Showing posts with label Team Canada. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Team Canada. Show all posts

Monday, December 20, 2021

Goodbye Olympic dreams for 2022



With nearly a quarter of NHL currently shut down due to the recent Covid outbreak breezing through the NHL, word is starting to spread about how the NHL and NHLPA is about to pull out of the 2022 Winter Olympics.

As a fan of hockey, this saddens me a lot. I've been waiting for this Olympics for a while. Seeing McDavid, Crosby and Mackinnon out on the ice together was going to be a wonderful dream. Sadly, it wasn't meant to be this year. Quite simply, this sucks. This could have been the greatest Canadian team ever battling one of the best American teams ever.

I've seen the topic of pushing the Olympics back a year like they did for the Summer Olympics. At this point, I could see this happening and not just cause I'm selfish about hockey. But, for all sports and the betterment of the games as a whole. Guess we will have to wait and see. Fingers crossed.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Tyler Bunz Cut??? What???

Just before I go to sleep after an exhausting night shift on a drilling rig, I scan twitter and I find out that Oilers prospect Tyler Bunz has been cut from Team Canada?!?

What the hell?

I thought he'd be a lock for sure. I guess I was wrong. It's too bad. I feel Tyler could have been a big part of a gold medal in a city that not only drafted him, buy support him as well.

Try not to be too sad Tyler. Your still a good goalie no matter what. Someone fu*ked up with the decision making that's for sure.

Remember this... The Nuge never played for Canada and look at him now.

-Written by Smokin' Ray Burnt-

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Is There Something To Cheer For? Oh Yes.. Eberle vs Paajarvi

Tomorrow features an excellent game for all the Oiler fans out there to watch. Jordan Eberle and Team Canada take on one of our favorite Oil Swedes, Magnus Paajarvi, and the rest of Team Sweden.

So far in this tournament, Paajarvi has a goal and three assists in the 5 games he's played. Not bad. Not bad at all. His only goal might have came on the power play, but he's still playing well 5 on 5 too. He's a +4 in those five games and has played an average of 15:11 per game. I'm a little surprised that he hasn't scored more because he's 2nd on his team in shots with 18. He's one to watch tomorrow for sure. Can he score and improve his shooting percentage against Canada?

There is another Oiler who has 4 points too that's playing tomorrow. Jordan Eberle. The difference here is, his 4 points are all goals. No assists. Like Paajarvi, Eberle is also +4 in the 5 games he's played. So far in this tournament, he's played an average of 12:53 per game and has taken 13 shots on goal. Is there another clutch goal waiting to be scored by Ebs? Watch for it.

Both players have been good and it's nice (although it sucks the Oil are not in playoffs) to watch these two get better and better. It's like watching your own kids grow up. *sniff sniff* This has been the best year!

Check out the game on TSN at 2:15pm Eastern time.

ON A SIDE NOTE:

Remember this article I wrote from a while back? That very same goalie is on Team Sweden and we should be able to get a good look at him tomorrow as he's played 4 out of the 5 games. Are the Oilers doing the same by watching him too? Is he really the future goalie of the Oilers?

-WRITTEN BY SMOKIN' RAY-

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Devan Dubnyk Relegated To #3 For Team Canada?

Yes, it's true. Earlier today Team Canada coach, Ken Hitchcock finally said publicly that Devan Dubnyk has been bumped down to the #3 spot on the World Hockey Championship team.

It was clear that that was the current situation when Jonathan Bernier became the Canadian backup two games ago (plus he started and won one of those games). Once the Los Angeles Kings were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs, Bernier joined the Canadians for the WHC. That gave the Canadians 3 goaltenders, so it wasn't hard to do the math. But still...

Dubnyk made himself quite clear before the tournament started that he had no desire to be the #3 goalie this time around. That was a spot he graciously filled the last time he came to play with Canada at the WHC.

Dubnyk was the backup for 3 games at this tournament and he did play in one game for 13:50 in the 3rd period. He made 8 saves and let in no goals.

This situation makes me disappointed with Team Canada. Where's the loyalty? Why not give him a chance at playing a full game before this decision was made? What the hell?

I feel bad for Devan.  He didn't deserve this.

-WRITTEN BY SMOKIN' RAY-

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Canada's 2011 World Championship Roster

Here are the players that have committed to playing for Canada at the IIHF World Hockey Championship:

Forwards:

Cal Clutterbuck, Minnesota Wild; Matt Duchene, Colorado Avalanche; Jordan Eberle, Edmonton Oilers; Evander Kane, Atlanta Thrashers; Andrew Ladd, Atlanta Thrashers; Rick Nash, Columbus Blue Jackets; Jason Spezza, Ottawa Senators; Jeff Skinner, Carolina Hurricanes; Chris Stewart, St. Louis Blues; John Tavares, N.Y. Islanders; Antoine Vermette, Columbus Blue Jackets; Travis Zajac, New Jersey Devils.

