Barons on TV Today!
By Lowetide
13 years ago
Each week, I do an update on Oilers prospects who are making noise in leagues below the NHL. It was designed to be a rotating update, 8-10 players per week in an effort to (eventually) touch base with all of the club’s good prospects. It is quickly becoming the Martin Marincin weekly update. The kid from Kosice is something else.
We all get a chance to see the OKC Barons on television today. The CBC will broadcast Oklahoma City at Hamilton today at 11am. This is our one opportunity to see the minor league team on national television.
- D Martin Marincin, Prince George (WHL) (13gp, 6-9-15 +10): Drafted 1st overall in the WHL Import draft and 5th overall in the KHL draft last summer. Another ridiculous week (3gp, 2-3-5 +3) has him near the top of some impressive categories. He’s 2nd overall in points by a defenseman, 2nd overall in rookie points, tied for 10th in PP goals (3), tied for 12th in PP assists (5), tied for 6th in plus minus. The most recent edition of Oil Change has the scouting department fretting over taking Pitlick or Marincin at 31st overall. They eventually chose Pitlick and then made a trade to make sure Marincin was an Oiler. Turns 19 in February, and this could be his only WHL season.
- F Kellen Jones, Quinnipiac (NCAA) (4gp, 2-3-5 -1): Chosen 202nd overall, Jones showed fans what he can do last night in a 3-1 win. The story is here. A reasonable expectation for someone chosen that late in the draft is very low (if he gets a pro contract it’s pretty much all gravy from there) and Jones is 20, undersized and a long shot. He is clearly a skilled player and worth following.
- L Linus Omark, Okahoma City (AHL) (8gp, 3-4-7 -1) Caught fire this week (4gp, 2-4-6 -1) and is showing some grit in the minors too. I don’t think Omark is going to replace any of the kids in Edmonton’s lineup, but with the 4th line struggling it is possible we see this player in Edmonton (on the 4th line) in the next few weeks. If he keeps posting numbers, he’ll certainly force the issue. Would have to be considered the likely choice for first callup at this point in time.
- C Milan Kytnar, Oklahoma City (AHL) (7gp, 0-2-2 +2): Played his 20-year old season in junior, leaving some of us to wonder if there was something missing from his game. Seems to be adjusting well (Kytnar is not on a scoring line) and is gathering some good reviews for his play. Some photos of Kytnar and his OKC teammates are available here.
- D Jeff Petry, Oklahoma City (AHL) (8gp, 1-3-4 -7): It’s important to remember that playing defense is a very difficult job. College hockey kids have a tough time (I believe) because of the increased physical play in the AHL added to the fact that it is a tough damn league. Petry’s week (4gp, 1-3-4 -4) included playing against some of that league’s better players and Kadri ruined a lot of plus minus numbers last night. I think the thing to remember here is that we’ll be looking for improvement in the second half of the season. Taylor Chorney’s first 8 AHL games he was -5 on the way to a -29 as an AHL rookie. The first 40 games will probably be a blur, and yes I know he played a little last season for Springfield. It’s a tough league, folks.
- L Robby Dee, Maine (NCAA) (6gp, 4-5-9 +4). 23-years old and long forgotten (Dee was drafted 86th overall in 2005), he started posting some offense last season and this year is having enormous early success. Long in the tooth for a prospect and frankly off the radar due to poor boxcar’s for a couple of years, Dee may have a pulse. You never know.
- D Josef Hrabal, Trinec Ocelari HC (Czech) (14gp, 1-4-5 +2): "The Pencil" is now 25 years old and has played for many years in high Euro leagues. I’m listing him because at some point the Oiler organization is going to start looking under rocks for adequate defensemen throughout the system. They have so many kids in the AHL in development mode (Chorney, Petry, Plante and Motin all getting regular work) it might be an idea to bring over the Pencil next fall.
- L Liam Reddox, Oklahoma City (AHL) (8gp, 4-2-6 -1): Buddy is coming along very well, coming off a strong week in the AHL (4gp, 4-1-5 -1). Reddox is shooting from everywhere (42 shots, over 5 a game) and is once again climbing the depth chart and making himself an attractive callup option. Ginger is going to be a great coach.
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