, I'm going to assume they'd pick Larsson, but with Crazy Wang, who knows, right?)
hunter1909 said...
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't worry about Hall...he's turning into Gordie Howe 2.0 in front of our very eyes.
Sheldon "Oilers Fan for Life!!!"
Is that true or what! If he gets a bit of muscle on and a little more toughness WOW. I am so amazed how Hall can dodge a check Reminds me of Gretzky you just could not hit the guy!
Never saw the hit, was it dirty?
ReplyDeleteAs for who to call up, you would think you may call up that whole line. But they seem determined to play with 3 lines most of the game. I expect to see Reddox and O'Marra called up, with the next injury/poor play call up being Omark.
Hall-Gagner-Eberle
Penner-Cogliano-Brule
Jones-Fraser-MPS
Jacques/Stortini-O'Marra-Reddox
I'm thinking the Oilers move 27/67 over to the middle rather than call-up O'Marra. Just because at this point it's difficult to imagine Fraser playing third line centre.
ReplyDeleteIt would be great to have an camera angle with Perry's face. I'm sure he would claim he never saw Horc and it was incidental contact but I yelled to me wife (never do that :) it was dirty when I first saw it. PVR'd it a few times and I still believe that douche bag Perry saw him.
ReplyDeleteWasn't as bad as the Chris Neil "incidental" contact last night. So obvious I don't know how you can't call a penalty on the play.
On a related note. I am never on here ragging on refs and missed last night GDT comments but there were more non calls on blatant hooks then I have seen since the lockout. Terrible and Penner must lead the league in penalty non-calls because of his size.
I can't stand Perry but I don't think the hit was intentional. Really, Perry stands a pretty good chance of getting hurt in a knee to knee like that as well, so I doubt even an epic douche like him would go out looking for it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'm no conspiracy nut but I sometimes wonder if Marc Joanette hates the Oilers.
ReplyDeleteTheir win/loss record with him as a referee is staggering.
Went to the game last night. 2 sleeper periods but the Oilers proved to be worth watching again.
ReplyDeleteI've said all along that the loses better come early because they will be harder and harder to find later in the season. Even though it will help in the lottery push, the Horcoff injury is gonna really sting. Maybe its for the best but I doubt it. Horcoff was making a case for comeback player of the year but he really needs some extended time healthy. The player he can be is hard to replace.
Pajarvi, Penner and Jones looked good last night.
The Gagner non-call was shocking... but then Gags helped out the ref in the shootout by doing the same move and losing the puck without being hooked.
ReplyDeleteOh and for those that were saying that Penner is gonna go back with his buddies in Anaheim when his contract expires. After yesterday, I dont think they are that close anymore... Him Getzlaf and Perry were beaking all game.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'm no conspiracy nut but I sometimes wonder if Marc Joanette hates the Oilers.
ReplyDeleteTheir win/loss record with him as a referee is staggering.
What is their record with Joanette working the game?
Where can you find this type of info compiled?
Also,
You can never discount douchebaggery when Perry is involved.
I don`t really know how the Oilers should approach this but there`s two ways to look at it:
ReplyDelete- load up two lines and match
- spread it out.
It`s probably best to spread it out and have 89-27-13-16 down the middle but here`s something else to consider.
I like 46 but now that we`re gonna be hurting at EV it`s more important than ever to stock up when it comes to PK personnel and I think that means that from last night`s lineup you delete 10-22-46 and you bring up all of Omark-Reddox-ROM.
I noticed renney going with just two pairs on the PK last night - 13-27 and 16-28 - and he didn`t use 89 and he hasn`t used 14 in a long time now.
If we`re gonna ride guys like 13 and 27 at EV then you can`t expect to do it on the PK as well so let`s bring up Reddox-ROM and use them as a tandem in that regard.
So, to wit:
4-13-14
28-89-91
Omark-27-67
Reddox-Fraser-ROM
That`s thin to be sure and, yeah, another season is over before Xmas.
