Showing posts with label Oilers Development Camp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oilers Development Camp. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

"Bring on the KLEFBOM" Oilers Development Camp 2013

At 6'2 and 204 lbs Oscar has becomes the 'Oilers' next great hope. Oscar Klefbom brings a good size presence in the form of a player who has game already. After years of watching Jordon Eberle, Taylor Hall, Magnus Paajarvi, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and last year Nail Yakupov, dominate the attention at Oilers Development Camp, Klefbom and fellow blueliner Darnell Nurse were the ones who were being watched closely this camp.


Klefbom had many eyes upon him last year and before his injury was actually scheduled to be at Oilers training camp in September 2012. As fate goes, he was injured and was not able to attend or even play the rest of the year. This year Nurse was all the ‘craze’ for MacT and the player he obviously was coveting if Monahan was gone at their drafting position. Center and defence is what MacT has preached and so it should be.

This years camp had maybe 75% of the total amount of fans visiting compared to 90-100% capacity at the previous 3 camps held in Edmonton and/or Sherwood Park. It’s a given without the excitement of a #1 OV draft selection, things are not as pretty as they are becoming solid. I have given MacT somewhat of a hard time in regards to what he has done, but selecting Nurse will really stabilize the back end of the Oilers defence for years to come.

This years camp was very little about the forwards (all the young prospects are already playing for the Oilers) and more about defence. With Musil. Gernat, Klefbom, Nurse and Simpson you have a pretty good group of prospects on defence to watch. You can always find ways to pick apart a defence corps in comparison to forwards but this group is looking good for the future.

Notice the size of the Oilers D-men coming down the pipe? They are big guys (maybe not all filled out yet, but will over time) but none stands out as ready as Oscar Klefbom. “The Bom” as I like to call him, stood hands above everyone else at this camp and he should. He has played against men for awhile, is big, solid muscle, good hockey IQ, a leader and solid character guy as mentioned by those closer to him. Not to mention this is his second camp and the 2nd time around is always easier. Just ask Jordon Eberle! 

Sure Oscar made a few mistakes here and there but the drills are made to expose area’s on players to show them what they will need to work on. Be it positioning, stick work, skating agility etc..every player has work too do. I have followed these camps since 2007 and each year even the #1 OV selections struggled on different drills or at different points. This development camp is not about evaluation but about development.

Having said all that, Oscar Klefbom IMO has arrived to the point of readiness. I know many fans say ‘he needs time in the AHL’! How can you make that call, when you have not seen him play against actual NHL players and in game situations. For me, Oscar is ready for that 3rd pairing role already in Edmonton but he should have to earn it. If other players are stronger back there, send him to develop in the AHL awhile but let’s not judge him to quickly. Maybe Oil Country is tired of promises only to see players fall short or not used correctly. I like what MacT is doing by loading up on depth on defence. Klefbom will have his hands full this coming 2103-2014 NHL season competing for a position but I suspect he will be the player who walks out of the battle w=victorious because he is ‘just that good’. I was OK with Oscar and where we selected him but have become even more impressed with what we may have in the future. No pressure on the young guy, let’s just give him a chance before we judge where he should play is all I say.

As far as Darnell Nurse? He showed some promising size, learned some new skills to apply at the Jr level for practice and let’s hope he shows good arrows this year in the OHL. 

NEXT POST: What Possibilities are left for the Oilers?

Friday, July 9, 2010

Edmonton Oilers Rookie Development Camp 3 on 3 Tournament LIVE *TweetCast*

Welcome to the final day of the Oilers Rookie Development Camp 3 on 3 Tournament. This Tweetcast is set up to get the reactions of a wide range of people.

It will pick up the following hashtags; #Oilers, #OilersCamp, #OilersJambalaya, #OilFieldHockey.

Include those hashtags in your tweets and it will be included in the Tweetcast.

The tournament will start at 9:00am.

GOILERS!!!

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Full Recap Oilers Rookie Development Camp Day 3

You know me (Smokin' Ray) and trying new things. Today we have a special guest article by Steve Schulte. Enjoy...


