Rookie Watch: Edmonton Oilers

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Each Day until September 15th TPS will take a look at one team from the East and one team from the West and spotlight a few rookies to watch for this season. Today in the West it’s the Edmonton Oilers.

Saturday Morning Special - July 16th

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This morning on TPS we spoke with 5 guests and pushed our charity auction total to over $5000 as we raised more funds to help the victims of the fire and flooding in Slave Lake. It was the third opportunity for fans and listeners to get in on the action, to help out some folks in need and to come out of it with some pretty neat stuff.

Oilers recall 3

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It's not yet confirmed by the Oilers or the Barons but TPS has learned that the Edmonton Oilers have recalled Ryan O'Marra, Chris VandeVelde and Alex Giroux and that all three will be in the line up on Thursday night. The trio arrived in Edmonton just after midnight after playing in Grand Rapids on Wednesday evening.

O'Marra collected 3 points in 9 games with the Oilers earlier this year, Giroux's recent stint in the NHL saw him pick up 2 points in 5 games.

This will be the NHL debut for VandeVelde (above). The former member North Dakota Fighting Sioux center has 12 goals and 16 points with Oklahoma City this year.

(Photo: Steve Christy / OKC Barons)

Saturday Morning Special - Dec 11th

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It was a fun edition of The Pipeline Show this morning as Dean and I welcomed 5 guests and covered a lot of territory in the NHL, NCAA and CHL. We looked ahead to the 2011 World Junior Championship in Buffalo and spent a lot of time debating the Linus/Lienus Omark shootout goal from Friday night.

O'Marra, Blain Return and Contribute

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A couple of Oilers prospects have returned to action and have contributed immediately since getting back on their blades. Ryan O'Marra missed 4 games recently with a shoulder injury but was back in the lineup for Oklahoma City as they played a 2-game set in Manitoba. Jérémie Blain lost much more time with a cracked foot but he's back for Acadie-Bathurst and has picked up two points in as many games.

O'Marra Injury Update

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Ryan O'Marra sustained a shoulder injury during Oklahoma's 5-2 win over Milwaukee on Sunday. Late that night I mentioned that the incident occurred when O'Marra was initiating contact with an Admirals opponent but that the severity of the injury wouldn't be known until after x-rays on Monday. The results are in and so is the initial estimate of time loss expected for the Barons center.

Omark Scores 5; Barons on Fire

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Fans in Springfield are probably wondering "Where the hell was this last year???"

The Oklahoma City Barons are riding atop the AHL's Western Conference with 20 points and have won 6 of their last 7 games, 9 of their last 12. The farm club of the Edmonton Oilers has rebounded nicely from a 0-3 start to the season that had some people wondering if 2010-11 was going to be a repeat of the last three years spent in Springfield.

Reading into Oiler moves

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So the Oilers are down to 25 players after sending and hoping to send 8 players to Oklahoma City. On their way to OKC are the following:

Liam Reddox
Ryan O'Marra
Chris Vande Velde
Alex Giroux
Ben Ondrus
Linus Omark

Richard Petiot
Shawn Belle

The only player on this list that you can look at and say might be a game changer is Linus Omark with his potentially high end skill, and while he did have 3 points in 3 pre season games, it wasn't a hard decision to send him down. He doesn't have to clear waivers and doesn't have an out clause to go home until next year. Omark will be back and I have no problem with anything he said today.

What to do with Tyler Pitlick?

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Where should Tyler Pitlick play this year? Edmonton? Oklahoma City? Medicine Hat?

He could play in all 3 cities, even though he was just drafted this year. Because Pitlick played NCAA hockey last year with Minnesota State he could suit up in the AHL. During the summer the Oilers 2nd round pick (31st overall) jumped ship to the Medicine Hat Tigers of the WHL, and that's where most expect him to play, but is that the best for his development?

O'Marra, McDonald up, Reddox Down

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The Oilers have recalled centre Ryan O'Marra for a second stint with the big club, and he's brought along his partner in checking Colin McDonald (pictured).

The pair have been the Springfield Falcons shut down line on the farm and have developed some nice chemistry. This will be O'Marra's second call up this year, you can read about his first stint here.

If McDonald gets into game action it will be his first in the NHL, and proof that the Oilers might be salvaging what was once thought to be lost career. The Hartford product was a scorer before attending Providence College where the offence was sucked out of him, never registering more than 13 goals in a single season. His AHL career wasn't much better until Springfield Head Coach Rob Daum asked him to play a checking role, a role in which McDonald thrived in, starting with the final stretch of last season. With a defined job, McDonald's offence is starting to show signs of life. His 5 goals in 21 games, puts him just 7 shy of his career high.

O'Marra and McDonald sit 5th and 6th in Falcons scoring right now. It's unfortunate that injured forward Chris Minard misses out another chance to join the Oilers. Charles Linglet, Colton Fretter and Chad Wiseman are all above or near a point per game pace, but will have to wait for their turn, which by the way the Oilers are getting hurt might not be that long.

The interesting transaction in this announcement is that Liam Reddox has been "loaned" to Springfield. I'm not sure why, maybe it's to circumvent the waiver process or just another way to say 'sent down'???

While this is great news for O'Marra and McDonald, it means the Oilers must start scrambling to find capable players to fill out Rob Daum's roster in Springfield.

Friday Farm Report: Flyin' Ryan's Excellent Adventure

Tuesday morning started like most other days in Springfield for Ryan O'Marra, but ended unlike any other in his life.

It was the team's first practice of the week and so it was an up tempo skate, and for the Oilers prospect it was followed by a meeting with Falcons Head Coach Rob Daum.

"I actually thought he was going to show me something that happened from last weekends game" O'Marra told TPS Friday. "They told me I was going up and I couldn't be more shocked and excited at the same time."