It`s a shame too because with 91 showing some real confidence - I love how he drove to the net on the PP last night - if 83 had stayed healthy we might have seen some nice chem on the 91-89-83 line to augment 10`s group; plus 27 carrying the third line.
Put that along with Souray and two PKers on the 4th line - ROM and Reddox for example - and it would have been a fun season.
I actually feel losing Horcoff for an extended period is more detrimental to the team than losing Hemsky - even though Hemsky is the better player.
ReplyDeleteI really see Hall and Eberle treading water until Horcoff returns and the whole lack of actual NHL centres in the organisation is really going to show now that he is gone.
I too felt he was having a season to shut-up the critics, so I am more disappointed for Horcoff than the team.
I feel bad for MPS. Last week he had Gagner & Hemsky as linemates. Now it looks like he's back playing with the flotsam that is the bottom of the oilers lineup.
ReplyDeleteDennis, I haven't checked the shift charts, but it seems like Eberle has been switched to a PP role from the PK, to my eye. Maybe losing Hemsky had something to do with this, I don't know.
ReplyDeleteJW...
ReplyDeleteThe number of non-calls last night was stunning.
How Selanne didn't get called for the sweater tug on the breakaway I have no idea... the hooks on Gagner and Penner.
Horcoff said...
ReplyDelete“Hopefully there’s no surgery and you rehab it and it comes back,” he said. “They do say it’s a good injury to have, actually the ligament will come back stronger than it was before so if you’re going to do anything to your knee and face something like this, it’s probably the injury you want."
Is Supper With Shawn cancelled now?
so I doubt even an epic douche like him would go out looking for it.
ReplyDeleteThis is Corey Perry we're talking about - the Douchebaggery is strong with him. If he's expecting the knee-on-knee, then he can protect himself from injury by keeping most his weight on the other leg. Personally, I just find it too much of a coincidence that of all the Ducks to run in to, it had to be Perry.
After yesterday, I dont think they are that close anymore... Him Getzlaf and Perry were beaking all game.
Anyone who's ever played against a good buddy knows that they are the ones you want to beat the most. AND, you can talk the best sh*t with them, because you know how to really get under their skin. All's fair, yadda yadda.
We're all agreed this Horcoff injury is a good thing, right?
ReplyDeleteWe weren't going to make the playoffs anyway and the sheer ineptitude of the Isles, Devs, Laffs, and Flames was becoming a bit worrisome.
Finishing in a lottery position was looking more and more impossible by the day. Now we've got a one way runway for Couturier and surely can fashion a lottery pick out of these scraps.
And we're going to get to see more of our prospects!
JW: There are a few refs that it might be interesting to look at in that light. Joanette and Peel are two who instantly come to mind. We consistently receive poorly officiated games with them.
ReplyDeleteThe Horcoff injury was caused by Perry's stick, not knee. Horcoff called it a can opener. This lowers the chance it was accidental.
ReplyDeleteTheo and Laddy should be seperated. They looked lost last night.
Not really happy about the Oiler's draft position right now. I can see them finishing 28th ahead of NYI and NJ. Those teams take Couturier and Larson and the Oil are left with another smurf in Ryan NH. The Oilers need to get into that top 2.
"On the Decline for 29"
just when things seem to change. It looked like Oilers are turning around lead by their captain. Now that captain is out....as you said the lottery is not far away
ReplyDeleteWhy was it that Theon and Gilbert were not paired last night? I thought they were playing well together, so it was a surprise to me to see Smid on with Peckham on the Ducks first goal.
ReplyDeleteHow about: “ice the mentor more often = draft the center or Larson”?
ReplyDeleteI can see them finishing 28th ahead of NYI and NJ.
ReplyDeleteI won't believe NJ is really that bad until after game 82 is played. I think they'll leapfrog us at some point.
Schitzo...
ReplyDeleteI do too. Devs should pull up their socks at some point after Parise returns.
NYI is The Suck though.
The injury free bubble has finally burst, and in a pretty big way.
ReplyDeleteJon K: Everyone gets poor officiating from Tim Peel.
