Fernando Pisani, Masterton Fail

Today the Masterton trophy nominee's were released today. The three guys nominated were Kurtis Foster, Jed Ortmeyer, and Jose Theodore.

HERE ARE ALL THIS SEASON'S NOMINEE'S

Anaheim: Teemu Selanne

Atlanta: Jim Slater

Boston: Mark Recchi

Buffalo: Ryan Miller

Calgary: Craig Conroy

Carolina: Rod Brind’Amour

Chicago: Brent Sopel

Colorado: Matt Hendricks
Columbus: Jared Boll

Dallas: Mike Modano

Detroit: Tomas Holmstrom

Edmonton: Jason Strudwick

Florida: Bryan Allen

Los Angeles: Brad Richardson

Minnesota: Guillaume Latendresse

Montreal: Jaroslav Halak

Nashville: Joel Ward
New Jersey: Patrik Elias
NY Islanders: Jack Hillen

NY Rangers: Chris Drury

Ottawa: Matt Carkner

Philadelphia: Mike Leighton

Phoenix: Vernon Fiddler
Pittsburgh: Bill Guerin
San Jose: Jed Ortmeyer
St. Louis: Erik Johnson
Tampa Bay: Kurtis Foster
Toronto: Jonas Gustavsson
Vancouver: Henrik Sedin
Washington: Jose Theodore

Now I will never knock those three guys for being nominated, they all deserve the recognition. Here are their stories.

I will however knock the Edmonton Oilers nominee choice -- not the guy, but the choice itself -- Jason Strudwick. Yeah, the guy is a great guy to be around and he's not an NHL regular (due to lack of skill) so he has shown perseverance and dedication. Jason also does a great job in the community.

The definition of the Bill Masterton trophy is, "it's awarded annually to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey."

By that definition, it does describe Strudwick like I said in the two paragraphs up above, but it describes Fernando Pisani even more.

Pisani has been suffering from a disease called Ulcerative Colitis since August 2007 and it's very deadly. In fact, Pisani was near death when it first hit him. He has since recovered enough and has came back to the NHL and continues to play today. It's very amazing that Pisani is back playing. There was a point in time where he might not have ever played again. But he fought and did a great job at recovering.

Pisani had this to say about his Ulcerative Colitis, "It's not one of those illnesses that a lot of people enjoy talking about and it's obviously a private matter, but at the same time, so many people have come up to me and said I have a brother, sister or uncle or aunt that has been affected by this, and hasn't really been able to come out and say anything because they just felt embarrassed about it until my situation came up."

Pisani's situation has created a lot of awareness for Colitis. His story has been terrible for him, yet good for the public awareness. Fernando Pisani is a hero. A modest hero, but still a hero.

Maybe since Pisani was nominated last year, that took him out of the running this year? I don't know. All I do know is Pisani would have been my choice every year until he won the Masterton trophy.

Since it appears that Pisani most likely won't be back next season with the Oilers (or maybe the NHL period), this year just might be his last chance at this award. It's a shame that Fernando wasn't a winner of the Bill Masterton award. He is that award.

Here is a more in depth look at what Ulcerative Colitis is all about.

-Smokin' Ray-

Joey Moss And The Edmonton Oilers

According to a report by Richard Liebrecht at the Edmonton Sun today, Joey Moss will always have a job with the Edmonton Oilers hockey club.  It's been reported that Joey has a lifetime contract (thanks Wayne) and will not be fired.

With Lyle “Sparky” Kulchisky now gone (fired), it was a question mark on what will happen to Joey. According to Allan Watt, Joey's routine will not be altered. He also says that there are others in the dressing room that has worked with Joe and he will be OK.

Maybe I'm mistaken, but didn't they fire all the guys that have worked with Joey? Isn't he essentially alone now?

I've met Joey and let me tell you, meeting him was no different than meeting Ales Hemsky. He's a really nice guy and a (unsung) superstar and he does a great job. I really have a special spot for Joey and I hope with all the changes in the Oilers organization, Joey really isn't affected much at all.

Don't BS us Oilers. Take care of that guy.

Read it all here at the Edmonton Sun.

-Smokin' Ray-

Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation Spends 65% of All Money Raised

While reading the usual NHL/Oilers reading material today, I came across this nice little gem by the Star.com. It appears like the Oilers Community Foundation spends more than the average person would think.

Here is a few quotes from the article, "The Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation shows the highest fundraising costs among Canadian NHL club foundations."

"It spent 65 per cent of its revenues on internal costs last year – down from 80 per cent in 2008."

"That compares to 17 per cent reported by the Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation, the lowest figure among the country’s six NHL club foundations"

"The federal Charities Directorate, which regulates the country’s 83,000 registered charities, says fundraising of more than 35 per cent of revenues triggers an examination “to determine if there is a trend of high fundraising costs."

"The Star’s analysis shows five of the six NHL team charity foundations exceed that threshold. All continue to operate without penalty."

"A gala fundraiser held by the (Vancouver) Canucks For Kids foundation raised $300,000 for the charity’s work with children in need last year, says executive director Debbie Butt.  But that’s only after spending $200,000 to stage the event."

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That basically means that the EOCF spends 65% of all monies raised to produce more money. (ie: Gala setups, Hall rentals, Food, etc.) Only 35% of the fans and charitable sponsors money that's raised actually goes back into the programs the EOCF has set up.

