2008-09-17

Oiler Wannabes 3, U. of A. Golden Bears 2

The leaves are turning and with them turns the page on a new hockey season. As always I'm anxious to return to the rink, to get out to an early training camp session or better yet, the annual Oiler Wannabe-Golden Bear "friendly" at Clare Drake Arena. There's something reassuring about the familiar sights of the Zamboni doing its last lap, the attendants fixing the nets in position, the goalie leading the charge on to the ice by taking the crease and methodically scraping it down to just the right degree of friction. Soon enough the sounds of clashing sticks on the opening faceoff, blades digging into ice, the puck clicking from stick to stick, bodies coming together hard at the boards, the buzz of the crowd. Ain't nothing quite like live Hockey in Canada.

Finally, there's some real hockey to talk about. I missed the two on-line broadcasts from the Oilers rookie tournament (vs. Calgary and Vancouver prospects) but attended the 21st annual Bears-Wannabe shindig. This featured a lesser line-up than the Camrose tournament, as I think the Oilers traditionally limit their line-up to guys who have played at most one year of pro (O'Marra, Paukovich), or maybe they allow guys who played primarily in the ECHL but not the AHL or something. Mostly they are names that can be found in the press guide under "In the System" or, failing that, in the training camp pamphlet under "#80, Kalvin Sagert". But there are always some interesting names to watch, never more than this year given all the info I have on these guys from the Oilogosphere

My friend and I arrived very early and had our pick of seats. I chose to sit in the row in front of the cordoned off section for the Oiler "family", in part so I could see what they saw but in part to watch the brass in action and perhaps pick up the odd word or two in the wind. And what an extended family it was, including Daryl Katz, Kevin Lowe, Steve Tambellini, Kevin Prendergast, the entire coaching staff, and more scouts than I could name. About two dozen men in all, no women, one kid (Katz's). Well, two kids, if you count Kent Nilsson's. Row-bert was sitting on the back wall between his dad and Kyle Brodziak, checking out the "competition".

The spot we staked out turned out to be directly in front of Craig MacTavish, Charlie Huddy and Billy Moores, with an empty row in between. The acoustics in the old bandbox are truly shitty, but I picked up the odd thing like MacT's playful scouting report on Ryan Huddy, and the buzz that went through the group when Bryan Lerg burst through the defence and ripped a dangerous shot on net. Best of all was when Sam Gagner stopped by on the walkway in front of me between periods to say his hellos to the coaches after the long summer. He and MacT carried on a nice conversation right over my shoulder, with Gagner describing his trip to Austria with the London Kinghts alumni and the coach reminiscing to the Oilers somewhat infamous trip to Graz in 1990 or so. What was immediately apparent was the bond between the two, which clearly went beyond the deference and respect of a player-coach relationship and into the realm of genuine affection. Master Samwise is in good hands, methinks.

Amidst all these distractions, not to mention all the eye candy passing by on the walkway immediately in front of me (I love campus life), I watched the game in a fragmented rather than focused manner. Lots of, uh, "screen shots". Luvverly.

Ah yes, the hockey game. It really looked like a pick-up game this year, as the Oilers surprised their hosts by showing up in white unis for the first time. In the warm-up the Bears wore their traditional home whites at the other end, so something had to give. So the hosts switched into last year's third-jersey yellows, lots of number changes, lots of wrong names on the back, one skater #1 and another skater with no number at all, the goalies in green with a different crest. Too bad for those kids, especially the ones trying out in front of the biggest crowd of the year, not to mention the poor sod who did all the work to get the whites ready for prime time. The good news was the Oilers prospects all had names on their sweaters with their own unique training camp rosters. The only familiar numbers were of the departed, as Matt Greene's #2 and Joni Pitkanen's #25 were officially recycled.

While the Bears dominated long stretches of the action with their trademark hard two-man fore-check, Brian Pitton and Andrew Perugini played well in the Oilers net, allowing the rooks to sneak off with a 3-2 win on a night they were outshot 36-26. The Bears now lead this remarkably-balanced series 11 games to 10.

I highlighted a few names on the game sheet and tried to follow each guy for a shift, but as is my habit (as an ex-goalie) I found myself watching the puck and the flow of play more than who was doing exactly what. Still, a few snatches on the skaters that caught my eye:


#30 Brian Pitton / #50 Andrew Perugini, G: I made a point of watching both goalies pretty closely. Both made a number of fine stops, but the difference was in the little things. My scribbled notes on Pitton included these comments:

-- trouble with carom off backboards
-- poor rebound control
-- puckhandling error
-- couldn't find puck
-- adventure!

