This season's Oilers have devoted an incredible amount of playing time to rookies: Magnus Pääjärvi (1197); Jordan Eberle (1184); Taylor Hall (1184); Linus Omark (747); Jeff Petry (673) and Ryan O'Marra (200) among skaters and goalie Devan Dubynk (2001).
Those players and their skills have hidden something pretty impressive bubbling under: the Oilers are developing talent at the AHL level again and using their minor league team as a proving ground. Kids are being sent to the AHL in order to refine their skills and make themselves useful. For once, the Oilers have a rookie who is 20 years old, has a nice range of skills and will finish in the AHL's top 10 in rookie scoring.
Here's this year's Oilers Oklahoma kids.
- L Teemu Hartikainen (66gp, 17-25-42 -1). Big winger with good hands and an idea about how to get things done in tough areas. Hartikainen has a unique skill set compared to the Oilers roster and he might end up being a top 9 regular with the NHL team in 11-12. Tied for 10th overall in AHL rookie scoring.
- L Linus Omark (28gp, 14-17-31 +7). Magician with the puck, Omark's recall mid-season means he won't be considered an 11-12 NHL rookie. His 5 goal game early in the season showed the team he deserved a look, and he certainly impressed people once reaching the NHL.
- C Milan Kytnar (75gp, 11-14-25 +2). Impressive season for the 21-year old. 31 games into his rookie AHL season, Kytnar had 2-6-8 -7 numbers. From that point on, Kytnar went 44gp, 9-8-17 +9 and played a more prominent role. In his last 4gp, Kytnar is 4-3-7 +3 for the Barons.
- D Jeff Petry (41gp, 7-17-24 -6). I'll cover his season when we look at the NHL roster, but Petry's season in the AHL was solid and if anything he's been better in the NHL. A huge item moving forward, as the procurement department seems to be churning out wingers 12 at a time. This season (10-11) is considered his rookie NHL season.
- L Philippe Cornet (57gp, 6-13-19 +5). Kid from the QMJHL didn't show a lot but it's also true he didn't play a prominent role. Slava Trukhno played a bigger role as a rookie coming out of the Q but couldn't build on it, perhaps this season as a depth player may benefit Cornet's development.
- R Mark Arcobello (23gp, 9-8-17 +3). Had a huge impact in OKC after being called up from Stockton of the ECHL. Older prospect (like most of the recent signings) and he has size issues, but according to the Barons coach (Todd Nelson) Arcobello uses exceptional balance to compete and has been very effective in the AHL.
- D Colten Teubert (56gp, 4-13-17 +6). Has enjoyed more success since coming over from the LAK organization at the trade deadline. Teubert is likely to spend next season in OKC but does appear to be back on track as a prospect.
- C Chris Vande Velde (67gp, 12-4-16 -17). Like Petry, college center Vande Velde looks better in the NHL than his AHL numbers suggested. It's too soon to tell, but he might be in the mix for an NHL job sometime in 11-12.
- C Tanner House (3gp, 1-1-2 +1). I included him because House is an older prospect and we'll likely have to talk about him in the center discussion for OKC in 11-12. Looks good early, a long playoff run for the Barons would give the Oilers a chance to evaluate him further.
Good article LT. So what is the scoop on just who can and will be sent down to help either secure a playoff spot or, if they make the post season, a playoff run? Any insight into this?
ReplyDeleteJake70,
ReplyDeleteThe players on the clear day roster are eligible to play for the Barons for the rest of the regular season and postseason, I think.
The clear day roster is here
Sorry for the OT but does anyone know where I can find a Chris Phillips scouting report from 1996?
ReplyDeleteLT?
Who's Mark Arcobello, by virtue of what is he Oilers property, and why haven't I heard of him?
ReplyDeleteOh, he's one of the guys we signed at the beginning of April. Alrighty, then.
ReplyDeleteTraktor:
ReplyDeleteThe nickname fits 6-foot-2, 200-pound defenseman Chris Phillips perfectly. Ice. A cool, calm but calculating force on skates. That describes the top pick in the NHL entry draft last Saturday.