The stunning fact in the second sentence of the quotes, is the fact the EOCF spent approx 80% of all monies raised in 2008. Wow! That's a lot of cash that's needed in the community.

So, wouldn't it beneficial for the EOCF to get some pointers on how to be more cost efficient? Maybe then, the proper monies could be put back in the proper hands, the kids.

Assuming this article is indeed correct, this can only be yet another public media black eye for all the Foundations involved.

-Smokin' Ray-

Stockton Thunder Advance To The National Conference Finals / Starting Friday, April 30/10

Thunder, Idaho Face-off in Conference Finals

04/24/2010 10:10 PM - Kelly Cup Playoff packages, individual tickets on sale beginning with game 3

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STOCKTON, Calif. - The Stockton Thunder has advanced to the National Conference Finals for the first time in club history and will open the third round of the 2010 Kelly Cup Playoffs against the first seed Idaho Steelheads in a best-of-seven series (2-3-2 format), beginning with Game 1 on Friday, Apr. 30 at 6:05 p.m. from Qwest Arena in Boise.

Round-by-round ticket packages for the 2010 Kelly Cup Playoffs are now on sale and can be purchased by calling the Stockton Thunder at (209) 373-1500. Individual playoff tickets for all home games at Stockton Arena are on sale and available in person at the Stockton Arena Alpine Meats ticket office, by phone at (209) 373-1700 or online at http://www.stocktontickets.com/

The Thunder, the #6 seed in the National Conference, finished 2-9-1 this season against the Steelheads (winning two of the last three of the head-to-head series, Dec.31-Jan. 2) and it is the first time both teams will meet in the Kelly Cup Playoffs since 2007, when Idaho defeated the Thunder, 4-2 in the National Conference Quarterfinals.

Stockton is looking to advance to the Kelly Cup Finals for the first time in club history, while Idaho is aiming to earn a finals berth for the third time in six seasons (2004, 2007). Listed below is the head-to-head schedule, following a "2-3-2" format:

STOCKTON VS. IDAHO - NATIONAL CONFERENCE FINALS
Game 1: Stockton at Idaho - Friday, Apr. 30 - 6:05 p.m. (Qwest Arena)
Game 2: Stockton at Idaho - Saturday, May 1 - 6:05 p.m. (Qwest Arena)
Game 3: Idaho at Stockton - Wednesday, May 5 - 7:00 p.m. (Stockton Arena)
Game 4: Idaho at Stockton - Friday, May 7 - 7:30 p.m. (Stockton Arena)
Game 5: Idaho at Stockton - Saturday, May 8 - 7:30 p.m. (Stockton Arena) *
Game 6: Stockton at Idaho - Tuesday, May 11 - 6:05 p.m. (Qwest Arena) *
Game 7: Stockton at Idaho - Wednesday, May 12 - 6:05 p.m. (Qwest Arena) *
* If necessary

Kelly Cup Playoff tickets start as low as $9 per seat and range to $28 (Comcast Club).

Fans wishing to get priority seating on playoff tickets can do so by placing a deposit on new Thunder season tickets for the 2010-11 season.

The proud ECHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League and Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League, the Thunder was voted "Best Local Sports Team" by readers of the San Joaquin Magazine, led the ECHL in attendance for four consecutive seasons and drew over 200,000 fans for the fifth consecutive season in 2009-10. Season tickets for 2010-11 are on sale now. For more information about tickets, merchandise, or other inquiries contact the Stockton Thunder offices at (209) 373-1500 or visit http://www.stocktonthunder.com/.

Re-posted with permission by the Stockton Thunder

Oilers Jambalaya Says Thank You To The Readers

I'd like to take this time to thank all the readers that enjoy this site and the people that harass me on a daily basis. We suffered through a tough year together and I'd like to think we were a good support group. If this isn't therapy, I don't know what is.

So thank you readers, I not only appreciate you stopping by to read what we have written, but I feel privileged that you actually do read our stuff. Thanks.

I want to thank the following people that have helped me with writing here at Oilers Jambalaya this season.

Paq Twinn, Graham Martin, Scarlett, Oil Fan Nick, and Todd at NHLTalk202. I thank them and I appreciate their help, it would be hard to do this without you.

I want to take the time to say thanks to the new guy around here. Scott at OilFieldHockey.com has been a nice addition to OJ. We have formed a nice partnership and it's going to be very exciting next season as Scott will be at the new Oklahoma City AHL team (so far unnamed) home games. He will be our in house eyes and ears for all things OKC. So thanks Scott for joining forces with us.

I also want to thank the Springfield Falcons and the Stockton Thunder for partnering up with Oilers Jambalaya and allowing me to re-post their material this season. I feel as it improved this site and I hope you all did too.

I want to send a big thank you to Mr. David Staples from the Edmonton Journal's Cult Of Hockey blog. Every time he asked me to contribute player grades I jumped at it. Not only did it force me to be creative, but it produced more criticism for me to deal with and I felt that I grew as a writer because of it. I also want to thank David for being a nice guy. He's been good to me and I appreciate it. Thanks David.

I especially want to thank my family for putting up with my obsession called Oilers Jambalaya. Everyday my wife puts up with my "just 5 more seconds" speech and I thank her for not punching me in the face. My family means the most to me in the world and I just love the fact that they are cool with me just being me, Oiler nuts!

THANK YOU EVERYBODY!!!

Next season is going to be great...