Training Camp/General Oiler news thread

[Shanahanigans]

Figured I'd start this because things are starting to slowly pick up in terms of news about the Oilers/players/coaches.

I just wanted to comment on how J. Schultz looks like he put on a decent bit of muscle on the Oilers recent Twitter/Instagram pics. I think that's great, 185 is a bit small for a 6'2 NHL dman (his playing weight last year.) Hopefully that amounts to him being more assertive defensively.

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[The Imp]

Uhm... When does camp start? I haven't been able to find anything on the website...?

 

[Comrade Blunderbore]

i think i heard during the YST that prospects who are invited to the main TC are to report the day after the Bears game.

 

[AlowlyMcOilersfan]

I think he'll be fine. Last season was a real test of his conditioning. Hopefully, that muscle you purport he put on is a sign of how seriously he has taken his off-season training.

 

[McDavidMcCup]

My understanding is that the camp officially opens on Wednesday 11/9 with medicals going on for two days. They are on the ice as a split squad against Calgary's split squad on Saturday.

RNH is sadly going to miss all the preseason it seems. Heard Stauffer say that at an informal skate today that RNH was on the wing with Hall playing center (Smyth was the other winger).

I bet RNH was giving tips to Hall the entire time:

RNH: And then when you hit the blue line, trip and go shoulder first into the boards.
Hall: Really? Seems like a strange strategy
RNH: Trust me. Allows you to avoid a whole swack of ugly losses.

 

[McPuritania]

I hate split squad games. It drives me nuts only being able to properly watch one. If this game is on edmontonoilers.com I hope they get archived so I can watch the other game afterwards.

 

[Shredator]

Now the talk of Hall to center is a real possibility. from the sounds of it he can play there for all of preseason and October.
This may impact his Olympic aspirations. Hall has a slim chance of making the team unless he completely dominates.

I hope Hall as a center works.

 

[Groucho]

Figured I'd start this because things are starting to slowly pick up in terms of news about the Oilers/players/coaches.

I just wanted to comment on how J. Schultz looks like he put on a decent bit of muscle on the Oilers recent Twitter/Instagram pics. I think that's great, 185 is a bit small for a 6'2 NHL dman (his playing weight last year.) Hopefully that amounts to him being more assertive defensively.

Just to put some perspective on this... Brian Sutherby was on Gregors show yesterday, and Gregor was asking him about Hall playing center this and that. Sutherby mentioned playing weight, and how he was 6'3" and it took everything in him to get to 210# in his off seasons and by mid season he was at or under 200# just because of his lanky frame. For everybody harping on Nuge and Schultz etc about getting heavier, some food for thought.

 

[Moose Coleman]

Now the talk of Hall to center is a real possibility. from the sounds of it he can play there for all of preseason and October.
This may impact his Olympic aspirations. Hall has a slim chance of making the team unless he completely dominates.

I hope Hall as a center works.

I'm not a fan of using Hall at C, but I don't think he'll have too much of a problem with it. He's just too good.

 

[tempest2i]

Now the talk of Hall to center is a real possibility. from the sounds of it he can play there for all of preseason and October.
This may impact his Olympic aspirations. Hall has a slim chance of making the team unless he completely dominates.

I hope Hall as a center works.

I've heard chatter that moving Hall to center will force him to become more aware defensively and allow him to show Team Canada brass that he can play without the puck.

Think of it this way; Everyone knows Hall can put up points, he's proven that. Moving him to centre, even for a month will allow him to show that he can play a defensive game as well.

 

[CupofOil]

Now the talk of Hall to center is a real possibility. from the sounds of it he can play there for all of preseason and October.
This may impact his Olympic aspirations. Hall has a slim chance of making the team unless he completely dominates.

I hope Hall as a center works.

I hope it works also but i highly doubt it. His game is "Taylor" made for the wing.
I don't see him having the defensive awareness or the cerebral ability to be a long term solution at center, i just don't see him ever being a 2 way threat.
He has that Ovechkin mentality to keep attacking at all times, i don't think that will work at center and if he does change his game to accomodate the center position, that will likely diminish what makes Hall special which is to consistently attack defenses with his speed. I can't think of too many players leaguewide who play Hall's kamikaze style that were/are successful at center.