Rookie Camp Day 3:

Started the day a little later than I had planned but still with plenty of time to get to the rink. En route I ended up following a van covered with Oilers stickers and flags all the way from millwoods till I needed to get gas at a Shell Station. My gameplan was to try to watch all the second rounders from this year in detail as well as Petry and Bunz, this proved difficult so I’m just going to write all my observations.

The session started out similar to the Monday session, skating coach Steve Serdachny started the boys off with a few laps to warm up. During this time I had to take notice of the fact that Marincin had incredibly skinny legs and would need to bulk them up if he wants to skate at an NHL level. What I also noticed was how ahead of the pack Petry was when it came to skating, smooth stride and he looked generally comfortable.

Serdachny had them do a drill where they would cross each line on one leg and then switch to backwards and forwards respectively. Pretty much the whole team with the exception of MPS had trouble with this exercise to the point where I believe it was Lander really struggled.

Continuing with goofy drills Steve now had the players doing one leg, with the other one on top of a puck. Here was the first wipeout of the day which came ironically from one of their best skaters, Taylor Hall had a fall, which is ok because I happen to fall for Hall, Yeah I did.

The next drill was hard to watch for some players but a pleasure for others, the object was to skate from one end of the ice to the other while stickhandling two pucks, Eberle, Pitlick, MPS, and Hall did this with ease, except the first run MPS lost a puck into the corner, they followed this up by doing it backwards.

Last drill without being able to shoot a puck, all players were spaced out around the whole rink, and had to skate around and jump over their sticks, my observation here was Petry in front of me looking sexy again, and Brandon Davidson (6th round pick) struggling mightily, also M&M (Martin Marincin) tripped over his stick once, hilarity ensued.

The next thing was Sillinger explaining the plan for the next drill, there were 28 players on the ice and 27 of them were taking a knee, the one not taking a knee was good old Steve’s favorite prospect Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson, nothing interesting but I found it weird, picture is on my twitter account.

We now enter my favorite drill of the day, players were paired off about 4 meters from a goalie, had to do a little lap mixed of forward and backward skating and then fight to take the shot on net, I didn’t see the person that MPS knocked off the puck to score but it was a thing of beauty, I think he can keep up with the physical game if we see things like that occur.

Players left to flood the ice after about a half hour, I heard Sillinger tell a cameraman that tomorrow we would be in rink A for the 3 on 3 tournament, which is good because it has more seats.

Buchberger takes over running the session, lots of shooting and puck work, at this point I turned my attention to T. Bunz, love his Tigers pads. Practicing two on one drills Bunz shows incredible lateral movement and sound positioning, and in two series Pitlick hit the post and was just caught on a glove save, he has a sweet shot.

A couple three on two drills but nothing very interesting, weird thing I noticed, Cornet looks a lot like MPS, however skill wise they are on different plateau’s as Cornet doesn’t really impress me.

Coaching staff treat the fans to a 4 on 4 session, was not expecting this. Notable players on each team, Grey: Hall, MPS, Lander, Marincin, Petry. Blue: Eberle, Pitlick that midget walk-on, Jones’s. Guys next to me bet on each team with eachother, I assumed the one to pick Grey had easy money but he ended up losing. At this point I was pissed I didn’t bring a notepad to record who scores because I have a terrible memory, but the midget walk-on of who’s name escapes me cherry picked hard and blew one past Pitton.

Final thing they did, also to the delight of the fans was a quick shootout, notably MPS, Eberle both missed, Petry sniped one home and when Mr. Taylor Hall put it in the net the place went a little crazy.

Not the best write-up but what can you do I’m not a blogger, I’d like to thank the guys at Oilers Jambalaya and Oilfield Hockey for letting me do a short piece.

Also as some of you know I am a comedian and am performing in a show Monday July 19th at The Comic Strip in West Ed, Tickets are 7.50 a piece however I have lots of giveaways, if you would like to attend message me on on the twitter account provided below. Final note, if you are going to the Baseball game tonight and sitting in the prospects section come say hi, I will be wearing a shirt with abs on it as I am still trying to get my Hartikainen picture.