ReplyDeleteIt's basically random calling.
Those teams take Couturier and Larson and the Oil are left with another smurf in Ryan NH. The Oilers need to get into that top 2.
ReplyDeleteThe Nuge is no poor consolation prize. He's skinny, sure, but nothing some weights can't handle. And 6'0" is fine. Same height as Sakic. An inch taller than Yzerman, Crosby, and Datsyuk. Two inches taller than Zetterberg.
Yes, this team needs more size at forward, but you don't pass up that kind of talent. How many teams passed on Eberle because of his size?
Any of the top 3 picks and they're golden.
Ducey:
ReplyDeleteThe problem with passing on RNH because of his size, and hte size of some of EDM's other forwards, is that he projects better than any of the other forwards (based on what we read).
So while maybe ideally the Oilers would rather get a bigger forward than a smaller one, I don't see why you pass on a guy because he's small when he might have a higher top end than any of your other small guys.
IE you don't pass on RNH if he's the "BPA" in the draft because you already have some small forwards - if that's an issue you move the other small forwards.
YouTube and O'Marra called up as per Tencer.
ReplyDeleteMan, what does Reddox have to do to get back to the show?
Man, what does Reddox have to do to get back to the show?
ReplyDeleteNot be waiver eligible on the way down? That's probably keeping him on the farm.
Bet you he makes the team next year.
re:RNH
There is only one player in LT's top 14 prospects who is under 6'0 and that's Youtube. There is room for RNH, I doubt 13 and 67 are long for the organization.
Last time the Oilers past on BPA due to size was Parise.
Lets not tempt fate again.
In MBS we trust, forever and ever amen.
Happy to see Omarra. is this another in a long list of former 1st rounders who always get a shot first or more from need? If you look at who was hurt, O'Marra and Omark are the two who most readily duplicate their missing skills (at a lesser point of course).
ReplyDeleteAnd on another fun note Stone from Calgary is on waivers. Wouldn't he be a better fit then Jacques?
ReplyDeleteBar Qu
ReplyDelete-- by my eye, they were trying to control the line changes to combat the stretch pass by Anaheim.
The far side D man was being quite conservative as to whether or not he would change.
I think that's how some of the pairings got mixed up.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThanks WG, didn't realize that. We likley won't see him called up until near the end of the season then.
ReplyDeleteHm, Youtube and ROM. I agree with JW (who ever disagrees with him), Fraser at 3C is pretty hard to imagine.
ReplyDeleteFraser can't skate, PK, win faceoffs, pass, or score goals
What does that leave us with?
Gagner - Hall - Eberle
Cogs - Penner - Brule
?Fraser - MPS - Jones
ROM - 22 - Youtube/46
???
DBO: Yeah, I really liked that guy last year and I really dislike 22`s game so I would make that swap for sure.
ReplyDeleteWG: It`s nice to see Omark and ROM get the call but I think they could have snuck 85 up here as well. As I said earlier it`s time to streamline this lineup now and get guys here to spruce up the PK and define all the roles because all hands will be needed and guys like 22-33 and perhaps even 46 just can`t do enough to help us out.
I just pretend Jacques doesn't exist.
ReplyDeleteAs for RNH. You don't pass over him because you have small guys. You get rid of those other guys if you have a chance at him.
I highly doubt RNH is six feet. Hamilton is six feet and he was much larger then RNH. (In height and weight)
Smarmy, Curtis Hamilton is listed as 6'2" and over 200lbs I believe, significantly taller and larger than RNH.
ReplyDeleteIs Hamilton really 6'?
Yeah I'd say maybe 6"1' tops.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to check out when Red Deer comes to town because last year in the playoffs he was tiny.
As for RNH. You don't pass over him because you have small guys. You get rid of those other guys if you have a chance at him.
ReplyDeleteIf RNH is the next Pat Kane, I agree. But I saw him bad at the Oil Kings game a few weeks ago. He looked like a mix of Samwise and Eberle and played a peripheral game of finding seams and open areas and playing the halfbords on the PP.