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

Hall at center may work out better for Eakins' system though...

He is great at gaining the zone and he dominated with nuge and eberle on occasion....but he also often skated in and lost the puck a lot.

If the team ends up winning because of a more controlled breakout and with Hall at center...does anyone care?

 

[nexttothemoon]

I hope it works also but i highly doubt it. His game is "Taylor" made for the wing.
I don't see him having the defensive awareness or the cerebral ability to be a long term solution at center, i just don't see him ever being a 2 way threat.
He has that Ovechkin mentality to keep attacking at all times, i don't think that will work at center and if he does change his game to accomodate the center position, that will likely diminish what makes Hall special which is to consistently attack defenses with his speed. I can't think of too many players leaguewide who play Hall's kamikaze style that were/are successful at center.

I hate pulling out the Messier example again... but that's somewhat the path Hall seems to be on.

A speedy power winger who gets moved to centre and shows he can be a solid playmaking centre + a scoring threat with good defensive awareness.

It's certainly a huge leap to think Hall can make the transition as well as Messier did... I don't think Hall has either the mean streak or is enough of an a-hole to be as successful as Messier ... but I don't see why Hall couldn't play centre with at least average effectiveness.

Hall was 40% on the dot his 1st 2 seasons and improved to 55% last season (in limited opportunities of course)... so he could actually do ok in that regard as well.

He has the speed to get back defensively so to be more responsible defensively than he is now on the wing isn't beyond all possibility if it's actually something he focuses on and Eakins helps instill in him.

Honestly I'd rather leave him on LW as well but to have him try the C spot and if he does ok, then to have that versatility in his game is a good asset for himself and the Oilers in the future even when he is moved back to the wing when RNH comes back.

My gut feel tells me Hall will be just as good as Gagner at centre if not better.

 

[GMofOilers]

Taylor Hall looks like a beast right now.

 

[GoldenTicket]

Taylor Hall moves to Center and we have who on the left side? Perron and Jones?

 

[joestevens29]

Taylor Hall moves to Center and we have who on the left side? Perron and Jones?

Probably one of Hemsky/Eberle/Yak

getting a little too greedy expecting the top 6 to be full of stars.

 

[Hockey Nightmare]

Finally someone gets it:

This is a team that’s desperately trying to move away from rebuilding after missing the playoffs for seven straight seasons. With that in mind, Eakins wants people to start looking at the Oilers in a different way.

“I’ve asked the media here to stop referring to our team as a young team,†Eakins told the Toronto Star. “You do that and really you’re just talking about a few individuals and alienating a bunch of the other guys. Usually when people talk about a young team its means it’s OK to lose. Well, it’s not OK.

“We’re an NHL team with expectations.â€

http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/10/coach-eakins-dont-call-oilers-young/

 

[AlowlyMcOilersfan]

yeah, love what I hear from Eakins, but hope to see some results before I judge his abilities

 

[Calgary McOilers]

I hope the Oilers invite a couple decent veteran Centers to PTO's this week. It would be nice to have all their bases covered for the start of the regular season.

 

[40oz]

I hope the Oilers invite a couple decent veteran Centers to PTO's this week. It would be nice to have all their bases covered for the start of the regular season.

Like who?

 

[djdub]

Wasn't sure where to post this, but are pre-season games discounted or are tickets still pretty much the same price as regular season?

 

[Groucho]

I don't think they're discounted, but if you're interested I have every game for sale except the Flames game on saturday. I already sold my Rangers preseason game but the others are up for grabs, $30 a seat. PM me if you're interested.

 

[Hemsky4PM]

Too bad Arnott isn't healthy, based on last year failing a medical in NY. He could have been a camp invite to fill in for a dozen games then be the 4th line/pb guy.

 

[McPuritania]

Wasn't sure where to post this, but are pre-season games discounted or are tickets still pretty much the same price as regular season?

Same price, it's ridiculous imo.

 

[wraezor]

Anyone heard if the training camp sessions are free and open to the public like they were last year? Or, was that a one-off to apologize for the lockout?