Even the most avid hockey fan loses the script when it comes to prospects and injuries. A player is drafted, and we track the stats but forget the injuries. The cumulative effect of those injuries often means a top prospect is not what he was supposed to be five years on. We remember Marc Pouliot…
*Hello. I’m Cory, your friendly neighbourhood Oilersnation editor. Between cleaning up Strud’s articles and begging Gregor for tickets, I occasionally generate my own Oiler-related material. Enjoy!* I was born at an odd time for an Oiler fan. In 1983, the Oilers achieved league-wide ‘real deal’ status, despite being swept by the Islanders in the finals. A…
The Oilers were on the ice this morning, and it was the first time seeing Nail Yakupov wearing #10. It was only in a practice jersey, but it is funny how many people had to look at their sheet to see who was #10 and who was #64. Vladimir Tkachev was wearing Yakupov’s old number…
Craig Ramsay has been involved with the NHL for the past 44 years as a player, coach, director of player personal and assistant general manager. This will be his 21st season as a coach, and he brings a wealth of experience to an Oilers team that doesn’t have much of it on the ice. The…
The relationship between 2012 first overall pick Nail Yakupov and Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins is one that’s been much written about. From the outside, we don’t actually know much about the dynamic, but it’s a critical one if Edmonton is to get the most out of the talented sniper who struggled so badly in…
Training camps open, Taylor Hall just getting started, David Clarkson and his contract, TJ Brodie with a Norris in his future, Markus Naslund to the hall of fame and more in this week’s Roundup.
<br> We’re off and running with Oilers news out of training camp, and coach Dallas Eakins had some home truths for the microphones today. Issue one: “We have two NHL centermen!” Ahem. What does that mean? Opportunity!
The first puck hasn’t yet dropped for the on-ice portion of 2014 training camp for the Edmonton Oilers, but I don’t see a lot of questions regarding what the team’s opening night roster will look like.
#484499253 / gettyimages.com Training camp officially began today. The players went through a wide range of medical testing to gauge their endurance, strength, mobility, agility, eyes, teeth and overall health. They will be on the ice tomorrow morning at 10 a.m., the practices are open to the public, and they have been divided into three teams:…
Negotiations between Columbus and star centre Ryan Johansen seem to have imploded rather badly. Blue Jackets’ management is publicly very frustrated, and on Wednesday went so far as to release publicly the three offers they had made to the RFA centre. It’s an interesting negotiation to watch from an Oilers perspective, because Edmonton has gone…
This is John Ferguson. 50 years ago he was an enforcer in the NHL. During Ferguson’s career, being an enforcer involved playing alongside Jean Beliveau, or Henri Richard—skilled men who delivered a pass and expected it back on the tape and on the fly. The role of enforcers has changed over the decades, but may…
Last week we designed a survey to get a better understanding of what works on the Nation Network and what doesn’t. The answers that came back were all across the spectrum – some provided great insight, others provided a good laugh, others made us want to rethink our chosen profession. We sat down at Nation HQ…
