Jason Gregor usually hands out grades for the Edmonton Oilers at the quarter-pole of the season, but with Grey Cup upon us, he’s apparently fallen into a big vat of booze down in Huddletown.

That, or a large drum of Just For Men as he attempts, without much success, to bolster that sparse excuse for a cookie-duster he’s trying to cultivate for Movember — Gregor’s heart is in the right place, even if I’ve dated women with more substantial fuzz on their upper lips.

That aside, I’m going to take a swing at grading the Oilers through 22 games on the heels of Saturday’s 4-3 loss to Dany Heatley and the San Jose Sharks.

This is something I used to do at The Journal and The Sun during my days as the resident Oiler houseman, and it usually garnered a lot of reaction inside and outside the dressing room — often with people telling me I didn’t have a clue. They were wrong, of course.

If you’re looking for graphs, pie charts or tables of advanced statistics here, you’ve come to the wrong place. I’m going by what I’ve seen and what I’ve scrawled in notebooks since the season began. I might even glance at last night’s game notes package and include some numbers.

Mostly, though, this is by-my-eye opinion.

I’m staying old school here, giving grades of A, B, C and D. I’m not even going to get into pluses and minuses, as in giving a C-plus as opposed to C-minus. Breaking it down that fine is fair enough, and might make for reasonable debate, but I’ll leave that to you, if you so choose.

With my grades, A, B and C are straightforward enough. All are varying degrees of success above the failure line. My D is the same as an F.

Like I said, I’m not doing mathematical gymnastics to justify grades. The wildcard is this: what I’ve observed and what I’ve taken from what I’ve observed will be influenced by personal bias, pre-conceived notions and all the other stuff that comes with doing what I do.

I don’t think there’s a formula for that, but most people doing these kinds of assessments work those factors in, whether they admit it or not.

I’m grading based on how players have performed in relation to what I expect from each them at this point in their NHL career. Where they are now and what they are contributing in relation to where I think they should be and what they should be contributing.

— DEVAN DUBNYK. Hasn’t played enough games for my liking, but his numbers are very good, all things considered (like the defence he’s playing behind). That .911 seems fitting, given how little help he gets.

— THEO PECKHAM. None of the Oilers highly touted kids have been as consistent as Peckham. He’s wisely picked his spots as far as imposing his physical will on opponents. He looks way ahead of schedule to me.

— RYAN WHITNEY. He logs the most minutes on the team. Framed by that, being a minus-1 with this outfit is remarkable. The Oilers would be absolutely dead in the water advancing the puck without Whitney. Has 18 assists.

— SAM GAGNER. Sam’s not far off from where he should be in his fourth full season. He still looks physically overmatched too often, but you can see his mind working. His numbers, 6-7-13, are slightly off where I think they need to be with the ice time he gets.

 — ALES HEMSKY. He’s looked far more engaged this season than in the past couple of years. His 15 points in 20 games is slightly off what I expected, but given the lack of finish around him . . .  He’s a plus-3, which is no small feat.

— SHAWN HORCOFF. I don’t care how much Horcoff makes because the money is spent. Thirteen points in 19 games is about right. He’s taken Hall and Eberle under his wing, and that counts in my books. Needs to get back to 50-plus per cent on the dot.

— JORDAN EBERLE. As expected, he provided some brilliant moments and others where he has felt his way through games. Added value as a penalty killer with those two shorties on an otherwise miserable PK unit.

— TAYLOR HALL. Everybody can see how good he’s going to be. He’s already having shifts where he dominates, even if the puck doesn’t end up in the net. His 11 points are about right. Watch the next 60 games.

— STEVE MACINTYRE. He gives you what he’s got when given the chance. The kids breath easier when MacIntyre is in the line-up. His KO of Raitis Ivanans resonated through the NHL and his two bouts with Derek Boogaard in NY took immense courage.

— NIKOLAI KHABIBULIN. For all the distractions and coming off back surgery, he’s been OK. His saves percentage with the Oilers shorthanded is hideous, but then so is the PK.

— MAGNUS PAAJARVI. I expected he’d adjust quicker to the NHL than Hall or Eberle because of his time with Timra, but he hasn’t. Played himself out of the top-nine at one point. He needs consistent top-nine minutes or a stint in the AHL.

— DUSTIN PENNER. His seven goals and 13 points on this offensively challenged team is nothing to sneeze at. As always, he shows flashes that leave you wanting more. That’s not going to change.

— RYAN JONES. Like it or not (I didn’t), he got a roster spot out of camp and has provided some grit and a touch more offence than I expected.

— LADISLAV SMID. I’d argue he’s been surpassed by Peckham as the likeliest candidate to become a true shutdown guy, and that’s not a good sign. Adjusting to his neck surgery will take time.

— J.F. JACQUES. Just six games to go on, but Jacques has been passable. He’s become physically involved when he’s had the chance. Crazy Train needs to stay healthy and establish himself as an every-night option.

— KURTIS FOSTER. He’s a third-pairing guy with a big shot that was supposed to take up some of Sheldon Souray’s slack on the PP. Lots of shots, but just two goals. Suspect in his own end. A no-hit big guy who doesn’t move particularly well.

— JIM VANDERMEER. He hasn’t delivered the physical presence the Oilers overpaid him for. Slow and passive doesn’t work in his job description.

— ANDREW COGLIANO. I really like the try and the fight in him, but the results have not been good enough. His minus-10 is worst on the team.

— COLIN FRASER. Like Vandermeer, not nearly gritty and edgy enough for the role he’s expected to play. He hasn’t delivered in the circles, either.

— JASON STRUDWICK. He’s been mis-cast and over-used, which isn’t his fault. I don’t think he’s an NHL defenceman at this point in his career, but he’s still drawing a cheque as one.

— ZACK STORTINI.  I might be marking Stortini a bit tough here. He’s even through 15 games. I don’t think he’s been as much of a pain in the ass for opponents as in past seasons.

— TOM GILBERT. His horrible road trip really knackered his numbers, especially plus-minus. Too many giveaways. Too many soft plays. Too many times caught chasing. Is Gilbert better now than he was in his second season?

— GILBERT BRULE. Four points and a minus-8. Rightly or wrongly, I expected another step up from Brule this season and it hasn’t happened. Is he an offensive guy or not? If not, what does he bring?