Oiler Evaluations and Development

Starting tomorrow August 1st/2012, I will be rolling out a new Oiler prospect each day. The idea is not to break down and compare each player to player or even rank the top 20 or 25 players in the system. The idea is to take a closer look at each player in the system and consider if they are a legitimate Prospect or are Suspect. 


Let's be honest, the Oilers have players in the system who fill some roles and will never see the light of day in the NHL. Sure they can hold out hope for a chance, and you can never say never but c'mon. Any player can have a 1 year breakout season and then disappear into the MIST. Players who make it to the NHL are players who continually show the growing curve. Rob Schremp is one of those examples. I loved Schremp, but his progress slowed coming out of Jr's and he was never able to gain the speed on the ice that was needed.


Within the Oilers development system, I bet there are maybe 8 players who will ever even play more then a half a season in the NHL. In fact, that is even probably high. Just consider that the Oilers have been getting high draft picks for years, what would others teams %'s be?


So starting tomorrow, stay tuned in for a daily look in the month of August as I examine players in the Oilers system and evaluate if they are a PROSPECT or SUSPECT?

For Oiler prospect news and the 2013 or 2014 NHL draft watch, go to

 www.twitter.com/revingev

Prospect or Suspect? COMING in AUGUST

Last year I made my debut here at Oilers Jambalaya in August with a opening series called Prospect or Suspect?. I walked through the prospects within the system of the Edmonton Oilers and evaluated and gave my take on their potential future with the organization.

This August I will once again put out such blogs however at the same time I will re-visit some of my evaluations of the players I spoke of last year and see just where they are today. How accurate was I? I can't really say, cause I have not re-visited those posts. 

For some of you hockey fans, this may not be a series of posts you have any interest in, for others you like to follow and see the development of players within the organization. There is a lot of players so it will most likely be broken down into a FORWARD series, DEFENCEMEN series and a GOALIE series of blogs.

At the beginning of September I will also be releasing my 

REVS 2013 TOP 15 NHL PROSPECTS list for the first time. Their is a group of 7 players that I am confident in, and 4 who I feel strong about but then there is about 6-8 other players to place in that mix. Last year, of the 15 players selected in the 2012 NHL Draft I had 12 in my REVS 2012 TOP 15 NHL PROSPECTS list released the beginning of October 2011. It will be hard to duplicate that one or improve on.

Stay tuned for more prospect information as the summer presses on.

Go Oilers! Go Barons! Go Thunder!

For Oiler prospect news and the 2013 or 2014 NHL draft watch, go to

 www.twitter.com/revingev

Mid-Summer Thoughts

Well, it’s the middle of summer, and hockey fans are clamouring for anything about hockey. Myself, I’ve been on Youtube searching up old WHA videos, which will probably explain why I am writing this article today.

I have come to the conclusion that the Edmonton Oilers need to honor their past history from the former WHA more than they have, as they are the final WHA franchise remaining active. This season also marks the 40^th Anniversary of the founding of the World Hockey Association, which was on June 10^th, 1971.

The franchise is one of the Charter Franchises of the WHA, beginning operations as the Alberta Oilers in 1972. They went on to become one of the most prominent and stable franchises in the league, and attracted many fans to their games throughout the years. They signed stars such as Jacques Plante, Al Hamilton, Jim Harrison, Ron Chipperfield and more. They also have the distinct prestige of having played the first and last games ever played in the WHA. The Oilers also scored the first and last goals in WHA history as well. This team has so much history and prestige behind it, that it is kinda puzzling why they don’t flaunt it a bit more.

So, how could they honor that part of their history? Well, here are some suggestions of mine, feel free to make your own suggestions at the bottom of this page. I am eager to hear them.

One would be to introduce (or re-introduce) this jersey as an alternate;

This was the first jersey ever worn by the Oilers, which was in the first game played in the WHA, in Ottawa, where they defeated the Ottawa Nationals 7-4 on October  11^th, 1972. The Oilers’ Rob Anderson scored the first goal in WHA history in that game. I personally think that this jersey is a classic and should be worn once in a while by the club.

Another option would be to retire Jacques Plante’s #30 which he wore during his tenure with the Oilers. I cannot understand why they haven’t done this yet. Plante is a legend to hockey and its fans, and his contributions to the Oilers’ legacy MUST be recognized. To me, it almost feels like Plante is being snubbed by the Edmonton Oilers organization. His number deserves to be in the rafters of Rexall Place.

A third option could be to put the WHA logo on the ice of Rexall Place or on the shoulder of the Edmonton Oilers’ jerseys, with a script reading “40^th Anniversary” across the top or bottom of the logo.

   Whatever the case, it seems to me that the Edmonton Oilers should call more attention to their WHA history, as without the World Hockey Association, Edmonton would not have the Oilers, and would not have the reputation as the City of Champions. Let’s give the WHA and the Oilers’ the credit and the accolades they so deservingly ought to have.


By Paul Neumann

The Ridiculousness Of Hockey Insiders

Yesterday it was reported by a couple anonymous hockey insiders that Oilers forward Sam Gagner had signed a 4 year deal worth $13 million.

Bob Stauffer went on record saying that report was false. I trust Bob so I'll go out on a limb and say the so called insiders are wrong.

Ok. I didn't need Bob to tell me those guys are wrong. Those types of people don't fall far from the Eklund tree.

Where do they get their made up information? Its easy apparently. POOF! and idea is born and said on twitter. Next thing you know 10,000 gullible people are either retweeting it or repeating it as their own info.

I love twitter for the most part, but for this reason alone, I hate it. Too much false info gets passed around as the truth. It's pathetic.

While I won't tell you what douchebag(s) spreads this kind of crap (no need to gain them more followers), I will tell you I don't pass on info unless it's from a good source like Stauffer, Jason Gregor or others close to the Oilers.

The insanity of anonymous insiders will continue to grow as long as people keep repeating what they say.

I for one, hate them.

You can however trust www.OilersJambalaya.com

No bullshit from us. GOILERS!!!

-WRITTEN BY SMOKIN' RAY-

The Waiting Game Sucks...

As we all know, the Oilers still have to try and swing a few deals to get some better upgrades on players. Obvious 1st choice is to get another top 4 defenceman. Given the market, it's shouldn't be that hard to pull off. Or is it?

What's Steve Tambellini waiting for? Probably a sweet deal. I'm sure he has a few irons in the fire, but all of Oil Country is starting to get impatient.

Realistically though, I say what's the rush? Summer has just begun. Let's let the man do his thing and by August We should see a deal possibly done.

But if he hasn't by then, HURRY THE HELL UP TAMBY!!!

-WRITTEN BY SMOKIN' RAY BURNT-