Monday Matinee

In 1995, despite rally's and protests, the Winnipeg Jets packed up their bags and left town for sunny Arizona to become the Phoenix Coyotes. The economic state of hockey in Canada was a mess in small markets and franchises were bleeding money. The Quebec Nordiques had already folded shop and there were many rumors circulating that the Edmonton Oilers could be next.

I was in living in Winnipeg during this time and I can tell you that this event tore a gaping hole in the fabric of the city. For all of the years the Jets were gone, you could feel something was missing. Sure, the Jets weren't a great team in the nineties and the barn they played in was so old it was the only place left in the league that had a hanging portrait of the queen, but it was NHL hockey. A major league franchise and Winnipeg had been told it wasn't good enough or strong enough or important enough to keep it. It hurt and that pain stung for a long time...

You have to understand, that from that moment on every single Winnipeger engaged in a conversation at some point or another about the possibility of a Jets return - a lot of if this, then that talk. If we could just get an arena built, if we could just find a benevolent owner, if the league could give up on southern expansion, were all qualifying statements of how it could be done. But it was a pipe dream. Wishful thinking heaped with ifs and buts. Nobody actually believed it would happen - not in their lifetime anyway.

So when it was announced, seemingly out of nowhere, that the Atlanta Thrashers would pull up their stakes in Georgia and put them down in Winnipeg, the city went absolutely nuts. Unfortunately, I had already left town at this point to experience the jubilation, but the city was electrified. I've been back to visit many times since then and I can visibly see the difference around town with their return. What was once a great tragedy, now reunited all 700 000+ people in the 'Peg.

Although I may never have been a true fan of the Winnipeg Jets, I am a fan of the town I called home for over 22 years. I have since adopted the Jets as a "second favourite" since returning to the NHL and getting to watch their young stars at the Penticton tournament tickles me to no end. May the Jets stay in Winnipeg forever...

One of the many massive rally's that took place in Winnipeg in a desperate attempt to save the team. Notice how bundled up everyone is - in the middle of May.

Our Monday matinee game was easily the most enjoyable contest of the weekend, my emotional attachment notwithstanding. Despite the shot clock, which heavily favoured the Oil, the game was tight, the action was fast and the plays were fantastic. Coming out of the line-up today were defenders Dillon Simpson and Jordan Oesterle, as well as forwards Josh Winquist and Bogdan Yakimov. Drawing back in were centers Jujhar Khaira and Leon Draisaitl, as well as D-men Darnell Nurse and Martin Gernat.

Game Synopsis In A Few Words:

The first period started off slowly while the teams felt each other out. During this time, the Oilers make a few nice defensive plays with Leon Draisaitl turning an intercepted pass into a shot on net. Nurse takes a bad penalty with a blatant trip on Axel Blomqvist. This gives the Jones brothers yet another opportunity to show their great penalty killing abilities along with Greg Chase. Not long after that a Mitch Holmberg turnover leads to a two on one and subsequent Jets goal. 1-0 Jets.

Some chippy play ensues resulting in Khaira and Winnipeg's Ryan Olsen dropping the gloves. Split decision, but nice to see the big man answer the bell. The last few minutes Tkachev and Draisaitl get together and begin to heat up, creating a number of chances with both of them getting in on the fore check. Shots are 7-6 in favour of the Oil after the buzzer.

In the second, Tkachev and  Draisaitl pick up where they left off. The Oilers draw a penalty and Tkachev shows his creativity yet again, with his feet this time to generate opportunities. They then tie the game at ones when forward Kale Kessy fires a pass from the corner to Kyle Platzer who makes no mistake from the side of the goal. 1-1 tie. After a fine play by Edmonton defenseman CJ Ludwig to break up a play, his partner, Graeme Craig causes a turnover that leads to another Jets 2 on 1 goal. 2-1 Jets.

Jackson Houck gets his first goal of the tournament on the next Oilers power play as he tipped in a point shot from Darnell Nurse. A little more magic from Draisaitl and Tkachev as they dance around the Jets D to set each other up. The Jets take two penalties which leads to a 5 on 3 goal from Khaira in front from Draisaitl and Marco Roy tic-tac-toe. Edmonton scores shortly after that on a shot by Mitch Holmberg, set up by Khaira and Draisaitl. Period ends 4-3 Oilers.

the third has the same theme of Draisaitl setting up any player in a white sweater until the Oil take a bad penalty. Winnipeg scores quickly on a goal by Lars Ehlers, top corner. I then miss the next five minutes of the game as the large ice tea has worked its way through to my daughter, Rowyn's bladder. She MUST potty and can't wait until the end of the period. I am informed when I return to my seat that Lars Ehlers had just skated the length of the ice and scored top corner (yet again) on Oilers goalie Frans Tuohimaa. Draisaitl and Tkachev have multiple opportunities to break the tie, but the period ends 4-4. Shots end 30-14 Edm.

More Draisaitl in OT with a couple of takeaways and a strong for check. When he's not on the ice however, it's mayhem for the Oilers and the Jets pour it on. Tuohimaa suddenly comes to life and makes five or six sequential head standing saves, with more than one on near break-aways. Frans holds the fort and overtime ends as it started, with the shots now 32-21.