After racing home to pack and pick up his passport, O'Marra arrived at the airport only to find out he missed his flight, and had to wait almost an hour for another flight out, all the while thinking he might have missed his first shot at an NHL game.

"I was freaking out," chuckled O'Marra. "I had a lot of highs and lows during that time span." As it turns out, if O'Marra wouldn't have made it to Ottawa in time, he wouldn't have played an NHL game during his call up as Ales Hemsky returned to the line up Wednesday against Buffalo.

The 2005 first round pick of the New York Islanders landed in Ottawa just after 6:30 PM, left the Ottawa airport at 6:45 and arrived at the rink at exactly 7:18, giving him 12 minutes to dress, thanks to a ride in a police cruiser, "in the front seat."

O'Marra says luckily he doesn't have any pre game rituals, so getting dressed in a hurry was no problem and received some calming advice from his teammates for a night.

"I remember Jason Strudwick just saying ‘here we go, the first of many’ which was really nice of him."

O'Marra's warm up consisted of a couple of quick laps before the singing of O Canada, and nerves set in as soon as the lights came up and he was staring at 18,000 people in the crowd. He had one word to describe his first NHL shift.

"Fast"

He concentrated mainly on getting the puck out of his end, and into the Senators zone, while trying to make contact with anyone in an opposition jersey.

"I can't pin point exactly what shifts I got a hit in and which shifts I didn't" said O'Marra who was credited with 2 during his 7 shifts, "that was a big focus of mine."

Last week on TPS we talked about O'Marra as a possible call up because of his face off ability helping to replace injured centre Shawn Horcoff. O'Marra took one draw Tuesday night and won it handily.

"Unfortunately I won it a little to clean as it went into our zone and unfortunately we didn't get the puck out and they ended up scoring."

His stat sheet read -1 in six minutes of ice time, with zero shots, 2 hits and 1-1 on the dot. All with his father and 2 best friends watching from the crowd of a Canadian city.

"I got a taste of it and now I want more"

That situation is a far cry from O'Marra's start with the Oilers organization. After being acquired along with Robert Nilsson and a first round pick for Ryan Smyth in 2007, the Tokyo born forward spent a good portion of 2007-2008 in Stockton of the ECHL, and struggled with consistency last season with the Falcons. He’s almost done a 180 this year, flourishing in a checking role with Colin McDonald.

“Consistency is the key. You need to find what your best attributes are as a player, and you need to bring them consistently every night. That’s not having good games 2 out of 3, I mean consistently every shift.”

O’Marra says he received positive feed back from Oilers management and while he’d never say it, having them notice his play this year was likely the most rewarding part of the call up. Sometimes a player stuck in the minors has to wonder if the NHL brass even remembers his name after training camp. But a new attitude – thanks to training in Finland this summer - has the 22 year old on the Oilers radar screen and could warrant another call up later in the year.

“That Finland trip gave me a lot of confidence back in my game, something I was definitely lacking going into last season, didn’t have much confidence in myself as a player anymore, I lost it in my first year. Unfortunately I didn’t show enough (in the past) to warrant being given the opportunity I’ve been given this year.”

O’Marra says he was trying to find himself as a player, and coming to the realization that he didn’t have to score 80 points and be a first line player to succeed was huge. Rob Daum wanted O’Marra to become a checking centre, and the 2 time World Junior gold medalist has responded.

“That’s been my main focus, I haven’t been focused much on offence” explained the forward with 4 points and 23 shots of goal this year. “They have told me in recent days to shoot more and drive the puck to the net more and you can do more things in the offensive zone.”

Which could result in a few more points and a brighter future with the big club, after all this is the final year of Ryan O’Marra’s entry level contract.

Bird Bits: Springfield kicks off a 3 game home stand tonight when they host Bridgeport, they will welcome Albany on Sunday. The Falcons are riding a 2 game win streak which included a 5-2 victory over their opponents tonight. Rob Daum’s club has picked up 10 points in their last 8 games.

O'Marra Earning His Shot

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Tuesday night Dean and I had a conversation with Springfield Falcons head coach Rob Daum and we discussed a bunch of different current events including the development of some Oilers prospects. One such player was Ryan O'Marra who had been called up to the NHL earlier in the day.

The former 1st round pick made his NHL debut on Tuesday night against the Ottawa Senators literally minutes after getting off the plane. I contacted O'Marra earlier in the day and he explained to me that his plane was due to land in the nation's capital about 35 minutes before the opening faceoff and that he was going to miss the pregame skate but hoped to still get the chance to play. He did, getting exactly 6:00 of ice time in his first NHL game.

The decision had raised the eyebrows of some people as the theory that the Oilers were "showcasing" him was brought up on the air and message boards. How you showcase a guy who had started to become labeled as a "bust" is anyone's guess but the simple fact is that, contrary to some belief, O'Marra was the best choice for a recall at the time.

The Oilers NHL roster is decimated by injury and illness. The team lacks players who can win a faceoff at the best of time and even more so while Shawn Horcoff is sidelined. The Oilers are also generally pretty small up front. Ryan O'Marra is a 6'2, 208 lbs forward that is the best Springfield center at taking draws. He's not a scorer, a playmaker or a finesse player - but he's exactly what Edmonton was lacking on Tuesday night.

We spoke with Daum and asked him about the recall. He gave us a lot of insight on how the decision of which player is made and also offered a pretty descriptive scenario of his meeting with O'Marra as he told him the news.

"...it was really exciting to see his enthusiasm and the excitement for [O'Marra] of fulfilling a lifelong dream is something he'll never forget and it's exciting when you can deliver that kind of news." said Daum. "You get different reactions from guys depending on the personality of the player. With Ryan it was... he was overwhelmed with the news."

