Tuesday Night: In Studio Guests and more

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Tonight we had a couple of special in studio guests and were joined by 2 others on the Moosehead hotline as well as running down a few hot topics in the world of hockey prospects. We covered the on going recruiting tug of war between NCAA and CHL, how to win the ongoing battle with concussions in the game and how 2 Buffalo Sabre prospects are progressing in their careers. Also what does the term 'Milk Bag' mean in the game of hockey? Keep reading to find out.

Saturday Morning Special - April 23rd

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Another jam packed show on Saturday as TPS went across Canada and south of the border to bring you the biggest and best in the world of hockey prospect news. We went behind the mic with two play-by-play guys who are now calling semi-final games, we looked at players leaving college teams and some interesting news out of Duluth, we chatted with arguably the top high school player in the Class of 2011 and we discussed an assortment of news and notes too.

Tyler's Tale: From a Tiger to a Pirate to a Sabre.

Last night Sabres rookie Tyler Ennis - pictured celebrating his first NHL goal- joined us for most of the first segment in studio. The Edmonton product just returned last week after suiting up for the Sabres in their first round playoff loss.

Coming Down the Pipe Tonight: Tyler Ennis

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The AHL Rookie of the Year and key prospect of the Buffalo Sabres will be in studio during this week's edition of The Pipeline Show.

We're excited to have Tyler Ennis live and in person with us for about 45 minutes on Tuesday. Not sure if we'll open the phone lines to take live calls or not but you sure can email us your questions or comments for Tyler.

Top 5 Tuesday: Rookie Playoff Performances

Before you get through this item and start cursing my name for leaving out Tuuka Rask and Jimmy Howard, I'm only including skaters. Rask was wonderful in the first round against Boston, and if he had of played more games this year, would have received more consideration for the Calder Trophy. Jimmy Howard is up for the Rookie of the year, and hasn't seen that much of a dip in his first post season action. Both guys have been great, but here are 5 skaters who have made impacts.

Sabres Prospect Snap Shot

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The Sabres reside in the city of hard luck, thanks to the Bills 4 straight Super Bowl losses and Brett Hull’s skate in 1999. The Sabres have developed a lot of great talent of the years, but because the team hasn’t shelled out big bucks, they’ve developed players for other teams.

The Sabres joined up with the Portland Pirates 2 years ago. The Pirates were born in 1993-94 when they were the baby club of the Washington Capitals. That’s also the year they won their one and only Calder Cup title.

Here now is a look at the top prospects of the Buffalo Sabres

Top 5 Tuesday: AHL Rookies

The Pipeline Show will coming out with our rookie of the year list in the next few weeks, and you can be sure we'll feature a segment or two on the subject. Today though on 'Top 5 Tuesday' we look at some ROY candidates for the American Hockey League. Mostly it's 2007 draft picks with the odd 2008 choice with a late birthday thrown in. There are some guys who aren't on the list that might make you wonder, but we think players like Colin Wilson (08, Nashville) and Zack Boychuk (08, Carolina) will crack their NHL clubs. So below is a list of 5 AHL freshman to watch out for.

1-James Van Riemsdyk-Adirondack
It seems longer than 2 years since Van Riemsdyk was taken 2nd overall by the Philadelphia Flyers. After a couple of seasons at New Hampshire where he scored 74 points in 66 games, JVR left school and played 11 AHL games (7 reg season, 4 playoff) at the end of last year netting 2 points. The powerful winger is the top prospect in the Flyers system, but there's no need for the club to rush him, so a season with new farm team Adirondack will keep his career moving along nicely. It's about time, 11 players from JVR's draft year have played atleast 30 NHL games.

2-Thomas Hickey-Manchester
The LA Kings shocked most people at the 2007 draft when they took Hickey 4th overall ahead of Karl Alzner. Since then he's captain Canada at the WJC and had back to back double digit goal seasons in Seattle. The Kings have promoted a lot of youth over the past few years, and barring injuries the blueline won't have room for Hickey. Some thought he struggled at the WJC championship while paired with fellow Kings prospect Colton Tuebert, but Hickey skates well enough and notched 7 points in 7 AHL games at the end of last year.

