Former TPS Guest Blogger Recalled to NHL

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Great news today for a player that we got to know quite well during his NHL draft year. The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced that defenceman John Moore, their 1st round selection in 2009, has been recalled from AHL Springfield and is expected to make his NHL debut on Friday night in Detroit. Here is the release from Columbus.

Falcons Getting More Help

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With the college signings of Jeff Petry, Matt Beca and Eddie DelGrosso plus the tryouts given to defender Tony DeHart (Oshawa Generals) and forward Jesse Gimblett (Alberta Golden Bears), the Springfield Falcons look a lot different then they did a couple of weeks ago. That appearance will continue to change as more help is on the way including someone to play between the pipes.

As more CHL teams drop by the wayside in their playoffs and NCAA players weigh their options, the list of possible recruits grows.

Linglet Recalled By Oilers

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The Pipeline Show has learned that Edmonton has recalled Charles Linglet from the Springfield Falcons today. Linglet, a 6'2 and 212 lbs winger, is currently 5th in AHL scoring with 74 points in 75 games.

The Montreal native played four full seasons in the QMJHL with Baie-Comeau where he had a career high 123 points in 2001-02.

Dean and I have both argued lately that Linglet deserved a call up simply as a carrot or reward for his performance on the farm this year. Hopefully the player will resign with Edmonton in the summer and be a key contributor again when the AHL affiliation moves to Oklahoma City.

Linglet was signed last summer to a minor league deal which means that Edmonton had to sign him to a NHL deal in order for this recall to happen. I'm told that it is for the rest of this season (so far) but beyond that might still be in the works. No details or official announcement yet from the Oilers.

Edit: The Oilers have now sent out the following press release.

Cornell Loses - Nash Should Be On A Plane To Springfield Tonight

As Guy told you earlier this week, Jeff Petry is now a professional. He officially signed Friday with the Oilers and played in his first AHL game against Lowell registering a plus 1 rating with one shot.

Also on Friday Cornell lost out in the NCAA tournament, meaning the season is over for Oilers prospect Riley Nash. To me if Nash isn't on a plane to Springfield right now something is wrong.

Eberle to the World Championship? Lights Lamp for 50th time.

Hockey Night In Canada host Elliot Friedman mentioned tonight during the Oilers/Leafs game that there is a rumour out there that Jordan Eberle will be asked to play for Canada at the World Hockey Championship in Germany starting May 7th.

I haven't heard that yet but it would be terrific for Eberle to get that chance, similar to what Jonathan Toews did after the 2007 season. Steven Stamkos and Drew Doughty played last year for Canada after their rookie seasons.

Whether or not Eberle gets the call from Canada, he'll certainly get hearing from the Oilers after he wraps up his season tonight against Brandon. Eberle entered the contest with 49 goals, and notched #50 in the 2nd period. The big question is whether or not the Oilers will bring him to Edmonton or send him to Springfield?

In my opinion bringing him to Rexall Place right now is wrong. Put in him the AHL and if he plays well, reward him with a call up for the last 3 games: At home to Colorado and then on the road vs LA and Anaheim. As he did last year Eberle has played a lot of hockey this year and starting him in the AHL makes sure massive expectations aren't heaped on him. Also, if he comes to Edmonton, he might just score a few game winning goals and get them out of last place!!!!

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.

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)

Falcons Get Wise... Man.

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OK, I admit it... that's pretty weak.

The Springfield Falcons have announced the signing of forward Chad Wiseman to an amateur tryout deal and have simultaneously parted ways with Adam Henrich.

Henrich leaves the team with two points in Springfield's first four games but obviously wasn't fitting in the way the Oilers had hoped. The former Tampa Bay 2nd round pick will surely find work with another minor league team.

On the other hand, Wiseman joins the Falcons and has a fairly extensive background at the AHL level. The left winger is listed at 6'1 and just under 210 lbs so there are no concerns about size. Wiseman was a former 8th round pick of the San Jose Sharks back in 2000 and has appeared in a total of 9 NHL games.

With stops in Hartford, Cleveland and Hershey, Wiseman has hit the 50-point plateau 4 times and is coming off a 23-game campaign with Lowell where he had 19 points. Wiseman also had a stop in Germany where he had 23 points in 28 games with Wolfsburg Grizzly Adams (no... not kidding).

More details and/or comments after my calls are returned.

Farm Report Sept 25

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Like we did all last year, TPS will try and update Oilers fans every Friday on the players in the system who are not on the NHL roster. We'll spend this time to check in with the Springfield Falcons, the Stockton Thunder and add some tidbits on the prospects still playing junior, NCAA or in Europe.

Obviously there isn't a whole heck of a lot to talk about just yet but here are some brief things to take note of.

- The Springfield Falcons dropped their first exhibition game by a 3-2 score. The Providence Bruins built up a 3-goal lead and the Falcons nearly completed a comeback but fell short of the finish line. The top line for Springfield in the game featured Adam Henrich, brother of former Oilers 1st round pick Michael Henrich. Riding shotgun on that line is minor league journeyman Bryan Lundbohm and former Alberta Golden Bears star Dylan Stanley.

Back in March I threw out the idea that with Rob Daum behind the bench, maybe a few former UofA players might get a look on the farm and low and behold, there are a couple down there right now. Stanley notched a goal and an assist against Providence.

