Half Time Stats

Who's Zoomin' who? Which of the Oilers young forwards is delivering the best season in 11-12? How much is RNH's 5x4 worth?

There are many in the Oilogosphere better able to answer these questions, but the old man would like to have a lash which can also serve as a mid-season reference. Everything here is courtesy Gabriel Desjardins and his brilliant work at behind the net.

5x5/60 forwards

1. Eberle 3.23
2. Smyth 2.46
3. RNH 2.02
4. Hall 1.99
5. Gagner 1.79
6. Jones 1.76
7. Eager 1.53
8. Hemsky 1.52
9. Horcoff 1.28
10. Petrell 1.04
11. Belanger 0.83
12. Paajarvi 0.67
13. Lander 0.57

• Eberle is all-world this season. I've suggested this is a legit step forward--he's bordering on becoming an impact player--that's maybe jumping the gun a little but even if we default to established level ability (rookie season) the young man appears to be (at the least) a legit top 6F.
• Smyth has been out of this world compared to his own recent past.
• RNH is delivering solid if unspectacular numbers at 5x5. We'll know more as we progress down the disciplines.
• Taylor Hall is moving up this chart rapidly but did have a prolonged drought during the first half. As we get to better know these young players, Hall may be the more streaky of the phenoms.
• Sam Gagner has rescued his season over the last few weeks. I'm cheering like hell for him, these last 15 games have been vital for his Oiler career.
• Ales Hemsky saw the knives the moment his injuries at an ineffective streak met. Reading between the lines, I'd guess there was a disconnect at some level for awhile. The only remaining question relates to how deep it goes. Is this msm or does management feel the same way?
• Shawn Horcoff. Lordy.
• Eric Belanger. Any time would be good, still cheering for you.
• Anton Lander. Not enough offense.

CORSI REL/forwards

Fascinating list. Hall's heading in the right direction and that's an understatement. Hemsky posts an interesting number here too, and a shout out to young Paajarvi and my guy Gagner. Lennart Petrell and Anton Lander look like rookies.

ZONE START/forwards

1. Jones 43.4
2. Horcoff 45.4
3. Belanger 48.1
4. Smyth 48.7
5. Petrell 50.9
6. Paajarvi 50.9
7. Gagner 52.5
8. Eager 53.1
9. Lander 53.8
10. Hemsky 54.6
11. Hall 60.4
12. Eberle 64.9
13. RNH 66.8

Interesting, isn't it? Almost bass ackwards. Ryan Smyth sits near the top the 5x5 scoring despite the zone start and would have to be considered the team MVP at this point. Tough zone start, solid 5x5/60. Ryan Jones has the toughest zone starts of all and still delivers mid-level offense. Horcoff and Belanger are not good enough but we can see that they are doing some heavy lifting. Hemsky performs poorly based on zone start, I think injury is the item there.

QUAL COMP/forwards

• Ryan Smyth is a killer. An absolute killer.
• Horcoff has been climbing a mountain forever.
• Even with the injury and the off-season so far, Hemsky has proven he can play against tough opposition. Distant bell now, but there it is.
• Anton Lander. Yeah.

5x4/60 forwards

1. RNH 7.29
2. Jones 6.25
3. Hall 6.20
4. Eberle 5.32
5. Belanger 3.98
6. Horcoff 3.84
7. Gagner 3.64
8. Smyth 3.29
9. Hemsky 2.62

The Nuge number is among the best in the entire NHL, we don't know if there's going to be sustain but he could shave some and still be brilliant. On the other side of the scale, Hemsky can do better than that 10 days dead and I suspect his new team will be in love with him by April. Still, 83 has been trending downward for awhile now.

Hemsky 5x4

•06-07 5x4 per 60m: 5.45
•07-08 5x4 per 60m: 5.93
•08-09 5x4 per 60m: 5.00
•09-10 5x4 per 60m: 4.71
•10-11 5x4 per 60m: 3.47
•11-12 5x4 per 60m: 2.62


DEFENSE

CORSI REL/blue

Potter shows very well here, but he was a big part of the early run and was injured when things south. A guess would have him losing ground and back in the pack by spring. Tommy Gilbert is a gem, has been for a long time now. Laddy Smid has also turned the corner, but we should also remember that Theo Peckham had some good weeks when paired with Gilbert a year ago.

Petry and Sutton look okay here, Peckham looks like he's regressed but it's probably just pairing/opponent and Teubert's a kid. Barker did what we thought he'd do and Ryan Whitney is caught in a loop of Ray Milland's Lost Weekend.

ZONE START/blue

Gilbert, Smid and Sutton are doing the heavy work here although the range isn't close to the gap seen at forward. Potter definitely gets the easy at-bats and of course that contributes to the corsi rel above. I like Petry's, Smid's and Gilbert's finish and Sutton can be thrown in there too. Jesus Barker.


QUAL COMP/blue

Smid and Gilbert do the heavy lifting and then it's a blur. Fair?


ACTUAL NHL PLAYERS AND PHENOMS

Edmonton's future is in the hands of Hall, RNH and Eberle and along the blue you'd think Smid and Gilbert would be part of the plan. I'd keep Ryan Smyth around because he's having a terrific season and can mentor the kids, and Ryan Jones is playing so well that keeping him around is a no-brainer. I like Gagner and Horcoff's contract means he's here forever. On D, Petry and Potter make sense and Dubynk is a goalie you keep because the alternatives beyond 2013 summer are a distant bell. And for crying out loud stop the nonsense and sign Hemsky.

1. Devan Dubnyk
2. Tom Gilbert
3. Ladislav Smid
4. Corey Potter
5. Jeff Petry
6. RNH
7. Shawn Horcoff
8. Taylor Hall
9. Ryan Smyth
10. Ryan Jones
11. Jordan Eberle
12. Ales Hemsky
13. Sam Gagner

After that? I don't know. What say you?