Phil Cornet Signs

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The Edmonton Oilers have announced that they have inked 2008 5th round selection Philippe Cornet to a 3-year entry level deal. Details can be found here.

After 3 years with the Rimouski Oceanic, Cornet ended his QMJHL career with the Huskies of Rouyn-Noranda where he matched his scoring total of 77 points from the previous season.

Cornet ended his junior days with a total of 224 points, just shy of a point-per-game as he appeared in 235 QMJHL contests.

The Quebec native represented the QMJHL during last year's Subway Series against the Russian Selects and also earned a tryout for Team Canada's entry for the 2010 World Junior Championship in Saskatoon but was a late cut.

Oilers Facing Two Deadlines

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Players who were drafted in 2008 have either been signed already or will need to be in the coming weeks or else they will be dropped back into the prospect pool and available once again in the 2010 NHL Draft. The Edmonton Oilers have a pair of players that they still need to get under contract but there are different deadlines for each one.

Oiler Prospects Sharing "Top Line"

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As The Pipeline Show has speculated about for months now, Edmonton prospects Jordan Eberle and Philippe Cornet are starting Team Canada camp on the same line.

As Dean mentioned last week, Eberle had told head coach Willie Desjardins about the past chemistry the two wingers have developed over the last few years and obviously he's listening to his star player.

Oiler in Memorial Cup for 2nd straight year

The CHL import draft is underway, and while the Edmonton Oil Kings aren't overly concerned without a pick in the first round, their parent club the Oilers were watching closely.

When the number 14 selection rolled around the Red Deer Rebels decided not to use it, but rather wrap it in a paper airplane and sent it across the prairies to the Brandon Wheat Kings.

The day began when Brandon general manager and head coach Kelly McCrimmon acquired Medicine Hat’s first round pick (44th overall) in exchange for a sixth round bantam pick in 2011 or a flip of first round Import picks in 2011.

The Wheat Kings then traded that pick as well as 20-year old veteran Nathan Green to the Rebels in exchange for the fourteenth overall selection. With that pick, Brandon took the 5’10” 163 lb. Rajala
So with the 14th pick, the Wheat Kings grabbed Finish scoring sensation Tony Rajala. If that sounds familiar, it's because the Oilers just selected him in the NHL draft over the weekend. To read a complete review of Rajala and others click here. While it would have been nice to see him quite often here with the Rebels or down highway two in Red Deer, it should mean - barring a trade or injury - that he'll get to suit up in The Memorial Cup this May as the Wheat Kings are hosting it. However it will depend on the contract status of Rajala in Finland. To me though getting a chance to get used to North American hockey and play on a big stage should be enough to bring him across the pond. If it happens It will mark the second straight year an Oilers prospect has played in one of The Pipeline Show's four majors, with Phillipe Cornet skating with Rimouski last year.

Drummondville Defies Logic

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The Voltigeurs players are either banged up or throwing up and yet somehow they were able to pull out a 3-2 overtime victory over the home team Rimouski Oceanic tonight at the Memorial Cup.

And let's be honest - Rimouski dominated Drummondville for most of this game. The first period was spent almost entirely in the Voltigeurs half of the ice, the zamboni may have only needed to flood one side of the rink.

The shots on goal after the first period were 11-4 Rimouski thanks to 6 minutes of power play time. I'd say something like "I don't know how the Oceanic didn't have a 3 goal lead going into the second period" but the fact is I do know - his name is Marco Cousineau and tonight he was fantastic! Drummondville's goalie must have been feeling some heat after a forgettable outing on Monday against Kelowna when he was burned 6 times including a couple he'd like to forget. Well he had people forgetting those softies tonight as he stopped 39 of 41 Rimouski shots en route to the win.

Rimouski scored the night's first goal just over a minute into the second period and I thought the roof might cave in on the Volts. However, 17-year-old Jonathan Brunelle, a late addition to the game roster, scored a beauty with a nice individual effort. When Dmitri Kulikov struck a few minutes later while on the power play, the Oceanic faithful had to have been questioning the justice of it all.