3-Tyler Ennis-Portland
At the time of writing this, Tyler Ennis doesn't have a signed contract with Buffalo. TPS talked to him a week ago and he told us he wasn't concerned with it getting done. So let's assume it happens and Ennis isn't coming back to the Medicine Hat Tigers. Some say he's to small at 5.09, but remember this is the same guy who scored 6 goals in a game against Prince Albert last year. To be small and succeed at the pro game you have to be ultra skilled, for me Ennis is and should have a great year in Portland, with an organization that hasn't had a problem promoting pint size stars.

4-Logan Couture-Worcester
I'm not sure how Logan Couture never made a WJC team in Canada, after all he averaged 34 goals a season for the Ottawa 67's, with 25 in his rookie season and 39 last year. The Sharks took him 9th overall in 2007 and are anxious to see him take the next step. San Jose is likely to deep for him to make a mark at the highest level, but for a Worcester team that had only 2 guys score 20 plus goals his nose for the net could come in handy.

5-Jonathan Blum-Milwaukee
The Nashville Predators are one of my favorite teams when it comes to their prospect pool. Colin Wilson has a spot to lose with the big club while Cody Franson should graduate to the big club this year. That will leave a spot on the blueline with the Admirals for Jonathan Blum. He was recently a guest on TPS and you can hear the interview here. The Long Beach product became the first California kid to be taken in the first round when the Preds grabbed him 23rd in 2007. Since then he set the Vancouver Giants assists record, was named the top blueliner in the CHL, and has captained both the Giants and team USA at the World Junior Championship. Blum isn't the biggest D-man, but is one of the smartest players and it should help him succeed in his first pro year.

There are a few other guys to watch for. Angelo Esposito-Chicago, Nick Petrecki-Worcester and Colten Tuebert-Manchester. The latter (pictured)isn't old enough to play in the AHL, but played 14 regular season games for Regina as a 15 year old, and 6 more in the playoffs, and might be eligible for the AHL because of that. TPS is checking into this a little more and hopes to have the answer in the coming days. Have we missed someone on your list, let us know.

As for tonight, we'll preview the QMJHL, talk to a Canuck rookie hoping to crack the line up and find out who's looking good at Oilers rookie camp. 7-9 PM MST on the TEAM 1260 in Edmonton, or online at www.thepipelineshow.com.

Wednesday Reset - Season 5 Begins

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We kicked off the 5th season of The Pipeline Show last night and had more interviews and discussion than we could possibly fit inside our two-hour time limit so there is bonus material in the archives.

As always, a new season also means a new intro to the show... and this one might be the best we've had yet. The intro from the last couple of seasons has been a bit long, this one is much shorter but packs in even more clips and highlights. (And it's still maybe not 100% done... I'm doing some tweaking).

This is a good place to mention some new sponsors who have joined us for Season 5. Madbrothers is THE place to go to get your officially licensed gear from Slap Shot and Youngblood. Jerseys, hats, t-shirts... and a lot more. "Old time hockey is just a mouse click away!" We're happy to be awarding a special $20 promo code each week during Bad Ass Trivia plus all of our listeners can now get a discount from MadBrothers simply by using PIPELINE as your promo code when purchasing!

We've also got a new apparel sponsor coming on board: Tee Box Apparel is in the process of making our new hats and toques which will be available to win during Bad Ass Trivia or in our contests.

J&J Wholesale Auto is now also on board sponsoring the Sports Doctor's updates. "Why pay retail when you can buy wholesale?"

When it comes to guest, we started the new season off with a bang. Each year we've spoken with the 1st overall pick from the upcoming NHL draft and yesterday the projected #1 prospect for 2010... Taylor Hall. The Windsor Spitfires star forward spoke with us at length about the Memorial Cup win, how he spent his summer and how much he's looking forward to getting the OHL year underway. What about the WJC in Saskatoon/Regina? The draft? Statistical goals? Taylor Hall talks about it all... HERE.

From the OHL we moved to the WHL and specifically our own back yard as the Oil Kings' annual pre-season tournament enabled us to catch up with a few players of note. Brett Breitkreuz might be a leading candidate for captaincy this year and will be expected to carry much of the offensive load for the team. We spoke with him about the upcoming year and about his invite to Oilers camp.

