Oilers Recall Linus Omark
Jonathan Willis
March 05 2012 10:11AM
The Edmonton Oilers announced the recall of Linus Omark from the American Hockey League's Oklahoma City Barons this morning.
It's a recall that has been a long time in coming. Omark started the season with the Oilers but found himself demoted to the minors early in the year. Over the heart of the season he should have been one of the Oilers' top options down on the farm, but instead he found himself on injured reserve with a broken ankle.
It was a devastating injury in a lot of ways. A broken ankle isn't the kind of injury a player just shrugs off at the best times, but it was doubly disappointing for Omark, costing him a chance to prove himself at the NHL level during a contract year. Not only that, but the financial cost was huge too - six weeks on an AHL rather than an NHL paycheck works out to almost $200,000 in salary.
Yet, the news from the Oilers organization is that rather than getting dispirited, Omark took advantage of his forced time off to work out and keep himself in peak physical condition. Senior Director of Player Development Billy Moores put it this way to Cult of Hockey's Bruce McCurdy:
He’s worked very hard during that injury time to get himself in real good condition and get stronger, so that’s real valuable. Credit to him for using that time properly. Now he’s got an opportunity to play with us tonight and in Abbotsford and get going. There’s still lots of hockey to be played.
The catalyst for Omark's recall would appear to be a shoulder injury to Taylor Hall - in the Oilers game against Dallas, Hall went hard into the boards in the offensive zone and braced himself with his left arm. While he finished the game, it was clear he was in some discomfort at the time.
As Jim Matheson points out, the timing of this recall may present some difficulties to Omark. The Barons played road games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so tonight's game against the Ducks will be Omark's fourth contest in four days - and with the Oilers playing back-to-back games there's a real chance he plays five games in five nights. Given that there's a real and noticeable impact on teams playing two games in two nights, Omark almost certainly won't be at his best.
Whatever the timing and whatever the reasons for the recall, this was something the Oilers needed to do. Omark is a restricted free agent at season's end, and is very much at a crossroads with the organization. This is what I wrote in my piece on Omark less than a week ago:
We know that Omark’s a very good player below the NHL; he’s shown that time and again. For a player with his age and experience, all that remains to be seen is whether he’s a fit in the majors, and that question will only be answered with major-league experience. Unless the Oilers have already made a decision, now’s the time to find out.
There's a strong possibility that Omark stays with the team for the rest of the season. The Oilers are only permitted four recalls after the trade deadline, so there's an incentive to keep Omark up.
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I will be the fist one wearing my Omark jersey again.
So is Hall actually out of the lineup tonight?
Why the hell would renney allow hall to finish the game after getting hurt 5 mins into the game IMO that's what prob put a final number on his shoulder!
Now the question is will Omark be in the Belanger triangle or will he have a chance to succeed and play top 6 minutes.
GOMARK!
Call me optimistic, but I think Omark gets second line minutes tonight. It doesn't do them much good to give Ryan Jones a bump. If he plays like it's his 4th game in 4 nights and he plays like it, they've at least got a decent replacement in Ben Eager.
I'm choked that Hall will be out again because I really, REALLY want to see what his totals are like over a full season, but that's tempered by the fact that this injury shouldn't totally cripple the offense.
@The Towel Boy
They haven't announced Hall out of the lineup yet...but really, even if he's in the lineup, Omark could just replace Petrell on the RNH-Eberle line.
I think this being his 4th game in 4 nights or something like that I bet you see him given very limited mins . 4 th line or 3 rd at most the tommorow night be put up in a top 6 forward position.
Although it was nice, I hope that Tampa shootout goal doesn't stand up as the highlight of his NHL career.
Oh great another small forward. Oilers should play in a midget league instead of the NHL.
Hmm most playoffs teams want to get bigger. I wonder why
This is where a true fan says that Omark's talent is so great that he calls upon the power of Odin and with a swift flick of his stick, and a nifty spin-o-rama move at centre ice, he banishes the Belanger Triangle back to the Jiri Dopita-like hell from whence it first came.