Hearing a bit of the behind-the-scenes stuff of the time line from the first call from Edmonton, the Oilers' line of questions as they seek a call-up, Daum's recommendation and then the subsequent call back... is quite interesting to hear.

Daum also went on to explain the growth he's seen in O'Marra over the course of the last few years. The former Islander was hardly a blip on the radar at best over the past two seasons and yet here he was on the ice in a NHL uniform in November. Daum cleared up the reasons why.

"The doubters and the sceptics were pretty accurate based on his play last year," he began, "I was only [in Springfield] for the last 29 games but in that time, Ryan O'Marra was not a factor."

Over the course of the summer O'Marra changed up his training, spent some time in Finland and returned to Oiler camp with a new focus and a new attitude.

"...Instead of being negative about his season last year, he used it as a motivator for himself. He came to Edmonton, I know, with a very positive attitude in training camp and had a good camp..."

Daum continued to praise O'Marra for his performance in Springfield which has included an acceptance of a set role - that of a shutdown, defensive center.

We also talked to Daum about another player that some Oiler fans had written off long ago. Colin McDonald, drafted as a scoring machine out of New England, had lost his offensive touch during his 4-year NCAA career and had struggled as a pro to find his place. McDonald told us during training camp in Edmonton that having Rob Daum take over the team last year had a major impact on him because the coach had finally given him a job description. This year the former Friar has picked up where he left off and the coach couldn't speak any higher about him that he did to us on Tueday night.

"[McDonald] has been excellent. I thought he was pretty good for us last year doing the things that he did but he's been even better for us this year," said Daum, "His game has taken a real step forward."

We had an email come in from Minnesota that asked Daum to comment on the progression of Taylor Chorney from last year. The coach pulled no punches when describing the struggles Chorney went through as a rookie and also talked about how he's gone from the AHL to the NHL in such a short time.

From Chorney we moved to another Springfield defenceman in Cody Wild. Many Oiler fans, especially those who often rely heavily on statistical analysis and mathematical breakdowns, have been questioning the organization's apparent misuse of Wild, especially when compared to Taylor Chorney. I posed the question directly to the coach and asked him to compare the two players and Daum opened his explanation by commenting on stats.

"I think statistics can be extremely misleading and if that's what you're basing a player comparison on... it's one tool that you can use but there's a lot more to a player than his stats good or bad."

Daum did oblige the question and went to great lengths to discuss the two defenceman and explained how different the two are compared to the belief of some outsiders.

It was a very informative discussion with the coach that should have some fans rethinking their opinions on some key Oiler prospects. The full with interview with coach Rob Daum is available HERE.

Other guests from Tuesday included NHL Hall of Fame netminder and current owner, GM and head coach of the Quebec Remparts - Patrick Roy. We also spoke with Captain Paul Whalen of the Royal Military College hockey team as we offered a hockey tribute to our Canadian Forces.

You can hear The Pipeline Show live on Tuesday nights from 7-9 PM on the TEAM 1260 in Edmonton or online at www.thepipelineshow.com

You can join our Facebook Group for advance notice of our upcoming guest list and you can also keep track of us via Twitter.

(Photos: Springfield Falcons)

Wednesday Reset - Nov 3rd

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Another busy show last night as we talked with players and media all over North America at different levels and about a wide array of topics.

As usual, segment 1 was dedicated to current events. The big controversy over the Michael Liambas hit on Ben Fanelli was front and center. We asked out loud if Ryan O'Marra (above) might be the guy to recall from Springfield if Shawn Horcoff is out long-term. Plus we talked about some AJHL news as well. Hear the opening segment HERE.

Next we welcomed a new guest to The Pipeline Show; Sportsnet.ca's CHL reporter Patrick King. Patrick gave us his impression of the big OHL controversy and what his expectations are in regards to a possible suspension for Liambas. We also talked about the QMJHL and the fact that Moncton had to cancel a game because half the team was sick with the flu! We also asked him if he thought Oilers prospect Philippe Cornet had a chance at cracking the WJC team for Canada considering his hot start. Here that conversation with Patrick King by clicking HERE.

Dean Millard recently had a chance to head south on Highway 2 and take in some WHL action in Red Deer. While he was at the Centrium he caught up with star 16-year-old Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Detroit's free agent signee Willie Coetzee and head coach Jesse Wallin. Hear that Rebel-ious feature by clicking HERE.

At the top of hour #2 we spoke with Chris Vande Velde of the University of North Dakota. The senior talked to us about returning to play for a 4th and final year, how wearing a letter on his sweater this year has changed his mindset, about the make up of his team, the reasons behind their fast start and obviously about his potential future with the Oilers. Here that interview HERE.

From the college ranks we shifted to the 2010 draft with our weekly segment featuring a player eligible next June. This week we spoke with Austin Watson, just one of the notable scout targets this year with the Windsor Spitfires. Austin talked to us about playing on the same team as Cam Fowler and Taylor Hall. He also discussed how he went from a commitment to Maine, the US National Development program and finally decided that playing Major Junior was the right choice for him. We also asked him if he thought that was a growing trend for American players and we were intrigued by his answer. You can hear what Austin Watson had to say by clicking HERE.

We ended the show with a conversation we had with San Jose Sharks prospect Tyson Sexsmith. The former Vancouver Giants netminder had interesting comments in regards to making the jump from the WHL to the AHL including whether or not he felt the Western League was too defensive orientated to properly prepare goalies for the next level. Sexsmith also discussed what makes the AHL so challenging especially considering the always changing roster that plays in front of him. Definitely an interesting interview which you can hear for yourself by clicking HERE.

Next week: It's a big one as we offer up our own tribute to the Canadian Forces, plus we'll speak with a member of the NHL Hall of Fame who happens to be behind the bench of a Major Junior club, a Commissioner of one of the leagues we cover every week and one of the most popular figures at each and every NHL Draft. More on that in the days leading up to next Tuesday!