Keegan Lowe is the son of Oilers president Kevin Lowe and because of that, his selection by the Oil Kings had skeptics screaming "Nepotism!" Well, no one is sayng that now as the 16-year-old is pushing hard for a spot on the team, a full year before most expected he'd be. He's already made the choice to go the WHL route and we talked to him about that and everything else... HERE.

One extra interview that we couldn't squeeze in was with rookie forward Dylan Wruck who could be an impact player for the Oil Kings. He's a 17-year-old rookie but has enough offensive talent that he might be amongst the leading scorers fro freshmen this year. Hear that bonus interview HERE.

another player we spoke with in St.Albert was Buffalo Sabres prospect Tyler Ennis. Are his WHL days behind him? Ennis believes so and so does head coach Willie Desjardins. You can hear a conversation we had with Ennis at the end of the segment with Breitkreuz and Lowe plus HERE is an unaired discussion with coach Desjardins in regards to the Tigers this season and coaching for Canada at the 2010 WJC.

At the top of the hour we played some Bad Ass Trivia and talked to Corey Graham.

Last week Dean missed the live show because he was in Calgary taking in part of the Olympic camp. This week we played the interviews he did with the would-be Olympic rookies; Jonathon Toews, Milan Lucic, Drew Doughty and Steve Mason. Can any of these guys crack the line up? Are any of them considered to be a sure fire olympian? Which one of these "kids" already has 35 games with Hockey Canada under his belt, just 5 fewer than veteran Jarome Iginla? Hear it all, right HERE.

We ended this edition of TPS with some interviews we did with some Oiler prospects earlier this summer that we've just never aired; Jeff Petry and Alex Plante, two defencemen that are considered key prospects in the organization. Petry talks about his difficulties last year, how there is such a thing as too much ice time, the Steven Kampfer incident, and more. Plante looks back at the year that was, burying the hatchet with Dave Lowry and looks ahead to his pro career. Hear both of those interviews HERE.

I also spoke with Cam "Bam-Bam" Abney of the Everett Silvertips who Edmonton drafted last June. The WHL bruiser talked about last season, getting drafted, what the coaching change in Everett might mean for him and also how he plans to become the toughest of the league's togh guys. Hear that bonus interview HERE.

Like I said, a really overloaded show to kick of the new season.

Next Week: we begin our CHL previews by looking at the QMJHL plus we'll speak with a player considered to be one of the top prospects outside of the NHL and obviously lots of stuff from Oilers rookie camp as well!

Top 5 Tuesday: Seen & Heard in St. Albert

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The 3rd Annual Edmonton Oil Kings Invitational Pre-season tournament was held this past weekend in St. Albert. There were 6 teams involved although Red Deer only played one game and Moose Jaw played twice. Swift Current, Regina, Medicine Hat and the host side were the other four clubs in attendance.

As always, with so many teams in one place there were a number of scouts around and the conversations that go on in the stands or between periods and games is quite interesting. I had an interesting conversation with some scouts, including one from a NHL club, about the NHL combine interviews from last year - specifically about the "gay" questioning of Tomas Tatar and the Islanders alcohol inquisition of Zack Kassian. The latter seemed to be OK with everyone I asked but the former, everyone agreed that whoever asked Tatar if he was gay was crossing the line.

I missed most of the tournament because of a wedding but being able to take in the event on Sunday still provided me with enough for a Top 5 things I saw and heard about from the weekend.

5. Keegan Lowe

The Oil Kings are going to have some really tough decisions to make over the next few weeks. It's a good problem to have obviously but now, three years into their existence, they genuinely have young players who are skilled and talented enough to give some veterans a real challenge at making the team. Keegan Lowe is one of them.

He's 16-years-old and when he was taken in the 6th round of the 2008 draft, you could hear the skeptics with their calls of nepotism. (Lowe is the son of Oilers president Kevin Lowe). well no one is claiming anymore that Keegan wasn't worthy of being drafted because everyone that I have spoken with over the last week or so is telling me that not only is he vastly improved from a year ago but that they expect him to make the final Oil Kings roster.

