While the [summer prospects] series necessarily focuses on each player in his turn, at this point it’s instructive to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. And my oh my, what a BIG picture it is, as the system is chockablock with plus-sized players. This has long been identified as an organizational area of need / weakness, in fact it’s a subject that I pounded away at a couple of times in recent months. Not that I dislike small players… [m]y concern is about a small team, a documented shortcoming at all positions for the Oilers in 2013-14 which cost them dearly in the Brobdingnagian Pacific Division. GM Craig MacTavish started to address the imbalance during the summer transaction window by acquiring some experienced support players with decent size, and there’s plenty more where that came from lurking in the system.

Early in last night’s game against the Canucks, it occurred to me that the Edmonton Oilers (as constructed at the young stars camp) no longer resemble the team we’ve been watching so far this century. They were big, very big, while also managing to be terribly skilled. Now, I’ve watched J-F Jacques (big and speedy) and Linus Omark (small and skilled) plus everything in between, but big and skilled? Unicorns in Oilers colors! Pish posh old man, and yet there it was under the Penticton lights.