Thanks:
Steve Schulte
Twitter.com/steve_schulte
Youtube.com/thaseron

Oilers Rookie Development Camp Day 3 LIVE TweetCast

Welcome to the Oilers Rookie Development Camp Day 3 LIVE TweetCast. The action starts at 10:00am and runs till 12:00pm.

Thanks to @Steve_Schulte and @Gelsomino for the updates from the arena.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Oilers Rookie Development Camp Day 2 Quick Update


Thanks again to @_gelsomino for the great LIVE tweets during the development camp.

Here are her tweets from today;
  1. It is even busier here today.
  2. After being herded like cattle from arena B to A, we are underway. Starting with stick handling drills.
  3. Abbey (32) and MPS (28) owned at the 'ice plies' (for lack of a better term).
  4. Hall is looking much better today, nerves gone maybe?
  5. Pass around the circle. #Oilers http://twitpic.com/238nc4
  6. I spy Ladislav Smid.
  7. One on ones, Abney (32) trying his hand at defence.
  8. Today was a lot more passing, shooting, stickhandling.
  9. I am adding Abney (32) to my 'ones to watch for list.
  10. Magnus Paajarvi Svensson really impressed me today. Him and Eberle both shined brighter then Hall.
  11. Hall started out really strong but was looking tired towards the end, to many media tours as of late potentially?
  12. Hall and Eberle are looking like 'BFF's.
  13. The 'Jones Twins' with any luck future 'Sedin Sisters'.
  14. He (Hall) is skilled, that is for sure, however a tad out of shape (just a tad). I bet after a few bag skates he'll be golden.
  15. Honestly they all looked pretty even, the true test for them will be on Friday for the 3 on 3 games.
Well there you have it. If a fan like Jasmine is happy with these kids, well so is Oilers Jambalaya. The future looks bright for the Edmonton Oilers.

Come back tommorow and check out the LIVE TweetCast of Day 3 of the Oilers rookie development camp.

-Written by Smokin' Ray-

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Bryan Pitton Attends Oilers Rookie Development Camp


07/06/2010 1:26 PM -

Bryan Pitton stops a shot on the opening day of the Edmonton Oilers 2010 Development Camp in Edmonton. (photo by Andy Devlin/EOHC)

Two-year Thunder goaltender looks for next step, joins prospects in Edmonton

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MORE: Edmonton Oilers Development Camp roster
MORE: Full coverage - Edmonton Oilers Development Camp

STOCKTON, Calif. - The Stockton Thunder, proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers, announced goaltender Bryan Pitton (PITT-in), who has played the last two seasons with the Thunder, is one of 28 players selected by the Oilers to participate in their 2010 Development Camp, from July 6-9 in Edmonton.

The camp, featuring the Oilers top prospects and 18 players drafted by Edmonton in 2009 or 2010, including this year's first overall selection in Taylor Hall, is being conducted with on-ice sessions at Clareview Arena and off-ice workouts at Rexall Place, the Oilers home ice.

Pitton, 22, was selected by the Oilers in the fifth round (133rd overall) in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft and is 18-28-6 with a 3.18 goals-against-average and .901 save percentage in 56 lifetime games with the Thunder.

Last season, Pitton earned two separate recalls directly to Edmonton and left the ECHL on Feb. 1 on a recall to Springfield of the AHL by ranking second in the league with a .921 save percentage. He won eight of his last 12 ECHL games to finish 9-9-3 in the regular season with a 2.85 GAA and one shutout - a 34-save effort in a 1-0 shootout loss to Victoria (stopped 14 of 16 shooters) on Jan. 30.

The 6-foot-2, 176-pound goaltender broke a Thunder playoff record last year with 49 saves in Game 3 of the National Conference Final, a 1-0 win in triple overtime against the Idaho Steelheads which was the first playoff shutout of his career. He was also twice named Reebok Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Week (Dec. 21-27 and Jan. 25-31).

