Any Changes upcoming in Oilers Management?

First up in our look into what changes can or will happen with the Edmonton Oilers next season in regards to Management.

We know their is a Lynch mob waiting to crucify Lowe in the City of Edmonton. Even the fans at the arena are calling for his head. The only constant left through all these years is Kevin Lowe. The argument we hear from Katz (the owner) and other members of the MSM is Lowe does not affect what happens on the ice. Do you believe that? Does not leadership start from the top down. Did he not move himself into presidency and hire Tamby to run this once storied franchise into the basement cellar of the NHL? Yup, same guy. 

Personally I like Lowe and everything he did as a player. I like him as a person but as management, not so sure he brings what this team needs. Still doubt that changing management (who is not a GM) matters? Lets take a look at 1 man who has proven that theory wrong on 2 occasions. His name is John Davidson! The following articles were written either after being in St.Louis or after and moving to Columbus. All we have to do is look at the difference in attitude that team adopted. It's the LEADERSHIP culture that he changes and what he expects out of all his staff , not to mention his selection of hockey minds to run that part of the business has a proven track record. 

Here are the articles written on Davidson;

"Since his arrival, Davidson has been involved in the acquisitions of Andy McDonald, Alex Steen, Jaroslav Halak, Chris Stewart and Kevin Shattenkirk while continuing to develop a solid young team." by NHL.com

"Davidson will find a number of opportunities in the NHL to do what he did in St. Louis: Build a winner on the ice through the draft and smart spending, and be the voice of the organization in keeping fans enthusiastic about the direction of the franchise….Davidson's a rock star executive, and an asset to any team that manages to add him to the brain trust."By Greg Wyshynski

"Davidson has said he is intrigued by the Blue Jackets, who traded the club's most recognizable and dependable commodity this summer, Rick Nash. The Blue Jackets are young with a promising list of defencemen but big questions in net and when it comes to scoring."

"The problems that Davidson will face in Columbus are not unlike what he encountered when he first arrived in St. Louis. The Blues were last in the NHL in 2005-06 with 56 points but have gradually become one of the league's top teams". by The Associated press

"Davidson was brought into the organization in December of 2005 when the Blues were in the basement of the NHL. Davidson wasted no time in improving the front office. Al MacInnis was promoted to vice president, Dave Taylor became involved with player personnel and when GM Larry Pleau had to step down to senior adviser, Davidson made his best hiring in Doug Armstrong for the GM position.  If any one person should be credited with the rise of the Blues, it is Davidson. Davidson knew exactly who he needed in the GM positions to make the team homegrown and into contenders, even if it would take a few years."

"There are currently only three players, David Backes, Roman Polak and Barrett Jackman who were drafted before Davidson became president. Since then, there are six players that receive regular playing time (T.J. Oshie, Ryan Reaves, Patrik Berglund, Ian Cole, David Perron and Alex Pietrangelo) and many others currently in the NHL or ready to come up now. Because of these drafted players the Blues rose from the basement of the NHL in 2005 to Central Division Champs and only two points away from the President's Trophy.  The team has gone from looking as bare as a youth hockey rink to having standing room only crowds. When Davidson was hired the Blues were last in the hearts of the city. Now, they rival the Cardinals for passionate fans. Davidson has taken the team from the ashes of the lockout and turned them into a Cup contending team." By Jacob Born,

Not bad recommendations by several writers and if you examined the ownership of NHL teams many would love to have this man running their ship. I realize he is only 1 man but that 1 man is also only a PRESIDENT of an NHL team, just like Kevin Lowe. Nobody can convince me that the position of President has no impact on the ice.

It won't happen before the season starts but another bad start next season for the Oilers and Kevin Lowe's position WILL no longer be secure, after all you can only live on your 5 Stanley Cup rings for so long and you can only give the same excuses for so long. The only way Lowe will continue in management is if the Oilers make a strong push for the playoffs right up to the bitter end. Anything less and IMO he will be let go. Love the guy but winning franchises have to know how to let go of not only players but management and coaches that have expired dates on their resume when it comes to winning.

