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)

Friday Farm Report: Falcons Fly Past Monarchs

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

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Farm Report

With 11 games to go in Springfield and 7 to go (both entering play Saturday night) for Stockton, it seems as good a time as any to find out how the future is shaping up for the Oilers with their minor league teams.

In Springfield the overall stats don't paint a very good picture. Not one player is even close to being a point per game player. Only 3 who have played a decent amount of games are on the good side of the plus/minus rating - Ryan Stone +3, Stephane Goulet +2, and Jake Taylor +1 - Stone was a late season addition, Goulet has only played 18 games, and Taylor was injured for all but 28 contests this year.

But for the sake of the future, let's take the last 18 games (heading into Saturday )into account, as that's when current head coach Rob Daum has been behind the bench. Since Daum took over, the birds are 5-9-4. They have picked up 6 points in their last 4 games, but that was after a 6 game losing skid where they were outscored 26-12 during the stretch.

As far as individuals go, the Falcons top 3 scorers this year, haven't exactly caught fire under Daum. Ryan Potulny leads the team in goals and points with 29 and 47 respectively and has just 11 points in 18 games since the coaching change. Ryan Stone is a little better with 14 points in 19 games. While Rob Schremp, who started with a 3 point game and 8 in the first 10 for his new coach, has just 11 in his last 18, and zero points in Springfield's last 4 games.

So who is benefiting from Daum behind the bench? Charles Linglett who Springfield traded Carl Corrazini for in February has 13 points in his last 14 games. The 6.02, 215 pound Montreal product has certainly agreed with his change of scenery and new coach. Linglett had just 9 points in 37 games with Peoria before the deal. D-man Taylor Chorney has 9 points in the 18 games with Daum calling the shots, and 6 points in the 8 games during the month of March, but he's also -4 in 18 games, adding to his team leading -25. Chorney's D partner since Daum replaced Jeff Truitt has been Cody Wild, and while his 6 points in 18 games are earth shattering, when you consider he had just 9 in 31 games before the change, you can see Wild is agreeing with Daum's coaching philosophy of getting his blueliners more active.

Maybe the biggest bright spot for Springfield this year - you might say the only one - is the play of Devan Dubnyk. The first round pick from 2004 has 17 of Springfield's 21 wins and has faced more than 1700 shots while earning a save percentage over 90.

As for Stockton, the Thunder are battling for a playoff spot in the Pacific division. Their top gun this year has been Ryan Huddy who has 29 goals and 66 points. Saturday night was Garet Hunt bobblehead night. The 6.0, 200 pound slugger has racked up 230 penalty minutes in 56 games, a number that leads the ECHL in his rookie season. Like the Falcons, Stockton has struggled to score goals, they're 19th out of 21 teams with just 190 goals, but they have received good goaltending from Andrew Perugini. The goaltender who earned a minor league contract after a great rookie and main camp with the Oilers, has 19 wins, a goals against average of 2.76 and a save percentage of .911 in 33 games. Numbers that might earn him a promotion to the AHL for next season.



So to review, both minor league teams can't seem to score but are bailed out more often than not by goaltenders. Is it a statement of how poor the Oilers prospects are? Or that the system is still a little green? I'd say a little of both, but it should be cause for concern for the Oilers brass.

Falcons furios comeback falls short, NHL's hottest goalie stops them in 3rd, new gear from Mad Brothers.

Springfield failed to pick up their 9th point in their last 12 games Friday, despite throwing everything at Lowell in the 3rd period. Scott Clemenson, recently sent down by the Unholy for contract reasons, continued his red hot play for the New Jersey lite. He was 25-13-1 while filling in for Martin Brodeur but once it was Marty's Party again, the former Boston College Eagle returned to the AHL, and the Falcons found out what it was like to face an NHL calibre goalie, even if he was only one for 40 games.

Ryan Stone scored a pair in the 3rd where the Falcons peppered Clemmensen with 16 shots and 36 overall, but ended up losing 3-2. Newly acquired Charles Linglet continued his fine play for Springfield, setting up both Stone goals. The 6.02, 212 pound left winger has 6 points in his 5 falcon games and 15 in 11 overall in February.

The loss Friday comes on the heel of an overtime win Wednesday over Portland. It was a big night for the D pairing of Taylor Chorney and Cody Wild. Wild scored the O.T. winner and was plus 2. Chorney set up another and was plus 3. Springfield is on the road Saturday against the Sharks farmhands.

As for the Oil Kings, they lost in overtime in Swift Current. Edmonton climbed back in this one after trailing 2-1, only to have speedy creek win it in next goal wins time. However Edmonton gets a point, while Prince Albert lost, so the OK kids occupy 8th place alone, by one point with 6 games to go for each. Both clubs are in action Saturday against weaker teams. Edmonton is in the Jaw to face the Warriors, while the Raiders take on Red Deer.

