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Entries with the tag: edmonton+oilers
Sanderson Defies Oilers’ Youth Trend
by Alanah McGinley on 10/04/07 at 09:14 PM ET
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From Allan Maki at the Globe & Mail,
Not only that, Sanderson played against Kevin Lowe and Craig MacTavish, the Oilers’ general manager and head coach, respectively.
“He’s played for a lot of years,” Edmonton teammate Sheldon Souray. “It seems like every team I’ve played against, he’s on it.”
This is somewhat true since Sanderson is beginning his 17th season and has now played for eight teams, some of them twice. But given the number of youngsters the Oilers are breaking in this season, Sanderson could end up playing a key role on a team he grew up idolizing from his home in suburban St. Albert.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Edmonton Oilers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: edmonton+oilers, geoff+sanderson,
Everyone Loves a Good Controversy
by Alanah McGinley on 10/04/07 at 04:41 PM ET
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From Victor Chi at The Sporting News,
For the sake of the NHL, let’s hope that Ducks GM Brian Burke and his Oilers counterpart, Kevin Lowe, continue their verbal sniping.
The league went through the considerable expense of exporting the Ducks and Kings to England for the season openers in hopes of expanding its profile. But the Burke-Lowe exchanges already have generated oodles more buzz than the trans-Atlantic foray, and in today’s fragmented and multi-layered media landscape, relevance is king.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Anaheim Ducks, Edmonton Oilers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: anaheim+ducks, brian+burke, edmonton+oilers, kevin+lowe,
Dreams About To Come True For Edmonton Rookies
by Paul on 10/04/07 at 08:39 AM ET
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from the Edmonton Journal,
The tossing and turning started on Tuesday for Kyle Brodziak, and he has already played in 16 NHL games.
Andrew Cogliano didn’t know what to expect in the last hours leading up to his first NHL game. He didn’t know if he would be more jittery before he made the walk down the corridor, or during the anthem, or when he leapt over the boards for his first shift.
“This is what you dream of as a kid,” said Sam Gagner, the 18-year-old rookie forward with the freshly signed contract with the Edmonton Oilers.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Edmonton Oilers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: edmonton+oilers,
Easy Decision For MacTavish
by Paul on 10/03/07 at 08:54 AM ET
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from Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun,
“When Doug Weight left I asked him who he thought should replace him as captain and he said Jason Smith,” said Oilers’ coach Craig MacTavish.
“I asked Jason, when he left, and he said Ethan Moreau.”
While MacTavish threw out some teasers about maybe having rotating captains and suggesting he was going to be very open-minded about the whole deal, he knew who his captain was going to be.
“It was a little bit of a no-brainer.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Edmonton Oilers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: edmonton+oilers,
Captain Moreau In Edmonton
by Paul on 10/02/07 at 10:31 AM ET
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via the Edmonton Oilers,
The Edmonton Oilers have named Ethan Moreau as their new captain, making him the 12th player to wear the “C” since the team joined the NHL in 1979.
Oilers coach Craig MacTavish says the decision to name Moreau the Oilers new captain was made after careful consideration. MacTavish says, “Ethan’s leadership at this stage of his career is highly developed. The intensity and physical play that he exhibits every shift is a great example for everyone. It’s his voice in our dressing room that has the most impact and at the end of the day, Ethan was an obvious choice.”
Moreau said, “I’m extremely honoured and consider it a priviledge to be named captain of the Edmonton Oilers. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the organization and will continue to strive towards bringing the Stanley Cup back to Edmonton.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Edmonton Oilers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: edmonton+oilers, Ethan+Moreau,
Something In The Air In Edmonton
by Paul on 10/02/07 at 06:52 AM ET
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from the Edmonton Sun,
MacTavish said the players can sense there is something special happening here.
“It brings the optimism up, for sure,” he said of having four high-end skill players making the team together as toddlers.
He said the players can all sense “there’s the making of something real memorable here. If you get that skill with players willing to play hard and sacrifice, we’re going to have something special.”
He said there’s suddenly a foundation here which gives you that feeling of deja vu - “something we’ve seen here in the past when a young team comes together collectively.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Edmonton Oilers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: edmonton+oilers,
Sam Gagner Sticks With Oilers
by Paul on 10/01/07 at 03:36 PM ET
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from Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal,
The Edmonton Oilers signed 18-year-old centre Sam Gagner to a three-year entry level contract today, and plan on having their first-round draft pick in the opening night lineup Thursday against the San Jose Sharks.
Gagner, whose dad Dave played over 900 NHL games, is the first Oiler first-round choice to make the team in his draft year since another centre, Jason Arnott, in 1993.
“I like the way Sam thinks the game mentally. I don’t know if there was one time in the pre-season where I had to talk to Sam when he came off the ice about where he should be (defensively),” said Oiler coach Craig MacTavish.
