Andy Sutton Retires

After 15 solid years in the NHL, Edmonton Oilers defenceman Andy Sutton retires. 

Not a big surprise for anyone after his knee injury, but still sad to see the guy go. 

We wish him luck in the future. 

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WRITTEN BY SMOKIN' RAY BURNT- 

OilersJambalaya.com has joined Tout!

As always, we here at OilersJambalaya.com like to push the technological envelope. We were the first Oilogosphere blog to use Cover It Live as a LIVE TweetCast module and now we are breaking the barriers once again as we join Tout. 

Tout is very similar to Twitter and Instagram. You post updates much like them, except on Tout, it's a 15 second video. 

We plan on using Tout to get the "word" out quicker to our Oilers fans. Something big happens, we will use Tout and Twitter together to let you know what's going on. 

We've tried several different forms off social media, we hope you enjoy this one as much as we do. 

Join Tout and search for "OilersJambalaya". We want to hear from you. 

http://www.tout.com/u/oilersjambalaya 

-WRITTEN BY SMOKIN' RAY BURNT-

The Edmonton Oilers vs Dallas Stars in OKC

There has been significant chatter over the last few days about the Oklahoma City Barons hosting a preseason NHL game between the Oilers and the Stars. 

An anonymous tweeter @OilersRumors has came out and said this morning that the word out of the Oilers office is that this is going to happen. Multiple reports have also surfaced around OKC and all signs are pointing to this being a reality. 

Great news for the people of OKC. They had a taste of the Oilers at the start of this year by hosting Hall and Co. for the start of the AHL season. It will be nice for those players to go back to a city that treated them well and say thank you. 

Great news Oklahoma City! You deserve it. 

-WRITTEN BY SMOKIN' RAY BURNT-

REVS 2013 NHL DRAFT PROSPECTS - UPDATED May 19/2013

For the past 5 years, I have compiled my NHL Draft prospects rankings in late September of each year. I usually update in early February and once again at the end of the memorial cup. Basically before the CHL starts and upon the end of the CHL Memorial Cup. Because of the length of the CHL season all the European prospects have already finished as well and we have a chance to see players possibly shine in the biggest games on the Jr planet. This definitely includes the Memorial Cup and even some Jr players who may have jumped up to play with the men in their perspective leagues. i.e.: SEL and or KHL.

I have had some comments (all fairly assessed) wondering about my TOP 15 NHL Draft Prospects. Of course if looking quickly at my list and comparing it to some of the top end lists out there would be inaccurate judgement of my rankings and unfair in comparison. The rankings people are looking at today are all UPDATED versions and not taken from the rankings of those people last September 2012.

With my draft rankings they are based on the 'best player available' from my perspective. This is NOT a MOCK draft of who will be picked by what team. It is not based on who the best players will be in 5 years. It is based on BPA this draft. I have removed 3 of my players from my September 2012 original rankings completely out of the top 15 and moved 3 new players in.


Instead of waiting till the end of the Memorial Cup, I have decided to release my year ending REVS 2013 NHL DRAFT PROSPECTS today.

REVS 2013 NHL DRAFT PROSPECTS:

1. Nathan Mackinnon

2. Seth Jones

3.Jonathan Drouin 

4. Aleksander Barkov

5. Valeri Nichushkin

6. Darnell Nurse

7.  Sean Monahan

8.  Elias Lindholm

9.  Hunter Shinkaruk

10.  Nikita Zadorov

11.  Max Domi

12.  Curtis Lazar

13. Frederik Gauthier

15. Ryan Pulock

NOTES on some players.....

JONATHAN DROUIN;

Very few rankings had Jonathan Drouin even in their Top 10 last September 2012. While acknowledging his offence they felt he was still too small of a player. Throughout the year and especially after the World Jr's, almost every ranking had started putting him Top 5. In fact before November 2012 very few people knew who Drouin was other then those who follow lots of jr hockey. The only reason Drouin does not rank higher for me is due to his size. 