It's funny how both teams under the Oilers umbrella are scrapping to get into the big dance. Three of the Kings 6 games are against the 2 worst teams in the East - 1 vs. MJ and a home and home series to end the season with RD - while the Oilers have 8 of their next 21 games against teams they lead by atleast 3 points in the west or are out of it in the East. They also play 6 games against the teams they are fighting for spots 7 and 8 (Minnesota, Anaheim, Nashville, Vancouver) I figure it's a coin toss whether the Oilers get in, while the Oil Kings have to just out preform one team down the stretch. It would be very cool to see double the playoff hockey in Edmonton after having none at the highest levels for 2 years.

And finally, you may have noticed Guy and I in our styling Hamilton Mustang Jerseys (top right of page) well now the producers of the jersey's from the best junior hockey movie ever made, Youngblood, have more gear from the flick. Mad Brothers has added a Carl Racki #20 jersey to their roster, along with just about anything you can imagine from the movie slap shot. Check 'em out if you're a sweater collector like myself and tell 'em The Pipeline Show sent you.

Falcons Fall In Fiesty Affair

Scoring goals really hasn't worked for the Falcons lately, so it seemed team decided to try and pound their opponent into submission Sunday night. Against Binghamton, 4 separate scraps broke out in a 6:20 span of the first period, but it wasn't enough as for the second straight night the Oiler farmhands let a 3rd period lead slip away and lost 2-1.

Three minutes into this one, Hans Benson laid a big hit and danced with AHL heavyweight Jeremy Yablonski. According to hockeyfights.com the Meadowlake Saskatchewan product has 86 pro fights, and dropped the mitts for the 18th time this season with Benson. I'd have to give a slight decision to Yablonski after seeing the video evidence, but you can judge for yourself.



As you see in the clip, 2 minutes later Guillaume Lefebvre went with Matt Carkner and I thought it was a draw. 3 and a half minutes after that, Colin McDonald and Neil Petruic had possibly the shortest fight I've ever seen, but still earned 5 minutes each. And finally, newly acquired Ryan Stone and Zach Smith threw the skin hammers less than a minute later, and Stone won this one fairly handily. We'll ask him about the scrap Tuesday night when he joins us on TPS.

As for the rest of the game, it was scoreless until 2 minutes into the 3rd when Ryan Potulny beat Martin Gerber on a power play goal set up by Rob Schremp and Cody Wild. It was Potulny's 3rd in 3 games since being assigned by the Oilers, and gives him 22 on the year.

However Ottawa's farmhands stormed back with 2 goals in less than 2 minutes to steal the win and stop Springfield from snapping it's 6 game losing skid. You can hear some post game audio here.

The birds hit the road this week with 4 games in 5 nights, starting in Manchester Wednesday and ending in Toronto Sunday.

Springfield's Wild Playoff Drive

The Pipeline Show has learned that the Edmonton Oilers have come to terms with collegian Cody Wild and will announce the signing on Tuesday. The former Providence Friar will dress and make his AHL debut on Wednesday when Springfield hosts Manchester.

As I first discussed at Hockey's Future in the recent Top 20 release and then more so yesterday, Cody Wild has been on the minds of the Oilers for several weeks now. With mass injuries depleting their supply of defencemen at both the NHL and minor league levels, it has exposed the types of players in the system. In short, not enough puck movers, especially in Springfield.

Conversations with those around the AHL club pin point the team's habit of being badly outshot to one thing; an inability to get the puck out of its own end.

Springfield's backend is dominated by defensive players like Bryan Young, Theo Peckham, Rick Berry and Allan Rourke. The club has been forced to go out of its way to sign league castoffs to try and fill the void but the Mike Gabinets and Kenny Smiths of the world aren't getting it done.

With Providence College's one-sided loss to Boston College last weekend in the Hockey East playoffs, it left Cody Wild with a decision to make; return for another season or go pro and get a start on his major league career and again, my sources confirm it's a done deal.

Wild is exactly the kind of player Springfield is missing, an offence first defenceman who can carry the puck out by himself or make the outlet pass if it's open. It will give the Falcons and head coach Kelly Buchberger a dynamic they haven't had since the underachieving Danny Syvret was cast aside.

The 20-year-old set new career highs in points (22) and assists (18) this year in 32 games, the fewest played in his 3 seasons spent with Providence. His sophomore year was ravaged by injury, a torn labrum that required off season surgery. Wild is an offence-first blueliner almost to a fault as the knock on him is that he's often too eager to attack leaving his own end vulnerable.

Comparisons range from Tom Gilbert to Jordan Leopold with one source saying that Wild's tendency to rush with the forwards is not unlike Joni Pitkanen's style although the overall skill level is clearly not the same.

Wild is the first, Taylor Chorney may very well join Springfield once North Dakota's year has come to an end as well, either the last weekend of March or at the conculsion of the Frozen Four on April 12th.

NOTE: Cody Wild and fellow Oiler prospects Jeff Petry and Riley Nash will appear on The Pipeline Show Tuesday March 18th between 7-9 PM (MST). You can submit your questions to these players by sending an email to: pipeup@thepipelineshow.com