(Photos courtesy: Springfield Falcons, North Dakota, OHL, Worcester Sharks, The Hockey News)

Friday Farm Report: Falcons Fly Past Monarchs

It was a pretty good night for the Oilers organization. The big club handily beat Minnesota 5-2 and Springfield skated past Manchester 4-1. The only blemish was Stockton losing 3-1 to Idaho.

With their win, Springfield snaps a 3 game losing skid, and wound up on the right end of the shot clock. You can see some hilites below.



After Oscar Moller opened the scoring for the baby Kings, Chad Wiseman notched his first as a Falcon. Colton Fretter also with his first, Geoff Paukovich(pictured courtesy Springfieldfalcons.com) and Colin McDonald with their 2nd each continued the scoring for Rob Daum's club who improve to 2-3 on the season.

Devan Dubnyk wasn't under siege for the first time in a few games and stopped 27 of 28 shots he faced. In the contest, Johan Motin notched his first AHL point, picking up an assist on Geoff Paukovich's tally. Theo Peckham (pictured courtesy Springfieldfalcons.com) was also active, picking up a helper, a plus 2 rating and 9 penalty minutes. In just 3 games, Peckham has taken over 2nd spot for PIM's from Kip Brennan with 19. Peckham is also +3 in 3 games. Jake Taylor's 32 minutes leads Springfield and puts him 4th in the AHL.

Since Taylor Chorney has joined the Oilers, he's been overtaken for the team's scoring lead. Charles Linglet, Ryan Potulny and Chris Minard are tied with 6 points each. Chorney has 5 AHL points this season.

Stats sometimes tell different stories. Colin McDonald and Ryan O'Marra have been linemates quite a bit this season and each have 3 points in 5 games, but a combined minus 6.

Liam Reddox sat this one out while serving a suspension he received against Hartford last weekend. I'm not sure what he did, but at one point he was involved in a collision with Hartford goaltender Matt Zaba.

Slava Trukhno didn't have a very good training camp with the Oilers, and things haven't been any better in Springfield. The Russian forward has zero points in 5 games and is -1. This is a contract year for Truhkno who could find himself out of a job even before season's end if he doesn't turn things around. Remember Joseph Hrabl left Springfield during the season last year.

Meanwhile, Cody Wild has yet to play a game for Rob Daum this season, and has been listed as a healthy scratch on most of the game recaps.

Springfield is home to Hartford Saturday, then it's a rematch with the Monarchs in Manchester Sunday.

As for the Stockton Thunder, they opened their season with a loss to Idaho. Bryan Young and Ryley Emmerson, who were both assigned 2 weeks ago played for the Thunder Friday night. Andrew Perugini stopped 41 of the 44 pucks fired his way, including 16 saves in the 3rd period.

The same two teams will hook up 2 more times this weekend in Idaho.

O'Marra Dismisses Finland Rumour

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Contrary to recent whispers out of Europe, Oilers prospect Ryan O'Marra is not considering playing in Finland and is looking forward to camp in Edmonton.

Last week I commented on the message board rumours that the 22-year-old forward was in Finland seeking employment for the 2009-10 season. At the time I said that I could confirm that O'Marra was indeed in Finland but whether he was there on business or pleasure was still a mystery.

Having just spoken to the player I can set the record straight - O'Marra was in Finland simply to train and prepare for the coming season in North America. According to the former 1st round pick, Finland offered some advantages to his preparation for Oilers camp.

"Their season starts a month and a half before ours," O'Marra told me earlier today, "I just wanted to be in the best shape I could be in for camp."

It sounds a bit unusual but a little out-of-the-box thinking is probably what O'Marra needs to kick start his career with the Oilers.

"It was my agent's idea and because their season starts so much earlier they're already in full swing," he added, "Their tryout process is done, they have their team set and their pace is pretty high plus they play on a bigger ice surface. One huge aspect of my game that I need to work on is my skating so it really became a no-brainer once I thought about it."

So for the past few weeks he trained in Jyvaskala, what he described to be a really nice University town about 3 hours north of Helsinki. There will still be people who won't buy his explanation and will believe that he's just setting up relationships for 2010-11 once his entry level deal with the Oilers expires. Not the case according to O'Marra.

"It was for no other purpose than to skate and get my hands going. This was totally innocent and I was not going there with the intention of leaving North America," he insisted, "I get it, I get why people might think that but that is not what I was doing. I want to play in the NHL."

Safe to say that this was just an internet rumour that may have made sense to some degree but in the end proved to have no foundation. O'Marra will be at Oilers camp in a couple of weeks.

Oiler Prospect Update

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Yesterday I was asked by a fan of the Brandon Wheat Kings if I had an update on the status of Finnish forward Toni Rajala.

The forward was picked up by the Wheaties in the CHL Import Draft and at last report, the club was working on freeing him from Ilves so that he could join them as they begin their season as Memorial Cup host. A knee injury threw a wrench into the works but fans have been left wondering where the talented winger will end up this year.

According to Brandon's website, it looks like it will be with the Wheat Kings... eventually. In a release today that proclaims Brandon's other Euro to be on his way, there is somewhat of an update on Rajala's status.

While Urbom is expected to arrive by the weekend, Brandon’s first pick of the CHL Import Draft will soon be on his way to the Wheat Kings.

18-year old Finnish born right-winger Toni Rajala was originally expected to fly with Urbom to Brandon on Friday but due to a knee injury sustained this summer at an Under 20 Hockey Tournament in Europe, the arrival of the Edmonton Oilers’ fourth round draft choice has been delayed.

Rajala will also attend Oiler camp but is not expected to skate thanks to the knee injury. Officially listed as 4-6 weeks.

