The cuts are in! Or more importantly, the opening night roster has been filled! We now know who's in and who's out, but not everybody is happy with the results...
I think Gordon Ramsay would have told Darnell Nurse, "GET OUT! Back to Junior, you're too RAAWWW!!!!
Man, the past two weeks of training camp have been as dramatic and interesting as any time I can remember it being. It certainly has been a lot less about getting the team into game shape as it has been about competition for a few unsettled positions on the squad. I wish Aquila Productions was still doing it's "Oil Change" series as covering this period would have been as good as any reality show on T.V., not unlike Hell's Kitchen or Survivor - a large group of competitors vying for the same goal, whittled down one by one until the eventual winner is crowned. It'd be so great! Maybe we could pitch it to television execs with this synopsis:
" Many aspiring professional hockey players will brave the Edmonton Oilers training camp as they are put through an intense hockey academy, through a series of challenges and tests, to prove they posses the right combination of skill and compete in order to win a life changing prize of making an N.H.L. team."
I'd watch that. Of course, I watched the last eight years of Oiler hockey and at no point entertained the idea of not watching, so clearly I'll watch anything...But it may be difficult to get competitors because the grand prize of making the Oilers roster might be kind of like having a cooking competition where the grand prize is head chef at Denny's...On the other hand, we could have a redemption island thing where all those who are cut are banished to play for the Canucks...
Anyways, last week I did a mid training camp article and weighed in on how I thought the position battles were going and who I thought the eventual winners would be. Since the results are in, for shiggles, let's take a look at what I predicted vs. what actually happened.
CENTER: I predicted that Leon Draisaitl and Mark Arcobello would win the two open center positions and Woot! Woot! I was two for two. Before I get too big on myself though, there really wasn't any other viable option for the Oilers to take. Anton Lander had another dreadful training camp, when he needed to be great, for the second year in a row. Bogdan Yakimov, although he definitely showed some flashes, was just too green to the American ice surface and will benefit with some seasoning in the AHL. In other words, as much as Arcobello was consistent throughout the preseason and as much as Draisaitl demonstrated his play making skills, they most likely won out by default. Center is going to be an adventure this year and NOT the we spent a day at Disneyland kind but more like the Running With Bear Grylls kind, filled with sleepless nights in a wet tent on the rocks eating raw chick eggs and living insects....
Things could be really tough to swallow at center this season.
WINGERS: I claimed that Steve Pinizzotto would make the team until Luke Gazdic was healthy and I sat on the fence between Tyler Pitlick and Jesse Joensuu - to be honest with you I was leaning more towards Pitlick because I thought Dallas Eakins had a bit of a soft spot for the kid. Well, more true to form, I was wrong on both accounts. Pinizzotto and Pitlick were placed on the waiver wire on Sunday and Joensuu will suit up on Thursday. I'm not shocked by taking Jesse over Tyler and IMO both had a decent training camp being physical whilst still creating some offensive zone time however, when Joensuu got his opportunities, he buried them or at least contributed to a scoring play. Pitlick did not and I believe it's what helped make the final decision. As for "Pinnie", I was certain the Oilers would feel the need to keep a player who can drop the gloves to protect their team mates as well as play (it seemed to be SO important to them last year that they brought in Steve McIntyre, remember?) but instead they kept, wait for it....Will Acton. WTF!?!?
Ok, before I go completely Christian Bale on this decision, YES, I do agree that it is beneficial for the team to carry a center as their extra center and YES I begrudgingly agree that Will Acton was the best center through camp of those not already on the team but NO, I do not like it. I will say this, as long as the Oilers are so shallow at the center position that it has room for Will " My Dad's the Coach" Acton on its roster, they will NOT make the playoffs. Address this please, Mr. Mactavish.
Also, though I do understand that the game has changed and a teams need for a pure face-puncher is no longer a part of the game, every good team has one or two players who are willing to fight an opponent from time to time. Who do the Oilers have on their roster who's willing to do just that? I never thought I'd say this, but I really do hope Gazdic is healthy soon....
DEFENSE: In my infinite wisdom, I claimed last week that Martin Marincin would make the team over Oskar Klefbom, Darnell Nurse would be sent back to Junior and Keith Aulie would beat out Brad Hunt as the seventh defenceman. I was 100% right, except for the exact opposite. Marincin went to OKC while Klefbom remained with the team. Darnell Nurse is going to get at least an NHL look (but to be fair, this may have as much to do with the Nikita Nikitin injury as anything) and Keith Aulie never got up to speed to match the play of the offensive minded Hunt. All in all, I don't think there's anything to get worked up about here. 1) Klefbom and Marincin are somewhat interchangeable and it won't be long before he gets a call back anyway. 2) A few games at this level might do wonders for Nurses' confidence, to put in his back pocket while he Captains the Greyhounds and represents Canada at the World Jrs. 3) Keith Aulie can still be an asset, he's missed a ton of hockey due to injury and it's derailed his career a little bit. Playing regular shifts in the AHL will be far better than watching from the press-box. Besides, I'm curious to see what Hunt can do for our very stagnant power play...
Not getting chosen can be heartbreaking, but unlike these gentlemen, all of Sundays' cuts will most likely be back. Probably more than once. Let's just hope there isn't a hockey equivalent of Juan Pablo.
A final note to the players regarding the last round of cuts. Getting cut from your dream must suck really badly and although I crack jokes at their expense from time to time, I do feel for you. I once dedicated myself to a future career wholeheartedly for two years only to be cut with a few weeks left to go in training. Awful, awful stuff. But I will say this: Realize that the Edmonton Oilers have lost an average of 236 man games due to injury over the last four years. That's almost three full seasons worth of games that will need to be filled by demotees like yourself this year. So after you pick yourself up from crying in the fetal position on your shower floor like you've been inappropriately touched by a dirty step-uncle, remember that you are almost certainly guaranteed another opportunity in another players misfortune.
We should know more regarding the current state of a few player injuries, so later this week I'll post regarding the opening night line-up with a quick run down of what we can expect to see from each player in the up-coming season!
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