To that point in the hockey game it was Rimouski who had carried the play and had out-chanced and out shot their opponents but just couldn't finish. When Cousineau wasn't robbing them blind the Oceanic were guilty of trying to be too cute - which happened way to much tonight in my opinion.

Rimouski did manage to equal the score when Patrice Cormier snapped one home from the slot. Regulation time expired with the score still tied so for the second time in the tournament the Voltigeurs would head to extra time.

Drummondville, who has the flu bug going through the room, somehow mustered up enough energy to be competitive in the overtime and eventually scored the winner. Eralier in the night Rogers Sportsnet colour commentator Sam Cosentino suggested this was a perfect game for a player like Gabriel Dumont and sure enough, he would be the Drummondville hero that scored the winner. (I think Sam's been standing too close to Loubardias and those dead-on predictions are getting a bit too frequent!)

Final shots in the game were 41-20 in favor of Rimouski but it will be the Oceanic who now have to bounce back from this loss to play Windsor in a tie-breaker game tomorrow. If they win that one it will be right back onto the ice on Friday night for another collision with the Voltigeurs in the semi-final.

Players of note for Drummondville: Obviously goalie Marco Cousineau (ANH) was sensational and the biggest reason why the Volts will rest until Friday night. Gabriel Dumont is an intriguing player - small but a bulldog that isn't afraid of anything. Dumont is undrafted.

Dmitri Kulikov needs to check his equipment because clearly someone had hung a target on his back before the game. The Russian was getting hammered all night long whether it was Cormier or Logan MacMillan's flying elbow at the end of the third period. He was knocked woozy a couple of times but give this guy credit - he's not the stereotypical Euro because not only did he not miss a shift, sometimes he was staying on and playing through the haze he must have been feeling. Top 10 pick this June, no question in my mind.

For Rimouski it was the same guys that I've been liking all tournament. Marc-Andre Bourdon (PHI) wasn't as dominant tonight as he was against Windsor (and I hope he returns to that form tomorrow) but he was sound in his defensive play. I thought Luca Cunti (TBY) was again the best Oceanic forward on the ice tonight.

Dean Millard and I argued on last night's show about Keven Veilleux's performance so far. For my money, he's a 6'5 power forward that is playing like he's 5'11... feel free to hit someone. Tonight he passed up several chances to get the puck on net instead opting for a cutesy pass attempt that inevitably failed. I like his size and he appears to be able to skate pretty well but I'd like to see him be more aggressive and take the puck to the net AND SHOOT.

Philippe Cornet jumps out every once in a while but for the most part is just one of Rimouski's top 6 forwards - not the performance I was expecting from their leading scorer. He's creative and I like to see that but he doesn't look very strong and I don't know if I've seen him shoot the puck more than twice in the past week.

Tomorrow night's game will be interesting. Is Windsor back on track after edging Kelowna (who had nothing on the line Tuesday and played like it)? Can Rimouski bounce back after a loss where they definitely were the better team or has the wind gone out of their sails?

Rogers Sportsnet, 5:00 PM Edmonton time (7:00 PM Eastern).

Wednesday Re-Set

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We were all over the map last night on The Pipeline Show as we checked in on the playoffs in all 3 Major Junior leagues in Canada, the USHL and the AHL as well. We also chatted with an Oiler prospect who is getting ready for the biggest week of his hockey life.

Dean and I began the program by discussing the big news of the day, that being the firing of the entire Regina Pats coaching staff. Dale Derkatch was shown the door after a single year, albeit a very disappointing one, but it caught both of us by surprise. Who would be solid candidates to take over the role? (see Dean's Top 5 Tuesday post from yesterday).

We then shifted focus to the Kelowna/Calgary series and we both offered up our opinions of why the Rockets have been able to get out to a dominating 3-0 lead over the #1 ranked team in the country. The much vaunted Hitmen offence has managed just 3 goals in 3 games which is a testament to how well the Rockets have been playing. Can Kelowna goalie Mark Guggenberger be this year's Mike Murphy... the over-age goalie who finally gets drafted now that he's got a chance in the spotlight and is making the most of it.