Oil Kings Coming to Camp

Yesterday I spoke with Oil Kings head coach Steve Pleau during my 3-hour guest host job on Edmonton Sports Night Live (Corey Graham, TEAM 1260). During our conversation I made reference to the two players who have ties to NHL clubs (Brent Raedeke with Detroit and Tomas Vincour drafted by Dallas). According to Pleau, two Oil Kings have been invited to rookie camp with the Oilers - forward Brett Breitkreuz and netminder Torrie Jung.

Breitkreuz scored 19 goals and had 55 points last year with the Oil Kings. He'll be one of Edmonton's three 20-year-old players this season and will be counted on to play a big role with the team.

Tampa Bay opted not to sign Jung so his rights were up for grabs again and no one has claimed him either through the draft or as a free agent. I am quite surprised by that considering his performance last year and especially down the stretch and in the playoffs. If Jung plays at the same level again this year he'll definitely earn a pro contract from someone.

Both players will report to Oiler rookie camp but that's no guarantee of staying longer for main camp let alone earning a contract from the big club.

Also coming to camp is Saskatoon Blades forward Burke Gallimore. He's an Edmonton native and quite frankly I was surprised that he went undrafted in June after scoring 26 goals and 53 points as a WHL rookie. The Oilers will have a small window of opportunity to claim his rights after he attends their camp by signing him to an entry level deal. Sounds crazy but considering the entry level deal doesn't hit the books until his WHL days are done, it's basically like drafting him in September. Detroit did it with Brent Raedeke last year and the Vancouver Canucks recently did it with Kellan Tochkin after their prospect camp this summer.

Trukhno Back

Earlier this summer I reported that there was some concern in Oilerville in regards to prospect Slava Trukhno perhaps staying in Europe this year. I have recently learned that Trukhno has now officially committed to returning to North America where he is almost certainly headed for Springfield in the AHL for a third consecutive season.

Trukhno was a 4th round pick in 2005 and appeared to have a lot of offensive potential. after 96 and 102 point seasons in the QMJHL, Trukhno has definitely struggled as a pro; He had a respectable 35 point rookie season thanks to a red-hot 3-week stretch at the end of the year but followed that up with only 25 points last year. He's battled injuries but this will be a crucial year in Trukhno's career. A step ahead will earn him another contract but if there is no progression he may simply go unqualified next summer.

O'Marra to Finland?

A poster at HF claiming to have inside knowledge suggested that forward Ryan O'Marra is considering options to play in Finland this year.

Appearently O'Marra is practising with the Finnish team JYP for a couple of weeks, getting to know the organization and city and of course vice versa the organization sees if he is up to the level they need. After that O'Marra heads to the NHL-camp. So basically it's either NHL or JYP (if he convinces the organization/ is convinced by the org.)

I have little information on the subject at this point but this is what I can say. I can confirm that O'Marra is indeed in Finland right now and has been to both Helsinki and Jyvaskala but whether he's there scoping out a potential team to play with or simply on vacation I do not know. My attempts to reach the player directly have thus far failed.

The "insider" at HF earlier speculated that:

I also saw he's got one year left of his contract with the Oilers. Perhaps the Oilers just release him, but there's a slight chance Oilers and JYP (the team is rumoured to go) are working on a some kind of loan-contract here.

I have checked with a source within the Oiler organization who claims that this is all news to him and that there has certainly NOT been any sort of discussions with JYP (or anyone else) to loan O'Marra to them for the 2009-10 season. At this point, O'Marra is expected by the Oilers to be at camp and play for the Falcons in the AHL if he should not crack the NHL roster (and at this point that seems rather far-fetched).

I will update if/when I learn more on the matter.

Oilers rookie camp opens the week of September 7th and will feature games against the Vancouver Canucks and the University of Alberta Golden Bears.

Truitt Dismissal Creates Stir

A few days have passed since the coaching change was made in Springfield that saw Jeff Truitt replaced by Rob Daum. Since that time I've had the chance to speak with a small number of Falcons players for some reaction and have gotten pretty much the same feelings in response from all of them - regret and guilt.

On Tuesday I chatted for a few minutes with center Ryan O'Marra who, despite his place down the depth chart (when not a healthy scratch), had nothing but positive things to say in regards to Truitt. O'Marra described Truitt as a player's coach and made it clear that even though the team has struggled mightily for the last couple of months, there was no dissention and that the coach had not lost the room.

That was pretty much the same story we received from Rob Schremp during his appearance on The Pipeline Show in January.

On Tuesday night we spoke with Ryan Stone, an interview that was set up before the coaching change was made, and he described the team's reaction as being "pretty upset over it because it's usually never the coach's fault."

Stone went on to say that the team "let [Truitt] down and he took the fall for it."

Yesterday morning I had a casual conversation with Liam Reddox at the Oilers morning skate. I asked Reddox if it was fair to say that Truitt was indeed liked by everyone and that he felt the Falcons coach was 'a player's coach'. Reddox echoed what O'Marra had told me in that Truitt had the respect of all of the players and that the team was taking responsibility for the poor play upon themselves rather than looking to pass blame to the coaches.

I asked Reddox if he was suprised that Truitt was let go considering all of those things and he spelled it out as plainly as it can be said - that it's a results driven business and the team wasn't getting the results. The old cliche is that it's easier to fire the coach than to replace the entire roster and obviously that's true.

Reddox described Truitt as being incredibly dedicated to making the team better. Over the All-Star break when Reddox was back on the farm he said he would always show up early at the rink (as Reddox is known to do) and Truitt would be there before him going over video.

This really does appear to be a case of, as Ryan Stone described, the coach taking the fall for the team's lack of performance rather than because he himself isn't a good coach. The fact that some of the players are taking the firing to heart is a good thing - a kick in the ass is exactly the reason the move was made. It's just unfortunate that a good guy lost his job in the process.