Next article, we will discuss the area of coaching and examine how safe the Coaches are within the Oilers organization. 

In the meantime, and in between time, that's it for another edition of Oilers hockey!

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Seasons end

Tonight the season ends for the Edmonton Oilers and a whole new season begins. For the Oilers it will be a off-season and for the lucky 16 teams who have worked hard and smart enough it is called the NHL Playoffs.

With yet another season outside of the playoffs looking in (from afar), this team has a lot of rebuilding to still do. Each year we hear the same kook-aid. One more year, it didn't go as expected! Who is to blame for that? The players? Well if its the players isn't it the managements job to get new players? I hear many say it isn't so easy! No? Then why have management at all? Why do other GM's and organizations make the transactions needed? It is really time to look further then just coaches.

Tonight the Oilers take on the Canucks and this is the 1st time since the Gagner draft that I actually do not want the Oilers to win a game. Especially 1 game that means absolutely nothing positive. Ending with a 1 game win streak or losing the last game will not make or break this teams confidence. This team needs the best chance it can get at either a Top 2 d-man or a top 2 centerman. Granted the Oilers could falter to 3rd if someone other then them or Buffalo win the lottery but then they get Leon Draisaitl as a consolation at worst.

I don't want to make any predictions as to next year's line-up but don't expect too much on the backend. Petry, Ference, Schultz are 100% here unless one gets traded and the most likely would be Petry. Klefbom and Marincin stand a very high chance to have a very good chance as well again next year to start in Edmonton. I give them about a 80% chance. That's 5 defencemen. I know there is big talk about MacT swinging for the fence for a top 2 d-man but good luck unless he is trading Petry and a top end forward.

Next week after the lottery, we will know at least where we are picking and then we can better dissect this team we all love so much in Oil Country!

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Dallas Eakins and Todd Nelson to trade positions?

Ok, before i am crucified for starting a ridiculous rumour and everybody starts freaking out, let me explain. Is it even possible that the Oilers organization could actually flip these two coaches? I have searched the Internet and tried to find if this rumour has been swirling anywhere. I did not come up with this idea on my own. In fact, last night after speaking with someone who is a little more in the know, I started to examine the thought of this as a potential possibility. This is someone that has been involved in hockey for sometime (including the coaching fraternity). There is a lot of reasons why this makes no sense at all and lots of reasons why this could be a really good idea. I am not stating this as a legitimate rumour but wanting to at least examine this closer.

Let's examine the pros and cons and the information that has occurred over the last couple years before just tossing this possibility aside.

Jonathan Willis has a interesting read on OKC Barons bench Boss Todd Nelson http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2014/03/08/would-todd-nelson-be-a-good-fit-on-next-years-edmonton-oilers-coaching-staff/

While I agree with Jonathan that adding Nelson to the current staff could be a good thing, Todd Nelson himself in a article written by Ryan Dittrick would prefer Head Coaching in the AHL to being a assistant in the NHL as he has already been a assistant coach with the Atlanta Thrashers. http://oilers.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=636453

To further add to Ryan's interview with Todd Nelson. Robert TychKowski also quoted Todd nelson but only after he was not selected for the Oilers Head Job. In this interview he speaks about opportunity and it does not sound like a coach who wants to take a couple years as a assistant coach in the NHL for only a maybe position. http://www.edmontonsun.com/2013/07/04/despite-being-overlooked-in-the-edmonton-oilers-head-coach-hunt-okc-barons-head-coach-todd-nelson-positive-his-chance-will-come--somewhere

Where does that leave us since MacT has gone on record as saying Dallas Eakins is not going away? Terry Jones reports on this. http://www.edmontonsun.com/2014/02/25/edmonton-oilers-gm-craig-mactavish-gives-strong-vote-of-confidence-for-head-coach-dallas-eakins

Mike Baldwin, a reporter in OKC when interviewing Todd Nelson himself, quoted much of the same as our local guys except does mention the possibility in a couple years as working as a assistant coach.
http://newsok.com/todd-nelsons-road-to-the-nhl-runs-through-oklahoma-city/article/3714464

Enough on the articles written. What are some common threads we are hearing or seeing on this team and around the city of Edmonton and in behind closed doors that leaks still seem to come out from?

