And The Winner Is...

The NHL Awards

With approx. 30 games to go, I wanted to take a look at the front runners for the NHL's hardware.

The Art Ross Trophy

E. Malkin (61) is the leader right now but with, C. Giroux (60), S. Stamkos (57), P. Kessel (57) and 9 more players within 10 points, Malkin is not a "shoe in" by any stretch.

The Rocket Richard Trophy

S. Stamkos is once again proving he is one of the NHL's best snipers, leading the way with 34 goals. E. Malkin and P. Kessel are close with 29 each and you can't discount J. Toews with 27. I believe Stamkos will hold on for the win barring injury.

The Hart Memorial Trophy

My top 3 candidates for MVP are E. Malkin 61pts, P. Kessel 57pts and H. Lundqvist 24W 6SO and a .939 save %. Its my belief that Malkin will win this year, he has carried the Penguins all season with Sid on the shelf, though its hard to discount Lundqvist's importance for the Rangers.

The Vezina Trophy

Here are the 4 goalies I think will be in the running.

H. Lundqvist (24w,6so,.939s%), J. Quick(22w,6so,.934s%), P. Rinne(30w,4so,.925s%), J. Howard(32w,5so,.924s%). I'll give an honorable mention to T. Rask and B. Elliot, I don't feel they have or will play enough games when compared to the other candidates. In the end I give the nod to H.Lundqvist, this guy is responsible for the NYR perch atop the NHL standings.

The James Norris Memorial Trophy

This has been a bit of a transitional year on the NHL's backend. There are more young defencemen stepping up into the spotlight which makes for a cluster of candidates. Here's who I feel are the best D-men in the league.

Z. Chara (30pts,+27), M. DelZotto (26pts,+26), S. Weber (35pts,+19), E. Karlsson (48pts,+7), N. Lidstrom (28pts,+25), I. White (25pts,+30).

It really is a crap shoot when picking a winner out of this group but I'll give the edge to Chara based on track record, team role/importance and both his point totals and plus/minus are both among the league leaders. Is Ian White this good or is it a product of playing beside Nik Lidstrom??????

The Frank J. Selke Trophy

As defensively reliable forwards go these are the best in my opinion.

T. Seguin +33, P. Bergeron +27, M. Hossa +21, T. Bertuzzi +22, J. Franzen +21. The Bruins could have this locked up as there are a few more on the +/- leaderboard. Going solely on the numbers this is Seguins to lose I'm just not sure of the calibre of players he goes up against on a nightly basis. I'm going with M. Hossa for this one. He plays on a team that is among the leaders in goals aloud and is still +21.

The Lady Byng Trophy

Again there are a half dozen players I see as having a serious shot at winning this award. They are as follows....

J. Eberle(54pts,8pim), P. Datsyuk(54pts,14pim), P. Kessel(57pts,12pim), J. Tavares(53pts,14pim), M. Hossa(53pts,16pim), P. Elias(51pts,16pim). Another mix of young and old and I say Eberle should be able to hold on for the win. Datsyuk can't win every year....can he?

The Calder Memorial Trophy

I think there are only 2 players in the running and even then I still see a clear cut winner based on age, pro experience, and team importance. R. Nugent-Hopkins (35pts-40gms) wins over A. Henrique (34pts-44gms) and the rest of the sophomores.

The Jack Adams Trophy

I give this one to K. Hitchcock. The job he has done with the Blues is amazing. They're challenging for the Central Division and Western Conference lead after looking like a non-playoff team before he took the reins.

The Bill Masterson Trophy

J. Lupul wins hands down! Coming back from back injury and a blood infection to be among the league leaders in points while putting up career best numbers. Best come back story of the year.

The Mark Messier Trophy

I put a bunch of Captains names in a hat......shuffle, shuffle, shake, shake....and the winner is.....N.Lidstrom. Couldn't have picked a better candidate if I tried.

So there you have it, my 2/3 point of the season award winners.

-WRITTEN BY PAQ TWINN-

follow me on twitter www.twitter.com/paqtwinn

Apples and Oranges or a Juicy Steak?

There have been many comparisons done between the Oilers and Blackhawks rebuilds. Here's my take on which pieces the Oilers have in place. These are not position for position but more player type and role analogies.

Blachawks(Cup Winners)     Oilers(Now)

Toews                                       Eberle

Kane                                   Nugent-Hopkins

Hossa                                        Hall

Sharp                                      Gagner

Keith                                        Smid?

Seabrook                                    ?

Niemi                                     Dubnyk?