I'm assuming Omark will get 4th line and PP time tonight or the night after, but rather than be disappointed, I find myself looking forward to seeing what he might be able to do were on a line with someone like Petrell, Eager, or even Smyth.
That being said, if he does draw in to the top line sometime in the next two games I will be very interested to see how he performs and meshes with his linemates.
I won't be looking for points, necessarily, from him tonight, but rather how quickly his sense of the game and timing accelerate to NHL speed.
Take it easy Rex.
I like Omarks work down low, his tenacious puck pursuit down low should a draw a penalty or two tonight, somethign we've lacking lately. That is about all i see him bringing to the table tonight. I don't see where he will fit on our PP seeing as how the puck usually moves through RNH on the first unit and Hemsky on the second. I still believe it is in our best interest to see what we have with Omark rather than letting him walk at teh end of the seson without giving him a "fair" shot this season
Anyone who says "OMG NOT ANOTHER SMALL FORWARD" obviously hasn't watched Omark play. Yeah he doesn't run people over, but he also never gets caught with his head down. I'd say he's probably the best player on the team for cycling the puck down low and is impossible to push off the puck. I don't know how he does it with his small stature but the man plays much larger than he is.
I thought I read somewhere that he only had a handful of games before the Oilers would have to expose him to waivers if they wanted to send him back down. And, if they're looking at creating a winning attitude on the farm, Omark would be a useful chip for the AHL playoffs.
He is going to be tired as all hell and very mistake-prone. This will not be a fair situation he is being placed in. Give him 3-5 minutes per period and work him more against SJ.
Go Omark
I think he's on the Baron's playoff roster. I also think he can play like 3 games and be sent down Ok or play out the season with the Oilers and then go down for the playoff.
Well Linus "SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!"
Time to show that your not going to fall back on the me, me, me.
Dont say "Well this is my 4th game in 4 nights."
Lets see what you got, can your play be consistent at the NHL level, prove Oilers brass wrong, prove skeptics wrong. Most of all PROVE IT TO YOURSELF!!!
Real Question: Did the Swedish Line get a game together in the AHL? If so, how'd they look?
There is no doubt Omark is rock solid on the puck,and can be a huge asset offensively if given a real oppertunity. I will be cheering for him. But, I have a nagging suspicion that in a few years, if this rebuild works and the oil are in the play-offs, our lack of size and inability to deal with the Dallas/ St. Louis type teams will be the next heartache to cope with.
Still,it will beat 30th place suckage easily.
Go Linus. Old time hockey.
On the bright side, inserting Omark back into the line-up should help lock down the 2nd overall pick.
4 games - 4 nights plus travel? If Linus gets more than 4th line minutes it will confirm Dithers and company are truly racing Montreal for suckage rights. Really.
Linus Omark could play 40 games in 40 nights and still be the sexiest midget on the ice.
@OvenChicken8 - Team JSBM
Do you have a Man Crush on his Dangle??
1st game back on the big team sice the fall = big adrenaline rush for Omark. It may be his 4th game in 4 nights, but I don't have an issue with them starting him on the 2nd line. If fatigue is evident, then Renney will have to tweak the lines. Just my 2 cents.
PLEASE:
RNH-Eberle-Omark Gagner-Hemsky-Hall Horcoff-Smyth-Jones Petrell-Belanger-Eager
What the hell does talent and size have to do with it. Production first, making scoring chances second, everything else from this type of player; last.
The six or seven guys ahead of him on the depth chart in the top 6 out produce him and 4 of them are significantly younger than him.
Like him or not, he is not likely going to be a part of the oilers future, if so he would have had much more opportunity so far. EX, Lander
@Overpaid Wild
Yah! everyone knows it's not the size that counts, it's how you use the size that matters.
right? guys? **crickets**
If size was so important then Big Mac would be signed before Omark. Ya never going to happen. Doesn't matter how big of a team you have if you can't put points on the board then you can't win. Plain and simple
Just got an email from the Oilers that said Lowe named GM. Almost got excited until I saw it was for the World Championships.
