New Bench Boss For Oil Kings

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The 2014 Memorial Cup Champion Edmonton Oil Kings will name their new head coach on Monday and barring a massive surprise it will be Steve Hamilton. 

Hamilton, who has served as the team's Assistant and then Associate Head Coach since 2010-11, will be Edmonton's third bench boss since returning to the league in 2007-08. 

Edmonton's record under the tutelage of the Laxdal/Hamilton combination is an impressive 182-83-22 over those four years. In that time span, the Oil Kings have enjoyed three consecutive 50-win seasons, three straight WHL Eastern Conference titles, a pair of WHL Championships and are now the defending Memorial Cup Champions.

After the jump, some thoughts on the expected promotion from me and comments from some current and past players as well.

Millard Mock Draft

The NHL draft is today in Philadelphia and Guy Flaming and I will have you covered on TSN 1260.  Along with Dustin Nielson on the ground in Philly and with Jason Gregor and Jason Strudwick in Edmonton we'll break down all the picks in the opening round starting at 5 pm.  

You can also count on plenty of draft talk Saturday June 28th on TSN 1260 with The Pipeline Show at 10 am, Saturday Sports Extra at noon, you'll get your draft fix from both shows.  Before I lay out my top 30 and mock draft I have to preface a few things.  I haven't included trades of which i think there will be a few.  I think the Flyers will move up, possibly into a top 5 spot.  Vancouver has been rumoured to be flirting with Florida for the first pick to be able to snag Sam Reinhart and with so many veteran centres rumoured to be on the trade block who knows what picks might be thrown in.

1.   Florida Panthers- Aaron Ekblad

2.   Buffalo Sabres– Sam Reinhart

3.   Edmonton Oilers- Leon Draisaitl

4.   Calgary Flames- Sam Bennett

5.   New York Islanders- Michael Dal Colle

6.   Vancouver Canucks - William Nylander

7.   Carolina Hurricanes - Nicholas Ritchie

8.   Toronto Maple Leafs - Brendan Perlini

9.   Winnipeg Jets - Nikolaj Ehlers

10. Anaheim Ducks (From Ottawa) Robbi Fabbri

11. Nashville Predators - Jake Virtanen

12. Phoenix Coyotes - Haydyn Fleury

13. Washington Capitals - Alex Tuch

14. Dallas Stars - Kasperi Kapanen

15. Detroit Red Wings - Sonny Milano

16. Columbus Blue Jackets - Jared McCann

17. Philadelphia Flyers - Dylan Larkin

18. Minnesota Wild - Ivan Barbashev

19. Tampa Bay Lightning - Josh Ho-Sang

20. San Jose Sharks - Kevin Fiala

21. St. Louis Blues - Adrian Kempe

22. Pittsburgh Penguins - Jakub Vrana

23. Colorado  Avalanche - Connor Bleackley

24. Anaheim Ducks - Travis Sanheim

25. Boston Bruins - Nick Schmaltz

26. Montreal Canadiens - Ryan Macinnis

27. Chicago Blackhawks - Roland McKeown

28. Tampa Bay (from New York Rangers) Nikita Scherbak

29. Los Angeles Kings - Vladislav Kamenev

30. New Jersey Devils - Anton Karlsson

TPS Mock Draft

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The 2014 NHL Draft will be held on Friday so it's time to pump out my annual mock draft. As always, this is not the order that I would take the players but rather what my predictions are for how it could unfold in Philadelphia. 

Feel free to weigh in with your criticisms in the comments section. The fun begins after the jump. 

New fighting rule sucker punches AJHL

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A rule change to Junior A hockey for the upcoming season has left owners in the Alberta Junior Hockey League feeling like they've been fed so many rights they're begging for a left. Hockey Canada has imposed a new one fight rule for Junior A hockey across the country, meaning if you drop the gloves, you get the gate.  

read more....

Jarry Leaves Lasting Impression in Portland

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A gesture from Edmonton Oil Kings goaltender Tristan Jarry to a young boy helped create new fans from the most unlikely place on Earth; Portland. 

The night was May 9th. The Oil Kings and Portland Winterhawks had just competed fiercely for 60 minutes in the 5th game of their epic WHL Final. The game was at the Moda Center in front of nearly 11,000 ridiculously passionate fans who did all they could that night to urge their team to victory. But it was the visiting team from Edmonton that prevailed, a 3-2 win giving the eventual WHL champions their first lead in the series. 

Jarry was unreal in the game. The Penguins 2nd rounder stopped 37 of 39 shots, many of which appeared to be sure goals. The Oil Kings netminder was name a game star for his effort which set the stage for the big moment many never saw. 

The rest of the story after the jump.