- The Falcons cut 8 players from their camp and are currently at 30 skaters and 4 goalies. Obviously they'll get a few more bodies once the Oilers make another round of reassignments but the AHL club is trying to get down in their numbers as they prepare for opening night on October 3rd. Springfield takes on Worcester tonight and then hook up with Providence again on Saturday.

- Former Carolina Hurricanes draft pick Tim Kunes was a free agent invite to Falcons camp. The defensive defenceman played the last four years with the Boston College Eagles but was not signed by the 'Canes and is now a UFA. He was a player on the radar for the Oilers during the 2005 draft where he eventually was selected by Carolina in the 5th round. Kunes was one of the players dropped from Springfield's camp yesterday.

- At the junior level, Milan Kytnar is expected to make his 2009-10 WHL debut tonight as the Saskatoon Blades host the Edmonton Oil Kings. Speaking of the Blades, it's interesting to note that the two players Edmonton invited to rookie camp are off to another great start; Burke Gallimore has 3 goals and 5 points while captain Derek Hulak has 4 points, both have +4 ratings. Saskatoon has played two games so far.

- Philippe Cornet told me at rookie camp that he's really trying to have a strong start this season so he'll get that invite to Canada's WJC camp in December. So far so good - he's got 6 points in 3 games with his new club Rouyn-Noranda.

- Netminder Olivier Roy is unbeaten in regulation time so far. It's only 3 games and he has just one win but Roy's dropped a pair of games in overtime/shootout including a marathon 11-shooter session with Moncton. Roy's GAA isn't great at 3.16 but his .914 save percentage is a big jump up from his previous numbers.

- Finnish forward Toni Rajala is now skating in Brandon but is not expected to be game ready for a couple of weeks. Rajala left Edmonton with the Oilers as they flew to Winnipeg for their exhibition game against Tampa Bay on Thursday.

- One college note as it was announced today that Jeff Petry has been chosen by teammates to be one of the co-captains at Michigan State. Petry is entering his junior (and probably final) season at MSU and is clearly a guy looking to rebound from a tough year where he was overused by head coach Rick Comley. During the summer I spoke with Petry about last year and he was quite candid with his thoughts; you can hear that conversation in this segment from TPS.

Schremp Signs New Deal

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The Pipeline Show has learned that the Edmonton Oilers have come to terms with prospect forward Rob Schremp on a new 1-year, two-way contract.

Schremp, a 1st round pick (25th overall) in 2004, is entering his fourth professional season. To date he has appeared in 7 NHL games and has collected 3 assists. In 2008-09 Schremp scored 7 goals and 42 points in 69 games with the AHL Springfield Falcons which followed a 23 goal, 76 point campaign the year before. The New York native appeared in the 2008 AHL All-Star game.

The former OHL standout will arrive in Edmonton in a week's time and report to main camp with the Oilers. This year Schremp will have to clear waivers before he can be re-assigned to the Falcons should he fail to stick with the big club out of training camp.

Rajala Injury 'Doesn't Sound Good'

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The recent news that Oiler prospect Toni Rajala was injured at a U20 event came as a blow to fans of not just the NHL club but of Finland and the Brandon Wheat Kings.

Details on the incident are sketchy at best but I spoke with the Oilers recently and was told that it's a very serious knee injury. How serious won't be known likely until Monday when the player's agent gets the results of the MRI that has been done.

The report from Iltalehti.fi out of Finland was that Rajala was hurt during a game against Switzerland. That is contradicted by what I was told today by the Oilers.

"We're still waiting to hear [details] but I guess he got tackled in practice and hurt his knee. He got a MRI done [Friday] and we haven't been told how bad it is but it didn't sound very good," said the team source.

Perhaps he was hurt in practice, gave it a go in the game and simply couldn't perform? Whatever the case, it's obviously not good news for the young man who was looking forward to beginning his WHL career in a few weeks with Brandon. Not only will this setback affect the start of his season but potentially much longer.

"This might [screw] him up for the whole year, it sure didn't sound good the way they were describing it to us."

That said, it's important to keep in mind that early impressions aren't always accurate. Last year Zack Stortini proved that fact after landing awkwardly on his ankle and simply missed a few games when most thought after the incident that he'd be out long term.

Once the MRI information is released then the Oilers and Wheat Kings will have a much clearer indication of where things sit in regards to Rajala's injury and expected rehabilitation time.

RFA Signings Expected Soon

According to NHL.com, the Oilers have five RFAs left to get under contract. However, one of the five players listed there is Colin McDonald who was signed by the club more than two weeks ago.

I'm told that deals for Gilbert Brule, Ladislav Smid, Rob Schremp and Ryan Stone are progressing nicely and that none of the negotiations are expected to drag on much longer. All players should be at camp.

Rookie Tourney

Last year's 3-team rookie tournament held in Camrose involving Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver has not completely been scrapped this year as originally reported. It will however been altered as the Flames have dropped out and have been replaced by the UofA Golden Bears.

I'm told that the UofA will host the Canucks on Wednesday September 9th at Clare Drake Arena. Edmonton will then square off with Vancouver in Leduc on the 10th followed by the annual Golden Bears vs Oilers rookies game at Clare Drake on Friday the 11th. The UofA website corroborates this information.

This is good news for those who enjoyed the Camrose sessions last year and for guys like Dean and I who are going to be all over it for TPS (and I guess Global Sports too).

Another Springfield Signing and Camp Invites

Last week the Falcons announced the signing of AHL scorer Colton Fretter, a 24-goal man last season with the Portland Pirates (BUF). Fretter is a former Michigan State teammate of Bryan Lerg and was a 8th round draft pick of the Atlanta Thrashers back in 2002. In his first pro season he scored 36 goals in 51 ECHL games with Gwinnett.

