Sam Gagner/Robbie Schremp

[hockeylifer]

Hello poolsters:

Considering the current lineup of the Edmonton Oilers, do either of these two players have a chance of making the team? Which of these two do you like best? I have never been a Schremp fan but I have been wrong before. Am I wrong again, or does Gagner have a chance to play with Hemsky? There is talk of his visionary play. Is Gagner ready for the NHL? If Gagner could make the Oilers, is he worthy of a high pool draft pick?

Your thoughts?

[YearOfTheFish]

If I recall correctly Gagner is almost a year younger than Kane. There was talk of him staying in London and playing with Akim Aliu.

[wizworm]

Gagner is a few years away at the least. Schremp has a shot to crack the lineup this year but I think he\'d be better off with another full year in the AHL (and this time with a full afiliate!). Edmonton is weak at center though so maybe he\'ll get a look at the 2nd line center.

[doulos]

Schremp will at least have a chance this year, though so much of it is going to depend on training camp performances and early season success (or lack of). Cogliano is also going to be gunning for one of the centre spots on the team though frankly I don\'t see him getting it. I see an outside chance of Schremp/Nilsson combo line that plays buttery soft minutes sort of like Getzlaf/Perry were doing early on in their career.

Gagner would need to absolutely blow the doors off everyone in order to play on the team and while his upside is very high I can\'t see him making the team for at least another 2 years.

[SirKnight]

Living in Edmonton for half of last season gave me the sense that MacT may never give Schremp a chance in the big show. That was before Lowe brought in a bunch of d-men who can\'t play D, so maybe MacT will decide he needs Robbie\'s offense more than he needs defensively responsible forwards. If MacTavish doesn\'t lighten up on the kid though, Gagner will be an all star before Schremp gets a sniff.

[doulos]

Not sure if you heard the latest interview with Schremp, I believe it was from a few days ago. The link can be found here:

http://www.630ched.com/station/insid....cfm?REQ=82756

Basically Schremp himself admitted he wasn\'t ready to play at 19 years old and that his time in the AHL was good. But his attitude is great and he seems ready to really give it a good shot this year at the team. I think the Oilers have done a decent job in bringing him along.

[mrbugg]

He\'ll have the same opportunity in camp that every other prospect has, and as Lowe says in that interview, he\'s not adverse to using Sam if he proves to be ready. However, he\'s at least one more season away. He\'ll be \'the guy\' in London if Kane makes the Hawks, and that\'s invaluable experience.

As for his vision, yes, he\'s a tremendous playmaker. Since Hemsky isn\'t a pure sniper, I wouldn\'t expect those two to work as a great duo, but they\'d be fantasy monsters with a scoring LW. While I\'m an Oilers fan and would love to see them win, imagine a line of Tavares-Gagner-Hemsky.

[doulos]

As an Oiler fan myself this talk of Tavares is a double-edged sword. That means two more years of complete sucking as well as a big win in the lottery.

[gdon]

If Tavares wins his legal battle, he could be putting on a Ducks jersey inch: :sick: Wouldn\'t that put a dagger through the Penner deal, it would be bye bye K-Lowe.

[doulos]

Yeah that would certainly be a kick in the Oily gonads for sure.

I don\'t see it happening still though for many reasons that I don\'t need to go into here.