GDB 63.0: FOREVER LINKED TOGETHER
By Jason Gregor
13 years ago
Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin went first and second in the 2010 draft, and they will always be linked together because of it. Tonight the two T’s will square off for the first time, but right now they are on completely different development curves.
Hall is playing 18 minutes a night on the 30th place team, while Seguin is getting 12 minutes a night with the division-leading Boston Bruins. Hall is the more dominant player right now, and while he doesn’t see it as a rivalry, he admitted it will be fun to line up against Seguin tonight.
Considering people started lining up at 6 a.m yesterday for Hall’s autograph signing that didn’t start until one p.m., it is obvious every Oiler fans feels they made the right choice last June. Hall is a more dynamic player, and being on a bottom-feeder has allowed him to play in every situation. Looking at the two of them now, it seems laughable that there was even a debate on who Stu MacGregor should pick. That isn’t a shot at Seguin, because he’ll be a good player, but Hall is just more skilled and dangerous.
It is unfair to compare their stats at this point, but it seems obvious the Oilers made the right decision last June.
QUICK HITS
- Devan Dubnyk wasn’t very good against the Blues, but he’ll get the start again tonight. It’s the right move by Tom Renney to go with Dubnyk because the organization needs to see how he rebounds after an off night. I expect Dubnyk will be much better tonight.
- Brule-gate ends tonight. It looks like Gilbert Brule will finally get back in the lineup and it looks like he’ll play centre on the 4th line.
- Actions speak louder than words and Renney’s actions make it look like he isn’t that happy with JF Jacques. Jacques won’t dress tonight, and while Renney didn’t say anything about Jacques, I’d bet he wasn’t happy that Jacques never answered the bell in Friday’s loss. When you are down 3-0 early in a home game, Jacques needed to grab Janssen or Crombeen and drop the gloves.
- Shawn Horcoff had yesterday off after taking Kurtis Foster’s shot in the family jewels on Friday, but he’ll play tonight.
- I don’t see why the Oilers would trade Ladislav Smid for a draft pick at this point in his career. Smid is still developing, and the Oilers don’t have a lot of physical defencemen in the farm system. Unless Steve Tambellini gets an actual player in return I wouldn’t move Smid.
GREAT COMMERCIALS
The Bruins have the best NHL commercials/promos that I’ve seen. Here’s a few of their best.
GAME DAY PREDICTION: The Bruins have 29 more points than the Oilers and we’ll see why tonight. It won’t be as ugly as the St. Louis game, but the Oilers won’t be able to match the skill of the Bruins and will lose 3-2.
OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: Zdeno Chara wil man handle the smaller Oiler forwards tonight. It won’t be pretty.
NOT-SO-OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: My youngest nephew is playing in the Small Stars game in the first intermission and his teammates are pretty pumped about it. It is a big deal for any kid when they get the chance to skate at Rexall, and sometimes it’s even more important for the parents. I’m not sure they’ll score many goals, but I expect a few "malfunctions at the junctions" in the first intermission. Hopefully for Oiler fans the small stars aren’t the most entertaining part of the game tonight, like they were on Friday.
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