Defencemen:

Brent Burns, Minnesota Wild; Marc Methot, Columbus Blue Jackets; Dion Phaneuf, Toronto Maple Leafs; Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues; Luke Schenn, Toronto Maple Leafs.

Goalies:

Devan Dubnyk, Edmonton Oilers; James Reimer, Toronto Maple Leafs.

GO CANADA GO!!!

- WRITTEN BY SMOKIN' RAY -

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Jordan Eberle and Devan Dubnyk Join Team Canada at World Hockey Championships

Good news for a couple of the Edmonton Oilers today. Both Jordan Eberle and Devan Dubnyk have been selected to represent Team Canada at the World Hockey Championships.

It's good to know that there will some familiar Oilers players that we can root for. At least the season isn't completely shot. We still get to follow some guys. WooOOooOooooOOo!!!!

GOILERS!!!

- WRITTEN BY SMOKIN' RAY -

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Curtis Hamilton and Olivier Roy Make Team Canada (WJHC)

Congratulations to forward Curtis Hamilton and goaltender Olivier Roy as they were both selected to represent Team Canada at the upcoming World Junior Hockey Championship.

We should be proud of these two players as some very, very good players were cut this morning including Red Deer Rebels foward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

Here is the Team Canada Roster

VIDEO of Final Roster

Feels good to know that the Edmonton Oilers are represented at the WHJC. Both players are Oilers draft picks and both have very bright futures.

Stay tuned to OilersJambalaya.com for coverage of the World Junior Hockey Championships starting on Boxing Day.

-Written by Smokin' Ray-

Monday, March 22, 2010

It's All Over - The 2010 Olympic and Paralympics Are Officially Over


Well that's it folks. The Olympics are over and now The Paralympics are officially over. That's it. All done.

To be honest, I'm a little sad about it. I really enjoyed the Olympics and the Paralympics.  I seen some great stories over the last month or so and it's been a crazy time. I'm very proud of all the Canadian athletes that participated in both games. Just one last time for another 4 years... GO CANADA!

OK. That's out of my system. The Canadians did pretty good at the 2010 Paralympics in Vancouver. After it was all said and done, Canada had 10 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze medals for 19 in total. Excellent work guys and girls. *claps hands* Those 19 medals helped Canada finish in 3rd overall at the Paralympics. Considering what Canada did at the Olympic games and what Canada did at the Paralympics, I'd say the podium was owned, don't you?
As I said above, there was some key stories that I followed. I watched a lot of the Team Canada sledge hockey games. As I had written before, the game of sledge hockey is freaking intense. Massive body checks that would hurt most people were flying all over the place. Those players were not only creative with their plays, they had some very deadly shots. Being a goalie sure didn't look easy.

Canada had won the gold at the last Paralympics and being on home soil this time, they were heavy favorites to win gold once again. In the semi finals they met up with Japan. The game was a hard fought game but the Canadians just couldn't score on the Japanese goalie. He played well and made some huge saves to keep his team in it. But as time was winding down and with the score tied up at one each, the Japanese team found a way to score. With 1:13 left in the 3rd period, the Japanese made it a 2-1 game. With Canada pressing in the last few seconds, they made an error and while making a bad pass, the puck slid all the down into their own net. 3-1 Japan. Game over and so is the gold medal sweep in hockey (Men's and Ladies won gold in Olympic Games).


So now they were off for the bronze medal game and they were up against Norway. Once again the Canadians were confidant in their team going into the game. I never questioned them NOT winning the bronze. But they didn't. The Norwegians played a heck of a game - they were silver medalists in 2006 - and really took it to the Canadians. They out shot Canada 8-1 in the 3rd period and Canada just couldn't muster any offence and they lost 2-1.

The gold medal favorites finish 4th. Not how I had envisioned it at all. I'm sure either did they.

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Brian McKeever had himself a few stories. First, he was going to ski in the Olympics (the men's 50km cross-country race). Then out of the blue, he's not in the because the coach pulled him in favor of another racer who had done well in a earlier event at the games. McKeever was devastated by the news. And rightfully so. He just wanted to be treated fairly regardless if he's visually impaired. He has a slight vision problem where he can't see the straight ahead stuff, just the peripheral view. So obviously when you ski in the Olympics, you can't have a guide and that presents challenges for Brian. His older brother, Robin McKeever, competes as his guide when Brian skis in the Paralympics. But it was a fight he could not fight so get changed his focus to concentrating on the Paralympics.

He did however do great at the Paralympics and that helped ease the pain from the previous days. Brian McKeever won three gold medals at the 2010 Paralympic Games. And we here at Oilers Jambalaya congratulate Brian McKeever for his dedication and drive to be the best.
- Gold in the 1km Sprint Visually Impaired
- Gold in the 10km Classic Visually Impaired
- Gold in the 20km Freestyle Visually Impaired

The other sports were fun to watch but i really didn't have an attachment to anybody else like sledge hockey and Brian McKeever. I did however learn about a few different sports that I never really knew about. Like the wheelchair curling was fun tho watch. No sweepers, just throw the rock and where it goes, it goes. To win at wheelchair curling, you need to be a skilled shot.