"We were looking for another top 6 forward because we probably would like to have eight of them to stay away from the injury bug," Kevin Prendergast told me recently. "He's not flashy or anything but he knows how to score."

And with that signing you can expect that the Falcons are basically done with their off season talent hunt. Alex Giroux resigned with Washington/Hershey so he is off the table.

"We're done. The one thing we are missing is a tough guy [up front] but we're going to have two or threes guys come to [Springfield's] camp on tryouts and see if we can get one out of that," said Prendergast.

Matt Nickerson was signed earlier this summer but he's penciled in for a blueline position 9if he even makes the AHL team) so Prendergast would like bolster the beef quotient up front. One of the confirmed invitees to Springfield is Ryan Hand, a 6'1 180 lb knuckle-chucker out of the LNAH. Hand had 252 PIM in 2007-08 with St. Hyacinthe.

Mike Sgroi is also expected at Falcons camp. Sgroi is a 6'5 230 behemoth that dressed for 6 different pro teams in 2008-09. The 31-year-old originally hails from Toronto but has been living out of a suitcase playing for 20 different teams in the last 10 years.

Oilers/Falcons This n' That

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Last night on TPS Dean brought up an interesting debate topic: Between the Edmonton Oilers and the Springfield Falcons, which club is closer to being a playoff team?

The Falcons finished dead last in the AHL last year but have made a ton of changes to their roster with a number of players not qualified and a handful of free agent signings coming in. The Oilers meanwhile have a new goalie... and that's it. Both teams have a new head coach to start the year.

It's an interesting question for sure and would make for a great discussion. For the record, I said the Oilers and Dean picked the Falcons. I think an argument could still be made for both teams not yet being playoff caliber considering the quality of teams in Springfield's division and that the Oilers haven't improver their team and are (so far) banking on players being "no worse" than they were last year.

Trade Rumors

I'm not a big fan of trade rumors or discussing them but the last couple of days at HF there has been a thread mentioning a "serious discussion between Florida and Edmonton" that would involve a few players from both sides. The names being mentioned include Tom Gilbert, Robert Nilsson and Rob Schremp from Edmonton with Panthers forwards Nathan Horton and Kenndal McArdle (pictured) although what the actual proposed deal might be is somewhat unclear.

Anyway... the person starting the rumor is writing a blog claiming "Inside information from the Oilers office". I have no idea who the creator of said blog is but most posters at HF are already labeling him as a fraud.

The suggested trade caught my attention though because I like Kenndal McArdle and have suggested in the past that he'd be a player I think could find some success in Edmonton. I think chemistry goes a long way and he's great friends with Gilbert Brule - another young player looking to establish himself in the NHL this year.

I spoke with McArdle a couple of times last season for a feature I did on him that was published in The Hockey News. I found him to be a guy with a lot of character and has a personality or quality about him that just makes you want to cheer for him.

So when his name came up in this mysterious rumor blog, I wanted to find out if there was anything to the names or teams being talked about.

Alas... I'm told that there isn't.

Springfield Update

The Falcons have been quiet for a few days since signing Charles Linglet and Jamie Bates but I'm led to believe there might be a couple more players still on the radar. We had Rob Daum on the show last night and he mentioned that he'd like to see another top 6 forward added to the mix and potentially another defenceman, someone who could play an offensive role on the top pairing.

Eric Bogunecki's name has been mentioned by a few people. Contrary to suggestions that a deal might be close, I'm getting the opposite sense in that Edmonton's interest in him quickly evaporated after brief initial talks and that he's not in the picture.

Wyatt Smith is though but the player wants to be patient this summer, keep talking to teams through August and make a decision once he's sure all interested parties have had their say. Edmonton is one of those clubs. Smith played for both San Antonio and Norfolk last year and scored 19 goals and 47 points in 71 games... a decent player but I don't know that he satisfies Daum's desire for a top 6 guy.

Here's another name that has come up: Ajay Baines. He's been a career minor leaguer but he's been described to me as a guy any organization would love to have to help tutor their young prospects because he's a world class individual. He played two years in Hamilton including 2006-07 when the Bulldogs won the Calder Cup as AHL Champions (Zack Stortini was also on the team).

Baines isn't a big player and probably isn't a top 6 guy either but he's is someone with a lot of valuable experience at the AHL level and has the leadership qualities that makes him attractive for the farm. He had 31 points last year through 79 games with Iowa (ANH). He was a captain in Norfolk and Iowa and is shown here with the Calder Cup and a classic playoff beard.

Another player that Edmonton/Springfield has under contract that hasn't gotten any publicity is Kelly Czuy. He's a 6'2 forward from Edmonton who has spent the vast majority of his 4-year pro career playing in the ECHL with Las Vegas. He appeared in 3 games with the Falcons last year as well.

I mentioned last week that I thought tough guy Guillaume Lefebvre, who played 70 games with the Falcons last year, might be resigned by Springfield, however, I have learned that Lefebvre has turned down Edmonton's offer and will not be back in 2009-10.

What's Old is Young Again

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On the heels of recent re-signings of goalie Devan Dubnyk and Colin McDonald, both 1-year deals, the Edmonton Oilers have just announced the return of defenceman Bryan Young to the fold as well.

