Ewanyk out for a while

Early on in Wednesday's game between Russian and Team WHL, Travis Ewanyk was a one man wrecking crew.  Knocking down Russians like Walter Sobchak does pins...unless it's Shabbas. Unfortunately, the Russians caught up with Ewanyk in the second period and he was sent for a ride courtesy of Mikhail Naumenkov. You can see the video here.

10hDustin Nielson ‏@nielson1260

From Laxdal this morning. Travis Ewanyk will have an MRI on a lower body injury on Friday here in Edmonton.

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Word from out west has Ewanyk needing an MRI on his knee or quad as soon as he returns to Edmonton.  As for how long he'll be out, TPS is hearing that this isn't a day to day thing and could keep the Oilers prospect sidelined for a while.

Unfortunately it's deja vu for Ewanyk who sat out most of last year with a shoulder injury.  He ended up playing more playoff games then regular season games, but was key for Kings in their quest for the Cup.

TPS In Studio: Ewanyk & Bunz

Over the years several guests have joined us in studio during an edition of The Pipeline Show. We like to try and have those types of shows during the summer months because, let's face it, there usually isn't a heck of a lot going on to talk about. 

Last night, we added another chapter to the In Studio series. 

Blackjack! - Oil Kings Win 21st in a Row

The Edmonton Oil Kings hold a 2-0 series lead over the Moose Jaw Warriors and in the process pushed their winning streak to a remarkable 21 games. Despite a much better effort from the Warriors in game 2 it was the exact same result as the Oil Kings posted back to back 6-1 victories in the WHL's Eastern Conference Final. 

Some thoughts on the series and other things going on these days after the jump.

WHL Deadline nears

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The annual 'get traded while you're at the World Junior Hockey Championship' shuffle doesn't happen any more.

Gone are the days of Steve Mason going from London to Kitchener on the same day he was beating the U.S.A in the semi-final or Brad Marchand the same year who knew before Canada's training camp that he was going to be dealt to Halifax at some point. Some in the hockey world have told TPS there is an unofficial trade freeze for players taking part in the World Junior Championship and Under-17 events.

But that doesn't mean you can't talk trade, kick tires or make an offer and it sounds like several teams are doing that while others seem to be standing pat.

Ewanyk Injury Update

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"He may have to have surgery and if he does he may be lost to us for a 4-5 month range, depending on rehab."

That coming from Edmonton Oil Kings head coach Derek Laxdal in conversation with Corey Graham tonight on TEAM 1260's Sports Night Live in regards to injured forward Travis Ewanyk.

It's not a certainty yet but as the old saying goes, "hope for the best but plan for the worst". It would be a big loss for the WHL club but as the coach said, the team does have options.

Oil Kings Open Camp

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Season 5 of the Edmonton Oil Kings has arrived. Rookie camp participants are all in town and will undergo fitness testing tomorrow with the first on-ice sessions scheduled for Friday in Fort Saskatchewan.

This is definitely the strongest Oil Kings team WHL fans have seen in the Alberta capital which only stands to reason; only 3 members of the 2011-12 squad played even a single game in the expansion year - you can find the answer to that trivia question and a rundown of my projected Oil Kings roster after the jump.

Saturday Morning Special - June 25th

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Day 2 of the 2011 NHL Entry unfolded while we were on the air and that meant a couple of live interviews with players of local interest from here in Edmonton. We also heard scrums from Minnesota involving two of the newest Edmonton Oilers. Like every week, Daren Millard joined us to give us his thoughts on the various trades that teams executed over the last couple of days as well as the one still apparently in the works. Plus a special guest host in studio as Dean Millard was on a plane coming back from the draft.

Draft Day Wishlist & Predictions

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I love the NHL entry draft. It's the culmination of an entire year of research and hard work, preparing for the big day which has become a weekend event with a two or three day lead in if you are there in person (like Dean Millard has been this week). With as much study and research as we put into it over the course of the year, you naturally come up with some things you hope to see happen at the draft because it will make for a great story or because you've come to respect a certain prospect and hope for the best for him.

This year is no different and there are a bunch of things I would like to see happen in Minnesota this weekend. Here are a bunch of them as well as some predictions like who I think might go where.

2011 Draft Blog: Travis Ewanyk Pt.5

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Wrapping up his guest blogging series with us today is Travis Ewanyk, forward of the Edmonton Oil Kings. The product of St.Albert, AB wrote Part I back in October and followed that up with Part 2 in December. Part 3 came out in early March. Chapter 4, in early May, covered the weeks through the playoffs and the World U18s.

Over the last month Ewanyk has been preparing for the NHL Draft and the NHL combine in Toronto.

In his own words, here's Travis Ewanyk's account of the last several weeks...

2011 Draft Blog: Travis Ewanyk Pt.4

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Continuing his guest blogging series with us today is Travis Ewanyk, forward of the Edmonton Oil Kings. The product of St.Albert, AB wrote Part I back in October and followed that up with Part 2 in December. Part 3 came out in early March. Since then the Oil Kings reached the playoffs, lost in a 4-game sweep to Red Deer and Ewanyk had the opportunity to represent Canada at the 2011 World U18s in Germany.

In his own words, here's Travis Ewanyk's account of the last several weeks...