Oh well, looks like the Nuge plays in a World Championship before ever playing in a World Juniour Championship.
I read he has about 27 points in 50 odd games on Oilers. Give him more chance. Don't need to lose his talent.
No matter how skilled a small group of forwards is they wont win in the long run as long as hairy backs like Fistric {and formerly Robyn Regher,good riddance} are free to do what they do. Plain and simple.
Whoa, sorry man, I didn't realize you were checking these comments.
;-)
When it comes to player size I take the old adage of "it doesn't matter about the size of the dog in the fight, but the fight in the dog" to heart. While you can't have an entire top 6 of players under 6 feet tall, I would rather have an Omark or a Gagner at 5'10 and willing to go anywhere and do anything to score than someone at 6'4 210lbs who isn't willing to get any closer than 10 feet to the net or engage physically.
When building a team who would you take at the wing: Dustin Penner (with all due apologies and respect for the season he has had both professionally and personally) or Sam Gagner?
My gut tells me that Omark still has a role to play this season and that if the Oilers keep him on the roster next season he could become a very effective depth player.
I hope Omark is in tonight... from some of the comments here, he is our new hockey Jesus. We will make the playoffs for sure if he is in. I can't believe it has taken so long to get him here, since he was lighting it up last year and at the beginning of this year. He must have like 6 NHL goals right? Crazy how good he is.
Write off Omark prematurely if you have to, and cite examples of playoff teams who acquired size to win, but every team needs driven, talented players as well. For every Lucic or Hartnell, there's a Marchand or Giroux.
The Oilers need one of those 767-sized players with skill, but until one comes a long, they still need to search out and develop talent, no matter the package.
I'm looking forward to seeing O!'s adrenaline-driven performance tonight, and can only hope that this game goes to a shootout. O! wins the SO, and the Ducks get one point closer to the Flames. Feaster on that!
@Wäx Män Riley
Is it too late to sign JFJ?
"Should draw a penalty" Won't happen. These zebras continuously show little respect for these young Oilers (nor to the veterans either) In Omark's last stint with the Oilers, there should have been a call on almost every shift he was out there. Now that the Oilers PP is #1 in the league, the NHL seems to be very uncomfortable with that. Look for the Oilers to go without a power play tonight and the Ducks to have a minimum of 4.
Little minds little players. Oilers stuck on stupid.
The only problem is omark is not a prospect anymore he is 25 and is probably at 90% of his ability.
But we will see.
Omark has plenty in the ability column. Its the learning NHL style hockey and learning to play Oilers hockey that he needs
In the words of jagr "you never stop learning"
@A-Mc
there is a difference between ability and talent. Is he able to play the nhl game well. Not really. Can he stick handle and dangle and be cerative (talent) yes. Is smyth able to play the game well. Yes, Does he have all the flashy stickhandling omark does? No.
Who is the better hockey player.
"Why do people keep saying "Linus Omark is an NHL player but the Oilers have to move him?" How about moving the guys who aren't?"
https://twitter.com/#!/colbycosh
On an international sized ice surface, Omark would run amuk... I'd like to see him get 5-10 games before the end of the season to see where he's at and how OKC has helped him... and that shootout goal, I remember watching that game live and actually standing up and going "YEAH, BABY!"
I hear he can skate!
Jagr is super-elite, and super-elites never stop learning.
Omark on the other hand......
I hope he thinks the same way, at least.
too bad the nhl isnt played on international ice surface, and decided every game in a shoot out than maybe he would be useful to the oilers. Oh and his 2 for 6 lifetime shoot out would be good for 90th in the league this year. If you take out the guys who went once or twice than he might be top 50. Good thing all that stickhandling skill converts to nothing useful for the oilers