For a team that has 9 blueliners still in camp with WHL experience plus two other guys who could factor in somehow, scouts suggesting Lowe is probably going to make the team definitely took me by surprise. (Lowe is wearing the cage in the photo above).

Lowe was injured in Sunday's game so we didn't get much of a read on him in that one but we did speak with him afterwards, a conversation you can hear tonight on TPS, and liked what we heard. He's soft spoken but intelligent and the fact that he has played in WHL exhibition games means that any possible chance of going the NCAA route is now a thing of the past. Normally a 16-year-old doesn't make that choice unless he knows he's got a future in major junior and evidently, Keegan Lowe's could start much sooner than most expected.

4. Tyler Ennis

Another guy that Dean and I spoke with on Sunday was Tyler Ennis who was in attendance as a spectator and not as a player. He still has a year of eligibility left but even Tigers head coach Willie Desjardins told us that his club is moving on as though their star forward won't be back. Ennis hasn't yet signed on with Buffalo but everyone seems to think that will happen sometime this month.

Ennis, or K-Billy as he's known around the TPS studio, hopes to follow in the footsteps of past Sabres who have overcome apparent size issues to have NHL success. Guys like Daniel Briere and prospect Nate Gerbe immediately come to mind. OH, and why K-Billy? Because Ennis sounds exactly like this:


3. Mike Brown

Honestly, one of the guys from the Swift Current Broncos who catches my every year at this tournament is Mike Brown, an undrafted 6'2 200 lb winger. He skates well, uses his body, looks strong and aggressive and in my mind is a guy I would like to see more of. His stats over the last year and a half suggest he might be playing with a ringuette stick, he's only got 16 points in 105 WHL games, but I think this could be a big year for him. Just a guy I'll be interested to watch this year.

2. Torrie Jung to Brandon?

I was talking with a NHL scout recently and was asking him if he was surprised that Tampa Bay didn't sign him. We chatted a bit and then out of the blue he said to me "He probably ends up in Brandon wouldn't you think?". To be honest, the thought had never even occurred to me.

My response was that if the Oil Kings traded Jung, their MVP last year, they'd be screwed. The scout basically agreed with me. However, that conversation was before this past weekend and with the way both Cam Lanigan and Laurent Brossoit played, perhaps Edmonton wouldn't be as bad off as I first imagined. I still would be shocked if Bob Green pulled a trigger though unless we get closer to the deadline and the Oil Kings are clearly not a league contender... getting something for Jung in that situation would be smart asset management but at the same time, this team should be in the top half of the Eastern Conference.

Brandon could definitely use a stud netminder this year as they host the Memorial Cup. They traded away James Priestner last week and are left with Andrew Hayes, former Oil King castaway Dalyn Flette and a pair of would-be rookies. Jung would be a massive step up from what they currently have.

By the way, I floated the idea to GM Bob Green... "Would you even consider trading Torrie Jung to Brandon" and his quick response: "For who... Brayden Schenn?"

1. Drew Nichol vs Geordie Wudrick

This was what everybody was talking about on Sunday - the licking that Oil Kings defencemen Drew Nichol gave Swift Current forward Geordie Wudrick (LA) on Saturday night. As the story goes, Nichol hammered another Broncos player and Wudrick, a tough hombre himself, stepped in to challenge the Edmonton defenceman.

As its been described to me, and I wasn't there so I'm going on second hand information but from about 20 different people, Wudrick was clocked by Nichol above the left eye (see photo above) and immediately started leaking crimson. Nichol, 6'2 and 200ish lb, is on the bubble as one of five 20-year-olds in camp but may have helped his cause with this fight that will undoubtedly make it's way through the league's grapevine.

The damage: Wudrick was taken for sewing and I've heard various reports as to how many stitches it took to close the wound. I've been told somewhere between 28-34 stitches but I asked the trainer from Medicine Hat (always good sources for that sort of stuff, they all talk to each other) and he said that Swift's trainer told him that there were 12 stitches inside and 18 more on the outside to close the cut. Another person told me that the gash went bone-deep which above the eye isn't all that shocking I guess. You can tell from the second photo though that the damage was extensive and the quick fight was certainly on eveyone's hot topic list a day later.

By the way, clicking on the photo gives you a bigger version... you can really get an idea of how that first punch opened up Wudrick's forehead.