I should say that the Springfield Falcons have made the announcement, as usual the Oilers haven't gotten around to it quite yet. Here is the release from Springfield.

It should be noted that this is strictly a minor-league deal so it will not count against the 50-contract limit the Oilers have been consistently up against in recent years.

Young was originally a 5th round draft pick back in 2004 and was known throughout the OHL as one of the most feared open ice hitters in the junior loop. That trait has not followed him to the AHL though. I'm told that while he does deliver the occasional body blast to an unsuspecting opponent, those incidents are few and far between.

While he's always been known as a defensive defenceman, it's been described to me that he has struggled at the pro level to adjust to bigger, stronger and faster opponents. "He's always backing up" is how one person in the know put it. Perhaps with another year of experience under his belt that will change and if so, he's a decent signing for the farm although at this point he's a depth guy at best. He's been past on the depth chart by a lot of Oiler prospects and his upside is probably now considered to be "a good career minor leaguer".

Random Signing Notes: Interesting to see that the Vancouver Canucks have signed Kellan Tochkin of the Everett Silvertips to an entry level contract. Tochkin went undrafted in 2009 despite winning the WHL rookie scoring race in 2008-09 with 74 points in 72 games. I was surprised that no one chose him in Montreal last June. Taking a flyer on a guy who may be small and not the fastest guy but can obviously produce... doesn't sound like a bad gamble with a late round pick to me...

According to CapGeek.com the Calgary Flames have signed 3 players to entry level deals including Greg Nemisz of the Windsor Spitfires. This wasn't a player I really liked much in his draft year but I do now after getting to see him play at the Memorial Cup. He's big and can score, at least at the OHL level but I think he'll be a good Flame too. Also getting inked were blueliners T.J. Brodie (4th round 2008) and Keith Seabrook who was originally drafted by Washington and played for the Calgary Hitmen...

Former San Jose 1st round pick Lukas Kaspar has been signed by the Philadelphia Flyers. Kaspar has spent the last 4 seasons in the AHL and has put up decent numbers with a career high 44 points last year in Worcester. He managed to dress for 16 NHL games with the Sharks...

Falcons Add to the Nest

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I missed this one earlier on Tuesday because I was getting ready for our show but, according to the Springfield Falcons website, the Oilers have signed both Charles Linglet and Jamie Bates to new AHL deals.

Here is the official release from the Falcons.

Several weeks ago I told you that the plan for the Falcons this summer revolved around the signing of 3 key AHL players. Whether it was going to be 2 forwards and 1 blueliner or 2 defencemen and one forward, it didn't really matter.

With Dean Arsene added to the backend, Edmonton has delivered a veteran influence for Springfield's young defensive corps. Chris Minard and Charles Linglet (pictured) are offensive threats at the AHL level.

Linglet is coming off of 3 successful AHL seasons that saw him score 31 goals in 2006-07, 24 times in 2007-08 and 7 in 21 games last year with Springfield (on pace for 26).

Details on the contract, length and price, were not available.

Are they done? I'm not sure but personally I would still like to see Edmonton land Alex Giroux to really give the Falcons a two-line punch that would be hard to match at the AHL level. I believe that tough guy Guillaume Lefebvre might still find his way back to the Falcons as well.

"Seen Arsene?"

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Don't expect billboards to start popping up around Edmonton but the Oilers have signed another AHL veteran to help bolster their AHL roster in Springfield. Defenceman Dean Arsene, a 6'2 and 210 lb native of Abbotsford BC, has 8 years of pro experience under his belt and has played 426 pro games.

I mentioned Arsene's name last week as someone I believed the Oilers were considering and tonight a fan over at HFBoards.com noticed that Arsene's name has in fact turned up at Capgeek.com as being on Edmonton's payroll. According to the handy cap-related site, it's a 1-year deal worth $500K. With today's rather late formal revelation of their Chris Minard and Matt Nickerson signings, I suppose you can expect a formal announcement from the Oilers later this week/month.

So fans will be asking two things: Who is Dean Arsene and will he impact the Oilers at all?

Arsene entered the scene as a member of the Regina Pats in the WHL. He played a year and a half with the Pats before being dealt to the Edmonton Ice in 1997-98. The big blueliner stuck with the Ice through their move to Kootenay and he ended up playing three and a half years in Cranbrook before turning pro.

Through his WHL career it is clear that you shouldn't expect any offence from Arsene as he ended with all of 8 goals through five seasons.

His pro career started in the ECHL with the Charlotte Checkers where he played 63 games. Arsene moved up a level with the Hartford Wolfpack the next season dressing for 50 games in the AHL. Back to the ECHL the next year, Arsene was back and forth between ECHL Reading and Hershey in the AHL.

The Hershey Bears have been Arsene's home since 2003-04 as he has played 5 and a half years for Washington's farm club helping them win two Calder Cups including the one picked up this past June.

Here are some of the names that Washington has had Arsene around on their farm to help groom for the NHL: Karl Alzner, Mike Green, Josh Godfrey, John Carlson, Sami Lepisto and Jeff Schultz. Clearly Arsene isn't going to show those types of players how to play an offensive style but what he was able to do was show guys how to come to the rink prepared to play a pro game, how to live and train away from the arena and the other ropes that young prospects need to be shown so they can develop properly.

As seen in the picture at the top, Arsene has been a captain at the AHL level and would be a reasonable candidate to secede Tim Sestito for the 'C' this coming year. The other photo displays another aspect of Arsene's game that will come in handy for Springfield - he's averaged about 150 PIM a season over his pro career.