What do we know? Dallas Eakins has seen this team's Powerplay drop significantly with a even better team this season then the previous. The team has dropped significantly in the standings looking to have taken a step backwards once again. We also know Barons head coach Nelson has continually had to deal with his best players being called up to Edmonton and at crucial times in the season. With the Oilers it seems just when their is a push for the AHL playoffs each year, they end up with a string of injuries or Nelson contends with those injuries on his AHL team. Bottom line? Nelson has an established track record with 50% of the Oilers NHL team and is known to be well respected and liked among them all.

You always hear rumours that can not really be substantiated. The young players party too much! The players have tuned out Dallas Eakins and do not respect him to get the best out of their game. The argument you hear to that is the NHL player is a professional and needs to be self motivated and shouldn't need a coach to pull the best out of him.

My take? I am sure Dallas is a wonderful person and even a really good coach. I just don't think that he is the right coach. From the moment he walked into this job, we heard how he was going to change this team. Their fitness level was too be intensified and their compete level was to be through the roof. In fact he really did IMO come off as arrogant and rude and his comments insinuated to me he was saying the last couple coach's did not demand that or couldn't teach that. Also he didn't really seem to know the players well enough of who has brought what to this organization with their gifts and talents. Even his systems play were truly flawed that he insisted would work and gave the reasons why.

Has Dallas learned on the fly? Absolutely and while I do think it's time we just quit firing coaches, I really did disagree we should have fired Ralph at all. Renney before him was a firing that happened to save Tambo's job for the following season. Tamby made Renney his scapegoat!

My take now? It's a tough decision to make and a tough pill for MacT to swallow if he were to replace his head coach but IMO if we are to bring in a young up and coming coach from the AHL, it should be from within the organization not from another one. At least we know what we have from within and it does look good.

Could Nelson accept a Assistant job? It's possible, anything is possible. If Todd does come in as assistant, you know at least a couple assistants are on their way out. What is most likely? I think Chabot and Bucky are on their way out.

However, what if Todd nelson were to take the Head Coaching job of the Edmonton Oilers should it be offered by MacT? What would happen with Dallas Eakins and the remaining part of his contract? The scoop I was told is Dallas gets sent to OKC to take on the Barons. I can hear some people right now saying 'no way!' Dallas didn't come to Edmonton to return back to the AHL. Maybe not but he also didn't perform and to me doesn't sound like a guy who is very accountable for his many mistakes as a rookie head coach. What happens to a player who under performs? He loses his job outright or gets demoted. They are paying Dallas so sending him to hone his skills within their AHL team isn't the end of the world. Eakins benches players when they under perform maybe it's time to do the same?

Not for a minute do I claim to know what WILL happen but this rumour could have some validity to it but only time will tell. In the meantime and in between time, that's it…for another edition of 'Oilers Jambalaya"

For Oiler and Baron news or 2014 NHL draft watch 

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Greg Chase transferred to 'OKC Barons'

Preparing for my first blog in almost a month, I ran into some interesting news that I didn't notice on the main blogger sites. If late news then I am just late to the party…lol

Greg Chase according to www.eliteprospects.com has been signed to Oklahoma City on a ATO (I am assuming). They call it a transfer but as mentioned by other bloggers around the Oilers he is in the same shoes as Eberle in the past. He is eligible right now to play but not next year in the AHL. Likely he plays out this season and next year is with the Hitman again for one last year as a over ager in the WHL.