(Photos Courtesy: Andy Devlin of the Edmonton Oil Kings and oilkings.ca)

Kings go 3-0 in pre season tourney

The Oil Kings went undefeated in their pre season tournament thanks to a 5-3 win over Medicine Hat Sunday night. Edmonton watched Cam Lanigan and Laurent Brossoit give up just 4 goals in 3 games, while youngsters like Griffin Reinhart, Michael St. Croix and Dylan Wruck scored in the victories. Reinhart the team's first round bantam pick in 2009 is on his way back to midget, but St. Croix and Wruck will stick around and along with veterans like Brett Breitkreuz, Torrie Jung and 2nd year Dman Mark Pysyk will hope to improve on the Kings 8th place finish last season.

You can catch conversations that Guy and I had with Brietkreuz, Wruck, Keegan Lowe as well as Medicine Hat Tigers head coach Willy Desjardins and Buffalo 2008 first round pick Tyler Ennis, this Tuesday on the show. Details on that and the rest of the show here.

Edmonton with face Red Deer next weekend in a pair of road games.

Top 5 Tuesday: Canadians In 2014

Last week I threw out 5 guys that might be helping Team USA go for gold in the 2014 games. That was during the countries summer orientation camp. With everybody dissecting and predicting the 2010 team at Canada's 4 day event this week in Calgary, TPS will gaze down the road to the next Olympic games with 5 players who could be wearing the Maple Leaf in Russia.

5. Steve Mason-Columbus Blue Jackets
Most think Steve Mason is at Canada's summer skate to be groomed for the 2014 games, but you can bet he's not ruling out grabbing the 3rd spot for the 2010 event in Vancouver. It wouldn't be the first time Mason has exceeded expectations. In 2008 he started the WJC as Jonathan Bernier's back up before outshining the LA King prospect and leading Canada to a thrilling Gold Medal win over Sweden. He was named the tournament's top pipeman and it's MVP with a sparkling 1.19 goals against average in 5 games. This past year Mason saved the Columbus Blue Jackets playoff hopes by standing on his head when Pascal Leclaire went down with an injury. He won the Calder trophy this year and his 10 shuts outs made him a Vezina finalist.

4. Cody Hodgson-Vancouver Canucks
Hodgson was widely considered the best all around player in junior hockey last season. Before and after a terrific world junior tournament - where he led everyone in scoring - the 10th overall pick from 2008 scored 43 goals and set up 49 others in 59 games with Brampton. Whe his season was over, the CHL's Player of the Year lit the lamp twice and added 4 assists in 11 games with the Manitoba Moose as they reached the Calder Cup final in the AHL. Hodgson came close to making the Canucks last year and many think he'll do it this year, as well as challenge to get his name engraved on the Calder trophy as NHL rookie of the year.

3. Drew Doughty-L.A. Kings
There were some that thought Doughty could have went first overall in 2008. They weren't far off as the Kings snapped him up with the second pick, and he made an immediate impact in Hollywood. He tied for the rookie scoring lead among defenceman and his 6 goals and 27 points were second best among rearguards with the Kings. Doughty showed poise and skill in his 81 games with a Kings team that is on the rise but struggled last season.


2. Steven Stamkos-Tampa Bay Lightning
He was close to getting in invite from Hockey Canada, and could get a phone call in December if he comes flying out of the gate. Canada left of players like Sidney Crosby in 2006 because of his age, despite a terrific start to the season, and it won't happen again. After a slow start to his rookie campaign, Stamkos heated up down the stretch. He notched his first career hattrick on February 17th, and never looked back, putting up 16 goals and 8 assists in his final 26 games. The run was enough to get him on Canada's World Championship team where he produced 11 points in 9 games. He was also plus 9 in the tournament where Canada came up short in the Gold Medal game against Russia.

1. John Tavares-New York Islanders
Like fellow first overall pick Steven Stamkos, John Tavares should be ready to don the Team Canada jersey for the 2014 games in Russia. If Tavares lives up to the lofty expectations set before him, he should be scoring between 40-50 goals by the tim his 4th NHL season rolls around. A player I've compared Tavares to, Dale Hawerchuk had 53 in his 4th season, although it was a more free flowing offensive time. Still Tavares is a goal scorer and with 215 lamp lighters in junior he'll be counted on for some big time offence. Until the Olympics Tavares should get a couple of chances to suit up in the World Championship as the Islanders aren't expected to go deep in or even make the playoffs in the next few years.