Team Canada in wheelchair curling consists of Jim Armstrong,  Darryl Neighbour, Ina Forrest, Sonja Gaudet and Bruno Yizek. These fine folks won gold in a thrilling 8-7 game against Korea. This was a very fun game to watch.

I didn't get to watch much of the downhill ski events. But what I did see it was pretty exciting. It takes a lot of guts to do what these athletes do. Here is a great story about Canadian skier Lauren Woolstencroft who won FIVE gold medals. She was amazing and is such a great story.

Thanks to everyone that helps to put on the Olympic and Paralympic games. You all did a wonderful job. THANK YOU CANADA!!!  WOOoOooOoOOoOOO!!!




**Some of the photos are from Getty Images**

Thursday, March 18, 2010

The Canadian Sledge Hockey Team Goes For Bronze After Losing To Japan

How far sledge hockey has come...

I would have to think with the exposure and the fact that the Paralympic games are held in Canada, the popularity of sledge hockey is on the rise. These guys are incredible. They play a tough game that can leave them bleeding and scarred and yet they come back to play the next day all over again. Forget incredible, these guys are hardcore. If you think a hit in hockey is harsh, check out sledge hockey.  If you want to be like these guys, ram two shopping carts together at high speed. Oh, you need to be sitting in them. BAM!

I have had the pleasure to watch a few of there games and I can say I enjoyed every minute of it.

Coverage of the game of last weekend's preliminary sledge hockey match between Canada and Italy, drew more than a million TV viewers. That's a good number for this sport. In fact, I'd say it's a great number. It's just too bad all thier games weren't shown on primetime TV.

We can all just hope that maybe now, some more Canadians will embrace these guys and cheer for them just like any other Team Canada team. GOCANADA!!!

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THE QUEST FOR GOLD IS OVER

Today the Canadian sledge hockey team lost in a dramatic semi-final game to Japan in a 3-1 loss. With the score tied up at one, the winning goal -- the 2nd goal of the game for Japan -- came with 1:13 left in the 3rd period.

The third goal was scored as an own goal on an empty net by Greg Westlake, the tournament's leading scorer. He was trying to make a pass to the blueline and missed the defencemen and it sailed all the way down into the empty Canadian net.

The Canadian fans were stunned with shock while the Japanese fans were crying with joy. Even the Japanese goaltender couldn't hold his emotions and was crying after that final buzzer went.

One country ecstatic, the other, devastated.

"Canada would beat us if we played them 1,000 times, we're going to lose 999,'' said Japanese head coach Kojin Nakakita. "But not this one.''  Not this one indeed.

The Canadian sledge hockey team now moves on to the bronze medal game. Even with the disappointment of not making it a sweep of gold for hockey -- and repeat as champions -- these guys are making us proud no matter what.

Captain Jean Labonte had this to say, "We had a lot of chances and we had them pinned down in their end quite a few times during the game and we couldn't capitalize,'' said Labonte, who helped Canada win gold at the 2006 Paralympics. "Hats off to them (Japan).''

Get ready Canada, you have a bronze medal to win.

If you have never watched sledge hockey and you have no idea what I am talking about, please click on the link below and enjoy the highlights of the game.


-Written by Smokin' Ray Burnt-

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Battle of the Basement

It's been almost two weeks since I was in Vancouver watching Canada beat the Americans in overtime at the gold medal hockey game. It was the most nerve-wracking three hours of my life, watching the Canadians control the game until the third period when they decided to sit back and defend their 2-1 lead. Of course the game was tied up and off to overtime.

The crowd was so dejected after the late goal, but an in-house interview brought the energy back to the arena. Thank you Craig MacTavish who declared the Canadians would collect themselves, come out hard in overtime and win. Obviously, he wasn't going to say anything else but he got the crowd back into the game. The Golden Child, Sidney Crosby, scored a nice goal and the hardest gold medal of these games was won by Canada. It was the 14th gold medal (a record) and most important.

The pressure on this team was so incredible and the entire country was on the edge of their seat the entire game. At least 2/3rds of the country watched a part of this game and the ratings in the US was the best in 30 years. I was lucky enough to be there for the game and I could barely enjoy it until it was over. And wow, it was the single most exciting moment on my life.

Alas, I had to come home to Edmonton and to non-Olympic hockey. I also came home to my Grebeshkov being traded and then a few days later we said goodbye to Visnovsky. I am not too keen on either trade but I understand the reasoning behind Lubo. Hello cap space and youth! But Grebs? No, no, no, and no. He's 26 and making 3.15. Oilers were scared that he was a restricted free agent and would command a hefty raise. Sure he didn't have the best year but who on this team has?? I think they should have kept the Russian for one more year and see what he can really do.