RSS 

Date	Player	From	To	Source
04/01/2014	Josh Winquist (F)	Everett Silvertips	Oklahoma City Barons	0
04/01/2014	Mitch Holmberg (F)	Spokane Chiefs	Oklahoma City Barons	0
04/01/2014	Greg Chase (F)	Calgary Hitmen	Oklahoma City Barons	0
04/01/2014	Jiri Hanzlik (D)	HC Plzen	Retired	0
04/01/2014	Garrett Thompson (F)	Ferris State Univ.	Ottawa Senators	0
04/01/2014	Johan Pettersson (D)	Kiruna IF	Kalix UHC

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REVS Top 15 2014 NHL Prospects #12.Jared McCann

 REVS 2014 NHL Draft Prospects (August 10/13)

1.Sam Reinhart

2.Aaron Ekblad

3.William Nylander

4.Roland McKeown

5.Jake Virtanen

6.Blake Clarke

7.Nick Ritchie

8.Leon Draisatl

9.Michael Dal Colle

10.Jakub Vrana

11.Ivan Barbashev

12.Jared McCann

13.Anton Karlsson

14.Joshua Ho-Sang

15.Sam Bennett 

Honourable mentions:

Oskar Lindblom

Haydn Fleury

Nick Schmaltz

RECAP update of players we have looked at
(stats official as of March 4/14)

Sam Reinhart

6'1, 183 lbs

Kootney Ice- Games 53 Goals 34 Assists 60 Points 94

Canada U20- Games 7 Goals 2 Assists 3 Points 5

Aaron Ekblad

6'4, 216 lbs

Barrie Colts- Games 52 Goals 21 Assists 26 Points 47

Canada U18- Games 5 Goals 2 Assists 2 Points 4

Canada U20- Games 7 Goals 1 Assists 1 Points 2

William Nylander

5'10, 170 lbs

MODO J20- Games 1 Goals 0 Assists 0 Points 0

MODO- Games 19 Goals 1 Assists 4 Points 5

 Rögle- Games 18 Goals 4 Assists 4 Points 8

Södertälje-  Games 17 Goals 11 Assists 8 Points 19

Sweden U18- Games 7 Goals 6 Assists 3 Points 9

Roland McKeown

6'1, 195 lbs

Kingston Frontenacs- Games 58 Goals 9 Assists 31 Points 40

Canada U18- Games 5 Goals 0 Assists 1 Points 1

Jake Virtanen

6'1, 210 lbs

Calgary Hitmen- Games 64 Goals 40 Assists 24 Points 64

Canada U18- Games 5 Goals 0 Assists 1 Points 1

Blake Clarke

6'1, 190 lbs

CHL- Games 48 Goals 2 Assists 10 Points 12

Nick Ritchie

6'3, 236 lbs

CHL-Peterborough Petes - Games 55 Goals 35 Assists 32 Points 67

Leon Drasaitl

6'1, 209 lbs

Prince Albert Raiders - Games 57 Goals 30 Assists 58 Points 88

Michael Dal Colle

6'2, 180 lbs

Oshawa Generals - Games 63 Goals 36 Assists 53 Points 89

Jakob Vrana

6'0, 187 lbs

Linkoping HC (SHL) - Games 19 Goals 2 Assists 1 Points 3

Linkoping HC J20 (Superelite) - Games 19 Goals 12 Assists 9 Points 21

Ivan Barbashev

6'03 185 lbs

Moncton Wildcats (CHL) - Games 48 Goals 25 Assists 43 Points 68

The player I listed in August at #12.

Jared McCann

6'0 174 lbs

Saulkt Ste.Marie Greyhounds (CHL) - Games 60 Goals 26 Assists 31 Points 57

McCann is a consistently effective player. He has a number of offensive skills and possesses quick acceleration speed when cutting through the middle of the ice. With excellent vision and high level of hockey sense McCann reads the game at a level higher than most of his peers and it shows in his creativity and execution. He  possesses an rocket of a wrister with a lightning quick release 

McCann is not afraid of corners or battles in front of the net against bigger opponents. He is also very reliable in the defensive zone. Strong in the face-off circle and hopefully if he can put on some more solid muscle, will be a strong bet to play in the NHL one day. Due to his ranking, it is unlikely Jared is even around when the Oilers select with their second pick but definitely there is not enough to be seen to select him in a top 5. A good player that will likely have a couple years to develop even more in jr hockey with some NHL club.

