Wednesday, December 29, 2021

What possibly caused the WJHC to be cancelled? I would hate to be these people

The power of social media is crazy. Soon after the IIHF cancelled the World Junior Hockey Championship, reports started to surface about why this could be happening. 

The Covid cases didn’t come from Edmonton. They came from Red Deer at the Cambridge hotel where the affected teams were staying. 







Major fail for the hotel and the IIHF if this actually happened. From how most understood it, the teams were supposed to be in a contained bubble. Apparently this didn’t happen. 

More to come on this story I’m sure. 

The World Juniors Cancelled?



News is starting to filter out that the possibility of the World Junior Championships will be cancelled. It’s a shame, I know. 
The Americans already had to forfeit their game vs Switzerland and now today, Czechia became the second team to forfeit vs Finland. 

The IIHF is going to meet later today to discuss the options for the remainder of the tournament.  
They have already mandated that the on ice officials will have to wear a mask for the games. How does blowing a whistle work with a mask on? Won’t there be a delay from the time they pull it down to blow the whistle and then doesn’t that defeat the purpose of the mask? How can they skate as quick as they do with a hindrance like a mask covering their mouths and breathing in already harmful carbon dioxide? Seems a bit ludicrous to me. 

On the flip side of things, Edmonton Oilers coach Dave Tippett discussed how he wasn’t sick or had any symptoms while being placed in the NHL Covid protocol. He also said he spoke to all the players that were affected, and none of them were sick either. So the question is, what exactly are we doing? Why are the players being sent to protocol if they are asymptomatic? Is the same happening with the World Junior teams? 

If Quebec is now allowing Doctors and Nurses to continue working while testing positive for Covid, why are we shutting down when everything appears to be fine? Doesn’t make sense, does it? Not at all. 

So with all this, we all hope the tournament isn’t cancelled as the Canadian team has had some great stories so far. 

Owen Power is going to be a future star in the NHL. He’s already a stud. Connor Bedard had a 4 point game as a 16 year old and we haven’t seen that since some kid wore 99 and broke records like crazy in the NHL. If this tournament does indeed continue, there will be more great stories that still need to be written. 



Friday, December 24, 2021

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays



Merry Christmas and happy holidays from Oilers Jambalaya! 

Wishing nothing but the best for you and your family this holiday season. 

GOILERS! 

Monday, December 20, 2021

Goodbye Olympic dreams for 2022



With nearly a quarter of NHL currently shut down due to the recent Covid outbreak breezing through the NHL, word is starting to spread about how the NHL and NHLPA is about to pull out of the 2022 Winter Olympics.

As a fan of hockey, this saddens me a lot. I've been waiting for this Olympics for a while. Seeing McDavid, Crosby and Mackinnon out on the ice together was going to be a wonderful dream. Sadly, it wasn't meant to be this year. Quite simply, this sucks. This could have been the greatest Canadian team ever battling one of the best American teams ever.

I've seen the topic of pushing the Olympics back a year like they did for the Summer Olympics. At this point, I could see this happening and not just cause I'm selfish about hockey. But, for all sports and the betterment of the games as a whole. Guess we will have to wait and see. Fingers crossed.

Bad to worse. Two more Oilers in Covid Protocol


Luckily the Oilers get a few days rest as Nurse and Lagesson have been placed in Covid protocol today. As each day passes, the list gets longer. Guess we can consider the halt for the Oilers at this time a lucky break. 

Nurse and Legesson join RNH, McLeod, Puljujarvi, Shore, Keith and Coach Tippett in protocol.

Marody and Griffith have been sent down the Bakersfield this morning as well. 


Saturday, December 18, 2021

It’s keeps growing. More added to Covid Protocol





Yesterday Duncan Keith was added to the Covid protocol list and just now, forward Jesse Puljujarvi has now been added to the list. 

They join Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Ryan McLeod, Devin Shore and Coach Dave Tippett. 

Oilers choices for recalls are getting worse and worse. Before long the team will be made up of all AHL players. I’m really hoping the league does a complete shut down soon. It’s out of necessary that they should consider it. 

Friday, December 17, 2021

Another one bites the dust… More Covid protocols


The Edmonton Oilers have just placed Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the ever growing list of Covid protocols. 

He now joins Devin Shore, Ryan McLeod and Coach Tippett on that unfortunate list. I firmly believe this list is about grow. Just when the Oilers find a way to win a game, this happens. Sometimes the luck just doesn’t swing the way you want it to. 

Thursday, December 16, 2021

Highlights (Condors vs Heat)

 Bakersfield Condors lose 2-1 to the Stockton Heat in a shootout. 

