Taylor Hall Will Wear #4 For The Edmonton Oilers

Taylor Hall Will Wear #4 For The Edmonton Oilers!!!

Yours truly has been bitching and griping about why the Oilers, more importantly Kevin Lowe, haven't given Taylor Hall the elusive #4.

Well, it's happening. Unless someone is messing with my mind.

Expect a press conference tomorrow (?) as the Oilers (Lowe) present Hall with the #4 blue and orange jersey.

ON A SIDE NOTE: Our own Marsha (Scarlett) Boyd called the PC a couple of weeks ago. Atta girl Marsha!

Roster, Roster, Roster! The New Look Edmonton Oilers

Here is the Oilers roster before the big change. Steve Tambellini had a very busy summer and did quite a lot of work around here.
LAST YEAR OILERS ROSTER

He did some real wonderful stuff like getting rid of the three terrible Oilers from last year, Ethan Moreau, Patrick O'Sullivan and Robert Nilsson.

He managed to re-sign all the Restricted Free Agents that were needed to be signed, except Cogliano. From the reports that I have heard, Cogliano's camp has a contract and they, so far, have not signed. It's completely in their court now. Just sign the damn thing and have a great year to prove them, and us, wrong.

The Oilers still seem hell bent on running the team this year with a bunch of rookies and it's looking more and more like I am wrong. I said that Hall and either Pääjärvi or Eberle would be on the team. It does appear like all three have a legitimate chance of making the team. Training camp should be fun, especially if you throw in Linus Omark. That's four potential rookies on the roster. Can't wait to see what happens.

Tamby signed Martin Gerber for more than just insurance reasons. That is one hell of a deal and a two way contract to boot. Gerber will be called upon more than once this year so this one will end up being a great signing.

I suppose the biggest shocker was the Potulny/Pouliot walking. I was a little shocked that they weren't brought back. I really liked Potulny and I thought he played well enough last year to get another shot this year. I guess it wasn't meant to be.

I never really liked Pouliot, but still didn't think the Oilers would give up on him like they did. He did deserve a real solid chance that MacT never gave him.

Ryan Stone also left and went south (to Calgary). He also played well IMO, and once again, it will be strange to see an ex-Oiler in a fLames (I'm looking at you Glencross) uniform.

Mike Comrie was left to leave as well. The New Mrs. Duff has just signed with the Penguins so good luck to him.

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

So let's now take a look at the roster that the Oilers might start the year with.


FORWARDS

Dustin Penner          Sam Gagner        Ales Hemsky
Taylor Hall             Shawn Horcoff      Jordan Eberle
Magnus Pääjärvi  Andrew Cogliano    Gilbert Brule
Ryan Jones               Colin Fraser        Zack Stortini

SPARES: Steve MacIntyre, Linus Omark, Liam Reddox, Alex Giroux

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

DEFENCE

Ryan Whitney      Tom Gilbert
(Souray Trade)   Ladislav Smid
Jim Vandermeer  Kurtis Foster

SPARES: Jason Strudwick, Theo Peckham, Shawn Belle, Taylor Chorney, Jeff Petry, Johan Motin

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

GOALIES

Nikolai Khabibulin
Devan Dubnyk

OKC Barons:
Martin Gerber
Jeff Deslauriers

SPARES: Bryan Pitton (Stockton Thunder), Olivier Roy (Juniors)

-Written by Smokin' Ray-

Too Many Irons In The Fire

Well it's been a madhouse around here lately. We found a huge house for the same price that we were paying at the old place, so we moved. Life is better, yet very hectic right now.

The Young Stars tournament is approaching soon and I'm trying to get that all sorted out and ready to rock. We have TweetCasts planned and the LIVE video feeds of the games that will be on both, OilersJambalaya.com and OilFieldHockey.com. Should be exciting times so make sure you are here to see it all unfold.

We have Shawn as our eyes and ears there at the tournament. He will be at every game and he will be tweeting and posting pictures as it all happens. We thank Shawn up front for his help with this project.

I have also been working on some changes for OilersJambalaya.com. I can't really say what they are yet, but you should dig it. Trust me.

I have also been working on some changes for the NEW Flames Jambalaya. Dearen (pronounced Darren) has been killing it over there at FJ. He's a fantastic writer who's really coming into his own. We will have a few cross promotions with FJ once the season starts and the Oilers battle the Flames. Why not razz the Flames guy after a win right?

I have also been getting together a crew for over at NHL Jambalaya. We have a new guy starting soon and that site will once again be pushing NHL news and rumors. Stay tuned for that.

And... I did it again. Canucks Jambalaya. We will see where this takes us. HELP WANTED

If you know someone who may want to write about the NHL, Flames or Canucks, send them my way. We need more people.