A few honourable mentions go to Luke Schenn of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Matt Duchene of the Colorado Avalanche, Evander Kane of the Atlanta Thrashers, Alex Pietrangelo of the St. Louis Blues, Tyler Ennis of the Buffalo Sabres, Karl Alzner of the Washington Capitals and David Perron of the St. Louis Blues. Have I missed someone on your list? Do I have someone that you don't? Pipe up with a comment below.

Wednesday Reset

Just a heads up if you missed Tuesday night's show, as Guy says, if you missed it live, click the archive.

We started off with our opening face off debate. Guy and I took sides on whether the Oilers should have given up a first round pick for a top forward. Should Sam Gagner get the Robert Nilsson treatment of being a healthy scratch. Who the better 2010 draft eligible prospect is between Regina's Jordan Weal or Prince George's Brett Connolly. Should the NHL go to 1 minute power plays in overtime, an experiment the AHL has used this year, and finally who will come out on top if Calgary and Vancouver should meet in the WHL final. As I type this, I'm watching the Giants dismantle Tri City, however the Americans are without stud goaltender Chet Pickard because of a concussion. It also doesn't help when you score on yourself, as Americans D-men Brett Plouffe and Riley McIntosh did in the 2nd period of this one. Speaking of goals, if you didn't see the ridiculous performance from Medicine Hat Tigers forward Tyler Ennis on the weekend, go right now to the Tigers website and watch their plays of the week. The number one goal is one of the nicest individual efforts I've seen this year.

Our first guest last night was a rising prospect for the 2009 draft, Kyle Palmieri from the U.S. National development team. TPS has heard Zach Parise as a comparison from more than one scout, and it just so happens that he's from New Jersey. Where's he headed next year, check out the link below to find out.

From there we spoke with another potential draftee for this June. Phillip Samuelsson of the USHL's Chicago Steel. He's the son of Ulf and the property of the Edmonton Oil Kings, but it sounds like he's headed down the college route. Is Phillip a chip off the old block? (hopefully without the hit on Cam Neely) You can listen for yourself.

The top of the hour brought us the saving grace for the Edmonton Oil Kings. Goaltender Torrie Jung has been nothing short of spectacular for the 2nd year team and spoke about the current playoff run they are on. We also chatted with Jung about his future with Tampa Bay.

Bad Ass trivia was split with Guy's flaming hot/not and my fantasy pick up as well as few other notes about prospect hockey.

We then hit the AJHL thanks to Spruce Grove assistant coach Ryan Marsh. The Saints are one of top teams in the country and their captain is heading to New Hampshire. Spruce Grove earned a bye in the first round of the AJHL playoffs which began last weekend. Marsh also talked to us about The Hockey Program at Vimy Ridge Academy and Donnan Schools.

Finally, we had some bonus time last night before Corey Graham took over with the post game show, and had the chance to run and interview Guy and I did a while back with hall of fame forward Ron Francis.

You catch all the interviews listed above by heading to The Pipeline Show website.

Ennis 6 - Raiders 2

Edmontonian Tyler Ennis helped out his home town last night, taking out the Prince Albert Raiders in a 6-2 win, by scoring all 6 goals!!!! The Raiders are battling the Oil Kings for the final playoff spot. The 6 pack is one goal short of the WHL record held by 5 different skaters. The last to do it was former Swift Current Bronco Kimbi Daniels (who just happens to hail from Brandon)who just happened to score all 7 in a win over Medicine Hat 9 years ago.

The Buffalo Sabres first round pick notched his first 3 goals (a natural hattrick) in an 11:13 span of the 2nd period. He scored 2 more, giving him 5 in a row in, 1:57apart in the 3rd, before adding his 6th late in the final frame, and as you would expect in a 6-2 game it wasn't an empty netter. The outburst gives the gold medalist with Canada's World Junior team 41 on the season, pushing him past the 40 goal mark for the 2nd time and putting him in a tie for 3rd in WHL scoring. He might only be 5.09, 164 lbs (listed anyway) but if he can be this explosive it should overcome any shortcomings (pun intended) his size might present.