“You can tell he’s been well-coached by his dad. That’s invaluable.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Edmonton Oilers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: edmonton+oilers, Sam+Gagner,
Penner Adjusting In Edmonton
by Paul on 10/01/07 at 08:07 AM ET
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from the Edmonton Sun,
Physically Penner should be fine. It’s finding the chemistry with Hemsky and Shawn Horcoff on the first line which might take some time.
Hemsky and Horcoff know each other well. It’s a matter of Penner getting up to speed with them.
“It’s coming along,” Penner said. “I have to be a little more aware on the ice when I’m with him (Hemsky) because he can find you in the small seams. You have to be ready at all times with a guy like that because good things will happen.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Edmonton Oilers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Dustin+Penner, edmonton+oilers,
Canucks/Oilers: Coaches Disagree About Hit
by Alanah McGinley on 09/30/07 at 05:00 AM ET
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From the CP via TSN,
It wasn’t the Vancouver Canucks 5-4 pre-season victory over the Edmonton Oilers that will be remembered, but rather a scary third period hit.
And perhaps the coaches reaction to it.
The game itself was overshadowed by a wince-inducing incident five minutes into the third as Canuck Rick Rypien slammed Oiler defenceman Mathieu Roy into the boards behind the Edmonton net. Roy was briefly knocked unconscious and taken away on a stretcher, but does have movement in his extremities. Rypien was assessed a five minute major for charging.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: edmonton+oilers, injuries, vancouver+canucks,
The Edmonton Fishbowl
by Alanah McGinley on 09/30/07 at 04:53 AM ET
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From David Staples at the Edmonton Journal,
Oilers general manager Kevin Lowe and head coach Craig MacTavish, now in their eighth season running the team, say that when the volume rises in the ever-increasing media coverage of the Oilers, they tune out.
“If we’re in a six-game losing streak, I don’t need to listen to the call-in shows to know what’s going on with the hockey team,” Lowe says.
If Edmonton Oilers hockey is a fishbowl, it’s never had more fighting fish in it, with far more sports coverage than ever on radio, TV and in print, not to mention the blogosphere, where every wannabe Oilers general manager can have his or her say.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Edmonton Oilers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: edmonton+oilers,
Horcoff Understands The Message
by Paul on 09/24/07 at 06:41 PM ET
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from the CP,
“What we’re talking about is 5-on-5 ice for (Horcoff),” MacTavish said after the win over the Flames. “Maybe his role will be more important, more impactful for us if he is playing on a second or third line. The minutes will be there ... but maybe at the start of the game his name isn’t with Hemsky and with Penner.
“We need a dynamic scorer, and Horc, for all his strengths, is not an 100-point guy, so we’re going to entertain thoughts of looking at somebody else, at times, 5-on-5.”
Horcoff heard MacTavish loud and clear.
“It’s motivating,” he said. “There’s only a handful of 100-point guys in the league.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Edmonton Oilers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: edmonton+oilers, Shawn+Horcoff,
Souray Backs Edmonton
by Paul on 09/24/07 at 08:32 AM ET
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from the Calgary Sun,
“I had a tough time with how the city was being perceived,” said Souray, who suited up against the Flames last night in their pre-season encounter. “I could also understand because they went through a situation where their best player took them to the finals—(Chris) Pronger—and him wanting to leave sets the stage and people could ask, ‘Why would he want to leave after having that great year?’
“I could understand and see how some guys would think that way, but I would never put myself in that situation.”
Don’t underestimate what Souray’s signing did for the team and its psyche.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Edmonton Oilers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: edmonton+oilers, Sheldon+Souray,
Battle At Center In Edmonton
by Paul on 09/23/07 at 09:43 AM ET
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from Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun,
MacTavish believes the high end of Gagner’s offensive ability is probably much higher than Horcoff’s, and since the team needs offence, they have to give this a serious look.
“We need a dynamic scorer,” said the coach, who had no idea Gagner would be this good this fast when Edmonton drafted him last summer.
“Horc, for all his strengths, is not a 100-point guy in our minds. You need a guy who’s going to be a 90 or a point-a-game guy, at least, in that position. So we’re going to entertain thoughts of looking at somebody else there at times five-on-five.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Edmonton Oilers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: edmonton+oilers, Sam+Gagner, Shawn+Horcoff,
Penner Making The Adjustment
by Paul on 09/22/07 at 07:38 AM ET
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from Grant Kerr of the Globe and Mail,
Penner will turn 25 next week and has only one full NHL season under his belt. Last season, he played on Anaheim’s No. 2 line with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. Now, he’s a first-liner in Edmonton.
“I’m working every day to jell with the guys and get some chemistry going,” the 245-pound Penner said. “I need to use my body more effectively and pick up my speed and quickness.