Battle of the basement tonight: Toronto vs Edmonton. Toronto is a delightful 7 points ahead of Edmonton who have been playing better of late, going 2-1-1. However, we do NOT need the Oilers getting a boatload of wins at this point. They're positioned nicely to pick in the top two and they need to stay the course. Of course some players are fighting for jobs next year but I don't care. A loss would really cement them in 30th. Of course, a win wouldn't be the end of the world. Plus beating the Leaves would give all Oiler fans a warmy fuzzy feeling. Let's face it, the Leaves, with their blowhard GM and irritating fans, deserve to lose. And the best is they don't have their number one draft pick (Boston does).

Win? Lose? I think it's a win-win situation for the Oilers. If they lose, they really win and keep 30th place locked up. If they win, they beat the Leaves and the rest of the country rejoices. Win-win!!!

-Scarlett-

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Canada Wins Gold!!! Vancouver 2010 Olympics


CANADA WINS THE GOLD MEDAL IN MEN'S ICE HOCKEY!!!

For this moment, the world can suck it!

2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics - Consider The Podium Owned


What a fantastic Olympic games. What started out as what could possibly the worst winter Olympics ever, turned out to be pretty damn good after all.

The Canadians athletes made the country so proud that it sparked a lot of interest into the winter sports. People all over the place are now interested in some crazy sport a lot of us didn't know it even existed. Like Ski-Cross. That event was awesome and even inspired me to say to the wife that I want to try that. I don't care if I am 33 years old, I can do that. Couldn't I?

Probably the best part about watching the 2010 Olympic games was that I was able to introduce them to my two year old daughter. Every day I would come home after work and was greeted with a "GO GO CANADA!!!" from her. Not only did she grasp the concept of cheering for Canada (and not just the Oilers), she embraced it and watched a lot of the events with me. It made me proud as her father that she even gave a crap about the games with little understanding of what she was watching. Watch out 2026 Olympic games, little Miss Ava will be there winning a gold medal with her old man yelling from the stands.

Here are my favorite parts of the Olympics; The Medal winners:

1) The opening ceremonies were awesome yet, embarrassing. I touched on it at the beginning of the Olympics and you can read it here

2) I don't care if Jenn Heil won silver and not gold, she did great. She was so upset by not winning, but she won the first medal for Canada at these games. It was a start of something great for this country.

3) Alex Bilodeau was the first Canadian to (Men's Moguls) win Gold in Canada. He was great and skied really well. His story was fantastic and it was great to see him succeed. A great and touching moment for me.

4) The Speed Skating - Long and Short Track - were very fun to watch. There was some great moment and Canada won a variety of medals in the speed skating events.

In Short Track Speed Skating, (my favorite) Canada won silver in the Ladies 3000m relay, Marianne St Gelais won silver in the Ladies 500m, the Canadian Men won Gold in the 5000m relay and Charles Hamelin won Gold and François-Louis Tremblay won the bronze in the Men's 500m race.

In Long Track Speed Skating the Canadians also did well. Christine Nesbitt won gold in the Ladies 1000m race, Clara Hughes won bronze in Ladies 5000m, Kristina Groves won silver in the Ladies 1500m race and won bronze in the 3000m race and the only medals the Men won were in the Men's Pursuit race. They won gold in that event.

5) The Skeleton is always fun to watch. I paid a little more attention to the sliding sports after the tragic accident at the start of the games. Even after they altered the track, it was still dangerous and scary and I wouldn't be caught going down that track. Bobsledders, Lugers and Skeleton riders crashed hard and often. It made all the races very intense to watch.

I loved watching the Skeleton race. How did Canada do you ask? Jon Montgomery won gold. He seems like a real good guy and I was happy for him to win the gold.

Bobsledding turned out not how I had envisioned it to play out. Canada won bronze in the Men's Four-Man Bobsled. No it wasn't the Lueders sled either. Surprised? I was. The Ladies also did well and I'll tell you that was crazy to witness. Canada finished gold and silver in the Two-(Wo)Man Bobsled. What a night that was. Both teams did well and made Canada proud.

6) The Curling was really exciting for me. For one, I don't watch Curling outside of the Olympics and the finals of the Hearts and Brier tournaments. The Cheryl Bernard rink played a hell of a tournament and made it to the gold medal game. But she blew her last shot in both of the last ends to earn a silver medal. Not bad, but she blew it. Kevin Martin's rink on the other hand, made it count when he needed it to. They played great and won the gold for Canada.

7) What the hell is Ski Cross? That's what I was asking. I know what it is now and I want to try it. Ashleigh McIvor won gold in the Ladies race. Thank you to the IOC for allowing this sport in the games. I LOVE IT!