The shootout gets underway with Homberg(?) for the Oil, who beats the Jets goalie, but can't put it through the post. Nic Petan is up next for Winnipeg and he beats Frans Tuohimaa easily upstairs. Draisaitl goes second for Edmonton. A good fake to the left, cuts right and a nice backhand shot is met with an even better glove save. Ehlers is the final shooter and clinches the game with a speeding charge to the net that sees him deposit the puck five-hole. Jets win 5-4.

Player Of The Game: Easily Leon Draisaitl. Today he made it apparent why the Oilers drafted him fourth overall this past summer. He was the best player on the ice for either team and you noticed him everytime he touched the puck - he was a chance generating machine. He displayed vision, high hockey IQ and soft hands as he found his team-mates with touch passes all around him. Mactavish said in an interview on www.oilers.nhl.com, "When a guy can find other players on the ice that you don't even see yourself when your watching the game, that's elite talent."

Noteable Players: Once again, Vladimir Tkachev continues his great play. Paired with Draisaitl, the two had instant chemistry and seemed to play the game three steps ahead of everyone else. It was sheer joy to watch...Mitch Hplmberg was at least noticeable on Monday, however it may have just been a product of being the third for Draisaitl and Tkachev...Kale Kessy had himself a nice little game doing what he does best - being chippy and disturbing the sh*&...Darnell Nurse demonstrated hes got a shot on the tip-in goal in the second...wash, rinse, repeat, the Jones brothers, Connor and Kellen were again stellar on the penalty kill...

Dissappointments: I was hoping to see more from Ben Betker. I think he showed better last year, but in this game he really didn't do anything to stand out above anyone else...goalie Frans Tuohimaa was another player I was really excited to see, but he only faced 14 shots in the first three periods. Four of those were goals, most of them upstairs. It would have been easy to write him off and then he goes ahead and sucks me back in by going all Finn with some unreal stops in OT. I should just call him Dubey 2...forward Alex Krushelnyski did not belong in this tournament...neither did D-man Graeme Craig for that matter...

Final Thoughts Of the Tournament:

I know our sample size is small here with only a three game showing and most players only getting into two of them, but it is great as a fan to witness first hand the names so many have been endlessly blogging and dissecting about since the season ended (November if your an Oilers fan). It allows you to compare what you've read with what you see and allows you to play in your mind all sorts of imaginary, hopeful scenarios for the big club in Edmonton. It also connects you to the players so that when/if they do get their shot in the NHL, you know where they're coming from and what to expect. It's kind of like being into an underground indie band that gets popular and you get to tell everyone how "cool" you are for liking them first.

That being said, let's have some fun and pretend I'm "cool" enough to know where some of these players will end up in the future...

Centers: Get excited folks. I'm not saying these guys should all be in the Show right now, but these are genuine prospects. I haven't seen center depth at this level in the Oilers system for some time. We all know it's more than likely Draisaitl will be on the team this year, but don't count out Yakimov and Khaira for long. It's possible that one day all three could be wearing Oilers silks in the not too distant future. Now if only Mactavish could find a number two center to bridge the gap until they do...

Wingers: It's a longer wait for the wingers. Vladimir Tkachev was hands down the best winger out there. He's also extremely courageous for his size. He displayed no fear going into the corners, going to the net and fore-checking. Something he could teach 90% of the current roster to do. All fortitude aside, I wonder how well his 5'8" frame will hold up against the likes of Milan Lucic or Ryan Getzlaf pasting him to the boards... Greg Chase and Mitch Moroz had a good tournament but they're at least a couple years away... Connor and Kellen Jones are an interesting duo but they may be career AHL'ers. They didn't show much in the way of offensive ability...Kale Kessy has a lot of work to do, but he caught the eye of management as a potential candidate for fourth line grinder/agitator with actual playing ability. A player the current roster is still lacking...everyone else was just, well, m'eh...

Defensemen: After Darnell Nurse, there's a sharp drop off in talent. Martin Gernat and David Musil have had many games in the AHL playing for the Barons. The former isn't a particularly good defender and the latter can't skate... Jordan Oesterle and Dillon Simpson were very similar players and had a great second game. That being said however, they remind me a lot of Taylor Fedun. Mobile, smart, but undersized for the NHL... Darnell Nurse is the real deal, but to my eye he still needs another year of seasoning. All the tools are there, but either he's trying too hard or his game is still really raw...

Goalies: A bit of good news: the goal tending situation isn't as dire as I thought. All three of Laurent Brossoit, Ty Rimmer and Frans Tuohimaa played some good hockey this weekend. They also showed that they all need work on their consistency, but it was the first games of the season after the summer break. All three will compete to play behind Richard Bachman in OKC this year and hopefully, it will push all of them to be on top of their game...based on this weekend, I'd say Ty Rimmer is currently in the lead...

Player of the Tournament: My player of the tournament goes to....Vladimir Tkachev! This dynamic little Russian captured the attention of everyone who laid eyes on him. Playing in all three games, Tkachev never had any let downs and played at the same level throughout. He's fearless, quick, imaginative, can take/make a pass and can shoot. I hope he takes the main training camp by storm!...Honorable mentions go to Bogdan Yakimov and Leon Draisaitl

Player of the tourney: Vladimir Tkachev!

P.S. Traing camp starts on Thursday!! See you then!