“I love being back in Canada. I already know I have great teammates after being here three weeks. You get support from the fans, the organization and the city. You can feel the intensity [in Edmonton] already.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Edmonton Oilers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Dustin+Penner, edmonton+oilers,
Bombs Away
by Paul on 09/21/07 at 09:41 AM ET
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from Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun,
One shot. One goal. A bullet from the right point that Vancouver Canucks goalie Cory Schneider never saw - even though he wasn’t screened.
“You see him bomb that one?” said head coach Craig MacTavish. “Wow!I knew he had a shot, but that thing was in and out of the net before the goalie even thought he was shooting it.”
And that’s what the Oilers are looking for - potency on what used to be an offensively-impotent blue-line. You might not want to be the forward charged with creating traffic in front of the net when Souray is unloading his cannon, but Edmonton’s power play coach is about to look a lot smarter.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Edmonton Oilers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: edmonton+oilers, Sheldon+Souray,
Oilers Depend On Youngsters To Step Up
by Paul on 09/20/07 at 06:28 AM ET
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from the Edmonton Sun,
“You need that in your organization,” said head coach Craig MacTavish. “For our long-term success, it’s important that one of those guys does it, almost immediately.”
Some of them have stepped up, with Sam Gagner, Kyle Brodziak and Robert Nilsson leading an impressive class, but scrimmages and pre-season tilts against watered-down opponents don’t always translate into season success.
Patrick Thoresen, for instance, looked brilliant early on last year but faded big time as the season wore on.
“You see it every year, players play well in camp and excel in the preseason and it remains to be seen how they play in the regular season, and further down the road, how they play 20 games into the regular season,” said Ethan Moreau. “It’s not to be negative ... but you don’t know, you can’t tell until you have stiffer competition.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Edmonton Oilers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: edmonton+oilers, prospects,
Oilers Will Be A “Tough” Team To Play Against
by Paul on 09/19/07 at 07:01 AM ET
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from the Edmonton Sun,
Head coach Craig MacTavish says they’ll go the team toughness route again this year.
“Intimidation is a big part of the game, you have to have some toughness,” he said. “But we feel we have enough. Sheldon Souray is plenty tough, Matt Greene’s tough. Steve Staios will battle and fight when he has to. Zack Stortini, Ethan Moreau, Raffi Torres ... we have enough toughness.
“Do I envision having a team that’s going to be fighting guys like Boogaard every time we play them? Absolutely not. That’s the strength of his game. Why give him the ability to do what he does best? You have to be punishing on the other factions of their team, and we have plenty of guys to do that.”
more on the Oilers…
Filed in: NHL Teams, Edmonton Oilers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Craig+MacTavish, edmonton+oilers, fighting,
Rotating “C”
by Paul on 09/18/07 at 06:40 AM ET
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via the Edmonton Sun,
With so many candidates to take over the Edmonton Oilers captaincy left vacant by Jason Smith’s trade to Philadelphia, head coach Craig MacTavish hinted yesterday the club might alternate the C.
“The preference is to find your best player and give it to him,” said MacTavish, whose best players are the likes of Ales Hemsky and Jarret Stoll.
“If your best player is still a relatively young player, then that factors into it.
“We could name somebody who’s going to evolve into it but isn’t quite ready, or we could share it for a while until that person evolves into it.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Edmonton Oilers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: edmonton+oilers,
Oilers Sweater Takes On New Look
by Paul on 09/17/07 at 08:39 AM ET
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from the Edmonton Sun,
Unlike Montreal, Chicago, Toronto and Detroit, the Oilers abandoned tradition entirely in a sweater designed to appeal to the skateboarding/video game crowd.
They actually don’t look like hockey sweaters at all, more like a cross between practice jerseys and something you’d see in rollerball or an Arena football field.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Edmonton Oilers, Hockey Equipment, RBK | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: edmonton+oilers, rbk,
Anson Carter Joins Oilers Training Camp
by Alanah McGinley on 09/16/07 at 11:31 AM ET
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From the CP via TSN,
Anson Carter is getting another shot with the Edmonton Oilers.
The winger accepted an invitation to the team’s training camp and joined the Oilers on Sunday.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Edmonton Oilers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: anson+carter, edmonton+oilers,
New Season For Pitkanen
by Paul on 09/16/07 at 06:34 AM ET
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from the Edmonton Sun,
The Oilers had been searching for a puck-moving defenceman almost from the moment Chris Pronger left town.
They found one in Joni Pitkanen, but skeptics saw his glaring minus-25 last season in Philly and wondered if he’d be moving the puck out of his own net as often as he moved it out of the zone.
“We lost a lot of games last year,” said Pitkanen. “The year before I was plus-25 (22, actually, and plus-15 the season before that). It’s almost like if you win a lot of games, absolutely you get a lot of pluses. When you lose a lot of games you get minuses.
“I played last year the most ice time on the team ... they’re (minuses) coming if you lose.
“It’s a new season, I know what I can do.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Edmonton Oilers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: edmonton+oilers,
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