This is a good signing for the Oilers, for the Springfield Falcons and most importantly, for the blueline prospects Edmonton owns that will be looking to Arsene for leadership and guidance.

Going, Going....

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The message at the end of the 2008-09 season was clear: "It is a priority to make the Springfield Falcons better via free agency". We're ten days into the feeding frenzy and so far the Oilers have only signed one impact AHL player while the list of available players gets rapidly smaller every day.

Here's a list of the players from the Falcons' roster last season who are currently not part of the team: Tim Sestito (traded to NJ for a conditional pick - a 7th if he plays in 25 NHL games for the Devils), Guillaume Lefebvre (UFA), Tyler Spurgeon (not qualified), Stephane Goulet (not qualified), Charles Linglet (UFA), Shane Willis (UFA), Hans Benson (UFA), Bryan Young (not qualified), Mathieu Roy (UFA), Mike Gabinet (UFA), Sebastien Bisaillon and Danny Sabourin (UFA). That's 12 players of various levels of talent off the roster.

The list of RFA players is also notable: Gilbert Brule (pencilled in for NHL duty), Ryan Potulny, Ryan Stone, Rob Schremp, Devan Dubnyk, Colin McDonald and Liam Reddox. That's another 7 players.

After two years of struggling in the minors, there is a real possibility that Slava Trukhno may choose to stay in Europe. He is still a player the Oilers want to have in Springfield as they believe he may turn the corner under the tutelage of Rob Daum. That said, the last indication I got was that it wasn't a guarantee that the Russian/Dane would return because the phrase "we expect him to come back" was used.

All of the RFA players are expected to be back with the possible exception of Schremp who needs to clear waivers and likely hopes that won't happen. He could also opt to head to Europe for a bigger pay day and a higher-level playing opportunity but my understanding is that his preference is to wait and see if another NHL club plucks him off waivers. Schremp (seen above sitting with Jeff Tambellini at the 2008 AHL All-Star game) recorded just 7 goals last year.

My hunch is that Bryan Young will end up returning on a minor league deal and that the door may not be completely closed for Tyler Spurgeon to do the same thing.

As of Friday July 10th, Edmonton has managed to land two free agents who will make their mark in the minors - one by scoring, the other by scarring.

Chris Minard was an AHL All-Star last year as he racked up 34 goals and 57 points in 54 games. He's not old enough to take up a AHL Veteran roster spot (260 pro games) but he's definitely an impact player and one that I know head coach Rob Daum is very pleased to have in the fold.

"He played extremely well for Wilkes-Barre last year and he was around for [Pittsburgh's] Stanley Cup run," Assistant GM Kevin Prendergast told me, "What he does is score. If he can get his skating up another notch more I think he could actually be a potential call up for us."

Minard is a 6'1, 200 lb left winger although he spent some time at center during his OHL career in Owen Sound, Oshawa and Toronto.

The other newcomer is of far less significance but with his 6'4 and 235 lb frame, Matt Nickerson (left) is expected to provide the Falcons with heavyweight toughness. He'll never be mistaken for a skill player but I'm told he can line up as a forward or a defenceman and that after two seasons in Finland he should at least be able to get around a North American rink as a skater.

Johan Motin, Alex Plante and Milan Kytnar are expected to slide into the line up in Springfield, the two defenders essentially filling the holes left by Roy and Gabinet/Bisaillon/Young. But so far... that's it. 12 players gone from the roster and only 2 free agents and 3 rookies coming in to replace them. I know the organization is still actively shopping but if they can't land some fish into the boat soon, those vacancies are going to end up being filled by ECHL players.

Assuming all of the RFAs do return, the forward lines might look something like this:

Minard - Stone - Potulny
Trukhno - X - Schremp
X - O'Marra - McDonald
Lerg - Paukovich - Kytnar

I know that Edmonton would like to get Charles Linglet back under contract. He had 16 points in 21 games with the Falcons last year and could easily slip onto the second line LW spot, possibly forcing Schremp (if he's back) to the middle with Trukhno on his off-wing.

However, the rest of the forward positions are still needing to be filled and while I know the Oilers are negotiating with a few free agents, top caliber AHL players are being snapped up by the rest of the league:

- Graham Mink gone to Florida/Rochester.
- Darren Haydar, Brett Skinner, Brian Willsie, David Jones and Matt Hendricks are all now with Colorado/Lake Erie.
- Carolina/Albany signed Steve Goertzen.
- Dany Sabourin and Drew Fata are now with Providence.
- Jason Krog is back with Atlanta/Chicago along with goalies Drew MacIntyre and Peter Mannino.
- Calgary/Abbotsford landed Jason Jaffrey.

There are good players available for the taking but there are a couple of hurdles in Edmonton's way; a self-imposed budget for the minor league team and the lofty asking price of those talented players.

Alex Giroux (left) led the AHL in scoring last year and is looking to cash in on that with a 1-way contract which would guarantee him in the neighborhood of $500K to play in the minors. He scored 60 goals last year and would definitely take an average team and vault them into excellent status. But paying $500K to a player on the farm, like Mathieu Roy last year, is not something Edmonton wants to do.

Ryan Vesce is a 2-time AHL All-Star and is definitely someone who is high on the list for teams looking to bolster their farm club. However he's after a 2-year deal with a 1-way contract in the second year. He might get it from someone but I find it hard to believe that it would be the Oilers. Vesce is 5'8 and I can't see the big club calling up players that size when their NHL roster has already been deemed too small by the new GM. However, on the farm he might very well be Springfield's captain, that's how highly some in the organization feel about him.