8) Snowboard Cross is equally cool. Mike Robertson kicked some ass and took a silver home in the Men's Snowboard Cross race. Maëlle Ricker dominated in the Ladies Snowboard Cross and took home the gold medal. I look forward to the next Olympics to watch some more of this.

9) Jasey-Jay Anderson lived a life long dream by winning gold in the Men's Snowboard Parallel Giant Slalom. He was very humble about the win and this may have been his last race.

10) Now while I hate to admit it (no homo), I did watch some Figure Skating. Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir won gold in the Ice Dancing competition. They did well and the crowd there went nuts.

11) The saddest story for Canadians at these games was the story of Canadian Figure Skater Joannie Rochette. Joannie lost her mother to a sudden heart attack just two days before her competition. She could have pulled out but she didn't. She choose to skate. Joannie went out and skated her skate for her mom and she won the bronze medal. I think the whole country cried a little for her that night. She was a brave and courageous woman.

12) Now on to the great game of Hockey. My favorite sports of all sports. Now I won't lie to you and tell you I watched all of the Women's games. I didn't. In fact, I think I watched more than enough of it. It's kind of boring. The gold medal game was great and they beat the USA team 2-0 to win a gold. The girls won gold for Canada and even caused some controversy along the way. First they were criticized for running up scores. Then they were in the eyes again with their post game beer drinking, cigar smoking celebration. I don't care what happened after that game was over, I'm just glad the girls won gold.

13) Now to the Men's tournament. If you asked me who the top 4 teams were going to be, I would have said Canada, Russia, Sweden and the Czech Republic. Boy was I wrong. Finland face the Slovakian team for the bronze medal and the Canadians face the Americans in the gold medal game. I will update this once the games are over. **UPDATE** The Fins had a quick 3 goal outburst and that propelled them past the Slovaks to win 5-3 for the bronze medal. It was a good game to watch. I can't wait for the gold medal game.

14) I was impressed with the CTVOlympics.ca website. Very easy to look around and it was sweet to have all the channels right there on my PC. Thanks for that CTV.

I also was quite impressed with the way that CTV, TSN and Sportsnet all worked together. What a strange but nice surprise.


Things that made me say WHAT?!?:

1) The goalies that were the #1 goalie on their respected team that DIDN'T have a painted mask. Miikka Kiprusoff was one of those people. What, couldn't afford it?

2) Why did the Team Canada games always feature Pierre MacGuire? I hate that guy with a passion and when the team was stinking, listening to him pissed me off even more.

3) I was really disappointed with the handling of Brian McKeever. I don't know all the facts on why he was banned from racing in a Cross Country Skiing event, but if it's only for being legally blind than that's bullshit. No matter the placing out come, Brian McKeever should have been given a chance to compete.

4) It turns out former Canadian and current Australian Dale Begg-Smith is the guy responsible for Malware and spam emails. I'm glad you lot the gold and I'm glad you don't live in Canada anymore. You are a piece of trash Dale Begg-Smith. I hope you choke on the money you have made. *middle finger raised*

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IS IT 2014 YET?
Sochi Olympics in Russia are next. Can't wait!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Is It Tommorow Yet? (Canada vs Russia Olympic Hockey)


Man o' man am I ever excited for the Canada vs Russia hockey game tomorrow. Both teams can not accept a loss at this point of the tournament. One will cherish, one will perish.

So can Canada do it?

I'm hoping so, but it's going to be tough against a high powered Russian team.

Ovechkin & Co are one hell of a dynamic group.  In just about every category the Russians are better except goals for. The Canadians had them by one goal after the preliminary rounds were done. But the bottom line is the Russians seem more stable than Canada does. They shuffle one or two cards. The Canadians, the shuffle the whole deck, goalies included.

So after tonight's game against Germany, I feel better. Not because for the 8-2 stomping against a team that didn't win a game all tournament, but because we finally seen more than just one line working. Or they appeared to work tonight anyways. It gave me hope.

Is this the game Brendan Morrow finds his mean streak?
Is this the game Luongo truly looks comfortable in net?
Is this the game Rick Nash takes his own penalty shots?
Is this the game Babcock stops riding Crosby like a cheap... well you know?
Is this the game Iginla shows that he should have been on the top line all along?
Is this the game where Drew Doughty rips the A off of Chris Pronger and puts it on his own jersey?
Is this the game where Patrice Bergeron doesn't even bother putting on his gear?
Is this the game the Sharks line looks like the Sharks line of the NHL?
Is the the game someone plasters Ovechkin at center ice?
Is this the game where Jonathan Toews becomes the true future Captain of this team?
Is this the game where we finally see some real emotion from Team Canada?

Let's hope so. I'M FIRED UP! Are you?

GO CANADA!!!

Here is the link to the Official Olympics Page for Hockey.