He might be 6 feet on skates and looks to weigh 170lbs.
Its only one game, and I'm not MBS, but if I had my preference, I'd much rather get a big centre or stud defenceman.
In any event, 30th is likely locked up, so I'm cheering for 29th to give MBS as many options as possible.
Not ready to give up just yet. Our depth this year is miles ahead of where we were last year, so let's see what the O twins do. It's a serious blow, but might not be the end of the world.
ReplyDeleteYeah I'd rather gamble on Couterier being the next Joe Thornton then RNH being the next Kane/Toews
ReplyDeleteI can't believe Tonnces assessed who he needed to call up so quickly.
ReplyDeleteNot be waiver eligible on the way down? That's probably keeping him on the farm.
ReplyDeleteAgreed - If it becomes clear that there would be room for Reddox on the roster for the full year, they will bring him up. Otherwise, why risk a great AHL asset.
Dennis,
ReplyDeleteI'd have 85 on the roster and 22,33, and 46 wouldn't be on my roster.
Given what the situation is, I think 23 and ROM are the right choices.
What's ROM's number?
Re:RNH
I'm probably more leery of undersized guys than most, and especially a guy with only 8 goals in 30 games. Lottery picks should score at a higher rate.
That being said, I'll be happy with whoever MBS picks.
Yeah I'd rather gamble on Couterier being the next Joe Thornton then RNH being the next Kane/Toews
ReplyDeleteI don't think anyone rates RNH above Couterier.
A lot of people have Couterier above Larsson.
Calamity for Couturier... 2nd'ed
ReplyDelete"I actually feel losing Horcoff for an extended period is more detrimental to the team than losing Hemsky - even though Hemsky is the better player."
Totally agree..
I'd have 85 on the roster and 22,33, and 46 wouldn't be on my roster.
ReplyDelete....
I'm probably more leery of undersized guys than most,
I don't think you are that leery.
With no 22,33, or 46 you have Jones, Penner and Omara upfront and Ted Peckman and Vandermeer on D to throw all the bodychecks and "protect" a bunch of smurphs, pacifists and teenagers.
It easily would be the softest team in the league - and would not be much better than it is now.
If they are going to finish in the lottery, they might as well go down swinging.
I don't think anyone rates RNH above Couterier.
ReplyDeleteNot that my opinion matters much in the grand scheme of things, but here's your exception.
I see the Kane comparisons in RNH, and also a bit of JVR in Couturier. The Q-boy is dominating the league because he's 6'4". RNH is doing what he is without the musculature of a finished product.
Happy to see Omarra. is this another in a long list of former 1st rounders who always get a shot first or more from need?
ReplyDeleteColin McDonald is probably better than O'Marra and Reddox for sure.
Call it the Curse of Smyth
Cliche for Couturier
ReplyDeleteDroppin's for Hopkins
Great to see Linus headed up. I'm mixed on O'Marra as I've liked what I've seen at the NHL (pre and reg) level at times, but Reddox has earned it well before O'Marra.
ReplyDeleteI agree with other posters though, I already would've had several players out and guys like Reddox up. Why they keep 22 I'll never understand. You can't be a hockey man and see hope there.
Dorito: Usually kids with more size get drafted at the same place of smaller kids with more points. In this case Couturier is just the better player. Oh and RNH scores less goals.
ReplyDeleteHonestly I just think Couturier's the uncontested N1. He's bigget, puts up more points, is a team leading +21 (Far away other Fs, who are majorely minuses)) and wins faceoffs, the complete package.
Larsson's numbers have regressed so far from last year, and he's not putting as much point as Hedman did while being smaller.
Actually I think Gabriel Landeskog might shift RNH, he's a power forward with a better PPG and way more goals. We all know how teams overpay for power forwards (*cough* Niederreiter *cough*)
My projection:
N1 Couturier
N2 Larsson
N3 Landeskog
N4 Nugent-Hopkins
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSorry to post off-topic but this seemed worth sharing.