SETH JONES;

While I do believe Seth Jones is a incredible player, he is almost a year older then Nathan MacKinnon. (11 months older) and has been playing at a very large size against smaller players for some time. While defence is good and offence is OK, it is not great. Playing on a team like Portland, with his size and vision Seth Jones should against smaller players have scored at least a point per game as a defencemen to make him worthy of a #1 OV Draft Pick.

NATHAN MacKINNON;

Nathan MacKinnon , playing against bigger players (he entered the CHL at 5'10 170 lbs) and slowly grew into his frame but still is small in NHL size. Nathan (with the exception of the World Jr tourney) has excelled at every level of hockey and is showing people at the Memorial Cup why he was ranked #1 for so long. His drive, skill, speed and hockey IQ is the total package. Even if MacKinnon goes 2nd at the NHL Draft, he IMO will still prove to have been the best player out of this years crop of players.

MAX DOMI;

Max is putting on quite a push to really jump the rankings himself. Like Drouin few last September 2012 even had him ranked so high but this guy is a bull in a china shop, is strong on his skates like Crosby and has some nice elite skill. His size is what will keep him out of the top 8.

CURTIS LAZAR;

Yes, I did have him ranked higher and if not for being put up as a checking center against other teams top lines Lazar would have produced much more. This guys two-way play is exceptional and some people IMO are underrating him and he may even turn out to be a Top 10 pick when all is said and done on draft day. This player is as close as you get to a 'sure thing' outside the top 3 of even draft. I have dropped him some for his lack of offence but could not see how I could drop him any lower.

Feel free to comment on my final Top 15 Draft rankings, that's the excitement of this time of year. No one is wrong or right until draft day and then it takes 5 years to really see what kind of player they turn into. I really do believe this year the top 20 players selected will be pretty high end players. I don't feel it's as deep as draft as some will say but there is some nice talent in the 8-15 range.

Before Draft day, I will be posting a MOCK draft of who I believe will be selected and in what order but for now, let's sit back and enjoy the NEXT ONES play this game at the memorial cup while the top 3 ranked players in the world compete for the highest claim to fame in Jr hockey....The Memorial Cup!

REVS 2013 NHL DRAFT PROSPECTS #12. Max Domi

REVS 2013 NHL DRAFT PROSPECTS:

1. Nathan Mackinnon

2. Seth Jones

3. Sean Monahan

4. Aleksander Barkov

5. Hunter Shinkaruk

6. Curtis Lazar

7.  Jonathan Drouin

8.  Ryan Pulock

9.  Elias Lindholm

10.  Valeri Nichushkin

11.  Anthony Duclair

12.  Max Domi

13.  J.T Compher

14.  Josh Morrissey,

15.   Adam Erne

MAX DOMI

At 5'10 and 194 lbs, Max is not as small a player as some would think. Son of the famous father who used his hands to hit rather then score, Max is still a strong character on the ice in fighting, going to the corners and fighting for his space on the ice. Few times (other then a defencemen with great reach due to height and long arms) will the other team be able to stand him up or knock Max off the puck. Dale Hunter has described Domi's skating to be much like that of Crosby (elite skating company). Is known for incredible grit and work ethic. For those who say he is racking up easy points it should be noted he has the top checkers from other teams playing up against him every game and he still continues to score and win games for his team. IMO, Max will be a excellent pro player at the NHL level.

	GP	G	A	TP	PPG	PIM	+/-		GP	G	A	TP	PPG	PIM	+/-
	Regular Season							Postseason
CWG:	6	1	3	4	0.67	4	0	|
GTMMHL:	30	27	30	57	1.90	-	0	|
JWC-18:	5	3	4	7	1.40	2	0	|
M-Cup:	4	1	2	3	0.75	8	0	|
OHL:	126	60	76	136	1.08	119	46	|	36	14	22	36	1.00	34	13
OHL Cup:	4	2	3	5	1.25	10	0	|	3	3	3	6	2.00	6	0
OJHL:	2	1	1	2	1.00	0	-	|
WHC-17:	6	3	4	7	1.17	14	0	|