The OHL final featuring Brampton and Windsor was next on the agenda and we talked about their epic meeting including what I consider to be the story so far - that goalies Thomas McCollum and Andrew Engelage rank 14th and 15th in save percentage in the OHL postseason... and they're in the finals!?

Dean and I then talked about the interesting case of John Moore, the USHL defenceman who was just drafted by the Kitchener Rangers last weekend despite having a NCAA commitment to Colorado College. Dean asked me what my gut feeling was in regards to where he'll end up and we touched on how we feel about that.

We continued the opening segment by explaining the Johan Motin news that he and the Oilers have verbally reached an agreement and that a contract is expected to be signed any minute now.

Dean also touched on the success that young players are having at the World Hockey Championships like Steven Stamkos and Drew Doughty. We also pointed out that Jonas Gustavsson's stats in the tournament are... not so great so far.

In segment #2 we welcomed Rimouski Oceanic forward Philippe Cornet to the program for the first time. Edmonton's 5th round pick outlined what he and his team have been doing since being eliminated from the QMJHL playoffs knowing that they'll be back on the ice in ten days at the Memorial Cup. Cornet talked about several key players on the team, why he feels that Drummondville (the team that beat them) would be a better fit for them than Shawinigan and also his thoughts on Oiler camp and his chemistry with Jordan Eberle.

Segment #3 was dedicated to the USHL playoffs as we talked to Kerry Collins of the Fargo Forum. The Fargo Force are an interesting story this year - an expansion team that has reached the championship series and are two wins away from taking the Clark Cup. Its a team made up largely of league castoffs with a few notable draft eligible players springled in like goalie Mike Lee and forward Josh Birkholz. On the other side is the Indiana Ice led by future North Dakota Fighting Sioux forward Mike Cichy. We got the low-down on the series and a prediction from Kerry as well.

We stayed south of the border for Segment #4 by speaking with NHL.com writer Lindsay Kramer who covers the AHL. The upsets, the players of note, the goalies standing out and what is keeping the star career minor leaguers out of the NHL. Lindsay also gave his opinion on why the Springfield Falcons failed to live up to expectations.

Bad Ass Trivia this week centered on the WHL playoffs and the Memorial Cup and produced a few winners making me think I'm getting too soft with my questions.

Finally, closing out this week's edition of TPS was the GM of the Regina Pats Brent Parker. It was a tough day for Parker who let go his friend Dale Derkatch as well as the rest of the coaching staff in Regina. Parker talked about what went wrong this year, Dean's list of candidates, he touched on Colten Teubert's tough year, the plans for the WHL's Outdoor Game (news Dean broke on last week's show) at Taylor Field and the Bantam Draft last week as well.

It was a big, big show but next week is going to be even bigger. It's our 4th Annual Memorial Cup Coach's Show where we'll speak with the four bench bosses leading their team to the tournament to crown Canada's top CHL club. Rimouski head coach Clement Jodoin will be making his second appearance after his debut in 2007 while behind the bench in Lewiston.

Past CHL coaches who have been a part of our Memorial Cup Coach's Show include 2006's Ted Nolan (Moncton), Patrick Roy (Quebec), Don Hay (Vancouver)... 2007's Mike Vellucci (Plymouth), Willie Desjardins (Medicine Hat), Clem Jodoin (Lewiston) and Don Hay again... 2008's Peter DeBoer (Kitchener), Bill Peters (Spokane) and George Burnett (Belleville). Interesting to note that the two coaches who failed to appear on the show (Peterborough's Dick Todd in 2006 and Benoit Groulx of Gatineau in 2008) both finished dead last at the Memorial Cup.

Karma???

Farm Almanac - Nov 7

For a change of pace on the minor league updates I thought I'd check in with the Stockton Thunder who are now seven games into the ECHL season and sit in 3rd place in the 5-team Pacific Division.

It's early but if the .429 winning percentage doesn't really get anyone excited, keep in mind that only opening night was a home game for the California squad. The Thunder have a 3-4-0-0 record with victories coming against Victoria (twice) and Bakersfield. The fact that Stockton hosts the Salmon Kings tonight and tomorrow should be a good thing then.