According to NHLPA.com (since removed), Chris Minard is going to be paid $550K by the Oilers this year - I'm not positive but I assume that is a 2-way deal. assuming that's the same ballpark that Giroux and Vesce want to play in (and rightfully so) then I get the sense that it's too rich for Edmonton.

Which I honestly don't get.

AHL contracts do not count against the NHL salary cap right? Is a million bucks too much to ask for those two players who, when added to the mix already in Springfield, would practically guarantee a playoff spot for the Falcons? Isn't having your prospects on the farm surrounded by winners exactly the type of development the organization should be striving for? Isn't that a smart way of spending your money?

I'm told the Oilers are currently sitting at 45 NHL contracts; would not vastly improving the Falcons by signing those two impact players, even if it bumped the contract count to 47, be worth it in the long run?

Obviously if they could get guys like Linglet, Vesce (pictured) and Giroux under minor league contracts that would be the perfect scenario. However, while Edmonton waits for the player demands to drop, the other 28 AHL teams continue to add and the risk increases that the Falcons will miss out completely.

Springfield should be better - a full season of Ryan Stone, Chris Minard and Ryan Potulny might be as good a line as there is in the league. They have the potential to add the above free agent trio to the mix and provide Springfield with a true powerhouse AHL line up, something their fans have not watched in recent memory.

How much better does this forward group look than the one I listed above:

Minard - Giroux - Vesce
Linglet - Stone - Potulny
Trukhno - O'Marra - McDonald
Lerg - Paukovich - Kytnar
x-Schremp gone on waivers

The blueline is again looking very young and could benefit greatly from the addition of an AHL veteran. Jake Taylor is the senior player right now and behind him are Taylor Chorney, Theo Peckham, Cody Wild, Matt Nickerson plus rookies Alex Plante and Johan Motin. Jordan Benfeld may still be allotted for Stockton.

I fully expect Edmonton to add a vet to the mix and won't be surprised if they try and raid one of this year's AHL finalists to do it. Manitoba had Zack Fitzgerald, a defensive defenceman with some size and a +13 rating who is now a UFA. Hershey, the Calder Cup winners, had a young blueline partially led by Dean Arsene (pictured), a big and experienced defenceman that would provide sound leadership for the Falcons. [Edited to remove Staffan Kronwall mention who has already been signed.]

In goal it's going to be Devan Dubnyk's show but as I mentioned before, Aaron Sorochan might be a player to watch at camp in the fall. The former U of A Golden Bear has an opportunity to earn a pro contract and might just end up playing behind Dubnyk in Springfield. He won't be the only free agent goalie at camp though as I expect an un-drafted WHL grad to also be invited in former Portland Winterhawks netminder Kurtis Mucha.

The bottom line is that the Falcons can be much better this year and the only thing right now standing in the way might be... the financial bottom line. The Oilers can either fill their AHL roster holes with expensive impact players that will make a big difference on the standings and in the development of their top prospects or, they can fill the holes with cheaper borderline AHL/ECHL players that will keep Springfield buried in mediocrity.

I've never met or spoken with Darryl Katz before but something tells me he doesn't settle for 'mediocre'.

One Down, Two to Go

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With the news that Edmonton has signed AHL impact player Chris Minard to a contract, the Oilers can stroke one name off of their target list but their work is not done yet.

As I mentioned a couple of weekends ago, Edmonton hopes to sign a trio of established AHL players to help bolster the Springfield Falcons. I know that the intention was to sign "two and one" meaning either two forwards or two defencemen but the clear preference was the former. In the link provided you'll notice that I purposeful mentioned Minard as a potential Falcon as well as a couple other players.

Martin St. Pierre has signed on with Ottawa and I'm told the asking price for Darren Haydar just doesn't fit with the budget allotted to Springfield. I find that a bit disconcerting, that even the most expensive minor league player is too expensive when a team has declared their desire to vastly improve. But be things as they may, even the Oilers can probably find other impact players for less than what Haydar's camp is apparently looking for.

Jake Taylor is still under contract for the Falcons so the team already has one veteran blueliner that can provide some leadership on the backend. With Taylor Chorney and Cody Wild in the mix, would it be fair to expect the defender Edmonton seeks might be of the defensive variety or do the Falcons have enough of those guys in Taylor, Theo Peckham and AHL rookies Johan Motin and Alex Plante?

Would Edmonton product Johnny Boychuk be an option? He led the AHL in blueline scoring with 66 points in 78 games. The 6'2, 220 lb rearguard was originally drafted by Colorado but signed with Boston last summer. (EDIT: Thanks to Kevin Forbes from HF for telling em that Boychuk is signed by Boston already).

Here are some other options that I think make sense for the Oilers:

- If Darren Haydar is too expensive than I assume Alex Giroux will be as well. He led the AHL in scoring last season with 97 points but is now a 28-year-old UFA.

- Jason Krog is a proven AHL scorer, he had 86 points last season with Manitoba, and is currently UFA. He'd probably be as expensive as they come though (Now signed by Atlanta).

- Charles Linglet had 16 points in 21 games with the Falcons, he might be someone the team looks at bringing back.

No inside information this time, just me thinking out loud. Who would YOU like to see the Oilers target in order to help make the Springfield Falcons a much more competitive club in 2009-10?