"He definitely doesn't melt when things get hot," Oilers general manager Glen Sather says. "Coming from near Edmonton, we saw a lot of him. He's big and strong, but the key thing with him are the intangibles--he's a real character player. And his leadership is evident every time he's on the ice.
"We tried all sorts of trade possibilities, players, draft choices, everything, to move up from six to the No. 1 pick to get him. But the Ottawa Senators knew what kind of special asset they were getting."
The NHL also has gotten something special. There is no drug scare with Phillips, as we see in other sports. No DWI, no abuse of a girlfriend. He might not melt under pressure on the ice, but the story about how he and his sister, Jennifer, have taken care of their parents since he was 10 is a real tear-jerker.
Eight years ago, Phillips' mother, Carol, was partially paralyzed when a virus attacked her spinal cord. Two years later, his father, Garth, was rendered 90 percent blind, a victim of diabetes.
"Chris and Jennifer were just kids," Carol Phillips says. "They both had to grow up very quickly and take responsibility."
Responsibilities on the ice are a breeze when your parents are counting on you off it. Mom needs help with the housework, so Chris cooks and cleans. Dad had to quit his job as a truck driver.
This is a thoroughly irrelevant question that rather misses the point if that article, but where does Rod figure into that family tree?
ReplyDeleteSS:
ReplyDeleteRod is Chris's uncle.
Thanks for that.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what the vegas odds on Teubert outscoring Penner, post trade deadline (in their respective leagues)
ReplyDeletePenner 17GP 2G 4A 6PTS 0PIM +2
Teubert 17GP 2G 5A 7PTS 24PIM -1
nostidit
ReplyDeleteDoes that say, no Steve did it??
Any how, I have found memories of Garth at Thickwood Arena watching a 15 year Chris play for the Oil Barons. Didn't win a Royal Bank Coupe till a 15 year old Scottie Upshall came around.
Anyone watching UND-Michigan at the Frozen Four? Michigan's goaler is something else.
ReplyDeleteSome solid development. Nice to see the parent club finally realize the value of having a quality AHL program. Do you have any more info on how Teubert's been playing post-deadline other than the boxscores LT?
ReplyDeleteSorry for going off topic, but how would you guys feel if Tambellini made a play for Ville Leino in the offseason? Philly's in cap hell right now and might not be able to resign him.
imals: The next great Apple product.
Really like Petry, Omark and the Finn moving forward as the Oil get better. But the balance of the roster....Meh!!
ReplyDeleteThink they may be able to make a 30th place Oiler team but hope to never see that abomination again in my lifetime
Need another NHL caliber goaler
LT
ReplyDeleteYou think MacDonald has a future in the NHL?
Seems like he might be a 26 yr old AAAA making a living off Giroux.
If Philly is in cap hell the player that makes the most sense to me is Scott Hartnell. It would be nice to have a tough guy who plays in the top six.
ReplyDeleteAfter him I would want one of their dman, maybe Carle or Coburn would be available? That would free up the Oilers to pick RNH and with Marincin coming up and Coburn now 5 years into the NHL their D could be set if Whitney is healthy and re-signs
Corey Graham on Saturday's show with LT was asked who Marincin reminded him of. I was surprised when he said a skinny Pronger, or Chara. Says he is 6'5 or so and 190, very skinny. Hopefully he will gain 30-40 pounds.
ReplyDeleteSounds good to me.
Will be interesting to see if he plays in OKC in the playoffs , although I don't think I would play him barring injury to a vet if I were the coach and winning mattered.
Surprisingly also Rocky Thomson on Gregor;s show a few weeks ago said Teubert is too skinny and will be very very tough to play against when he gains 30 pounds.
For those not following
ReplyDeleteIn the SEL finals, Skelleftea is tied 1-1 after two games.
The first game ended 5-4 loss in regulation, Larsson with 1 assist and -2, played 23 minutes tops on the team.
The second game Skelleftea won 3-2 in OT, Larsson no points, even, played 32 freaking minutes. I think it was double OT.
Rundblad played 32;25, a few seconds more than Larsson for the top two minute eaters in that game for Skelleftea.
If you tough Ethan Moreau took stupid penalties, well I don't know how you'l tolerate Scott Hartnell.