ReplyDeleteI think I need to be aware when switching between Oilers news and the BBC news. I was reading about the Chilean prison fire but clearly still had Oilers injury woes on the brain, because I was thinking completely out of context when I got to this line:
The president at one point said 83 had died, with 14 said to have life-threatening injuries.
Icecastles - I just wanted to say that it is ok if you felt a moment of relief when you learned that it wasn't about Hemsky and Eberle, but rather a bunch of people who you know nothing about in another country.
ReplyDeleteSmall personal note:
ReplyDeleteRNH just makes me think of Alexandre Daigle.
Bookie: I never said I was relieved about it not being Hemsky/Eberle.
ReplyDeleteTotally off topic but intriguing stat:
ReplyDelete(+/-)
Kelly Buchberger -177 (-12/82GP)
Mike Sillinger -191 (-15/82GP)
Both in the top 11 all time NHL +/- "disasters."
Icecastles, thats pretty funny. Not the mass death and horrific injuries, of course. Just the mixup. Although, if I was forced to admit it, its definitely funnier than if they were Canadian miners.
ReplyDeleteSo RNH makes fpb think of Alexander Daigle?
ReplyDeleteFunny, the most common quote I have read is how much he is like Joe Sakic (not the Oiler's Joe Sakic, the Avalanche version).
By most reports the kid is a player.
Oh and RNH scores less goals.
ReplyDeleteYes. Because play-making centers are useless if they're not scoring goals. He shouldn't even be in first round consideration.
All joking aside, the kid's over one assist per game at this point. And you're hammering him because he doesn't score goals? I'm sorry but you're just talking out of your ass when dealing with prospects.
To add, we've already got our young sniper to build around in Hall. What we're lacking is a guy with the speed to keep up to him and find new, creative and exciting ways to feed him the puck.
Furthermore, it should be noted for the sake of discussion that as is the case with Taylor Hall, Couturier is already in his third season of CHL hockey. At this point in his career he should be dominating the league he's in. We should actually be comparing RNH's totals this year to Couturier's LAST season. Which, based on his current projections spaced out over Couturier's 68 game schedule last year (96 points), we get 91 points for RNH's second junior season. Sure he's still "put up the most points", but it's not as if he's running away uncontested with that title.
You're not going to agree with me. I get that. But please do some leg-work before you make crazy acusations.
The thing about big players... is they're still big in the NHL.
ReplyDeleteSomebody has to be the strongest... it's nice if that's your guy.
Is there any asshole to Couturiers game? Is he physical? Does he muck it up? Can he score 5v5?
If the kid can play at Hall's level, our forwards next year could end up looking pretty damn good.
4-10-14
91-Couturier-83
27-89-??? (Please god no Brule/Cogs... find a RW from the Pisani tree before Colitis)
85-??-28
Someone who is a PK and FO demon for the ?? spot.
If 4, 89, 14 and 91 keep trending, 83 and 10 stayed healthy, and Couturier is as good as advertised, they might have something going there if they actually develop the bottom of the roster...
Seems like a bad year to be tanking. The draft this years seems a lot more 2007 then 2008 to me. Couturier and RNH give me a sort of JVR and Turris vibe.
ReplyDeleteLarsson was supposed to be the next Lidstrom, but is having an off season offensively compared to last. Even still I think I'd go with the defender. If he could be a Chris Phillips/Ohlund type and provide stability on the back end for ten years that goes a long way.
Re: What does Reddox have to do to get called up, Woodguy said:
ReplyDelete"Not be waiver eligible on the way down?"
I had it on very good authority at the end of preseason that CLB was going to grap Reddox if waived. I'm not sure what happened, but the source was excellent and reliable. I would guess that they (or perhaps other teams) are not going to miss out on a second chance when given the opportunity again. I also heard that the rangers were quite disappointed that the Oilers didn't waive Peckham after training camp. Peckham in the big apple would have been difficult to swallow after watching him slowly but steadily develop in the minors for so long.