Winterhawks erase pair of 3 goal leads-force game 7

Portland celebrates the game winner
that has forced a game 7
Monday in Portland

Twice the Edmonton Oil Kings had the Portland Winterhawks down by 3 goals in what could have been a WHL Championship clinching game.  But twice the ‘Hawks battled back.  Once to within a goal and once to tie it completely, then win it on a sharp angled shot from Keegan Iverson 7:23 into overtime.

A stunned and loud and nearly full Rexall Place was in disbelief, much like the Oil Kings themselves that they squandered such opportunities.  Portland meanwhile celebrated as they should.  A pardon.  A stay of execution.  A do over after twice being left for dead in game 6....more thoughts after the jump. 

Gutsy Comeback Has Oil Kings Back In Final

The Oil Kings were down 2-0 in the series and 2-0 in game 3 that was just 3:30 old.  It wasn't looking good for the 3 time Eastern Conference champions and one might have wondered why Head Coach Derek Laxdall wouldn't call a time out??? 

The bench boss said post game he wanted to see if his club would sink or swim, and while at times it looked like a dod paddle, they finally smoothed out the stroke and looked like the team that hasn't yet lost on Rexall ice in the playoffs. 

Their strategy seemed simple, get shots on Corbin Boes.  Make him make saves and beat you.  It worked as the home side fired 19 shots at Portland's pipe man and while they still trailed after 20 minutes, they skated off the ice feeling good about their push back. 

In the middle frame Henrik Samuelsson put away a pretty pass from Curtis Lazar to get the Kings on the board.  Then just after a Samuelsson penalty, Luke Bertolucci- known more for his checking ability - snuck in on a breakaway.  After being pushed down by Matt Dumba he regained control and with more moves then Michael Jackson scored a Thriller on Corbin Boes tying the game at 2.  

From there Edmonton was forced to deal with some adversity.  One a Griffin Reinhart penalty kill.  I was really impressed with the captain's composure in handling the penalty and I think that calmness spread throughout the team.  Also a disallowed Samuelsson goal review that took forever and momentum. 

 The point is they got through it all and Edgars Kulda scored the go ahead goal for the team's first lead of the series, one they wouldn't give up despite a furious push from Portland down the stretch.  The Hawks are a team that makes you think they can score every time they have the puck when they have a man advantage, and Matt Dumba had a point blank chance to tie it up but fired high and wide. 

The win gives Edmonton belief that they can compete after Portland mostly dominated games one and two, and for the Hawks you know they'll be charged up even more for game 4 Wednesday night.  

Brendan Leipsic Suspended

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With 302 points in 261 regular season games, it's obvious that Brendan Leipsic can play. He's also scored 73 points in 76 playoff games so he's a guy you can depend on when it counts. And with a total of 468 career penalty minutes on his WHL resumé, the 5'10, 177 lb forward has a proven track record of "getting involved".

Everyone has an opinion on Leipsic; those that dislike him are mostly opposing players. I can tell you from speaking with them that there are a number of non-players around the league who aren't fans either - executives, coaches, support staff, media. They say he's cocky and arrogant, a dirty player who cheap shots guys then "gets tough once a linesman has stepped in to save him".

Personally, and I've said this many, many times on The Pipeline Show, Brendan Leipsic can play on my team any day. He's tenacious, he's talented and he not only "knows the role" but he thrives doing it. That's not always easy to find. 

Sure he's undersized and who knows if he'll play in the NHL but there is ability and determination there. I've always said he reminds me of Boston's Brad Marchand and I still feel that way.

But what he did late on Friday in a 7-3 game was not something anyone likes to see. A hot topic at Saturday night's Oil Kings / Tigers game was the spearing major given to the Portland forward. The video and my thoughts on the suspension after the jump.

Edmonton Vs. Portland: The Rubber Match

For a 3rd straight year the Portland Winterhawks and Edmonton Oil Kings will meet for the Ed Chynoweth Cup.  Each has a title in the last 2 years and have built up a healthy dose of dislike, even hatred for each other.  

Portland will likely be the favourite on paper, but outside of Oregon most will be pulling for the Oil Kings as the Winterhawks have made few friends with their rule breaking actions in recent years.  

2014 Draft Blog: Jordan Papirny Pt.3

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Earlier this season our radio audience and blog readers were introduced to Brandon Wheat Kings netminder Jordan Papirny. The Edmonton product was an In Studio guest on The Pipeline Show last summer then began writing his draft blog in the fall. Chapter One was released back in September. Chapter Two soon followed in October.

Then, as sometimes happens, the player got too busy, needed to stay focused, and the blogging suddenly stopped. It wasn't hard to figure out why as Papirny began playing more and more. 

As the playoffs began and the wheat Kings advanced past Regina, it finally gave us a chance to watch Papirny live and in person; the goaltender did not start either regular season game at Rexall Place between. It was well worth the wait as the Papirny put on a show despite an endless assault by the Oil Kings. 

Here now is Chapter Three from Jordan Papirny...