CLICK HERE FOR PLAYOFF TREE

Friday, February 5, 2010

ROAD TRIP!!! Oilers in Denver to take on the Avs


The Oilers practiced today in Denver and the lines stayed the same as the last game against the Wild. Brule and Nilsson skated with Bucky today so it looks like they won't be in the game tomorrow night against the Avalanche. Expect Jeff Deslauriers to start in goal.

Word has it that Ladislav Smid and Steve Staios may be coming back soon. But don't expect them back too soon as Quinn seemed less than impressed with their conditioning. Mind you, they are in the Mile High city and from what I have heard, it's hard on the system being that high.

With those two close to returning, I would suspect that the Oilers won't try and claim Nick Boynton who is on re-entry waivers. I think he would be a good pickup, but the Tambo wants to subtract, not add at this point.

Don't forget that with the 2010 Olympics coming up soon, we will need to forget about the Oilers and start booing some of our beloved players. Visnovsky? BOOOOO! Grebeshkov? BOOOOO! Pronger? Boo... damn it. Yay!

I can't wait for the Olympic games to start and I fully expect Canada to win gold in both the Men's and the Ladies Ice Hockey events. GOCANADAGO!

Don't forget that the Oilers play the Avs on CBC's Hockey Night In Canada this Saturday night.

Edmonton Oilers (18-32-6) vs Colorado Avalanche (31-19-6)


Pat Quinn Speaks To The Media


Staios and Smid Update

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Beers & Jeers #103 - Oilers vs Coyotes Recap (1/5/10)


Welcome to Oilers Jambalaya - An Edmonton Oilers Hockey Blog. Beers & Jeers is a dual collaboration between Smokin' Ray and Paq Twinn. We hope you enjoy our Edmonton Oilers full game recap.

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- Who's Out? Who's in? Visnovsky and Jacques are not playing. Visnovsky is hurt and Jacques is sitting so Pisani can play.  Pisani is healthy and is back with the Oilers

- The TweetCast by Oilers Jambalaya has both the Oilers vs Coyotes game and the Gold medal game between Canada and USA.  Both games went to overtime.

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Pre-Game Records

Phoenix Coyotes (25-14-4) vs Edmonton Oilers (16-22-4)

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TONIGHT'S STARTING LINES

Edmonton Oilers

Penner-Horcoff-Nilsson
Brule-Potulny-O'Sullivan
Stone-Gagner-Pisani
Moreau-Cogliano-Stortini

Souray-Gilbert
Smid-Staios
Grebeshkov-Strudwick

Deslauriers
Dubnyk
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**These are Re-Tweets of Paq Twinn featuring Smokin' Ray, during the LIVE *TweetCast* at http://twitter.com/OilersJambalaya/edmontonoilerstweetcast You can also join along at our LIVE interactive *TweetCast* right here at Oilers Jambalaya during every Edmonton Oiler game.**




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FINAL SCORE

Phoenix Coyotes - 5


Edmonton Oilers - 4

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GAME VIDEO REPLAY



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BAD TIMING PENALTY

None - Go figure. 

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BEERS

Patrick O'Sullivan - He played a real good game.  His legs were moving and he had a nice breakaway goal that I'm sure will be a highlight for month.  The guy has skill.  No doubt.  But what about the heart?  He had a goal and an assist for 2 point and was a +1.  He also had 5 shots on net.  So for tonight's game, have a frosty cold beer. Cheers!

Sam Gagner - I was glad Quinn switched up the lines and put Gagner with Stone and Pisani.  Both guy are more responsible than Gagner is and it showed.  Gagner played loose and carefree and you know what?  He was good.  He had 7 shots and picked up an assist on the Grebeshkov goal.  One of the better games he's played in a long time.  Good job little dude.  Bud? Cheers!

Gilbert Brule - I really like the way he has been playing lately.  Lots of "jam" and he's consistently trying to make a play.  Gotta love the effort.  I wish more Oilers had it.  He had 4 shots, 2 hits and 2 takeaways.  Oh, and he scored the Oilers opening goal.  For a solid effort, how about a cold Albino Rhino Dark Ale? Cheers!

HONORABLE MENTION(S): Steve Staios (I was impressed by his game. He played a simple game and didn't look as slow tonight.  He even finished +1.), Ladislav Smid (He's turned into a good defensive guy. 3 hits and 3 blocked shots, not too bad Ladi.), Denis Grebeshkov (Even though he's been a train wreck lately, he did find a way to score a goal and add an assist.  But he still finds a way to be -1.),

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JEERS

The 4th Line of (Moreau, Cogliano and Stortini) - Ugh!  What a terrible line.  Sadly, I feel bad for all three of them.  These three just don't mesh and I don't know why the coaching staff keeps going with these guys.  It's just plain ugly when they are on.  Boooooo!

HONORABLE MENTION(S): Dustin Penner (For the sake of being -2, you are in the jeers.  He played pretty good reunited with Horcoff, but was burned far to often.), Robert Nilsson (Same goes for Nilsson.  He was OK, but couldn't keep the puck out of the net and also was a -2.)