I believe those were the key pieces to the Hawks Stanley Cup team. There were other guys that stepped up and had big games and/or moments that also helped, but these guys were the keys.

I also believe the Oilers have most of these pieces in place. Providing Smid continues to progress as a shutdown d-man and Dubnyk can continue his recent play on a more consistent basis. I also think Gagner has an important role on this team. He has really come into his own over the course of this season and I personally think the Oilers Nation has Mr. Pat Quinn to thank. If it wasn't for that rough ride he gave Gags back in 08, would Gags be the multi dimensional, "crusty" player that he is today? I don't think so.

We still need that PP QB, maybe he's in the system, maybe not. Either way, this team looks like a great steak. Just needs one more spice and some marinating time. The more patience the better the flavor. Enjoy Oilers fans!

-WRITTEN BY PAQ TWINN-

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Injured Shoulder vs Blackhawks

Edmonton Oilers superstar rookie sensation Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was injured in the 1st period of the Oilers vs Blackhawks game tonight. It appears to be a shoulder injury after he caught an edge and banged into the boards on his own.

No word yet on the severity of his injury or how long he will be out.

We will update this as we hear more.

**EDIT** (9:21pm MT) RNH left the arena wearing a sling. Tom Renney was asked about his condition and all he said is that RNH and Gilbert will not play tomorrow. If he's in a sling, that sounds like it could be long term. I'd guess he's out for a week at least.

-Written by Smokin' Ray Burnt-

Tyler Bunz Cut??? What???

Just before I go to sleep after an exhausting night shift on a drilling rig, I scan twitter and I find out that Oilers prospect Tyler Bunz has been cut from Team Canada?!?

What the hell?

I thought he'd be a lock for sure. I guess I was wrong. It's too bad. I feel Tyler could have been a big part of a gold medal in a city that not only drafted him, buy support him as well.

Try not to be too sad Tyler. Your still a good goalie no matter what. Someone fu*ked up with the decision making that's for sure.

Remember this... The Nuge never played for Canada and look at him now.

-Written by Smokin' Ray Burnt-

Gagner To Play Tonight On The Wing / Tonight's Line Combos

It's getting reported right now that Sam Gagner will be back in the lineup tonight vs the NYR. It sounds like he will replace Linus Omark and Gagner will play on the wing. Should be interesting to see how he does. It's been a few years since I seen him on the wing. If I remember right, he played wing occasionally with Cogliano and Nilsson.

OTHER OILERS NEWS:

Nik Khabibulin will get his second consecutive start tonight. It appears the goalie rotation is over. For now...

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will play tonight. There was a loud out cry from fans yesterday complaining that he was going to sit out. Ok, ok. It was just me bitching about it.

Hall-RNH-Eberle
Smyth-Horcoff-Jones
Paajarvi-Belanger-Gagner
Eager-Lander-Petrell

Whitney-Potter
Smid-Gilbert
Barker-Sutton

GOILERS!!!

-WRITTEN BY SMOKIN' RAY-

The Season Starts Tonight! But Not For The Oilers...

With the brand new NHL season getting started tonight, us Oiler fans will have to sit and wait till Sunday. Boooooo!

But until the game starts, we let our minds wander and we drive ourselves crazy with anticipation. What lines will Renney run? Who starts in net? Will Smid be back from his injury? Will the Oilers acquire another Defencemen?

Let's take a look.

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LINE COMBOS FROM OILERS.com

Hall-Nugent-Hopkins-Hemsky
Smyth-Belanger-Eberle
Paajarvi-Horcoff-Omark
Petrell-Lander-Jones

Peckham-Gilbert
Sutton-Petry
Barker-Potter

Dubnyk
Khabibulin

Not sure I agree with this at all. I'd rather have Belanger and Lander switched. I just don't see Belanger as a #2 guy and Lander could really use some quality line mates like Smyth and Eberle.

I'd probably switch Eberle and Hemsky too.  Can't resist a Smyth/Hemsky combo can you?

-----------------------------------------

MY LINE COMBOS (Power Play)

Hall - RNH - Eberle
Gilbert - Petry

Smyth - Lander - Hemsky
Barker - Omark or Paajarvi

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RUMORS AND STUFF

- There is talk going around that the Toronto Maple Leafs are interested in Sam Gagner.  Not sure how much truth there is on this, but Sportsnet analyst Doug McLean said today on the radio that he was asked about Gagner by some Leaf management the other day and he thought it was strange.  So there is legs to this story.  No word if the Oilers would actually deal Gagner for a defenceman.

