Oilers Reach Into Past to Address Today

Early this morning, the Edmonton Oilers reached out to the past to address a current need. Welcome newest Edmonton Oiler–and a blast from the past–Ralph Intranuovo.
 

In 1992’s NHL Entry Draft, the Edmonton Oilers selected OHA phenom Ralph Intranuovo. He was a speed demon with exceptional vision, and although he never had an impact at the NHL level (22 career games, 6 points) the East York, Ontario native proved to be an exceptional AHL player. By the late 90’s he’d left his NHL career far behind–so he thought–and played hockey at a high level in Germany, Austria and most recently Italy.

The now 36-year old was winding down his playoffs with the Asiago team in the Italian league when he started noticing a few faces that seemed familiar. "I looked out in the crowd one night and saw a couple of Edmonton Oiler scouts. I told (teammate) Michael Henrich that Edmonton was here looking at someone but he didn’t believe me."

It was Intranuovo the club was looking at, as the Oilers scouts raved about his still exceptional speed. At age 36, the 5.08 187 pound Intranuovo could still race down the ice, curl just past the blueline and set up the offense. It was that skill that led the Oilers to believe the veteran player could help their NHL powerplay.

The Oilers aren’t certain when he’ll play, but it could be as early as Saturday. New Oilers scout Larry Prevaricator was credited with finding the gem, although many (older) Oilers scouts saw him good before the signing.