The Beginning That Lies Ahead

It's the beginning of the 2013/14 NHL season coming up, and the beloved Edmonton Oilers fans are starting to get giddy. Lots of speculation and opinions having been flying around for some time.

The latest story is the possibility of Sam Gagner as the next Oilers captain. If you've followed me, you'll know I was and am a huge Gagner supporter. I think he'd make a fantastic captain and he would be a good mediator between the different age groups. So if Sam Gagner is the next Oilers captain, I support that decision.

One scenario I'd like to see played out this year? I'd love to see Ryan Smyth wear the C for this last kick at the can. Captain Canada should have a C on his jersey before he retired. This is that chance.

Another story has been who replaces Ryan Nugent-Hopkins if he's not ready to return at the start of the season. Some speculation has Taylor Hall moving to center. That's easily doable for the fact that now with the addition of Linus Omark into the fold, the Oilers can still have the top 6 filled with goal scorers. Doesn't matter if it's Hemsky or Omark, the Oilers can fill the void.

I've also heard the possibility of Marc Arcobello will fill the void left by the RNH injury. He has experience playing with Eberle and Hall and that could be the way the Oilers start their season.

Although, what kind of message does that send to a player? Right now, good enough to play on the first line, but the minute RNH comes back, back to the OKC Barons for Arcobello. I wouldn't want to have to make that decision.

Will the Oilers have three scoring lines? I'd hope not, but it's looking more and more like that's going to happen. It's very possible that we will see a Omark/Gordon/Hemsky line. I just can't imagine a 3rd line as a checking line with Ales Hemsky and Linus Omark on it. Can you?

Of course a top discussion was, will Oscar Klefbom make the team straight out of training camp? The Oilers are very high on him and it's very possible he's a final candidate for the 6th and 7th spot. I'd personally, if he's not quite there, send him down to OKC and let him play big minutes and develop his skill. That decision never hurts the player.

The YoungStars tournament starts in a couple days. I'm excited to see these kids and see what they can do. Lots of new faces and I'm hoping the Oilers show them via webcast like the previous years. Should be fun to watch.

-WRITTEN BY SMOKIN' RAY BURNT-

Buffalo trade looming? 'Anything is possible!'

Been getting some questions flying my way today on a possible Buffalo trade rumour in light of speculation they are in discussions with a couple teams and one being the Edmonton Oilers.

Let's be straight up, I have not heard Grigorenko's name used at all, only who could it be the Oilers could trade for and what do they give up. So since everyone is speculating let's have some fun and look at some possibilities.

1.Ryan Miller

2.Thomas Vanek

3.Some 3rd or 4th line player

4. Mikhail Grigorenko

Let's cover each one....

1. Ryan Miller? While it is always possible, unless Dubynk is going to Buffalo I do not see this happening. We can't have 3 Goaltenders here and Miller has a high cap this year and we are running out of space. The only possibility if MacT was interested would be a trade something like Ales Hemsky, Martin Marincin and Dubynk for Ryan Miller. The trade off would be 8.5 M in NHL salary to Buffalo and 7M in NHL salary to Edmonton. Marincin is the price to to pay to unload the salary and get a more established goalie. * For those doubters of Miller, he is still a top 10 Goalie in this league IMO but do not think he would want to come to Edmonton with his NMC.

2. Thomas Vanek? After Edmonton pushed up his value on the RFA Market, he is now being made available in their rebuild. A awesome player but not sure the Oilers can afford this player without sending some cash away. Again any possible trade means money out and that requires a team adding something extra to help compensate. Possibility could be Hemsky, Jones, a prospect like Marincin or even Gernat along with a 2nd rd pick in 2014. Not likely to happen for a 1 year contract but again does it matter if the oilers can afford even 1 year and give up little? 

3. 3rd or 4th line player? Take your pick but I highly doubt the Sabres are interested in a player like Hemsky for a single year at his price tag. Unless they are shedding salary for salary, it is highly unlikely.

4. Grigorenko? This could be a interesting twist. The Oilers liked what they saw in Grigorenko when he came to town to visit before the draft, the scouts liked him but Nail and Ryan were no brainers when it came to 1st OV picks. But with so much talent coming up the ranks in Buffalo, they could afford to unload him for the right price. Buffalo was not pleased with his progress last year offensively but are we not talking about the same coach Ruff who many Oiler fans feel mishandled Hall at the World Championships? This trade makes sense from many view points? But to make this a fair trade what would Edmonton need to give up. Remember Buffalo is rebuilding and earlier in their stages. Maybe Lander, Marincin and a 3rd round 2014 draft pick? Is that over payment or under payment?

