IanO
Superstar
Hyman back and on a mission.
Connor with 4 apples.
Nice to see more people contributing tonight.
Connor with 4 apples.
Nice to see more people contributing tonight.
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- Thread starter Gronk!
- Start date
bodsbods9090
Active Member
Have a feeling a lot of players told Team Canada and USA "thanks, but no thanks" as this is a nice two week break for these players to rest up and relax before that playoff push.
The_Cat
Senior Member
A hell of a win tonight!
IanO
Superstar
Should have been 5-2 (3), but a good win either way.
IanO
Superstar
Gronk!
Senior Member
It's nearly mid-December but they still haven't opened the outdoor skating rink yet. WTH?
IanO
Superstar
The weather has not helped, but yes, it reminds me that this, the Leg and City hall need ice plants.
Vancouver, NYC all with rinks open for a few weeks now...
Vancouver, NYC all with rinks open for a few weeks now...
scyeg
Active Member
ID does have an ice plant, does it not? Maybe they aren't using it, but I vividly remember the delay in the opening of the rink in 2019/20 was due to the ice plant not being quite ready.
IanO
Superstar
Hmmmmm, didn't think so, but hope I am wrong.
TAS
Senior Member
From late 2019
"The site will be housing an ice plant for the rink, says Tim Shipton
“We can’t make ice until we have the ice plant come online,” he said. “The ice plant will come online as we continue construction. Realistically, we’re about a year away from skating in the plaza.”
edmontonjournal.com
"The site will be housing an ice plant for the rink, says Tim Shipton
“We can’t make ice until we have the ice plant come online,” he said. “The ice plant will come online as we continue construction. Realistically, we’re about a year away from skating in the plaza.”
'Epicentre of energy': Ice District Public Plaza getting fireplace, final touches
The finishing touches are coming together for Edmonton’s Ice District Public Plaza, with more seating, a working outdoor fireplace and dozen of trees slated for the…
edmontonjournal.com
erudyk_29
Active Member
Didn't want to say anything in fear of jinxing it but the team is cooking right now.
Finally scoring at a reasonable rate, goalies are playing MUCH better than the beginning of the year.
Kapanen waiver pick up is looking great so far. Podkolzin looks great. Nurse has been great the last month or so, which is helping out a lot.
I just have a couple of concerns up front, specifically with the offseason acquisitions of Arvidsson and Skinner.
With Ardvidsson it's about the injury, what's the timeline looking like? How long can we expect him to be out, your guess is as good as anybody's as apparently there is "no timeline" for his return. He was really starting to find his game just before he got hurt. I thought this was gonna be like a very short term injury, but it's dragged out longer and longer and I'm getting more and more concerned, especially considering his history.
With Skinner, I think there's a bit of a friction between him and the coaching staff. I think the coaching staff is expecting him to be a kind of player that he isn't. His entire career he has been a shot first, offensive forward who isn't great physically on the forecheck, and is not good in his own end. These are things that have been well known about this player since he was drafted by the Hurricanes in 2010.
All of the criticisms I see of Skinners game have to do with his forecheck and defensive play, both of which we already knew weren't his best assets... so why then is the coaching staff playing him 5-7 minutes a night switching between the 3rd and 4th line? You're never going to get the best out of an offensive, sniper type player like him in that situation. He has played well this year, and when Connor and Leon were struggling to get things going in the first couple weeks of the season, he was legitimately the Oilers best forward. Considering his very limited ice time and weaker line mates he's played about as well as can be expected recently.
I think the coaching staff is not used to having a player like Skinner and is struggling to adjust. If it's an effort issue, I can understand demoting him until he can figure it out, but if you're expecting him to become Zach Hyman out of nowhere when that's never the player he's been you're just going to be disappointed. Right now, they're not making the best use of a player of his skill set.
Finally scoring at a reasonable rate, goalies are playing MUCH better than the beginning of the year.
Kapanen waiver pick up is looking great so far. Podkolzin looks great. Nurse has been great the last month or so, which is helping out a lot.
I just have a couple of concerns up front, specifically with the offseason acquisitions of Arvidsson and Skinner.
With Ardvidsson it's about the injury, what's the timeline looking like? How long can we expect him to be out, your guess is as good as anybody's as apparently there is "no timeline" for his return. He was really starting to find his game just before he got hurt. I thought this was gonna be like a very short term injury, but it's dragged out longer and longer and I'm getting more and more concerned, especially considering his history.
With Skinner, I think there's a bit of a friction between him and the coaching staff. I think the coaching staff is expecting him to be a kind of player that he isn't. His entire career he has been a shot first, offensive forward who isn't great physically on the forecheck, and is not good in his own end. These are things that have been well known about this player since he was drafted by the Hurricanes in 2010.
All of the criticisms I see of Skinners game have to do with his forecheck and defensive play, both of which we already knew weren't his best assets... so why then is the coaching staff playing him 5-7 minutes a night switching between the 3rd and 4th line? You're never going to get the best out of an offensive, sniper type player like him in that situation. He has played well this year, and when Connor and Leon were struggling to get things going in the first couple weeks of the season, he was legitimately the Oilers best forward. Considering his very limited ice time and weaker line mates he's played about as well as can be expected recently.
I think the coaching staff is not used to having a player like Skinner and is struggling to adjust. If it's an effort issue, I can understand demoting him until he can figure it out, but if you're expecting him to become Zach Hyman out of nowhere when that's never the player he's been you're just going to be disappointed. Right now, they're not making the best use of a player of his skill set.
BrettB
Active Member
I think you're right about Skinner. And the best players figure out how to double down as they age and take care of business in their own side of the ice first, then go score.
scyeg
Active Member
100% Skinner is not being used properly and should be moved back into the top 6. Kapanen can skate and seems to work hard but is not suited for an offensive role. The best description I read of him when the Oilers picked him up was, "Kapanen is a guy who plays hockey. Nothing particularly good or bad happens when he's on the ice." I'd switch him and Skinner.
The bottom 6 have been a concern at 5v5 for the last ~10 games and are getting out-scored and out-chanced by a fairly high margin. Derek Ryan is struggling this season and I'd look at calling up Philp to take his spot on the 4th line. Savoie would also be someone I"d take a look at. I think the age of some of those guys (Perry, Ryan, Henrique) is really starting to show as the season goes on—nothing wrong with giving them each some games off.
Luckily they have some things going for them that have allowed them to win games—the star players are back to playing like star players, Skinner has found his game in net, and Nurse suddenly looks somewhat like what you should expect from one of your highest-paid players.
TAS
Senior Member
If the Oilers had the exact same team as last year, I think we would be a better team (at this point in time) - I thought we got better with some of the off-season moves but there is no denying Holloway (10 goals already and 19 points) and Broberg would be making a positive impact and the other former Oilers having good year, too.
Since his injury Hyman is getting results now, RNH starting to produce, and Nurse is making bigger impact. McLeod and Foegele certainly having better seasons than many current Oilers.
Good to see our PK start to get back to what it was and PP also scoring some timely goals again.
Since his injury Hyman is getting results now, RNH starting to produce, and Nurse is making bigger impact. McLeod and Foegele certainly having better seasons than many current Oilers.
Good to see our PK start to get back to what it was and PP also scoring some timely goals again.
kcantor
Senior Member
^
I think the impact of not having Evader Kane in the dressing room as well as on the ice and the bench has at least as much impact as losing Holloway and Broberg.
I think the impact of not having Evader Kane in the dressing room as well as on the ice and the bench has at least as much impact as losing Holloway and Broberg.