Oilers News, Notes & Thoughts

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Maybe it's the calm before the storm. There hasn't been much news since the organization announced Pat Quinn and Tom Renney as the next era of bench bosses for the Oilers. Fan expectation is running rampant as Oilerville ponders the fate of impending UFA goalie Dwayne Roloson, what will happen at the draft, who will and won't be signed to new contracts for next season and a subset of the market is interested in knowing more about prospects camp in July.

Goalies

Plenty of other folks in the main stream media and the blog world have tackled the Roloson situation and I really don't have anything much new to add to that conversation. My understanding is that while Roloson may have once been asking for a 2-year deal it's possible he's upped his request to 3-years (though he'd "settle" for 2). As others have reported already, it's my belief that the Oilers will not entertain ideas of more than one season for the rapidly aging Roloson.

I get the impression that Edmonton is at the crossroads where they definitely want to know what they have in Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers and that if he plays well early on, he could find himself playing much more than most believe right now. In other words, Roloson's role (or that of another veteran goalie) might be more as a safety net for JDD in case he struggles as opposed to the other way around.

Not to suggest that Deslauriers is going to be handed the starters's job out of camp, that would be ludicrous at this point, but I won't be surprised if early on he receives more starts than most are currently expecting.

Cleaning out the Farmhouse

Several contracts will be coming off the books at the end of June as the Oilers want to distance themselves from the 50-contract limit and many of those cuts will come on the farm. The Springfield Falcons had a horrendous season and the focus from above will be to replace many fringe players with more talented and effective newcomers.

While the team won't make any special announcements for who won't be resigned it's common sense to expect a few prospects not to have their contracts renewed. I don't expect to see Mathieu Roy brought back again. Wingers Stephane Goulet (pictured) and David Rohlfs have probably played their last game as part of the organization as well. I believe that tough guy Hans Benson will not be returning to Springfield and rearguard Sebastien Bisaillon will be looking for a new team as well. The writing was on the wall for goalie Glenn Fisher when he was lent to Las Vegas in the ECHL.

It will be interesting to see what will happen with Edmonton product Tyler Spurgeon. A heart and soul type player, injuries slowed his development and with new managment looking to cut where possible I won't be surprised if Spurgeon is not re-signed. I'd feel bad for Tyler but I honestly don't see him with the Oilers come July.

The two prospects I think Edmonton would like to keep in the mix are Colin McDonald and defenceman Bryan Young. McDonald enjoyed a nice turnaround after the coaching change in Springfield last year and with Rob Daum at the helm I think the belief exists that they can still get the former 2nd round pick to take his game to another level.

As for Young, I know the scouting staff has always believed in the stay at home defenceman and his own-zone first attitude is a positive on a team laden with more offensive minded blueliners. Young might be asked to accept a minor league contract which would keep him in the AHL but out of the NHL. It's a tactic Edmonton has unsuccessfully tried in each of the last two years, first with Freddie Pettersson who promptly bolted for the Swedish Elite League followed by Troy Bodie who also declined, was then signed by Anaheim and actually made his NHL debut with the Ducks last season.

And then there is the case of Josef Hrabal who was injured for much of 2008-09 and then returned to Europe before the end of the season. Very recently Peter Adler via David Staples from the Edmonton Journal had a piece on the Czech defenceman where he spoke about his desire to impress the Oilers at main camp in September. Call it a gut feeling, but I don't think he'll get the chance... I think his stay in the organization has reached an end; he's been lost in the pack and will end up being quietly bought out.

Possible New Falcons

Clearly Kevin Prendergast and the Oilers have to find better AHL veterans if the Falcons are going to have any kind of success. I'm told the team has some players in mind who have a proven track record in the AHL that they are pursuing. I believe the Oilers would like to sign 3, possibly 4 players for Springfield who would play key roles both up front and on the back end.

A couple of possible candidates include a former Edmonton Road Runner named Martin St. Pierre. Well known for using a stick that was about 7 feet long, the 5'9 center played 18 games with the Road Runners during the NHL lockout after an impressive 4-year OHL career in Guelph. St. Pierre has spent the last 4 seasons with Chicago and Boston playing mostly in the AHL but managing to appear in 35 NHL games along the way. He's quick, talented and exactly what the Falcons need to jump start a miserable power play. He's also someone who could fill in with the big club in a pinch if necessary. Getting him might mean a contract that pays pretty well on the AHL side but is probably worth the effort for the results he's shown in the league.

How about someone like Chris Minard who has scored almost 100 goals over his last 175 AHL contests? He was a big part of Wilkes-Barre's offence last year and even suited up with the Pittsburgh Penguins for 20 games. The veteran has 7 years of pro experience under his belt and appears to still be getting better - he could be exactly what the doctor order for the Falcons.

Darren Haydar has been a force in the AHL over the last few seasons. He led the league in scoring by a country mile with 122 points in 2006-07 with Chicago and had 80 points last year with Grand Rapids. Like St. Pierre, Haydar is small but at the AHL level he is a scoring machine.

Downsized Prospect Camp

The annual summer get together between the organization and it's younger properties has been pushed back to July this year. This will enable the team to include the players that they will draft on June 26th. I wonder if it's also so time and money isn't spent on players who are about to leave the organization like the list above. If the camp was held in May or June like in that last few years, that would have been the case and there is no fiscal sense in throwing money out the window.