This is ALL speculation but should these 2 GM's talk trade, it would make for some very interesting news.

in the meantime, keep your stick on the ice!

YAKCITY - "Nail Yakupov ready to step it up?"

Nail Yakupov has always been a enigmatic personality in and out of the dressing room and on the ice. What makes this young up and coming star player so good is not just the skill set, it's the drive to be the best or as some say, the drive to always be improving.

Here are Nail Yakupov's PPG over the past few years in the respective leagues he has played in;

2010-2011 CHL (101pts for 1.55 PPG)
2010-2012 U18 (13 pts for 1.85 PPG)

2011-2012 CHL (69 pts for 1.64 PPG)
2011-2012 U20 (9 pts for 1.28 PPG)

2012-2013 KHL (18 pts for .82 PPG)
2012-2013 NHL (31 pts for .65 PPG)

I had predicted on twitter and believe on a blog as well the PPG production Nail would likely produce both in the KHL and in the NHL. I had estimated Yakupov could produce .65 PPG in the KHL which he fared even better and in the NHL I said I believed he would produce around the .57 PPG. I had people saying I was out to lunch and no way this player had the skills yet or the size to produce like that at the NHL level. He covered both bets for me and this year it is likely we could see him more around the .80 PPG mark by the end of the NHL season of 2013-2014.

When looking at his Jr career and comparing him at that stage , let's look how he compares to a few other notable stars.

Steven Stamkos
2006-2007 CHL (92 pts for 1.46 PPG)
2006-2007 U18 (10 pts for 1.67 PPG)

2007-2008 CHL (105pts for 1.72 PPG)
2007-2008 U18 (5 pts for 1.25 PPG)
2007-2008 U20  (6pts for .86 PPG)

2008-2009 NHL (46 pts for .58 PPG)

2009-2010 NHL (95 pts for 1.16 PPG)

As we can see with Stamkos, it was his second season when his numbers began to soar. With a solid understanding of the game now and a larger sturdier frame he was better able to translate his jr career to the NHL level.

John Tavares 
(since John was brought in as a exceptional player into the OHL I will be exempting his early year to be more in comparison with the same age)

2006-2007 CHL (134 pts for 2.0 PPG)

2007-2008 CHL (118 pts for 2.0 PPG)
2007-2008 U20 (5 pts for .71 PPG)

2009-2010 NHL (54 pts for .66 PPG)

2010-2011 NHL (67 pts for .85 PPG)

John was one of the most incredible point producing jrs in the last couple decades. Very few reach his peak yet his game did not translate in his first year and even his second as you can see was somewhat reasonable.

Let's look at 2 more comparable players he currently plays with.

Taylor Hall
2008-2009 CHL (90 pts for 1.43 PPG)
2008-2009 U18 (8 pts for 2.0 PPG)

2009-2010 CHL (106 pts for  1.86 PPG)
2009-2010 U20 (12 pts for 2.0 PPG)

2010-2011 NHL (42 pts for .65 PPG)

2011-2012 NHL (53 pts for .87 PPG)

Taylor had a tremendous jr career but also while faring well in the NHL still took time to adjust to the style and speed of the game. His second year saw a increase in production like most stars do.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
2009-2010 CHL (65 pts for .97 PPG)
2009-2010 U17 (5pts for 1.0 PPG)

2010-2011 CHL (106 pts for 1.54 PPG)
2010-2011 U18 (7 pts for 1.4 PPG)

2011-2012 NHL (52 pts for .84 PPG)

2012-2013 NHL (24 pts for .6 PPG)
*Fought with bad shoulder all season that ended early

Ryan IMO would have fared much better if not nursing a injury all season long. He fought through but likely his second NHL season was one that will not be seen again.

As you can see when comparing seasons to some other great players Nail is right on course and to under estimate his production this season would be to under value him as a player. The following is a quick look at the comparison's of jr career hockey to 1st seasons in the NHL.

CHL Career PPG
Nail Yakupov 1.59 PPG
Steven Stamkos 1.59 PPG
John Tavares 1.75 PPG
Taylor Hall 1.53 PPG
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 1.26 PPG

In looking at the PPG totals here in CHL hockey it's very clear Yakupov is on par with these players that many consider to be great. It should also be considered that both Yakupov and Stamkos did not play on a loaded team in their final year yet still produced well.

