Today is the last game the Oiler prospects will play as their unofficial 4th game in the Young Stars tournament which wrapped up in Penticton. The team will faceoff against the University of Alberta Golden Bears of the CIS. For those unfamiliar with the Golden Bears, they are the best hockey club in Canadian University and very likely the best collegiate hockey team in North America. No disrespect to the NCAA but they have regularly avoided opportunities to play exhibition games against the Bears largely to avoid embarrassment.

These teams are expertly coached and feature slightly older players than the kids the Oilers will be bringing. It’s a point of pride for the Golden Bears to take on the best and brightest prospects of an NHL club and hand them their backsides. Bears coach Ian Herbers played 22 NHL games with the Oilers in 94 and then much later after NHL expansion but was otherwise a career minor leaguer. He has coached in the OHL, ECHL, AHL, and now the CIS. The Oiler kids will be in tough against this team and are indeed 10-13 lifetime against the Bears.

This game was briefly ended by Oilers GM Steve Tambellini who didn’t see much use in the match, but I see lots of value in this. First and foremost it’s a lesson in the value of hard work and team play. The Oiler kids are no doubt more “talented” than the majority of the Bears squad but that team will be playing a system they understand well and with players they know. It’s an advantage and a lesson about what actually wins games that the players trying to break into the professional ranks should soak up.

The other reason this game is good, in my eye, is because it is generally a step up in competition from the Young Stars squads assembled by the other NHL teams. The Penticton tournament was a great start but NHL competition, even in pre-season, is a different story. This game is the bridge between those levels. That of course also adds another game to see young Tkachev play and that makes me a happy viewer.

Beyond the Oilers, this game is good for Edmonton. It’s a boost to the University and CIS athletics. In some small way it is doing a service for the Oilers but also for the University that serves this city. It’s a feather in the cap of the Hockey team that pushes them off to start their season. Good stuff.

LINEUP

The Oilers aren’t playing their B team. This lineup is arguably their best yet. We should see some good hockey tonight.

Moroz Draisaitl Holmberg
Tkachev Yakimov Chase
Ewanyk Khaira Kessy
Jones Jones Platzer

Oesterle Simpson
Nurse Ludwig
Musil Gernat

Brossoit

OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME

1) All Eyes On Tkachev. Even Oilers play by play man Bob Stauffer acknowledged the play of Tkachev. They need to get as many opportunities to see him play as they can because he has turned heads starting in Penticton and now there’s a decent chance that if he leaves Oiler camp without a deal someone else might extend him one. He’s a dynamic player they want to see keep up the good play against better competition.

2) I Pity The Fool. The club is bringing their A Team, get it? They have 4 lines that can play and 3 of their Centers are big boys. The Yakimov line has been the best one during the tournament and now they have Chase on that line too. Then there’s the Draisaitl/Moroz line which was made for puck possession. The Bears will be in tough if these lines are going.

3) Sweat Equity. The Bears will work hard. They play for Championships and this is the closest most will get to the NHL. The Oilers better be prepared to play hard because the other team has been dreaming about this for a while.

Puck drops tonight at 7PM Mountain Time on the Oilers Website. Game On!

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