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OUR GAME SUMMARIES

Smokin' Ray - That was a meed up night. Cheering my ass of for Team Canada and paying $$$ for the Oilers PPV.  I was honestly entertained by both games - I had the junior game on the computer beside the TV and the Oiler game - but the Junior game was tops.  Entertaining as hell and it had me gripped to my couch.  My mother in law calls during the game and starts bitching about how hockey is stupid - the USA team was up 4-2 at that time - and that it's not fun to watch. WHAT?!? Sure they were losing but it was a good game. BOOM! Eberle scores! and she gets a little excited. By the time she hung up Eberle scores again. WOoOOoOOoo!  Talk about a clutch goal guy. Unbelievable. It's tied up and it's going to overtime.

Then the let down. *sigh* The Canadians played well and it sucks to lose that way. But come on, you had to see it coming. The Americans already played the Canadians to a shootout loss and were not going to lose this time.  Those USA kids are really good and really played as a team.  And I'll tell you, Junior games are way faster than NHL games.  Those kids can fly.

As far as the Oilers game, it was much like the Junior game as it was a back and forth, come from behind and get it to overtime game.  The guys in the beers impressed me while really only the 4th line stunk in my eyes.  I liked the top 3 lines but would still like Brule on the 1st line with Penner.  Nilsson is not Hemsky.  I wish Quinn would stop believing he is.

Paq Twinn - *coming soon*

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POST GAME VIDEO REACTIONS



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GAME STATS

- Scoring Chances (MC79)

- David Staples/Player Grades (Cult of Hockey)

- Game Summary

- Event Summary

- Full NHL Play By Play

- Oilers Time On The Ice

- Opponents Time On The Ice

- Faceoff Report

- Shot Report

- Roster Report

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NEXT GAME

Edmonton Oilers vs Columbus Blue Jackets



Thursday, 07/01/10
7:00 PM
Sportsnet West

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Thanks for stopping by and reading the Edmonton Oilers Full Game Recap. Don't forget that you can agree or disagree with us on Facebook and Twitter. Just look for Smokin' Ray Burnt and Paq Twinn. We will see you all next game. GOILERS!

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Tuesday, January 5, 2010

LIVE *TweetCast* Canada vs USA (WJHC) & Oilers vs Coyotes (NHL) (1/5/10)

Welcome everyone to another fine TweetCast by Oilers Jambalaya.

Tonight you will see the tweets of Paq Twinn, Smokin' Ray, Dan Tencer, The Official Edmonton Oilers tweets, and the Official Phoenix Coyotes tweets.  Also included are the tweets from @MyTeamCanada for the junior game.  You will see a TweetCast for both games - the Canada vs USA Junior game and the PPV game of the Edmonton Oilers and the Phoenix Coyotes.

Feel free to comment by typing in the box below. It`s easy and no signup required.

We hope you enjoy the TweetCast and GOILERS & GO CANADA!


Monday, January 4, 2010

The Glass Half Full - Edmonton Oilers Prospects and the Junior Tournament



Well now that the World Junior tournament is almost over - minus the medal finals and the relegation games - it's time to look at what happened for the sake of the Edmonton Oilers and their prospects.  Not much is really going to change from now till it's over so why not get cracking?

In my opinion, the Oiler kids did great.  Much better than I had anticipated.  I'm thinking glass half full when I say the future looks bright for this hockey club.  Not next year, but I'd say in the next 2-4 years, this team is going to change dramatically and for the better. *fingers crossed*

We seen the dominance/emergence of (F) Jordan Eberle and (F) Magnus Pääjärvi-Svensson and that really excited me as an Oiler fan, never mind the other 3 Oiler kids playing in this tournament. 

Before any games are played on Monday, Eberle had registered a point in 16 straight games for Team Canada.  He is also tied for tops on Team Canada with St. Louis Blues prospect (D) Alex Pietrangelo and second in the tournament in points with 11 in total.  In fact, only Derek Stepan has more points in the tournament than Eberle and it's only by one mealy point.  Jordan Eberle has 6 goals and 5 assists for 11 points.  Not bad for a kid who only played 5 games and was slated for the 2nd line on Team Canada. 

"He's (Eberle) not afraid of the big situation," Coach Desjardins said. "He wants the puck. Even the shootout moves and things like that, he makes real strong moves."  Watch out Oiler fans, this kid is going to be a damn good player someday for the Oilers.

Magnus Pääjärvi-Svensson has also had a great tournament.  He's been a force and a leader on the Swedish team and he's a very talented hockey player.  I still find it surprising that the Oilers were able to select him with the 10th pick in 2009.  This kid is a gamer and I feel fortunate as an Oiler fan that we have him in our system.  He had 3 goals and 6 assists for 9 points in 5 games and was a +6.  He was a leader for the Sweden team and I'd expect some of the same here in Edmonton when he does finally reach the NHL.  As an 18 year old, he's very impressive and I'm sure, like Eberle and his #14, the Oilers have #21 reserved for Pääjärvi-Svensson.