If you haven't checked out the NEW Oil Terminal podcast that Eric and Scott have been doing, you should. They are doing a great job and over the next few weeks, they will have all the kinks worked out of it and it will be smooth sailing. Oh yeah, I am also working on some theme music for the podcast so stay tuned for that. It could be epic! Or not.

For those of you that come here to read our Beers & Jeers game recaps, we are going to once again change the format a little for this season. Less fluff and more meat. We will be asking the readers of OJ what they like and don't like in a recap and we want to make it better than ever. Stay tuned for that.

Well I am sure that I have missed a few of the things that I am currently working on, but it doesn't really matter. OILERS HOCKEY is about to start! WOOOOOOOOO!!!!

OilersJambalaya.com is going to raise the bar this year, we hope you enjoy it with us. Thanks for being a loyal reader here. We love you for it!

-Written by Smokin' Ray-

The Three Kids Amaze The World

Now by watching this, if you are an Oilers fan, how can you NOT be excited for the season to start? We are very, very lucky to be able to witness what these three kids will do for this team in the future. GOILERS!

From One Ben To The Other / Stockton Thunder Change Equipment Managers / #StkThunder

Laing to AHL - Calkins Named Successor

09/01/2010 1:28 PM -

Ben Laing (left), who is taking a post in the American Hockey League, helps goaltender Bryan Pitton during Game 3 of the 2010 National Conference Final. (photo by George Steckler)

Laing was recently named 2009-10 ECHL Equipment Manager of the Year; Calkins brings American Hockey League and college experience

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STOCKTON, Calif. - The Stockton Thunder, proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers and San Jose Sharks, and head coach Matt Thomas announced today that Ben Laing has been named head equipment manager for the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League, and Ben Calkins has been named new head equipment manager of the Thunder.

Calkins, 23, succeeds Laing and is the third equipment manager in Thunder history, joining the club after serving SUNY Plattsburgh (NCAA) as Student Equipment Manager for five seasons (2005-10).

"Ben Laing's promotion is very well deserved and it embodies what our league is all about in regards to career advancement," said Thomas. "He is one of the youngest, top notch equipment managers in our game and has a bright future ahead of him. We're looking forward to Ben Calkins' contributions to our hockey staff. He comes highly recommended from close contacts in the NHL circle and his experience at numerous levels will be valuable in making a seamless transition."

Ben Calkins

The native of Webster, N.Y. will handle management of all day-to-day equipment-related duties of the Thunder dressing room, including maintenance and inventory preservation of team supplies while assisting the hockey operations department with administrative duties and supervision of Thunder game day equipment staff.

Calkins, who has served at both the professional and college level, also garnered experience in the American Hockey League as an Equipment Assistant for the Rochester Americans for seven years (1998-2005).

He was a double-major at SUNY Plattsburgh, receiving his Bachelor of Science degrees in Business and Supply Chain Management in May 2010.

Laing, 27, was named Thunder head equipment manager on Aug. 27, 2009 and earned the ECHL Equipment Manager of the Year award last week on Aug. 6 after completing his second year of service at the professional level, originally breaking into the ECHL with Fresno in 2008-09.

He will administer all equipment related duties for Portland and assist their NHL affiliate, the Buffalo Sabres, with equipment services during the NHL training camp period.

"I would like to thank the entire Stockton Thunder organization for an amazing year," said Laing. "I will never forget the time I spent here. Matt Thomas deserves many thanks for giving me the opportunity to serve on his staff. Stockton is a truly a first class organization and I wish everyone the best in the future."

"I would like to thank Dan Chapman, Matt Thomas, Matt O'Dette and the Thunder organization for granting the opportunity for me to take the next step in my career," said Calkins. "It's an honor to follow in Ben Laing's footsteps and his hard work is an inspiration for the example he set. I'm looking forward to helping serve a first rate team like the Thunder, that has embraced the support of its community and strives to be competitive every year."

OPENING NIGHT AND TICKET INFORMATION

Opening Night is Friday, Oct. 15, when the Thunder opens the 2010-11 regular season at home against the Ontario Reign, starting at 7:30 p.m. at Stockton Arena.

The Thunder are freezing Season Ticket Prices for the 2010-11 season, which are on sale now can be purchased by calling (209) 373-1500 or by visiting http://www.stocktonthunder.com/. Thunder Season Ticket Holders enjoy the highest-demanded seating locations in Stockton Arena, preferred parking options, benefits including admission to Season Ticket Holder-only events, discount opportunities on Thunder merchandise, a free e-newsletter, an exclusive gift, admission to the first two rounds of the Kelly Cup Playoffs and more. Information on individual and group tickets will be announced soon.

A two-time recipient of the ECHL "Award of Excellence," 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 and mini-plans 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/.

-Written by the Stockton Thunder-