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Who Could Win in Edmonton from the NHL Lockout? |
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If you check back a few blogs ago, you'll find a blog when I discuss as many as 12 current Oilers roster players who could be gone if the lockout continues longer than one season. Much of the replacements will come internally. One exampled I offered is the 3rd line going from the current Ryan Smyth/Shawn Horcoff/Ryan Jones situation to Magnus Paajarvi/Anton Lander/Teemu Hartikainen.
Hartikainen abslolutely has a future with the Oilers, regardless how long this lockout goes. But for Paajarvi and Lander, a long lockout opens up immediate opportunities that could lead to a long-term future with the club. They're winners.
The lockout will create winners and losers within the organization. The losers will need to either retire or find a different team to play for. Some of the winners will walk immediately into a new, full-time NHL job. Most of the winners will get a chance they might not have received otherwise to move up the Oilers organizational depth chart. While it's fair to say most of these beneficaries won't turn into NHL players, some will. Opportunity creates motivation, and motivation can turn some into over-achievers.
Let's look at some of the potential winners:
Magnus Paajarvi and Anton Lander - As discussed...These two can find themselves on the Oilers roster from Day 1 after the lockout, playing on the 3rd line. Paajarvi certainly would have had a shot sooner or later. Lander's development has been more slow and frustrating. Defensively he's solid, and he's got a huge heart, but he still needs to learn how to contribute offensively, and still needs to skate faster and harder. He'll get a chance to learn from some of the best in the game on both subjects.
Tobias Rieder - With the glut of wingers and prospects in Edmonton, I had a hard time seeing how young Rieder was going to get his shot for the next two or three season. Post-lockout, the Oilers AHL team the Barons will be screaming for offense. Reider will have a chance to play Top 6 minutes in the AHL, because players like Lander, Pitlick, Hartikainen and Paajarvi will be in the NHL. Big ice time could lead to big totals...which will eventually lead to an NHL job.
Ryan Martindale - Comparable to Rieder. With most of the Barons Top 6 leaving post-lockout, Martindale would get a chance to be the 1st line center in OKC. The Oilers don't have depth at center like they do on the wings, so a few seasons as top center for the Barons would be huge for his future.
Martin Marincin and Martin Gernat - Similar situation for Marincin and Gernat. Once the NHL season starts, Justin Schultz will certainly be with the Oilers, and both Taylor Fedun and Colten Teubert could join him in Edmonton. Add Oscar Klefbom to the Oilers mix in 2013/2014, and suddenly, Marincin/Gernat is the top pairing in OKC. Give them a year together at the AHL level, and you could see them as an NHL pairing the year following. A huge, offensively-gifted pairing.
David Musil - Another player who benefits greatly from the Barons shifting to many defensemen to the NHL. Musil will then walk into the AHL ready to play 3/4 minutes, seeing time on both sets of special teams. Maybe he lines up with Brandon Davidson when he gets back from injury?
Tyler Pitlick - He's a fireball. Skates 100 miles per hour and isn't shy from throwing hits. Could be a perfect 4th line energy player for the Oilers post-lockout. He also has the potential needed to work himself up a line or two during his career. Everyone seems with Pitlick's game this year in the AHL, even though statistically he has yet to put up huge offensive totals.
Chris Vandevelde - Double V is a prospect who is getting up there in age. He needs his chance to happen soon, and it could. He fits the bill of a 4th line NHL center: Has size, can play mean and physical, and is solid on the dot. The lockout, once Shawn Horcoff and Eric Belanger are gone, is his big chance in the NHL.
Yann Danis - Both Olivier Roy and Tyler Bunz look to be developing well, but you know how it goes with goalies: Teams hate to rush them. Post-lockout, Nikolai Khabibulin is gone and Danis offers an immediate, solid #2 goaltending replacement for the Oilers. This gives the team the chance to play both Roy and Bunz in the AHL, to let them decided between the two of them which one is the next great Oilers goalie. My money is on Bunz.
Colten Teubert - A huge win and opportunity here for Teubert. Theo Peckham still has yet to impress anyone (attempted playing in the ECHL, and was kicked off team - Sorry, the decision he leave was "mutual"), and Teubert is more or less another Peckham. With so many young quality D men prospects belonging to the team, it might be easier just to cut ties with Peckham and give Teubert a legit shot at the 6/7 D position with the Oilers.
Taylor Fedun - If Teubert is the next Peckham, Fedun can be the next Corey Potter. More or less a 5/6/7 defenseman who can play on the PP sometimes. Most-likely won't move up the depth chart (I see the future Oilers D chart something like J.Schultz/Klefbom, Smid/Petry, Marincin/one of Nick Schultz, Teubert, Fedun, Gernat, etc.). Still, he's a useful player to have, and he could earn full-time employment with the Oilers sooner than people realize.
Sam Gagner and Ales Hemsky - The Oilers Top 6 has four locks on it: Hall, Eberle, Nuge and Yakupov. Those four aren't going anywhere. Gagner and Hemsky...Everyone has tried to trade these guys 1,000 times now. Post-lockout, they'll have a chance to show they work well and belong with the Oilers Big Four. It might be their last chance to show it. I am cynical Hemsky will be here long-term, but at one time, he was a brilliant offensive weapon. What happens if he's the 1st line LW with Nuge and Eberle, the teams starts winning, and all three guys are solid 60pts+ players? Hemsky could be re-signed and kept. As for Sammy, he's never had wingers like Hall and Yakupov. His annual point totals could go from 40+ to 60+, just by being there. If he shows any sort of chemistry with Yakupov, Gagner's entire Oilers career gets a do-over.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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