ReplyDeleteHe's 12th in minors leaguewide, with only 6 majors out of 140 penalties.
That would mean double the minors of anyone on the Oilers exept Peckham, VDM and Smid (He's still 10 penalties clear of the latters)
Scott Hartnell takes stupid penalties, you say?
ReplyDeleteNonsense.
I'm thinking Ulf dahlén as a style comp for hartikainen
ReplyDeleteIt is a good crop of rookies and they've all been asked to handle far more than they should. Some out of design, some out of necessity.
ReplyDeleteThere development would be aided if next year we didn't try to send in another large batch but made some judicious FA signings this summer.
Or dare I say, trade some redundancy to fill holes?
noton: Chances of the latter happening are noton.
Noodles, what you can't do that? Oh well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that, good to start the morning with a laugh.
Hi Lowetide,
ReplyDeleteLong time reader, very infrequent poster.
Sorry to throw a completely unrelated question out there, but have you ever considered putting a PayPal donation widget (is that the right term?) on this page?
I'm 99.8 per cent sure you don't do this blog for money, but what if you linked a Paypal account to a charity of your choice? I'm sure people here would donate every once and a while.
Just a thought. Now back to hockey talk. :)
exicar: a car that automatically finds the exit you need on the hiway.
Not sure why everyone seems to underestimate Kytnar. Not sure why I am pulling for him, but for some reason I see a third line NHLer in him.
ReplyDeleteFor all the bitching about Tambellini, I don't hear enough praise for what he's done with the procurement department. Sure Stu is a great draft guy, but Tambi had to completely rebuild the lower levels of this organization from scratch. And the depth is stunning already, without another draft. Too bad anti-management posters just can't give credit where it's due.
ReplyDeleteMissed a bunch of D-men there LT. I count Plante, Chorney, Motin, Bendfeld and Montgomery who have also suited up for the Barons this year who are our property.
ReplyDeletemagisterrex, I like Tambo as an Assistant GM. He has some good qualities like you pointed out. I just have little faith in him being able to build a winning NHL team which is much more difficult.
ReplyDeleteThe AHL doesn't have a cap that I know of, perhaps someone can chime in on that. The OKC Barons also have one of the highest payrolls in the league as well (especially normalizing for buried contracts like Souray and Redden).
If there was no salary cap in the NHL, and there were NHL superstars equivalent to Giroux, and bonafide NHL stars equivalent to Moran that could be had on the market, and he could spend like a drunken sailor, Tambo might be killing it. Didn't work for the Rangers though.
As it stands I'd feel better with someone else pulling the strings, but there aren't a lot of Gillies, Yzermans, and Hollands around. Hell I'd even love a Murray.
Also I wonder what Poile would do with a larger budget, would he do well or just explode like Lowe did.
With so many promising players in the system now, the dividing line for me is having no glaring weaknesses as a player.
ReplyDeleteEverybody going up has to be mobile and unless ridiculously talented, proper NHL size.
Eg. while VanD has done decently on his call up, his skating is terrible, and his "skill" replaceable. I would rather use his type of spot for a veteran player.
I can't get past that beer league skating and unfortunately I'm convinced it will define and limit his career. He may have an NHL career but I would move him to a team that doesn't value speed, and kick their butts down the road.
The team needs to be built for the playoffs - slow and/or one dimensional players are more likely to have trouble when intensity goes up and room dissapears.
Let's give Tambellini credit for what he did.
ReplyDeleteHe assembled a high payroll last position in the playoffs squad in the AHL. Giroux,Moran, Helmer etc are not the 27 Yankees. But I can see where comparatively the OKC squad looks great compared to the Oilers. They might actually make the playoffs.
Once you get past amateur scouting, we've exhausted the Oiler management group strengths.
Now somebody will also try the "but we have injuries". Stauffer brought that argument to an art form. He now quotes the dollar value of the injured players. Think Pittsburgh misses Crosby and Malkin? Too bad they won't make playoffs. Wait a minute..... Also where we before the injuries started: 28? 29? 30th?
Love how Omark and Finn acclimatized in OKC but giving kudos to Tambellini for pretty rudimentary moves seems a bit of a stretch