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Yakupov VS his 'Draft Class and Rookie competition'

What do the following players have in common?

2013/14:
Nail Yakupov 55 games = 23 pts / Avg PPG =.42

Ryan Murray 58 games = 19 pts / Avg PPG =.33

Alex Galchenyuk 44 games = 23 pts / Avg PPG =.52

Morgan Rielly 51 games = 19 pts / Avg PPG =.37

Hampus Lindholm 57 games = 21 pts / Avg PPG =.37

Jacob Trouba 43 games = 22 pts / Avg PPG =.51

Filip Forsberg 12 games = 5 pts / Avg PPG =.42

Mikhail Grigorenko 18 games = 3 pts / Avg PPG =.17

Zemgus Girgensons 56 games = 17 pts / Avg PPG =.30

Cody Ceci 27 games = 6 pts / Avg PPG = .22

Tomas Hertl 35 games = 25 pts / Avg PPG =.71

Olli Maatta 57 games = 23 pts / Avg PPG =.40

Each one of these players were drafted in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Also each one of these players has played NHL games. Which then brings us to another question. Which of those players are in their sophomore season having played their first year in 2012/13 ? The reason is, we often see a player enter their first year on fire and drop in their sophomore one.

2012/13:

Nail Yakupov 48 games = 31 pts / Avg PPG =.65

Alex Galchenyuk 48 games = 27 pts /Avg PPG =.56

Filip Forsberg 5 games = 1 pt / Avg PPG =.20
Ryan Murray 58 games = 19 pts / Avg PPG =.33

When combing these same players combined NHL games to date your totals look like this on a PPG basis…

Nail Yakupov 103 games = 31 pts / Avg PPG =.52

Alex Galchenyuk 92 games = 50 pts /Avg PPG =.54

Filip Forsberg 17 games = 6 pt / Avg PPG =.35
Ryan Murray 58 games = 19 pts / Avg PPG =.33

While Yakupov certainly rose to the top in his rookie season, his sophmore season has been a disappointment. Alot different on his PPG pace then Ryan Nugent-Hopkins who also struggled in his sophmore season.

Ryan.Nugent-Hopkins 102 games = 76 pts / Avg PPG = .75

 I can list so many great players that struggled their second year but we don't have time to go into the excessive numbers that fall into that category.

Nail Yakupov last year was a rookie but other then he and Galchenyuk, he was required to compete for rookie of the year against older drafted players coming into the NHL at a older age. Lets look how they fared as a rookie against Yakupov but a year older or more...

Jonathan Huberdeau 48 games = 31 pts / Avg PPG = .65
Jonas Brodin 45 games = 11 pts / Avg PPG = .24
Sven Baertschi 20 games = 10 pts / Avg PPG = .50

Vladimir Tarasenko 38 games = 19 pts / Avg PPG = .50
Charlie Coyle 37 games = 14 pts / Avg PPG = .38

Having said that, since he competed against older players in his rookie year, let's look at their sophomore year totals for a total combined total and included is Nail's draft year comrades. This would mean no matter the age, all those players who have entered the NHL along with Nail, we are comparing their PPG. 

Nail Yakupov 103 games = 31 pts / Avg PPG =.52

Alex Galchenyuk 92 games = 50 pts /Avg PPG =.54

Filip Forsberg 17 games = 6 pt / Avg PPG =.35
Jonathan Huberdeau 104 games = 53 pts / Avg PPG = .51

Jonas Brodin 101 games = 27 pts / Avg PPG = .27
Sven Baertschi 46 games = 21 pts / Avg PPG = .46

Vladimir Tarasenko 92 games = 53 pts / Avg PPG = .58
Charlie Coyle 84 games = 32 pts / Avg PPG = .38
Ryan Murray 58 games = 19 pts / Avg PPG =.33
Tomas Hertl 35 games = 25 pts / Avg PPG =.71

With the exception of a small sample of Tomas Hertl, taking a look at these totals, I think we all can agree that while Nail started this season with some difficulties he is not that far off from other players struggles as well when we look at the bigger picture here. I think it is also fair to say that his offence has sacrificed some at the expense of learning a better defensive game. All in all I believe that Nail's trade value is not down but in fact just about to start turning in a upward arrow.