Ewanyk Cracks Canada's U18 Roster

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The Edmonton Oil Kings were bounced from the playoffs last week, but for atleast one player the season will continue. TPS has learned that guest blogger Travis Ewanyk has been selected to play in the U18 World Championship starting April 14th in Germany.

2011 Draft Blog: Travis Ewanyk Pt.3

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Continuing his guest blogging series with us today is Travis Ewanyk, forward of the Edmonton Oil Kings. The product of St.Albert, AB wrote the first entry to the blog back in October and followed that up with Part 2 in December. Since then the Oil Kings have improved their team play and climbed the standings to 6th place in the WHL's Eastern Conference.

In his own words, here's Travis Ewanyk's account of the last several weeks...

Oil Kings & the 2011 NHL Draft

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The 2011 NHL Entry Draft is now a mere 5 months away. That might seem like a long time but with the local NHL club already 20 points out of a playoff spot (OK, it's only 18), the draft is the next exciting thing on the calendar for Oilers fans. What might make it a little more interesting this year is that there are a number of local WHL players of interest for the big event in June.

Top 5 Tuesdays: First Impression of Central's Mid-Term List

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It's always much anticipated and then hotly debated but finally NHL Central Scouting's mid-term rankings for the 2011 NHL Draft are out. E.J. McGuire was on the show last weekend and offered up some comments about the, as-then unreleased, ranking, so we knew ahead of time about one surprise - that Portland's Sven Bartschi would be in the top 10. But there are other things that jumped out at me.

Here are the top 5...

CHL Top Prospects Game Rosters

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The 40-player invite list to the 2011 CHL Home Hardware Top Prospects Game will be released on Tuesday. The game is one of the marquee events during the draft year for a prospect trying to elevate and raise his stock in front of a plethora of NHL scouts and executives.

Unfortunately, like every year, some deserving players might be on the outside looking in whether due to injury or simply not getting the invite.

Top 5 Tuesdays: Reasons to Watch the Oil Kings

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Edmonton is a pro-city and an event driven city. The Edmonton Oilers are by far the biggest thing in town and the CFL's Edmonton Eskimos are clearly #2. History has shown that massive events like the Heritage Classic, the World Junior Championship, The World Track and Field Games and others can be held here and the citizens will support it.

That cannot be said for other teams in town. Soccer, basketball, baseball, lacrosse... all very much off the radar for the vast majority of people in Edmonton. All of those sports have their supporters but certainly not nearly as much as the local teams that play them would like.

Hockey isn't immune to that either. The UofA Golden Bears are a perennial powerhouse but don't draw nearly as much as they deserve. There are 3 local AJHL franchises (Spruce Grove, Sherwood Park and St. Albert) and all of them have plenty of room at their home games.

And the Edmonton Oil Kings, now in their 4th season in the league, are averaging 3900 people in a building that holds just under 17,000. We've heard plenty of valid reasons as to why fans have not embraced the team and I can understand most of them. Parking at Rexall Place is an outrageous $15, ticket prices are out of whack when compared to the rest of the league (including other NHL/CHL markets), a lack of star power, poor marketing, the wrong atmosphere at Rexall, etc.

At the risk of coming off as a commercial for the Oil Kings, (the last thing I want to appear as), here are 5 reasons why people should be following the team from a far or buying tickets to Rexall Place and watching the team play.

St. Croix On Fire:Is it enough to push him into the first round?

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Edmonton sophomore Michael St. Croix has the Midas touch, which is a good thing if you're an Oil King fan. Thanks to a hattrick and one assist in a victory over Calgary Wednesday night, St. Croix now has an incredible 17 points in his last 6 games. Those are Sidney Crosby type numbers. The Winnipeg native has points in 8 straight games, and has amassed 6 straight multi-point efforts including back to back 4 point outings. The hot streak has pushed St. Croix near the WHL scoring leaders as he now has the 9th most points in the league with 18 goals and 20 assists, but is his offensive outburst enough to make him a first round pick?

2011 Draft Blog: Travis Ewanyk Pt.2

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Continuing his guest blogging series with us today is Travis Ewanyk, forward of the Edmonton Oil Kings. The product of St.Albert, AB wrote the first entry to the blog back on October 27th which you can read HERE. Since then, the Oil Kings have played through a lengthy losing streak, made a major trade, grown facial hair for charity and gotten hot.

Here are the last several weeks from the player's perspective courtesy Travis Ewanyk...

Saturday Morning Special - Dec 4th

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Despite a no-show, Saturday's Game Day edition of TPS was another fun way to start the morning. Not only did we have our weekly session with Daren Millard but we touched base with one of our favorite guys covering the NCAA and also talked with one of the top rated goaltenders available for the 2011 NHL Draft too.

Top 5 Tu... er, Sunday: WHL 2nd Round Forwards

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Our weekly Top 5 lists always come out on Tuesdays but this past week we missed it (Dean tied up at the Canadian Finals Rodeo for Global TV and me... sleeping) so you can consider this one a make up for 5 days ago. That, plus with NHL Central Scouting's list coming out on Monday, I wanted my thoughts to come out a bit before just for the sake of not following in their footsteps.

Today I'm looking at the Top 5 forwards out of the WHL that right now, aren't getting a lot of consideration as 1st round picks. Come June, one or two of these guys might have played their way into the top 30, but at this point in mid-November, no one has really been suggesting that they are 1st rounders.