I hope they give Omark lots of playing time including some time on the PP. Not expecting he'll excel, just figure if he is called up they should give him an opportunity to succeed.
ReplyDeleteDucey,
ReplyDeleteOops, I meant 43, not 46.
22,33 and 43 can't play hockey at the NHL level and their is some question as to whether they can play at the AHL level.
I like my Oilers to be able to actually play hockey.
You assume I fill those three spots will all small guys. I mentioned 85, but why assume the other two spots go to small guys?
Bank Shot:
ReplyDeleteI'm getting that kind of vibe too. A lot of hype, because that's what all the half-hearted fans are expecting, but not enough talent to cover it. I'm actually thining more along the lines of 1999, and not 2007.
There are a few rules we really need to kill.
ReplyDeleteRecall waivers is one of them.
The 50 contract limit is another.
Bank Shot: How is a 6''4 projecting for 110 points bad?
ReplyDeleteDorito: WTF? No, it's not because Couturier made the team younger that we shouldn't compare them where they are at the same age.
Based on that we'd have to say Seguin's clearly superior to Hall shifting him by 16 points on his 2nd season on a worst team.
As for the RNH passing thing, i'm only saying that his stats make him look like a one-dimensional type of guy. Kinda like Scott Gomez. At some point people only protect the pass on Gomez because he can't shoot for his life.
Anyway, the only question mark I have is can RNH score?
Oh and my ranking (Even i'd pick Couturier instead) is purely based on what I think TEAMS will do, not what I would do.
How many times have you seen a team draft the smaller guy with less points? Not often.
off topic but has anyone seen the clip of Deslauriers going nuts on the Houston player in their game the other night? Gotta love crazy goalies.
ReplyDeleteI don't think there's any question that losing 10 is the worst kick in the nuts just because we have so little depth down the middle.
ReplyDeleteIf we had three pivots going in then we'd still have two and you could take on the other team's top two lines and that would still be enough to not be terrible on home-ice when you have the last change.
But now we're cobbling like hell to come up with a lineup and teams are gonna lick their chops when we go back on the road.
So, is this a weak draft class for sure? I thought I read that somewhere the other day but I wasn't sure.
It's not like my opinion changes anything but as tough as last year was you can see it was worth it when 4's on his game but it was still a tough slog and at some point you don't want to live through that every fucking year.
Bank Shot: How is a 6''4 projecting for 110 points bad?
ReplyDeleteHe's on a very similar pace to what Jakub Voracek did in his draft year, and he apparently skates like he has an anchor tied to his ass.
It doesn't appear to be a great season to have a top 3 pick.
Looks like they've been talking about a weak draft this year for a while now.
ReplyDeleteHere's an article from early 2009:
http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/24538-A-Scouts-Life-2011-draft-looking-weak.html
I don't like RNH as the 3rd. If Larsson and Coturier are off the board, my next choice would be Gabriel Landeskog.
ReplyDeleteCheck the scouting report here - it looks at him on an off night. To me, that tells you a lot more about him than when he's out making magic.
We're now short our best RW (and player, period) and our best center.
ReplyDeleteShouldn't part of the criteria for being considered the 'best' be the ability to stay healthy? Given Hemsky & Horcoff's inability to stay in the lineup in the last couple of seasons, I would suggest Dustin Penner, Samwise and Jordan Eberle are the Oilers' best player, center and RW respectively.
There, I said it on the Internet, so it MUST be true. lol
Am excited to see U-toob. He will likely fail by any metrics that matter, but it should be fun.
ReplyDeleteOKC probably needs Reddox to stay around.
"Loss-a-day for Couturier"
"Terrible play for Couturier"
"Frying Decent Stockings for Ryan Nugent Hopkins"
?
I'd wager the team doesn't miss a beat with Horcoff out.
ReplyDeleteWhat he's been bringing to the party will easily be replaced.
Currently the 44th ranked centre by points, 33rd in TOI/G, 78th in shots, 52nd in FO%.