NHL 1st Season PPG
Nail Yakupov .65 PPG

Steven Stamkos .58 PPG
John Tavares .66 PPG
Taylor Hall  .65 PPG
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins .84 PPG

In observing the 1st year stats of PPG in these same players career's it can not be denied that Yakupov while playing only a shortened season produced equal to his earlier comrades in the NHL and shows very well against extremely high competition. 

Lastly, let's look at the 2nd years PPG production from the same players alongside my prediction of Nail Yakupov for the 2013-2014 NHL Season

NHL 2nd Season PPG
Steven Stamkos  1.16 PPG

John Tavares  .85 PPG
Taylor Hall  .87 PPG
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins  .60 PPG
Nail Yakupov .80 PPG (My prediction)

Looking at how Nail has compared well in at the same growth curve in his career, I believe it is reasonable to say he likely will be comparable in his 2nd NHL season as well. While Stamkos hit it out of the park on his second season RNH struggled a little. Despite that, when comparing, it definitely gives a good case of optimism for Oilers fans alike this coming season.

In the meantime, Keep your stick on the Ice!

Linus Omark Returns to the Oilers

In a surprising twist, the Edmonton Oilers have signed Linus Omark to a one year deal.

Omark, if he makes the team, will slot in on the third line with Boyd Gordon and Ales Hemsky.

If not, he's on a two way contract and will play with the OKC Barons.

Interesting move Oilers. Interesting...

-WRITTEN BY SMOKIN' RAY BURNT-

YAKCITY - "Yakupov's Rise in Edmonton"

Thanks to OilersNation, a contest was run and incredible good photo shopping work was done last season to represent Nail Yakupov. They were all good but one that stood out was 'Yak City'. It did bring me to the question, 'how good is Nail Yakupov?' 'How high is his ceiling?' 'Can he improve on his defensive game any more without sacrificing his offensive output?' 'Is this guy a long term Oiler like many believe Hall is, or does he get traded in the next couple seasons for a key player to put this team over the top?' 'Can he he co-exist , sharing the stardom with the Oilers other elite players?' All these are valid questions and for right now, only guesses.

Like the previous 2 #1 selections before him in Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, people flooded the calls for Oilers jerseys to get their hands on a Nail Yakupov #64. I was no exception and the Nail Yakupov watch began in 'Oil Country'. The biggest debate was 'What position would he play? RW or LW where the need was?' NOTE: Nail Yakupov has tweeted he will remain with the #64 number rather then take #10 with Horcoff gone. 

It did not take Yakupov long to get into stride in 'Oil Country' with timely goals and goal celebrations. This guy was getting the whole NHL talking, including players, NHL player agents, GM's, players themselves, broadcasters and most of all fans. Were his celebrations appropriate? Were they tasteful or disgraceful? Lots of questions were being raised about his poor defensive game as well in spite of his scoring touch. Being a young 1st year NHL player right out of jr with only 1/4 of a season in the KHL the expectations were high. His season took some lows but also ended with some extreme highs bringing to light the question 'What is his ceiling offensively and defensively?'

Nail Yakupov is a dedicated, hard working player who has put submerged himself into our community with family support and aims to be the best player he can possibly be. 

No one can say Nail is shy and or non-fan friendly. Between his twitter account, his public appearances and easy access to get pictures, Yakupov has shown his followers he wants to give back and will make every effort to enjoy the life he has been afforded. Give Nail a tweet on twitter and if it is intriguing to him, maybe you will get a reply. He is like a rock star in Edmonton and back in Russia as well. He likes the attention and it doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

Nail is about to get started again here in Edmonton on his early season skating and drills with the other Oiler boys. He's easy to get along with, is a great personality, loves our city and the team, wants to be a star and most importantly to Oiler fans....He just wants to 'score goals'!

Maybe if your lucky and fortunate, you will find Nail at a local Starbucks near you. Hoping to see him there? Where can you catch a glimpse of Nail drinking a latte? Maybe spend some time in some Edmonton SW Starbucks and you will see him come through.

All I can say is, it is so refreshing to have a personality on the Oilers who likes to talk, likes to interact with the fans and does not come over as rehearsed in what he says. 

Next blog let's discuss more on the questions mentioned at the beginning of this post today. We will examine expectations, talk about predictions and discuss his game and where his future is headed.

In the meantime, keep your stick on the ice!