Also on Team Sweden, is (F) Anton Lander.  He was the Oilers 40th pick in 2009 draft.  He was interesting to keep an eye on because I didn't know much about him before the tournament started.  The first thing I noticed as that he must have some sort of leadership skills as he wore the "A" on his jersey.  That's a good sign.  He is also pretty good at faceoffs as he went 35W 25L for 58.33% and 13th overall in the tournament.  Not exactly a high percentage, but at least it's a starting point and has room to grow.  If he improves on this, then that might be an intangible that he brings to the Oilers and solidifies a spot for himself on the team.  Lord knows the Oilers need better faceoff people. 

After 5 games Lander has scored 4 goals and had 2 assists for 6 points.  Not bad.  He is also sitting at +3 before the Bronze (I wish it was for Gold) medal game.  Again, not bad. 

So far it's looking good for the Oilers don't you think?

Now onto Team Finland.  The Oilers have two players there and they also looked pretty good throughout this tournament.  (F) Tony Rajala and (F) Teemu Hartikainen play on a weaker team than the other Oiler prospects, do but both still had a good tournament. 

Rajala scored 1 goal and had 2 assists for 3 points after 5 games.  He is currently sitting at -1 after those 5 games.  Only scoring once is a little shocking considering it came on the PP and he fired 22 shots in those 5 games.  Is he another Patrick O'Sullivan?  See... that doesn't excite me either.  The bright side here?  He didn't have a single penalty all tournament. Glass half full.

Teemu Hartikainen was a little better than Rajala by scoring 3 goals (same as MPS) and 1 assist for 4 points after 5 games.  He also fired the puck a lot like Rajala did by blasting a team high 27 shots. In comparison, Eberle took 20 shots so far in the tournament and has 6 goals while MPS took 24 shots and had 3 goals.  If anything impressed me it was that Hartikainen did so well in goal scoring department.  I didn't expect him to be in top 20 and he is at 16th place right now.  He just may mature into a better goal scorer then he is now. I'd say Hartikainen is already on his way.

Overall Goals as of the morning of 1/4/10
1st Jordon Eberle (6 goals)
3rd Taylor Hall (5 goals)
9th Anton Lander (4 goals)
16th Teemu Hartikainen (3 goals)
16th Magnus Pääjärvi-Svensson (3 goals)
HM Tony Rajala (1 goal)

With the emergence of Eberle and Pääjärvi-Svensson and Lander, I think the Oilers are going to be OK down the road.  I suppose if the two kids from Finland pan out, we can consider it a bonus.  If we show patience, this team will be good once again.  Until then though... it's painful to watch.

Ps. Taylor Hall looked great and needs to be an Oiler.  Don't you think?

-Smokin' Ray-

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

You Picked Who? - Team Canada Olympic Roster


Listening to this team being picked... this is what my face looked like in the picture above.

Holy crap I am dissapointed in the Team Canada selections. 

Patrice Bergeron is on this team?  And (possibly) on the 1st line with Crosby? What the hell?  Drew Doughty and Brent Seabrook also made the team over Jay Bouwmeester and Mike Green? How is this possible?

No Ryan Smyth? I don't get it.  No Vinny Lecavalier or Marty St. Louis? *scratches head*

No Shane Doan either? Shocking.

Now the grand daddy of shockers for me... no Dustin Penner. Most of you don't care but I do.  He is awesome this year and he's doing it with slugs.  Imagine if he was reunited with Perry and Getzlaf?  But I don't understand why you would tell Penner he has a chance when it's clear they weren't going to pick him? I don't get it.  But then again, I'm an emotional guy and I had a different team than what Steve Yzerman picked.

So who did make it?

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Goalies

Marty Broduer
Roberto Luongo
Marc-Andre Fleury

DEFENCE

Dan Boyle
Drew Doughty
Duncan Keith
Scott Niedermayer (Team Captain)
Chris Pronger (Alternate Captain)
Brent Seabrook
Shea Weber

FORWARDS

Patrice Bergeron
Sidney Crosby (Alternate Captain)
Ryan Getzlaf
Dany Heatley
Jarome Iginla (Alternate Captain)
Patrick Marleau
Brendan Morrow
Rick Nash
Corey Perry
Mike Richards
Eric Staal
Joe Thornton
Jonathan Toews

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I like the Niedermayer pick for Captain.  I've known him for a long time and he's won everything there is.  He is by far the best choice for team Captain.

I don't mind the assistants either. Also good picks. 

They guys I didn't think should be on the team are: Bergeron, Staal, Morrow, Seabrook and Doughty.  But I don't pick the team so who cares what I wanted. Right?

Either way, it's a good team so let's just hope this team wins gold or the country will riot.  GO CANADA!!!


-Smokin' Ray-

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