- As of right now the Oilers have not claimed a defenceman off of waivers, so expect more rumors to be flowing more and more as the days go by.

- Ladislav Smid has not been put on injured reserve and that's a good sign. Same goes for Taylor Chorney.  With both of those two returning in the future, the Oilers won't have to make a deal for a defenceman, even though they should.

- Taylor Fedun, Ryan Whitney, Ben Eager and Sam Gagner are all on the injured reserve list.

- After a good preseason, there's no doubt that I'd roll with Devan Dubnyk for the first game.  He deserves a shot to run with this team. He looks ready.

-WRITTEN BY SMOKIN' RAY-

Final Cuts Have Been Made By The Oilers

Gilbert Brule, Ryan Keller, Josh Green and Ryan O'Marra have all been put on waivers for the purpose of assignment to Oklahoma City. Teemu Hartikainen has also been sent to the Barons. Hartikainen doesn't need to be on waivers.

That spells the end for Brule with the Oilers. He played like crap during the preseason and it's deserving. I'm thinking they hope he gets picked up on waivers cause he's paid way to much to be hanging out in OKC.

With the cuts that did happen, that means that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Anton Lander and Lennart Petrell have all made the opening night roster. Quite the interesting look for the Oil. This should be an interesting year.

-WRITTEN BY SMOKIN' RAY-

Nugent-Hopkins impressing early

Yes I know its early and yes I know the Canucks dressed a shameful roster last night but RNH has shown that he deserves to be an Oiler. The little things that he does on the ice will eventually turn into big things. RNH has shown that he has great vision on the ice with great passes to Smyth and Eberle, the way he strips opposing players of the puck and his defensive play.

RNH has done so much early on that even Ryan Smyth is impressed.
“Not only is he a humble kid away from the rink, but he sees the ice very well” said Smyth. “He has great speed and the puck doesn’t die with him, he makes a lot of great plays. Those are the type of things you just can’t teach".

The Edmonton Suns Robert Tychkowski put an article up today (and I quote) "Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, making his pre-season home ice debut, had a relatively quiet night, assisting on Eberle's goal for his only point of the game". Really? what game was he watching? Or maybe it is all about putting up points for Mr. Tychkowski. Did he not see the 3 or 4 great passes RNH made to Eberle or how RNH stripped opposing players of the puck? I just don't get how someone payed to watch the game missed that.

The only knock I see on RNH is his faceoff ability but that will come. How often do you see a young kid that is great on face-offs? Its something you get better at with experience and age.If RNH wants to remain an Oiler for the season all he needs to do is exactly what he has been doing the first 2 pre-season games.

@friesennhl on twitter

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Is On Twitter!!!

While I know that this isn't big news, but if you haven't checked out twitter yet, you should.

Tyler Pitlick and Tyler Bunz have convinced RNH to join the twitter group.  I love the fact that twitter puts us so close to all these young stars of the Edmonton Oilers.  It feels like you really get to know who these kids are.  For the most part they are guarded about what they say, but it does shed some light on how and what they think.  Guess what? They're normal just like you and me.

So go ahead and sign up for twitter. Find out what RNH has to say. www.twitter.com/RNH_93

While your there, follow us too! www.twitter.com/OilersJambalaya

Projected Oilers Lines For Young Stars Game vs Canucks

The Oilers announced the practice lines this morning on twitter.  I'd assume that these are the lines they go with for the first game at least.

They have one extra forward line and two extra defence pairing who will be sitting out tonight. The guys (IMO) in italics are going to sit out. I would also assume Bunz and Roy split this game, but the Oilers have given no indication on who or what they will go with for the goalie situation.

**UPDATE** Dan Tencer says that Olivier Roy will get the start for the game. He also says the Oilers will go with 11 forwards and 7 defencemen.

Don't forget to follow along at http://www.oilersjambalaya.com/ with the LIVE TweetCast starting at 8pm.

FORWARDS

Hamilton - Nugent-Hopkins - Pelss
Cornet - Lander - Rieder
Tyrvainen - Martindale - Czerwonka
Smith - Abney

Rajala - Schaber - Pitlick
Ferguson

DEFENCE

Marincin - Teubert
Fedun - Musil
Gernat - Lowery
Schmidt

Blain - Davidson
Vannieuwenhuizen


GOALIES

Roy
Bunz

-WRITTEN BY SMOKIN' RAY-

Oilers Jambalaya's Top 25 Prospects List

I was asked by Derek Zona from the Copper & Blue website to submit my top 25 Edmonton Oilers prospects, or in other words, the guys who have not yet made the team.  Here is the list and rankings that I came up with.  Agree? Dissagree?

