Edmonton Oilers

[donions]

Goodbye Liam! Hartikainen's strong play and superb effort made Reddox expendable. I also think guys like Ryan O'Marra and Anton Lander are higher on the depth chart then Reddox and they weren't afraid to let him know. Freeing him up to move on elsewhere.

Anyways...I am so excited for this years draft. I know I stated earlier in this thread during the season, that Larsson was the guy for Edmonton, but I have made a complete 180. I'm not just on the Nugent-Hopkins bandwagon, i'm driving the damn thing!
A very special player with the kind of skill and intelligence you see from a 17year old maybe once in a generation. I've seen all kinds of comparisons and upside predictions on these forums, ranging from Mike Ribeiro and Jere Lehtinen, to Pavel Datsyuk and Joe Sakic. So there clearly is a bit of mystery surrounding this player.
Living in Red Deer i've prolly got to see him more than anyone on these forums, that does make me a little biased but you would all be praising him too if you were in my shoes.

"But hes too small!" - uhh how many people here were filled out before they could buy a beer? He's already 6 feet tall, if he adds some muscle and grows in the next 16months he'll enter the NHL 6'1 180+ pounds and still a teenager. Dont expect Eric Lindros 2.0, he uses skill, agility and speed to create chances.


"But we need defense!" - And we need a #1 center, and we need a goalie, and we need PK'ers, and we need PP help, and we need face-off help, etc....everyone knows dmen take longer to develop in most cases, and there is so many examples in recent years of 2nd/3rd round selected dmen emerging into stars(Keith, Yandle, Letang, Green, Weber), and just as many highly touted 1st round picks that have yet to live up to the hype.(Johnson's, Alzner, Hickey, Bogosian, Schenn). Im certainly not writing these guys off as busts, but i'm confident in the Oilers scouts ability to find some NHL caliber dman outside of the 1st overall pick. Take the guy who I feel is a sure fire bet to be a great offensive player, rather then the steady dman who may or may not emerge into a #1.

"We already have Gagner, whos the same type of player" - Same type of player? yes. Same caliber of player? No. Dont let mistakes from 5 years ago effect your decision making now.

Let me also state moving forward he will be known simply as, "The Nuge", now and then perhaps "Nugy".
Here's a highlight vid for your viewing pleasure. It isnt great quality and doesnt showcase all he has to offer, but it's hard to get good WHL coverage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap8C8zLklcw&feature=fvst

[ericdaoust]

I don't think size is an issue with Nugent-Hopkins. I've actually noticed that players who are "heavier" on draft day tend to have less of a ceiling. Examples of such guys that had trouble raising their game after being drafted are Guillaume Latendresse, Steve Bernier and Anthony Stewart.

A guy that is less heavy but already plays at a high level has a chance of elevating his game in a lot of ways once they add some bulk. It's not about where they are today, it's about where they are going to be later.

[Jouko-Pouko]

RNH will probably need another season in the juniors. Not too many players have gone 1st overall without playing in the NHL right after it. Erik Johnson did it in '06 (Ovechkin in '04 doesn't count) and before that the previous one I was able to find was Chris Phillips in '96. So, that's two players in the last 15 years.

I still believe RNH will go 1st overall but that was just something I just realized. It's something to think about.

[ericdaoust]

RNH will probably need another season in the juniors. Not too many players have gone 1st overall without playing in the NHL right after it. Erik Johnson did it in '06 (Ovechkin in '04 doesn't count) and before that the previous one I was able to find was Chris Phillips in '96. So, that's two players in the last 15 years.

I still believe RNH will go 1st overall but that was just something I just realized. It's something to think about.

I don't think it should influence who goes #1. Teams don't draft to fix their weaknesses in one year. It's a multi-year investment. If a GM would be influenced by a factor like that it's a huge weakness IMO.

[Jouko-Pouko]

I don't think it should influence who goes #1. Teams don't draft to fix their weaknesses in one year. It's a multi-year investment. If a GM would be influenced by a factor like that it's a huge weakness IMO.

I know it shouldn't influence. It's just amazing how few players have not played in the NHL right after going 1st overall.