Cory Urquhart leads the team in scoring with 3 goals and 11 points which has him tied for 9th overall in league scoring. Urquhart is a former 2nd round pick of the Montreal Canadiens (40th overall in 2003) who has never gotten a sniff at the NHL. The Oilers... I mean the Springfield Falcons, signed him to a contract last summer. Urquhart was knocked out of the Falcons' last game after a collision and is currently listed as day-to-day.

There is a considerable drop-off in scoring to get to Garet Hunt, second highest point getter for Stockton this far with just 3 goals and 3 helpers for 6 points. Hunt was the piint sized pugilist of the Vancouver Giants the last few years and does standout in 2 categories so far: his plus-5 rating and 26 PIM are both tops on his team.

Bryan Lerg has only played half of the games in Stockton but his 5 points still put him in a small group of point-per-game Thunder players. Frankly, I would surprised to see Lerg back in California this year.

Players with Edmonton connection like drafted forward David Rohlfs and recent selection Jordan Bendfeld are not making much of an impact on the score sheet. Former Michigan Wolverine Rohlfs has 3 points but is also a minus-7 while Bendfeld is pointless thus far and only has 6 PIMs.

Some familiar names since they were all at camp this year... Robbie Bina, Ryan Huddy, Jamie Bates, Justin Chwedoruk and Milan Maslonka are all performing like ECHL players. Take that as you will.

Ryan MacMurchy and Adam Huxley have only played in two games each so far but the former has 2 points and the latter (a crowd favorite) has 7 PIM in thise 2 games.

Josef Hrabal will make his Stockton debut tonight after being sent back down from Springfield earlier in the week.

The two players Oiler fans are most likely interested in hearing updates from are goaltenders Bryan Pitton and Andrew Perugini (pictured). Coming into this weekend's play, Pitton has a 2.99 goals against average and .899 save percentage that has him ranked 24th in the league in both categories. Pitton, a 5th round pick in 2005, has started 6 or Stockton's 7 games.

On the other hand, Perugini's 60 minutes is an extremely small smaple size so take his .914 save percentage (16th) and 3.00 GAA (25th) with a healthy dose of sodium. Immigration issues kept him from getting into action until game #7 but you can expect to see more from him now that the red tape has been navigated.

As a team, Stockton's power play is ranked 4th in the 23-team league with an impressive 22% effective rate. The California club has potted 9 of their 25 goals while having the man advantage. The PK isn't horrible, placing 9th with a .829 which might be helped a bit by the fact that the Thunder are the 4th least penalized team in the ECHL right now.

The Thunder will "Go Pink" tonight, an annual tradition based on a breast cancer promotion where the ice is literally turned pink.

Other Oiler prospect Notes:

The Pipeline Show has learned that winger J.F. Jacques is about 6 weeks away but is beginning his rehab "this week"... Springfield winger Slava Trukhno burst out of the gate with 5 points in 3 games but has cooled off considerably since then. The Russian has managed only 1 goal and 1 assist in the last 6 games... Rob Schremp and Ryan Potulny continue to play well together. Schremp has 8 assists in 7 games (no goals) and Potulny has 8 goals (no assists) in 9 games. If you could meld these two together you might have a hell of a player... Liam Reddox is riding a 5 game scoring streak where he has picked up 6 points in that span... 2008 1st round pick Jordan Eberle is currently 7th in WHL scoring with 14 goals and 26 points in 19 games and recently had a 10-game scoring streak come to an end... Once red-hot Milan Kytnar has come back down to Earth. He has just a single assist and no goals in the last 8 games... Defenceman Alex Plante has been named as an alternate captain in Calgary after ending his self imposed exile... Rimouski forward Phil Cornet has 16 points in 15 games but put into perspective where league leaders routinely have twice that much. Cornet is tied for 40th in QMJHL scoring... Collegian Riley Nash finally gets to play a regular season game as Cornell's ridiculously late starting schedule begins tonight... In Sweden, Linus Omark is tied for 8th in Elite League scoring with 17 points in 19 games...

(photos courtesy: George Steckler and Stockton Thunder)