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REVS Top 15 2014 NHL Prospects #8.Leon Draisatl

 REVS 2014 NHL Draft Prospects (August 10/13)

1.Sam Reinhart

2.Aaron Ekblad

3.William Nylander

4.Roland McKeown

5.Jake Virtanen

6.Blake Clarke

7.Nick Ritchie

8.Leon Draisatl

9.Michael Dal Colle

10.Jakub Vrana

11.Ivan Barbashev

12.Jared McCann

13.Anton Karlsson

14.Joshua Ho-Sang

15.Sam Bennett 

Honourable mentions:

Oskar Lindblom

Haydn Fleury

Nick Schmaltz

RECAP to date of players we have looked at

Sam Reinhart

6'1, 183 lbs

Kootney Ice- Games 40 Goals 24 Assists 41 Points 65

Canada U20- Games 7 Goals 2 Assists 3 Points 5

Aaron Ekblad

6'4, 216 lbs

Barrie Colts- Games 38 Goals 17 Assists 21 Points 38

Canada U18- Games 5 Goals 2 Assists 2 Points 4

Canada U20- Games 7 Goals 1 Assists 1 Points 2

William Nylander

5'10, 170 lbs

MODO J20- Games 1 Goals 0 Assists 0 Points 0

MODO- Games 11 Goals 0 Assists 2 Points 2

 Rögle- Games 18 Goals 4 Assists 4 Points 8

Södertälje-  Games 11 Goals 7 Assists 6 Points 13

Sweden U18- Games 4 Goals 4 Assists 2 Points 6

Roland McKeown

6'1, 195 lbs

Kingston Frontenacs- Games 47 Goals 8 Assists 24 Points 32

Canada U18- Games 5 Goals 0 Assists 1 Points 1

Jake Virtanen

6'1, 210 lbs

Kingston Frontenacs- Games 51 Goals 32 Assists 18 Points 50

Canada U18- Games 5 Goals 0 Assists 1 Points 1

Blake Clarke

6'1, 190 lbs

CHL- Games 37Goals 2 Assists 7 Points 9

Nick Ritchie

6'3, 236 lbs

CHL- Games 37Goals 2 Assists 7 Points 9

The player I listed in August at #8.

Leon Draisatl

6'1, 198 lbs

 Prince Albert Raiders - Games 43 Goals 19 Assists 41 Points 60

Leon will be rising quite considerably from the #8 spot but definitely not into the top 2 player ranking for my ranking for the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. Drasatl is a good player but is IMO a different class outside of Reinhart and Ekblad. 

ISS hockey says "Off the charts vision and smarts combined with a power frame. Leading the way in PA". Craig Button says "Leon is a blend of skill and power and comfortable in either element. His skill derives from excellent hockey sense and the ability to make plays and recognize what is unfolding. His power is more along the lines of being hard to deter and imposing himself on opponents, with a serious determination to make a difference. Skating is good with much room to improve. A Top 2 line type forward." While back in August before the season began Future Considerations stated "Draisaitl is a playmaking center who isn't overly physical but uses his size effectively to shield himself and the puck. He has excellent vision and knows where his options are. He has soft hands and a steady stride, but his smarts are his most important asset."

I have not followed Leon much until the last 2 months and while he shows lots of promise the question I have is, can he still display that kind of ability when competing against bigger, stronger and more skilled players consistently. His lack of discipline at the U20 world jrs and his inability to shine at the Prospects game send off a couple caution signs. I still see this player good, just not as a elite player in the NHL.

Seeing as time goes by the Oilers seemed destined for a top 2 pick, it's highly unlikely he will be selected by the Oil. That is, unless a team other then Buffalo or Edmonton win the lottery and they end up selecting 3rd overall. At third overall, he may be a player the Oilers consider.

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