The Edmonton Oilers training camp ended abruptly last night for 4 hopefuls and there may be one more coming soon. Darnell Nurse, Anton Lander, Tyler Pitlick, and Taylor Fedun were all cut immediately after last night’s game. I’m sure these men still lost sleep last night, but it wasn’t because they didn’t know what was going to happen next. There are some rumblings that the next person to be cut will be Ryan Jones but it is just rumblings right now. *Updated Below* The reality of professional sports is that very good players may still not be good enough to make a team. Nurse and Fedun, specifically, had great training camps. Still it wasn’t enough to crack the Oilers roster.

Nurse

The former 7th Overall pick in the 2013 Entry Draft has nothing to be ashamed of after his first NHL camp. Like many of you, after the draft I had Nurse rated #2 on my list of NHL prospects. He was trailing only Oscar Klefbom, who I believed was further along in his development and who was the subject of rave review by the GM Craig MacTavish. Fast forward a few short months to the end of September and it’s a different story.

Nurse was a stand out in almost every game he played, rising to meet the challenge as each game featured more NHLers than the last. Oscar Klefbom, on the other hand, was sent home a week earlier; still with great potential but not ready yet to take an NHL spot.

It’s no secret that I advocated finding a way to keep Nurse on the roster for the 9 games that he could have played without burning a year of his contract before sending back to Sault St Marie. I think he showed that he could play against men and earn not-insignificant minutes doing it. If not for MacTavish taking over the General Manager position and loading the club with NHL caliber Defenders, Nurse probably WOULD still be here.

That said, the Oilers made the smart and risk averse move of sending him to Junior right away. The Greyhounds are getting a great player. He absolutely shattered my expectations.

Lander

Anton Lander had every opportunity to take the Oilers open 4C position and failed to do anything with it. He was out-played by Will Acton, someone who may have been given a chance because of his name but earned the spot on merit. I don’t know if Lander will get another opening like this to make an NHL club again. He needs to go to OKC and develop his game some more. At this point he doesn’t do anything particularly well.

Pitlick

Tyler Pitlick’s training camp has been nothing short of incredible for him. Pitlick has failed to deliver based on his draft expectations in professional hockey. This is in no small part due to the fact that he cannot score. His shooting percentage over the 2 years he has been a Baron is 4.9%. He can’t put the puck in the net at the AHL level, so naturally the chances of him doing it at the NHL level are extremely low. Nonetheless, Pitlick did enough other things well to suggest he might still play in the big leagues one day.

Yes, he finished his checks, played with speed, and the coach was unafraid to use him. When once many had hoped the former Medicine Hat Tiger would play as the 2C of the Oilers, now we hope he could one day be a 4th line winger with some energy. Such is life.

Fedun

It is impossible not to cheer for Taylor Fedun. He went through long and excruciating rehabilitation after his Femur “exploded” (his words) because of a nasty fall that occurred while racing back for an icing call. He plays a smart game. He is positionally sound, he can skate, and he can move the puck up the ice reasonably well. This young man was robbed of his opportunity to play in the NHL because of injury, now that is exactly what he waits for to get it back.

Jones?

It is only a rumour right now that Ryan Jones will be cut from the Oilers. He has apparently deleted his Twitter account but there has yet been no confirmation as to what will happen with him. His training camp to date has been lackluster to poor, so if he is placed on waivers it will not come as a great shock. I will update this with more info as it comes.

Update

#Oilers place forward Ryan Jones on waivers.

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) September 25, 2013

Ryan Jones has indeed been placed on Waivers by the Edmonton Oilers. If Jones clears waivers then he will be assigned to OKC where he is expected to work on his game until he is ready to return to the NHL.

It is not news to Oilers fans that the eye injury Jones suffered during the lockout seems to have derailed his career. We all hope that this is only a temporary setback for Jones. His past performance suggest that there is a player there with a lot to offer an NHL club.

At his best Jones is an energy player who can chip in with some offense. He could play anywhere in the lineup but is likely best suited on the 3rd line. Since the injury, his offense has dried up and a little bit of the energy has gone with it, making him significantly less effective on the ice.

Jones makes 1.5 million dollars and with the new CBA rules his entire cap hit will not be buried with him in the minors. The Oilers can only get relief for the 1st million dollars, so they will not gain the full amount off of their Cap.

Follow me on Twitter @Archaeologuy

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