Just give him the POW award already.

WJC Will Have Edmonton Flavour

Now that the rosters or camp lists for several of the international WJC teams have been released we can see that Edmonton will be well represented in Ottawa.

Canada's 38-name camp includes Oiler prospects Riley Nash (1st round, 2007) and Jordan Eberle (1st round, 2008). Eberle leads the Regina Pats in scoring with 20 goals and 39 points in 31 games while Nash's season is only 8 games he has managed 5 points. Both have realistic chances to make the squad considering Eberle's previous successes with Hockey Canada and his past chemistry with players like Cody Hodgson and Matt Duchene. Nash had a solid summer camp once he was moved from the wing to his more familiar centerman role and could make for a strong 2-way pivot.

Beyond those two players are a couple of WHL stars that originate from around here in Tyler Ennis (BUF 1st round, 2008) and defenceman Jared Spurgeon (NYI 6th round, 2008). Ennis is the top scorer with the Medicine Hat Tigers and despite his tiny frame, doesn't have any trouble producing at the junior level. Spurgeon, the younger brother of Oilers prospect Tyler Spurgeon, is a small two-way defenceman who might be considered a longshot to make this year's Canadian entry.

The U.S. team has no direct ties to Edmonton although one name on the roster might ring a bell with local fans. Danny Kristo (MTL 2nd round, 2008) was a standout for the Americans at the recent 2008 World Junior A Challenge held in Camrose in early November. He was to the U.S. squad in that tournament what Ales Hemsky is to the Oilers - the playmaker who will do laps in the offensive zone, sifting through defenders with the puck on a string until he can either make a dazzling assist or snipe a goal himself. He's young and might not get much playing time in 2009 but he'll be one to watch for all the same.


Although the Oilers were expecting to see their eligible Swedish prospect Johan Motin at the WJC, he didn't make the final roster. However, Slovakia has included Milan Kytnar (5th round, 2007) on their camp roster which will be held in Ottawa in mid December. Kytnar (pictured left) was red-hot to start the year, cooled down significantly for a stretch but currently has 24 points in 30 games with the Saskatoon Blades in the WHL. He managed only 22 points in Kelowna last year in 62 games.

Even the Czech Republic will have a familiar name to Edmonton hockey fans as Tomas Vincour has been invited to the week-long camp that country is having in Brampton, Ontario later this month. Vincour started the year slowly but the 2009 eligible winger has been a force for the Oil Kings over the last month or so and should be a lock to make the Czech squad. Vincour will join Dean Millard and myself on this coming Tuesday's edition of The Pipeline Show to talk about the opportunnity to play for his homeland at the WJC.

Lastly, I haven't yet seen an official list released from Finland but all indications I've gotten on the subject suggest that Oilers prospect Teemu Hartikainen (6th round, 2008) will be in Ottawa as well. The power forward has been playing in the top Finnish men's league all season and has managed to collect 5 goals and 6 points in 26 games for KalPa Kuopio. An Oiler source suggested to TPS after the draft that Hartikainen was a Tomas Holmstrom type of player; a big body who likes to battle in front of the net, get tip in goals are collected rebounds. Going by the photo below taken in August at Lake Placid, I'd say the desciption seems to fit.


Compared to some years when the tournament has been void of either Oiler prospects or players from this area, the 2009 event should be much more interesting for fans to watch. The addition of the Edmonton Oil Kings will only add to that from now on and perhaps there will be some benefit to tickets sales post-WJC for the local WHL club too. Once Tomas Vincour gets on the world stage, it will be interesting to see if local fans take more interest in the second year franchise realizing exactly what has been available to them for the past 18 months.

It's the second year in a row that the Oil Kings will be represented after forward Robin Figren (NYI) turned heads in Prague last year.

Plus one can only speculate but perhaps an 2009 draft eligible player in the tournament will hear his name called out be the Oilers this June in Montreal.

(photo credits: the WHL, the Saskatoon Blades, the Edmonton Journal, Getty Images)