The list of camp participants will be limited to current prospect in the CHL excluding recently signed Milan Kytnar who is involved in a camp overseas. There are three such players: Jordan Eberle, Philip Cornet and Alex Plante. Also on hand will be the 5 NCAA prospect Edmonton currently has: Riley Nash, Jeff Petry, Matt Glasser, Robby Dee and Chris Vande Velde. The Oilers currently posses 8 draft picks and should that not change, all 8 will be invited to the camp. The two goalies will be Andrew Perugini and Bryan Pitton otherwise the only other pro players who will attend will be Jamie Bates and Jordan Bendfeld, the latter after missing most of the 2008-09 season due to injury.

Normally the Oilers will invite a half dozen or so players to camp to have a closer look but this year that number has been axed to just 3. The lone collegian is former Camrose Kodiak Jesse Todd who just finished his freshman season at Merrimack.

The other two players are both CHLers. Jesse Dudas was injured at Oiler camp last fall and was promised another shot - this is the Oilers holding true to their word. In the same vein, Oil Kings forward Jeff Lee joined the Falcons late in their season when they were desperate for healthy bodies. In exchange, the Oilers assured Lee's agent of a camp invite had he not signed with anyone else by then.

The prospect camp is set for the week beginning July 5th in Sherwood Park.

Speaking of Riley Nash, sources indicate to me that he will indeed return to Cornell for at least his junior year with the Big Red.

"With the 10th Overall Selection..."

It's interesting how much seems to have changed over the last month or so when it comes to players and their stock for the draft. Although there appears to be pretty much a consensus inside the top 8 or 9, the order those top players will actually be chosen seems very much up for debate.

I've heard from NHL people who believe Brandon forward Brayden Schenn will be chosen anywhere from 3rd overall by Colorado to a couple spots later to one of any number of teams including Toronto who might move up. The L.A. Kings might be happy to trade back with the Leafs because according to one source, they apparently like Nazem Kadri but not enough to take him in the #5 spot. The Phoenix Coyotes have been playing host to Russian defenceman Dmitry Kulikov fueling speculation that the Drummondville import might go higher than so far predicted. Swede Oliver Ekman-Larsson is loved by many in mock drafts and can be found well inside the top 10 on many of them but outside by just as many others. One insider predicted that if the Leafs fail to move up to grab either Tavares or Schenn that they may go off the board a bit and choose Peterborough power forward Zack Kassian - much earlier than anyone is thinking right now.

Basically, the names I keep getting suggested to me as the cream of the crop are (not in any specific order): John Tavares, Victor Hedman, Matt Duchene, Evander Kane, Brayden Schenn, Jared Cowen, Magnus Paarjarvi-Svensson and Dmitry Kulikov.

If you're one of the teams picking 9th-12th, the next handful of players to be considered the 'Best Player Available' may include London Knights forward Nazem Kadri and a trio of defencemen consisting of Swedes Oliver Ekman-Larsson and David Rundblad as well as John Moore of the USHL's Chicago Steel.

Kadri broke his jaw early in the season which probably eliminated him from WJC roster contention. After John Tavares joined the Knights, Kadri seemed to make it his personal mission to up his game and not play second fiddle. Scouts I've talked to have suggested that during the OHL series between London and Windsor, Kadri actually outplayed Tavares and won more than a few scouts over in the process.

He didn't get selected for the Swedish entry at the WJC in Ottawa and at the midseason point he was ranked well outside the first round by ISS, however, Oliver Ekman-Larsson's (pictured) stock has been skyrocketing as June 26th gets closer. He's a terrific skater and has solid offensive ability but some I've chatted up have questioned his mental toughness and wonder if he'll last in the NHL.

David Rundblad is ranked 10th overall by The Hockey News but that's higher than everywhere else that I've seen. He's been described to me as a really steady 2-way blueliner who played "in the SEL on one of the best teams and never looked out of place at all". He's a bit bigger and heavier than Ekman-Larsson and isn't getting near as much pre-draft hype but no one has mentioned the same concerns about Rundblad's mental toughness either.

There's a reason why we asked John Moore to do some blogging with us - he's a smart, humble, respectful kid who won us over when we had him on the show. That's the same sort of feeling scouts got when talking to him at the combine or at other times in the season. Not only is he a first class person but his skating is considered world class and the NHL team that takes him knows he's got two solid options of where to play next year - Colorado College or Kitchener. "We've only seen the tip of the ice berg with this kid, because he has no idea how good he actually is."

A wild card to keep in mind could be Brandon forward Scott Glennie who, despite a lackluster combine interview, possesses a few things the Oilers traditionally hold dear; speed, size and hands. Some have suggested that he benefited greatly from playing with Brayden Schenn and Matt Calvert all year but while both were tied up with Hockey Canada, Glennie showed he was able to do it himself.

For the Oilers, a five-name list doesn't really narrow it down all that much but what I do know for certain is that Edmonton's scouting staff will meet again all next week beginning on Tuesday night and I'm sure they'll be debating right up until Friday afternoon.

If I am reading the tea leaves correctly, I doubt that offensive but small players like Golden Gopher Jordan Schroeder and Ryan Ellis of the Windsor Spitfire are in the mix for Edmonton, at least not with the 10th overall pick.

Like I said, things have changed a lot over the last month. On Tuesday Dean and I will be unveiling our revised mock draft and you'll notice several alterations from a month ago when we started the process in its daily form.

(Photos Courtesy: Edmonton Journal, Brandon Wheat Kings,Springfield Falcons, Edmonton Oilers, Edmonton Oil Kings, QMJHL, ECHL)