Notes & Thoughts:

With both Lubomir Visnovsky and Denis Grebeshkov out of action and both being contributors to the Oielrs power play, is there any chance that Mathieu Roy gets consideration for a recall? Corey Graham posed the question to me last night during the TEAM 1260 Post Game Show and while at first I sort of scoffed at the idea it actually does make a bit of sense - Roy does have some NHL experience and he does have a big shot from the point. He'd have to clear re-entry waivers but I'm really thinking that's not much of a concern for the Oilers who aren't likely considering resigning him this summer anyway. Theo Peckham is definitely on the way up but would it really be crazy to consider Roy as well?

Speaking of Corey Graham, props to him for something he said last night in the press box. After watching Liam Reddox killing a penalty and winning a battle for a loose puck against two Canadiens along the wall right at the Oiler bench, Graham suggested that Reddox is starting to look more and more like he belongs. "He reminds me of Rudy" said Graham in reference to the movie about the Notre Dame football player who was told all his life he would never realize his dream but proved everyone wrong. I think you could make a case for Steve MacIntyre being Edmonton's Rudy but Reddox is starting to make believers out of more and more people too.

Really off topic for a second - so I'm in the dressing room yesterday morning and I happen to be wearing my Hamilton Mustangs T-Shirt (if you don't know who they are, shame on you). Of all the players who not only recognized it but struck up a conversation with me over it... Ladislav Smid was the last one I expected.

"Hey, nice!" he said pointing at the red logo, "That's a great movie!"

I wonder if Smid ever had tea with Miss McGill? I'll have to ask him next time.

The Farm Almanac

As I mentioned in the Springfield update on Friday afternoon, I spoke with Falcons Head Coach Jeff Truitt at length earlier that day and got a synopsis of how things have been going thus far in the early season.

First off, an update on the status of Gilbert Brule who was hurt a week ago in a game against the Providence Bruins. The Vancouver native, (born in Edmonton, raised in B.C.), was involved in what coach Truitt described as not being a dirty hit.

"We reviewed the tapes, there was a hit but it wasn't a dirty play at all," the coach said, "It just caught him in a bad spot just below the knee cap so it's bruised but no structural damage."

"He's got a bruised knee and he skated yesterday and today just lightly and we'll see how it reacts," said Truitt, "He's going to skate again tomorrow and then with the rest of the week here we think we'll get him back again next weekend."

The Falcons played on Friday night, the first of a back-to-back weekend set but are then off until Halloween so Brule (pictured in CLB last year) will have plenty of time to rest, especially considering the fact that the team has several healthy scratches able to take his spot.

I asked Truitt if he was able to tell what the strength of his team was this year even though the schedule had only a handful of games ticked off of it.

"It's our speed and our skill," he stated, "I'll put our character on top of that too because in our first two games we had to come up with big second halves or big third periods to get the wins. We got the win in Hartford and then had to come from behind to get an overtime point in Providence. Our guys never gave up and that was a great sign of our character and we've been building off of that."

In speaking with Rob Schremp earlier in the week, he made a point of how key the recent victory over Manchester was and Truitt also points to the Hartford win as being important for the same reason; both divisional opponents posed major problems for the Falcons last year.

"To go in there and get the two points on opening night in Hartford really sets the tone for the year," agreed Truitt.

The road win in Manchester this year was something the Falcons failed to accomplish at all in 2007-08.

Line combinations have been juggled as is the case normally in an AHL season, especially early on as the coach seeks to find chemistry and rotate as many players through as possible. Rookies will often play every third or fourth game unless they have immediate success simply for the fact that others have paid their dues by going through the same thing in previous years.

Kyle Brodziak barely played in the first half of his rookie AHL season, Liam Reddox spent all of his in the ECHL and even Rob Schremp was a healthy scratch at times in Wilkes-Barre.

"We're getting closer [to set lines] but we still have juggled lines to try and find the right fits," Truitt said. "We really like our Guillaume Lefebvre, Tim Sestito and Carl Corazzini line as our all-purpose line; Tim's got a couple of goals for us already this year so not only can they provide a good defensive game but offensively they can get something done too. They've all good good speed and grit on that line which is good, and that's been a constant here for the last few games."

Last season Slava Trukhno got out of the gate very slowly and it wasn't until late February that he started to pack on the points. Once he got on a roll he was hard to stop and put together a 3-week stretch that raised serious expectations for this new year. So far, Trukhno has delivered.

"He's very strong on his skates, he's more confident in his abilities and of course his skill has always been there but how he uses that skill in tight around the net and his willingness to take a defenceman wide and things like that have really come to the forefront," Truitt explained, "You can see that he's really taken a step forward; he's wanting to get inside of a defenceman to the front of the net and he's been rewarded this year by a lot of good plays in tight to the net."

There is no question that Trukhno (left) will be a fixture in the top 6 for Springfield from now on unless something unexpected and dramatic occurs to his performance level.

Colin McDonald has been bumped back to the fourth line for the last couple of games but Truitt insists that fans of the former Providence Friar shouldn't read too much into that.

"It's nothing against Colin that he's playing there it's just that the other night [in Manchester] we decided to put Stephane Goulet up there on a scoring line and he responded really well," the coach explained, "Colin is a really big part of everything and he'll get his opportunities as well. He's been there before in the early part of the season, the only time he hasn't been is in Manchester, and that line flourished the other night and in practice that line has been pretty good so we just wanted to keep that going."

The line combination in question saw Ryan Potulny in between Schremp on the left side and Goulet on the right wing.

The continual line mixing can be tough on players but I asked the coach if it's also tough on he and his staff knowing that it's often a delicate balance trying to keep everyone happy and morale up.