The complete roster can be found at http://www.edmontonoilers.com/. Pitton is one of 15 players with experience in a Thunder uniform who have participated in development camps at the NHL level since 2008:


- James Bates (RW) - 2009
- Jordan Bendfeld (D) - 2009
- Sebastien Bisaillon (D) - 2008
- Troy Bodie (RW) - 2008
- Glenn Fisher (G) - 2008
- Igor Gongalsky (RW) - 2009 (Buffalo Sabres)
- Stephane Goulet (LW) - 2008
- Adam Huxley (LW) - 2008
- Ryan O'Marra (C) - 2008
- Geoff Paukovich (C) - 2008, 2009
- Andrew Perugini (G) - 2009
- Bryan Pitton (G) - 2009, 2010
- Les Reaney (C) - 2008
- Tyler Spurgeon (C) - 2008
- Cody Wild (D) - 2009


ABOUT THE ECHL
- The ECHL celebrated its 20th Anniversary in 2007-08 and is the third-longest tenured professional hockey league behind only the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League. ECHL began in 1988-89 with five teams in four states and has grown to be a coast-to-coast league with 19 teams in 14 states and British Columbia in 2010-11.
- 443 players have played in the NHL after playing in the ECHL including a record 53 in 2008-09. 35 ECHL players made their NHL debut in 2009-10.
- ECHL had a record 78 players on NHL opening-day rosters, surpassing the 71 from a year ago and marking the seventh year in a row that there have been over 50 former ECHL players on opening-day rosters.
- Every ECHL team has an affiliation with an NHL team and the league has affiliations with 28 of the 30 NHL teams, marking the 13th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL.

OPENING NIGHT AND TICKET INFORMATION
Opening Night is Friday, Oct. 15, when the Thunder opens the 2010-11 regular season at home against the Ontario Reign, starting at 7:30 p.m. at Stockton Arena.

The Thunder are freezing Season Ticket Prices for the 2010-11 season, which are on sale now and can be purchased by calling (209) 373-1500 or by visiting http://www.stocktonthunder.com/. Thunder Season Ticket Holders enjoy the highest-demanded seating locations in Stockton Arena, preferred parking options, benefits including admission to Season Ticket Holder-only events, discount opportunities on Thunder merchandise, a free e-newsletter, an exclusive gift, admission to the first two rounds of the Kelly Cup Playoffs and more. Information on individual and group tickets will be announced soon.

A two-time recipient of the ECHL "Award of Excellence," Thunder was voted "Best Local Sports Team" by readers of the San Joaquin Magazine, led the ECHL in attendance for four consecutive seasons and drew over 200,000 fans for the fifth consecutive season in 2009-10. Season Tickets and mini-plans for 2010-11 are on sale now. For more information about tickets, merchandise, or other inquiries contact the Stockton Thunder offices at (209) 373-1500 or visit http://www.stocktonthunder.com/.

*Reprinted with permission by Oilers Jambalaya. Stockton Thunder is the ECHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers*

Oilers Development Rookie Camp Update (Thanks @_gelsomino )

Today was the first day of the Oilers rookie development camp. The skaters were doing mostly skating drills today (but no parachute). Players included today are Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Magnus Paajarvi, Temmu Hartkinen, Anton Lander and many others.

These were the tweets that @_gelsomino sent out so we could follow along.

  1. Eberle is a better skater then Hall.
  2. Some pretty decent skaters and some not so good skaters.
  3. Petpeeve; When people start dissing on player and the team when they have NO idea what they are talking about.
  4. First half of the camp, all power skating. Second half, 3 on 0's, 3 on 1's, etc. And finished up with a quick game of rebound.
  5. Overall Eberle looked stronger then Hall today. Hall looked kind of tired actually.
  6. Ones to watch for: Hall (19), Eberle (25), MPS (28), Petry (5), and Pitlick (21).
  7. They didn't do a whole ton of puck work today. Lots of skating.
  8. No parachutes today either.
  9. I'm guessing it (edit* the players numbers) means nothing, there was a bunch of forwards with goalie numbers. I think they were randomly assigned.

So there you have it. Thanks to Jasmine for the updates and she will be tweeting all week so follow her on Twitter. She loves her Oilers and so do we. Come back tomorrow for more updates.

-Written by Smokin' Ray-

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