Read the article by Derek HERE. Thanks for including my point of view Derek!

1. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, C
2. Jeff Petry, D
3. Linus Omark RW
4. Anton Lander, C
5. Oscar Klefbom, D
6. Teemu Hartikainen, LW
7. Martin Marincin, D
8. Curtis Hamilton, LW
9. David Musil, D
10. Tyler Bunz, G
11. Colten Teubert, D
12. Tyler Pitlick, C
13. Dillon Simpson, D
14. Ryan Martindale, C
15. Olivier Roy, G
16. Travis Ewanyk, C
17. Jeremie Blain, D
18. Chris Vande Velde, C
19. Alex Plante, D
20. Ryan O'Marra, C
21. Johan Motin, D
22. Samu Perhonen, G
23. Frans Tuohimaa, G
24. Tobias Rieder, RW
25. Cameron Abney, RW


-WRITTEN BY SMOKIN' RAY-

An Oilers Summer... (New Numbers, Khabibulin, Nugent-Hopkins)

Man this off season seems to be taking forever! Here is the news of the week.

----------------------------------------------------

Yesterday the big news rolled out and I got fired up. No, not the Khabibulin going to jail story, but the new Oilers players decided which numbers they are going to wear for the 2011-12 season.

Pretty sad that numbers gets me fire up. Haha!

Theo Peckham as we all know is changing to #24. That's a number that he likes to wear and now that he's part of the team, full time, he's going to wear it.

Cam Barker took the unusual #13. I figured he would have chosen #2 or #8. Cogliano was the best, IMO, to wear #13 and it sure didn't bring him any luck. Let's see what happens with Barker this year.

Big Andy Sutton chose to stick with #25. If I recall, he's worn that number often in his career.

Eric Belanger has decided on wearing #20. Good number for him. He's worn a few different numbers over the years including #25 that Sutton took. BTW, put Eric Belanger into google search and look at the pictures. *my eyes are burning* The girls will like it.

Big Bad Ben Eager is going with a familiar number. Once again, he takes #55. No surprise here.

Darcy Hordichuk is the only player who hasn't chosen a number yet. I'd guess he takes #21.

------------------------------------------------

OK, I'll talk about Nik Khabibulin now. I have read the tweets and blog posts about this situation and it pisses me off. Don't give a criminal sympathy. Screw him and his deal now. This was dragged through the mud for months and months and in a roundabout way, tarnished the good name of the Edmonton Oilers. This would have been done with over a year ago if he just would have taken his punishment and moved on. I do not feel bad for him right now. I just wish the punishment was longer for wasting everyone's time.

He is to spend 15 days in jail and 15 days at home with a monitoring bracelet. He is also to undergo alcohol treatment.

I respect those who admit what they did wrong. While he admits it now, it's too late. Respect is lost...

-----------------------------------------------

I am in the camp that figures that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will be an Oiler this season. He will make the team. He couldn't be worse than Cogliano was on the dot. And he sure can't be worse than JF Jacques skating around out there. Make #93 a part of this team ASAP.

-WRITTEN BY SMOKIN' RAY-

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on Ask An Oiler

2011 NHL Entry Draft Rounds 2 - 7 LIVE Video Feed

EDMONTON OILERS SELECT:

#1 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (center)

#19 Oscar Klefbom (defence)

#31 David Musil (defence)

#63 Samu Perhonen (goalie)

#74 Travis Ewanyk (left wing)

#92 Dillon Simpson (defence)

#114 Tobais Rieder (center)

#122 Martin Gernat (defence)

#182 Frans Tuohimma (goalie)

The Edmonton Oilers Select Ryan Nugent-Hopkins! / The 2011 NHL Entry Draft

WooOooOooOooo!!! The Edmonton Oilers are proud to select, from the Red Deer Rebels, #93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

It's finally official. *crowd goes wild*

*We will update throughout the 1st round what else the Oilers do. They have pick #19.*

UPDATE: The Oilers select defenceman Oscar Klefbom.

Edmonton Oilers Will Pick 1st Again

WoOoOoOooOO! The Edmonton Oilers will select 1st overall at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Exciting times for this team. Last year the Oilers took Taylor Hall with that elusive 1st overall pick. Who will they pick this year? Nugent-Hopkins? Larsson? Landeskog?

Either way, the Oilers are set for years to come. This really is it. The Future Begins... Now!

GOILERS!