While that kind of performance might be salvaged by someone who is obsessed with RelCor, in reality,
you can find that kind of performance in the remainder bin.
No, he's not embarrassing himself this year but suggesting the end of the world is nigh is just ludicrous.
So, is this a weak draft class for sure? I thought I read that somewhere the other day but I wasn't sure.
ReplyDeleteIt's looking that way. I was listening to the Blades radio broadcast when they were playing the giants.
They had a scout for Detroit and Tom Thompson a scout from the Rangers on during an intermission and both said the draft is thin this year.
Both liked Siemens though. :)
i think some people are having the hall feaver, when they easily throw out comparisons like sakic and kane for RNH.
ReplyDeletei believe that lowetide would advise us all to use some "reason"able expectations.
i honestly don't think that rnh stacks up even close to kane...the numbers just don't support it. he does stack up well to someone like turris, potentially...samwise, another small, seam oriented passer, comes to mind as well.
I have a question that I know someone here will have the answer to. Can the Oilers recall Lander? If Omarra struggles, wouldn't he be the logical next choice? Who wants to see the "Tre Kronor" line, I know I do. I read that scouting report on Landeskog and will have to pay attention to his season now, sounds good.
ReplyDelete@dave
ReplyDeletelander hasn't even signed a contract with the oilers. i don't think we could possibly bring him over until his season is over and he's signed.
othrs would know better, but this thread might be closing to dead ;)
Random thought: That article was kind of scary. If it truly is an awful draft year, could that be why so many of our CHL prospects are overperforming relative to expectations? If the 2011's can't hack it, no wonder the 2010's are tearing it up.
ReplyDeleteI have nothing to back that up with, but I wanted folks to chew on it.
DSF,
ReplyDeleteYou still think the Oilers should have Jokinen instead of Horcoff?
2010 Was a fucking weak draft. 2011 is a strong one.
ReplyDeleteI mean jeez, last year they drafted PPG kids in the top 10.
This year there's a defenseman (Ryan Murphy) outscoring all first rounders of last year (In 2010-2011) exept Joey Hison, Jaden Schwartz and the kids in the NHL.
I mean there's a 6''00 guy projecting for 110 points and he's only rated 12th by the ISS. (Ryan Strome)
Sorry fpv. Virtually every scout disagrees with you and you really don't know what you're talking about in regards to junior hockey.
ReplyDeleteSmarmy: I don't care if scouts disagree.
ReplyDeleteYou can't call it a weak draft when you got the N12 ranked prospect outscoring 23 of the 1st rounders last year, being one year younger.
I mean seriously? Where do you think Duncan Siemens would have been drafted has he been 1 year older?
He's 6''3 and got 0,66 PPG.
Gudbranson got picked 3rd and he put up 0,56 and was injured. Now Siemens' still outpacign him.
@Woodguy: You had me concerned there when you were dumping on 46. Glad it was just a case of misidentification.
ReplyDeletere: RNH, I had the opportunity to interview him for Cult of Hockey in late November. In one of the questions that didn't make the published version I asked him directly about his height and he confirmed he's six feet. Looked me in the eye when he said it too (I'm 6'1, and neither of us was wearing skates!)
I've seen him play twice, and while he didn't have a great game here on Nov 20 (none of the Rebels did) he was outstanding in Red Deer on the 27th. He's got a terrific head for the game. My guess is he's gonna be a good one. Super kid, too.
DSF: centers who can play on your top-two lines aren't "easily found in the replacement bin". Even moreso when a team has a GM that refuses to do anything prior to evaluating the decision for an extended period of time. Thank you for filling in for Traktor with regards to making ridiculously clueless statements.
ReplyDeleteLee: injuries aside, no one is going to be able to make a case that Eberle can do what Hemsky does or Gagner is capable of performing Horcoff's gig. I'd only dock a guy points for being "injury prone" if it was a case of the same injury happening over and over again (like Souray and shoulder problems or Khabibulin and back issues, to randomly pick two examples....thanks Lowe and Tambellini).