But it adds some pressure to the team. That 1st overall player is hyped so much it's crazy. All the Oilers fans are looking for improvement and they want to see some of it now.

Could you imagine Hall being sent back to juniors after the hype he got last year? He was single-handedly supposed to drag the Oilers to the playoffs. If he was sent back, everyone would have questioned if it was the right choice or not and if the GM and scouting staff should be fired.

All I'm saying is that 1st overall draft pick brings a lot of pressure and that fact could be in the back of their minds.

[dyzfunctioned]

I'm on the RNH bandwagon now as well, I've vacated the Larsson one.

However, I really think Couturier is the definition of our #1 need as an organization right now. Would absolutely love if we could get him somehow, though it won't happen.

[donions]

Brief update from combine. The Nuge weighed in at 177pnds, which is a pretty solid improvement considering he was around 165 when Red Deer's season ended. He faired pretty well in the weight lifting events and seems committed to being NHL ready by September.

Here's a brief breakdown of the combine results.
http://oilers.nhl.com/club/news.htm?...id=DL|EDM|home

I dont know how much stock management puts into these events, but I'm sure a few guys have improved there draft day ranking in a lot of GM's eyes; Travis Ewanyk(Oil Kings), Ty Rattie(Portland), Jamie Oleksiak(Giant American) are a few examples.

[sparrowtrini]

Id love to hear what all you Oiler fans think about AHemsky for this season....traded? Big year(contract year)

[Carcillo]

Here's Oilers' newest acquisition in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xy_HI...layer_embedded

[tgraveline]

Great video. Gave me a good laugh. Wish there was someone who could hit like that. Then again, the league would have its best players deplete rapidly.

[dyzfunctioned]

Big day tomorrow! C'mon Tamby!

Sadly I might miss a good chunk of the first round

[donions]

Id love to hear what all you Oiler fans think about AHemsky for this season....traded? Big year(contract year)

I got high hopes for Hemmer this season. Then again, i've said that for about 5 seasons straight. I still believe in him tho, enough to use a keeper spot on him in my pool.

Obviously the main concern is those shoulders of his, he's had surgery on each of them in the last 2 years. As surprising as it may sound tho, that may turn out to be a positive for Hemmer.

Was listening to a Steve Tambelinni interview 2 nights ago and he opened up about Hemsky, saying that for the last 3-4 seasons he's been dealing with constant pain and soreness in his shoulders and he knew eventually surgery would be required. Since the 2 surgeries he's worked incredibly hard off the ice with a personal trainer to re-build his body and he's expecting to start next season in the best shape of his life. There will still be the constant threat of him getting crushed and having another concussion, but the shoulder issues should be behind him(knock on wood).
Hemsky's stated publicly numerous times in the past that he wants to be part of the leadership core in Edm and lead this team back to the playoffs, so i expect him to be more motivated then he's ever been, considering it could be his last shot in an Oil uni. I certainly expect him to start the year in Edm, whether or not he finishes it there will depend on factors i'm not privy to(whether he still wants to be there?/Oilers want him?)

He'll be surrounded by more offensive talent then he's ever had before, and assuming he stays healthy(65+games), I dont see any reason why he wont continue with his point per game pace. Which could amount to a career season.

[donions]

Big day tomorrow! C'mon Tamby!

Sadly I might miss a good chunk of the first round

Im doing my best to ignore what's in store for tomorrow. I figure time will go by faster if I avoid thinking about it. Im very nervous!

[dyzfunctioned]

Im doing my best to ignore what's in store for tomorrow. I figure time will go by faster if I avoid thinking about it. Im very nervous!

I think we'll do good. At least the 1st overall can't turn out bad. Haha.

Wish I could watch it all though...

[donions]

I think we'll do good. At least the 1st overall can't turn out bad. Haha.

It can for me. I cant recall any draft in my life where I was more concerned with my teams pick. Last year I was a huge Taylor Hall supporter and there was a little bit of unease with all the Taylor vs Tyler saga, but ultimately I was convinced Hall was gonna be the choice.

This year im just as much a RNH supporter as I was Hall, but the confidence I have in the Oilers agreeing with me isnt nearly as high.

I know I shouldnt be mad if they go with Larsson, because he is a great young dman, but I will be.