- WRITTEN BY SMOKIN' RAY -

A Night At The Rink / Red Deer Rebels vs Medicine Hat Tigers

Ahhhh... the sweet smell of fresh ice.

I decided to take my 2 year old daughter to what I thought was an exhibition game between the Red Deer Rebels and the Edmonton Oil Kings. Turns out the local paper got it wrong -- or something changed since it was printed -- and the Rebels actually played the Medicine Hat Tigers.

So we head to the rink -- I couldn't believe they charged me $5 for a toddler. Crazy! -- and it's pretty packed. This game was being played in Stettler and there's about 5000 people live here.

We grab a drink (no beer) and some popcorn and we find a seat. The anthem is being sung and the game is getting ready to begin. The sound of the skates on the ice was like music to my ears. I've missed that sound.

GAME ON!

The crowd is pretty amped up and the atmosphere is buzzing. The first real excitement was a cheap shot a few minutes into it which led to a fight. Well, the fight peaked my daughters interest too. "Daddy, they were fighting. Ohhhh... they're tough!", she said.

Well that was it. Every 5 minutes she'd yell, "FIGHT!" I'd laugh and say, "Not yet."

There was no goals for the first two periods. Just a bunch of penalties. Boring. Speaking of penalties. The referee's were tiny. Both guys were like 5'5". They looked funny in the middle of scrums. At least the linesmen were 6'0" and over and they dealt with the rough stuff.

I don't remember how many penalties I tweeted, but it wore out my phone. The battery died just as the 3rd period started. That's when the action picked up (of course).

With about 5 minutes left in the 3rd -- both teams pressing hard all period long -- the Rebels score to finally make it a 1-0 game. The crowd goes nuts. Once again, my daughter yells, "FIGHT!"

"No sweetie, they scored and that's a celebration.", I said as I laughed my ass off.

With 49 seconds left, the Tigers score to tie it up. Overtime it is.

Overtime was back and forth but no real chances. So the game goes to the shootout.

The Rebels' Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is the first one to go. He scores a beauty. The Tigers have a shooter go (don't know who) and he shoots wide. The next Rebels shooter scores and it's 2-0. The Tigers need to score or it's over.

They don't and the Red Deer Rebels win the game at a score of 2-1. Good times, good times.

THINGS I NOTICED AT THE GAME

- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is ranked 6th overall (right now) for the 2011 NHL entry draft. He should have been the best (or close to it) player on the ice, but he didn't stand out at all. He scored the winning shootout goal and he plays a solid two way game, but he's no #6 pick. IMO. I don't see superstar quality there. He will be good, just not great.

- Brennan Hunker. Remember that name. The kid is 15 years old but you wouldn't know it (other than his full cage he wore) on the ice. He's a decent sized defenceman and a good one at that. He fit right in with the rest of the players. For a 15 year old, he made no mistakes. None. I can't wait to see if this kid makes it. I'm betting he does.

- You know when the NYR salute the crowd at MSG with their sticks raised up high? That's what it looks like in a Junior hockey game when there is a scrum. Every scrum. The kids all come together and the sticks go up. Is it because they are "protected" with the visors they wear? Do they feel overly safe?

- I couldn't believe the amount of cheap shots. Whistle blows... cheap shot.

- The Rebels captain #6 Colin Archer is a very good defenceman. He plays with an edge to his game and he really did look like the best defenceman on both teams out there.

- The lack of goals tonight was strange. I'm thinking the tight quarters had something to do with it. The Stettler rec center ice surface isn't that big. I don't know the sizes of the Stettler, Red Deer or Medicine Hat's arena's, but I'm going to assume they are bigger than Stettler's. Some WHL teams play in NHL arena's.

- I have never been a guy who likes the mascot idea. For the most part I think they are dumb. But my daughter thought he (Red Deer Rebels Buffalo mascot) was pretty neat. All game she asked me, "Where's that buffalo Dad?". Then they finally met face to face. When the buffalo reached out his hoof for a high five, my daughter literally climbed over me in fear of him. He walks away and she's asking me, "Where's the buffalo going? He's not scary right Dad?" lol. Kids are great.

So can I admit I was wrong? The amount of kids I seen following that buffalo around all night made me realize, even if I hate mascots, the kids love them.

They do have a purpose? Who knew?

Well that's it from me. It was nice to get out and watch a game. Live and in person.

The best part of this whole experience? My daughters last words before she closed her eyes in bed, "Dad? I want to play hockey."

*tear in eye*

-Written by Smokin' Ray-