Positive Covid Case for Oilers



Devin Shore has tested positive for Covid. This after Bouchard, Koekkoek, McDavid and Shore spent some time doing video chats with the local hospitals. I’m expecting more cases to follow.

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

The Lone Goal

Last night the Oilers lost 5-1 to the Leafs and that extended their losing streak to 6 games. As most fans, can't say we were shocked. Something is terribly wrong right now with the Oilers, and as each game goes by, it keeps getting worse. So much that a fan tossed a jersey on the ice in frustration. Can't blame him/her except, jersey's aren't cheap and it was while the game was still in play. That is no way to support a team.

Coach Tippett was not behind the bench due to being put on Covid protocol along with Ryan Mcleod. Zach Hyman missed the game due to the injury he suffered the other night, so the lines changed a little bit, but not enough. One notable name to return was Duncan Keith as he reunited back with Cody Ceci on the second pairing. Was this enough to change the tide? No.


Colten Sceviour scored his first goal after 18 games. About damn time!

Fans are pissed! Any more losses and heads will need to roll. You can count on it.

Sunday, December 12, 2021

Area’s of concern


The skid has increased to 5 games… Now what? 

Depending on how you view the team, there is a few concerns that seem to be smacking us fans right in the face. Some areas definitely need to be addressed sooner rather than later. 

BOTTOM 6 

When the bottom 6 hasn’t scored a goal in 10 games, that’s a huge reason for this skid the Oilers are on right now. Lack of production of the secondary scoring hurts when you simply just bank on McDavid and Draisaitl to lead the way. When this happens it’s just not sustainable. Players like Kassian, Foegele, McLeod, Shore, Ryan, Sceviour and Benson are guilty of slacking for secondary scoring. Teams, never mind Stanley Cup championship teams, all need balanced scoring. It’s not an option. It’s a must have. 

You might be thinking, you are missing Yamamoto. While he’s not a bottom 6 player this year, he’s definitely included on being at fault as well for little to no productivity. I’m shocked he still plays that right wing on that second line after all this time. He checks well and plays gritty the best he can for a little guy, but with only 5 points patrolling the ice with Draisaitl and Nugent-Hopkins, that’s a concern and a head scratcher. It needs to be changed, fixed and corrected ASAP.

LACK OF GOALIE CONFIDENCE

Mikko Koskinen had good games (his record looks ok) and bad (when he’s bad he’s bad in front of your eyes). For the most part I think he’s a decent goalie, but he has flaws. Letting in a fluffer early in a game is the most obvious. We all know that one. It’s frustrating as all hell watching it happen game after game. 

He’s not a full time #1 goalie, but much like before, he’s depended on again to be the starter due to Mike Smith being out of action. I’m not psychologist, but he seems to have confidence issues that stick in his head. Once the fluffers started to happen, I believe he mentally over thought it before each game and somehow subconsciously lets it happen even when he tries not to. 

While at this moment I’m not on the bandwagon to jump on the “fire the coach train” or join the “make a massive trade” group, I do feel like it’s time to move on with the Dustin Schwartz era. It’s run it’s course. Koskinen needs a different whisper in his ear to help him battle the mental demons that fill a goalies head once in a while. Will be tough to move Koskinen before the end of the season and I expect Holland to ride out his contract, so the next best move is to move on from Schwartz and perhaps it can help moving forward with the goalie situation in Edmonton for all the goalies, not just Koskinen. 

THE ROOKIE DEFENCE

4 rookies have patrolled the blue line this year for the Oilers. Bouchard isn’t exactly a rookie per se, but he’s young and inexperienced and I still view him as a rookie. When the vets started to drop like flies, the Oilers had to lean on some kids from the farm team. Niemelainen, Broberg and Lagesson all came up and were thrown into the fire. This has made the coaches jobs a little harder as you can’t shelter the rookies like you can when you only have one rookie in the lineup. It’s tough. They had to fill in on all three pairings. 

All in all I don’t really have a lot of complaints about the rookies. They had to learn in a hurry how to adjust to the NHL pace. I can’t even imagine being in their shoes. Now that Ceci and Nurse are back, and once Keith and Russell are back, I suspect the defence woes to fade away. That was a lot of pressure on the kids, but hopefully soon it’s only one in the lineup at a time and not three at a time. That veteran presence is desperately needed again on the back end and a lot of the Oilers problems will go away once that happens. 