"What it does is add a healthy competition, not only in games but in practices and that makes everybody better," he countered, "There are a lot of bodies here and that's fine because it creates a good atmosphere for guys to perform in practice. We flip flop things in practice as we start firming up line for when games get closer and that competition is good for everybody."

Cody Wild, who was scratched to make room for Josef Hrabal's AHL debut on Friday, has been good but is not immune to rookie mistakes.

"You can just tell that he's got an offensive flair, he likes to jump into the rush and he's certainly been a contributor with the team," said Truitt, "It's a learning process no doubt and coming out of college to the American League is obviously an adjustment for him. We've had him in to watch tape and he's learning, it's part of the education and the process a first year player has to go through but he's been a good student so far."

I asked Truitt if he'd offer up a couple names of players he'd consider to be pleasant surprises thus far but those he chose he admitted aren't really shocking choices.

"I wouldn't say that I'm surprised but Taylor Chorney has been really good," he began, "His confidence with the puck and his all around game, he's obviously a highly touted guy and deservedly so. He works extremely hard, sees the ice, moves pucks really quick but having him in rookie camp for a bit he's not really a surprise because he's a great player. We've had him with Theo [Peckham] or Jake Taylor and he's been really good every night."

"Devan Dubnyk has come up big for us in a couple of games and has taken the work load and run with it here," Truitt mentioned.

"It's nice to have a guy like Brule here... Schremp, who has bought in right away and has done a great job... Corzazzini and Lefebvre who have added a really workman like attitude and professionalism, Spurgeon has been great and Reddox pretty good too..."

Last year was a growing year for Ryan O'Marra who didn't initially adjust well to the minor leagues but according to his new head coach, he's been a much different player in the early going this season.

"With Ryan, the games that he's played, he came up with a big shot block for us against Providence one night and is doing an outstanding job for us," Truitt praised, "We're seeing little things along the way that are adding to him. He's another great student of the game, always asking questions to get better. I've been really impressed with Ryan and how he's appraoched things to this point and I don't expect anything different. He's going to be a big part of this club and we're going to give him that ice time to develop and get better. He's stronger this year, you can see that in the make up of his body, I just think it will take a little bit of repetition for him before he takes off this year but he'll get that opportunity here for sure."

Some fans have been wondering where Mathieu Roy has disappered to. His name doesn't appear on the game notes the Falcons release as either an injury or a healthy scratch but it appears that has just been an over sight. According to Truitt, Roy is with the team but simply can't play right now.

"Matty hasn't played yet because of his wrist [injured in the NHL pre-season fight against Calgary]," Truitt updated, "He's here but he's still sore and with so many defencemen here there is no use rushing it so... I think it'll be another week."

Finally I had to address the outright snubbing of my recent on air suggestion to Truitt that Tyler Spurgeon should be named as his captain. In fact it was Tim Sestito who got the nod with Ryan Potulny and Jake Taylor getting the A's... I demanded an explanation.

"Well..." he chuckled, "[Spurgeon] is a young player. There is no doubt that Tim Sestito, just by his nature, has grabbed this team with its identity and has done a great job. Jake Taylor is an older defenceman for us although he's not a veteran of the league he can still help our younger guys on the back end. Ryan Potulny has won championships and that's what we want out of our leaders."

"There were lots of guys... like Reddox, McDonald or Spurgeon who could all be a part of that as well, " Truitt added, "[Spurgeon] is a natural leader anyway, I know he's well respected in the room, and we're not expecting just three guys to lead. Spurgeon is infectious because of his work ethic and enthusiasm for the game. It wasn't a matter of his character flaws because there are none."

The choice was made by Truitt and his coaching staff and as I quoted him saying earlier, leadership and character are not qualities that the farm team is lacking so it would have been extremely hard to make poor choices for the lettermen.

Farm Fodder: The Falcons will now play three consecutive games agaisnt the Lowell Devils (NJ) beginning Saturday and ending with back to back games next weekend... The Springfield power play (15.2%) ranks 20th, the PK (77.5%) is 27th in the 29 team league... G Devan Dubnyk's 3.20 GAA ranks 27th in the AHL while his .906 save percentage is 21st on the list... LW Slava Trukhno had 5 points in the first three games but has just 1 point in the last three... LW Rob Schremp has 5 points in 4 games, hitting the score sheet in each game he's appeared in so far... C Ryan Potulny has 5 points so far, all of them goals... D Theo Peckham, born November 10th 1987, is the youngest player on Springfield's current roster... D Josef Hrabal recorded an assist in his first official game in North America... The Falcons have been outshot in every one of their first 6 games by a collective total of 198-154, an average of just over 7 shots per game...

Random Camp Thoughts

A few things have found their way into my brain cavity recently, I've noticed because with so much room in there I've heard these thoughts running around like my kid at the all-you-can-eat Oil Kings game last night after his second bucket of cotton candy.

Or like that massive run-on sentence... Mrs. Sinclair, my Grade 7 English teacher would be so disappointed.

Anway, I have to come right out and admit something first: Since the Camrose and UofA rookie camp, the only part of training camp that I've been able to get to in person was Wednesday night's game against the Florida Panthers. No practices, no other games.

Why? Not because I've suddenly stopped caring or woke up and decided to half-ass it from now on. No, life has simply gotten in the way recently and I've been occupied with that instead of being down at Rexall.

But enough of Lifestyles of the Moderatley Poor and Famous (to his kids).

Thought #1 - Where the hell is Ryan Potulny? As you know, this is the guy I went out on a limb for when making my 13th forward prediction back in August. So far at camp he's gotten into one game, in Vancouver, and according to the media guys I've asked who were there he played pretty darn well.