PLAYERS MEETING

All of this said, I believe that a players only meeting could fix a lot of the Oilers woes right now. I had mentioned it after the 2 game slide to some friends and while at that point it really wasn’t needed. I do believe it needs to happen now. There is something more when it comes from your peers and not by management. I truly believe for the most part this team is and can be good. The lineup is bolstered by a pretty darn good group of hockey players. They just need to figure out that they need to step up their games to new levels for their own styles. Even the dynasty Oilers era learned valuable lessons from others. But they also grew from those lessons. This era of Oilers need to do the same. 

They need to hear McDavid and Draisaitl and try and match their efforts and work ethic. Put in the extra time. Work harder. Play with a purpose. 

They need to listen to a vet like Duncan Keith. He’s been a winner. He knows what it takes. If Keith speaks, people better listen. I’d trust his advice. 

Same goes for Mike Smith. He’s been around the block. He’s played in the NHL for quite some time and has been in a lot of different situations. He is vocal in the dressing room and his presence has been sorely missed since he’s been injured. I fully believe the Oilers would be in a different position if he wasn’t hurt. He’s integral to the core of the team. 

WELL NOW WHAT? 

The Oilers were lucky to pile up the wins at the start of the season to provide a slight cushion to absorb this 5 game slump. Fans are calling for heads so the pressure is on all over the organization. 

I suspect once the team can reduce the amount of rookies on the blue line, get Smith back and shuffle the forward lines up a bit, the Oilers will get back on track. 

While I expect Holland to be a buyer at the trade deadline, I don’t see any knee jerk reaction trades to happen anytime soon. However, like I said above, the Schwartz era needs to end. Make that happen Holland. 

GOILERS!!! 

Tuesday, November 30, 2021

Jake DeBrusk on the move?



Word came out of Boston that Jake DeBrusk has requested a trade in the last couple days. Oiler fans immediately started to salivate and get excited at the possibility of the younger DeBrusk suiting up for his father’s former NHL team. 

I won’t lie, I got excited too. Until I heard Calgary was in the mix for him. My excitement then changed to greed and now I really want to see DeBrusk don the Oilers silks and not the hated rivals jersey. 

The big question now, what do the Oilers have to give up to acquire him? Yamamoto and a 3rd? Could it be less? Generally when the options are limited, so is the asking price. Since we have heard both Edmonton and Calgary are for sure interested, that price won’t be as cheap as we all hope. 

What about you? What do you think the Oilers will have to give up to trade for Jake DeBrusk? Let’s hear your thoughts. 

Sunday, November 21, 2021

Beers and Jeers (Oilers vs Blackhawks)





Beers & Jeers Game Recap

BEERS

- McDavid does McDavid things again, just not as flashy. Scores the first goal from standing beside the net, which for McDavid, was an easy goal. Bouchard and Hyman with the assists on that one and virtually creates that goal for him. He had speed all game long, but the Hawks did a good job to keep him with only a goal and assist. 

- Barrie with the first power play goal of the game. Draisaitl suckered the Hawks to his side with hesitation and he made a nice feed to Barrie at the top of the slot for a one timer and in. 

- Yamamoto with a beauty of a steal for a short handed goal in the first. It seemed to fire him up and he was flying out there the entire game. You could see him going for a second goal hard. That’s what the Oilers need from him. That competitive drive day in and day out. 

- McLeod with a nice deke and goal for the Oilers fourth goal of the first period. He’s fit in for Ryan very nicely while he’s out with an injury. Really digging the chemistry with Kassian and Fogele and want to see more. 

- Loved the Keith and Bouchard pairing. Thought they had good chemistry and seemed to work well together. Bouchard finished the night with 2 assists. 

- Skinner has been awesome. He faced a lot of tough shots, but held his own like a veteran of the league even if he’s not one. Big hopes for this kid in the future and really want to see him play more games before Smith finds his way back from injury. 

- Loved the hockey fights cancer purple on the board advertising. Was a nice touch to go with the jersey night. I fight for baby Thatcher and my Uncle Dan. ❤️

- Broberg played a quiet game. Had some decent hits, made smart plays. Even picked up his first ever NHL assist and point on the McLeod goal. He didn’t look out of place wish is usually how it goes for first time games. I’d suspect Tippet was also happy with what he saw. Very impressive debut. 

- Draisaitl with a quiet, yet effective game. A goal and an assist.

JEERS

- Seth Jones snaps a shot on net and DeBrincat tips it in to make it 4-1. No biggie, but it did give the Hawks a bit of life after being down 4-0 to start the game.

- DeBrincat scored again for his second of the night in the third. Bad offensive play in the Hawks zone by Bouchard led to that breakaway and subsequent goal to make it 4-2.

- Not much to jeer about. The Oilers played a very solid game after going up 4-1 after the first period. They played a strong game with not a lot to complain about. 

- Final score was 5-2.

Friday, February 26, 2021

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