He didn't dress for either game against Florida which I took to mean "no worries, the Oilers just wanted to allow some of the farmhands like Goulet, Sestito and Spurgeon to get into another game before they sent them to Springfield". And that sort of makes sense except for one thing: Having not played yet (aside from the one game) no one is talking about him or even mentioning in him as being a consideration for the roster. Well no one except me I guess.

Hell, Wednesday night I must have looked like a fly fisherman up in the pressbox as I kept casting out Potulny's name to anyone and everyone I spoke with.

"Has to be in the mix doesn't he Matty?"... "Hey how were your holidays Rob Tychkowski? You know Potulny has to clear waivers eh?"... "Doesn't it make sense to you Corey?"...

Instead all the talk is about Schremp and Brule and considering the way they've played so far, I can sort of understand it. I just have to believe that Potulny is going to play the next few games in order to get a fair shot at showing what he can do. No one is talking about him yet because no one knows much about him. I still think he makes sense but I'll admit that right now... it's not looking too good for him.

Thought #2: Can a guy on the farm be the fan's 'whipping boy'? Holy cow the venom that has been directed Ryan O'Marra's way on some of the message boards, blogs and call in shows has been absolutely corosive. It seems like today every 1st round pick better be in the NHL by the time they are 20 or 21 or else the fans are going to be all over them.

I'm not going to make excuses for him - he didn't play as well as he needed to in order to stay longer in camp. His speed was not good enough and he wasn't hitting the way he needs to in order to grab people's attention but there are some things the critics should keep in mind.

As Dean wrote, O'Marra was pretty ill during rookie camp. Cody Wild commented to me after the Florida game that he was feeling sick and I asked him if it was the same thing O'Marra had. "No I just have a cold but he had the flu, it was disgusting. He was throwing up between periods and stuff." All in all O'Marra lost 10 pounds and considering how he felt he must have played a bit like this guy from Slap Shot...

Many people seem to be in an uproar over the fact that he doesn't appear to be a player that will put up much for points. Quite honestly, the Oilers don't care... they are the ones who asked him to concentrate on defence and hitting. The Oilers have gone on the record as saying if Ryan O'Marra is going to play for them in the NHL, he'll be a 3rd liner - someone to shutdown the opposition and win key draws.

He only got 4 minutes of NHL exhibition before being sent down so it's pretty hard to tell how he did against NHL competition but in the UofA game he was dominant at the dot against the Bear's top centers.

He's got a lot of work to do to be ready for the NHL but the people who are jumping all over him at this point in his career need to relax. He might be a guy who follows the Kyle Brdoziak timeline - 5 years since draft day before playing as a regular in the NHL.

Thought #3: I'm not a fan of the Moreau/Pisani/Penner combo. Again I say that I've only watched the one game in person so it's a limited sample size... but I thought Penner was out of position way too often, especially in his own end. I was sitting with a couple of other media guys, one of whom brought it up first (I won't name him in case he doesn't want me to) so I can't claim to have originated this one.

Dean was guest co-hosting Just A Game on Friday and suggested a guy like Brule could center the 4th line with Moreau and Stortini on the wings bumping Brodziak up between Penner (on the left) and Pisani. To me, that makes much more sense than trying to convert a winger to the middle, especially considering how deep the franchise is right now with middle men.

Thought #4: Who is booking Florida's pre-season schedule? I want to assume that it's Jack Birch, he's Florida's Kevin Prendergast, but I like him and have a hard time believing he's to blame.

If you didn't know, FLA's schedule this week was CGY-EDM-EDM-CGY then fly to Prince Edward Island to play the NY Islanders. And rather than have a split squad, one in CGY and the other in EDM... they rode the iron lung back and forth! Hey whatever floats your boat but you'd think a team that could benefit from some public appearances back home might find a way to play some exhibition games back there.

Thought #5: Why is the season starting so late? I like the way they have condensed the pre-season but it makes no sense to me why the NHL can't just mandate that every year the opening night will be October 1st. Wouldn't providing fans that exact start date every year be better than what we have right now? Hey, this way the playoffs might actually be over by the time my kids are done school at the end of June.

Thought #6: Captain in Springfield - No insider information here because I haven't asked anyone but if there is a better guy to wear the 'C' for Jeff Truitt than Tyler Spurgeon I don't know who it would be. I suppose a veteran like Carl Corazzini or another heart-and-soul grinder like Tim Sestito wouldn't be bad choices but considering their history together, the fact that Spurgeon was proclaimed the most fit player at Oiler camp... what better example is there for other guys to follow? Plus Spurgeon was captain in Kelowna under Truitt during his tenure as the Rockets' bench boss. Makes sense on all fronts to me which is why I mentioned it here.


That's it. See? Lots of room inside my cranium for other random thoughts... I'll share'm when they come to me.

O'Marra On The Mend

Since the Oilers hit the ice for training camp, I've had a number of media members comment to me that Ryan O'Marra looked out of place. The most common theme was his skating ability, or apparent lack there of. While I'll admit O'Marra isn't the fleetest of foot, I didn't think it was as bad as everyone had said. I watched him a little more closely during the Bears vs. Oilers Rookies game and will say he seemed to be a half step behind.

I think though there is a reason for this.

O'Marra told me today, he was ill during all of rookie camp, and actually was sick during the game against the Bears. He said he lost about 10 pounds due to what he thinks was the flu. He said he was even "shut down" for 2 days in order to recover.

The 15th overall pick from 2005 has pronounced himself healthy now and ready to resume his quest to impress the coaching staff. O'Marra is set to play on a line with Hans Benson and Liam Reddox tonight, which is an interesting combination. Reddox is a spark plug, a do-it-all kind of player and we all know what Benson can do. O'Marra will hopefully run a few guys over, play responsible defence and force a few turnovers. If he does that, the Oilers will be happy, if he doesn't finish his checks, then he'll earn a ticket to Springfield sooner than he hoped.