... describing five different plays during his 30 minutes of work. Meanwhile, my comments on Perugini were things like:

-- excellent rebound control
-- no rebound on screen shot
-- again, no rebound
-- battled hard against crease crashers

... and he just looked by far the more polished, professional goalie at this point. Not saying that Pitton can't file off these rough edges in time, and perhaps he's the better pure stopper, who knows. But for right now the undrafted Perugini looks more comfortable and commanding in the crease. On this night he pitched a half-shutout and was rewarded with third star honours.

#2 Milan Maslonka, D: A late addition to the line-up, he looked big and slow. Scored the second goal on a booming point shot, but it took him all day to let it go.

#23 Philippe Cornet, LW: Sneaky good, on the first line with Eberle and Lerg. They helped make him look good, especially when Lerg made a pretty pass to set Cornet up for the games' first goal, but he seemed to be on the line on merit (they always stack a line in this game), and he sure didn’t look out of place, anticipating the play and darting into the holes. The coaches seemed to like him.

#25 Jordan Eberle, RW: Easily found chemistry with Lerg, and generated a few dangerous shots with a quick release. I liked his stickhandling; he wasn’t shy about putting the puck right into his opponent’s feet and controlling it there. That may not be a formula for success at the NHL level where only the great ones get away with that consistently, but I liked his confidence.

#28 Marc-Andre Bernier, RW: Scored the winner short-handed, on a giveaway in the first minute of the third that undid the Bears second-period comeback (shots 18-2) that had tied the score at 2. Nice play, nice shot, otherwise didn’t capture my attention.

#41 Taylor Chorney, D: Kind of all over the ice in a MAB sort of way. Chaos D? Has great speed, as demonstrated on one play where he forced a turnover at the defensive blueline and turned it into a partial breakaway. Not a play one sees often from a defenceman.

#42 Ryan O’Marra, C: Did nothing to stand out except look like a hockey player all night long. Seemed to do the little things right, played his position pretty well. His line did get burned for the tying goal-against.

#48 Alex Plante, D: Big palooka looked fairly mobile and strong along the boards.

#61 Bryan Lerg, C: Best player on the ice, and it wasn’t close. Having seen about 15 of these games over the years I can state with some authority that the players who usually do best are the four-year NCAA guys. For one thing they are the only “Rookies” who are not surprised by the calibre of play, indeed they’re used to playing at that level. Unlike most four-year college guys, Lerg is just 22. Unfortunately, he’s also just 5’10”, 175. Still, a player to watch, although be prepared to wait; even the best college grads (Horcoff, Pisani, Gilbert, all of whom starred in their one appearance in the Wannabes game) need a little time in the A to acclimate to the pro game. Nice signing.

#64 Milan Kytnar, C: Seemed a lot bigger than the listed 6’0”, 180. Strong in the circle and along the boards. Made good plays to win the puck and then did nothing with it. A project.

#74 Garet Hunt, LW: When going over the game sheet before the game with my friend (an Oiler season ticket holder who doesn’t quite follow the organization in the depth that I do), I put a big arrow next to Hunt’s name, saying something like they aren’t supposed to fight but don’t be surprised. Sure enough, Hunt took a double minor for roughing at the 24-second mark of the game when he punched Kyle Fecho right in the nose in the extended aftermath of the game's first whistle. After that, though, he did nothing but impress me with his speed and hustle, finishing every possible check with obvious relish and even killing penalties. Playing style reminded me of Jordin Tootoo or Kirk Maltby.

#75 Jamie Bates, RW: Whodat? But grabbed my eye with one great shift in which he skated end-to-end to create his own scoring chance, then skated just as hard the other way to break up a dangerous rush. That kind of thing wins points with me every time.

#84 Geoff Paukovich, C: Probably was a tough game for him to play after his match penalty/major fucking scare of the night before. I half suspect he was a tad reluctant to really bring his A game, which surely is a physical one. Looked slow and out of position at times. Made two fine defensive plays on one shift including a lay-it-all-out-there shot block right in front of us which likely impressed the likes of Lowe, MacT and Buchberger, to name three masters of the bruised art.

#90 Justin Chwedoruk, F: I never heard of this guy, also a late addition, but he did nothing but skate his ass off and forecheck the bejeezus out of the Bears all night long.
***

At night's end four of the reasons Jordan Eberle and Bryan Lerg won't be in the big club's immediate plans literally brushed by me in rapid succession, namely Sam Gagner, Robert Nilsson, Kyle Brodziak, and Andrew Cogliano. Rarely do players go directly from this game to the big club, as Gags'n'Cogs did last year. With the surfeit of youth on the returning Oilers, newcomers are going to have to earn their spot in the pecking order and wait for injuries. Surely Eberle is a lock to return to the Dub, but it's nice to know that there's some real talent "in the system".

Like all the fans around me I had maintained a respectful silence towards the men doing their jobs behind me; the frequently-turned heads in front of me had gawking eyes but closed mouths for the most part. But as the crowd began to file out I approached Frank Musil specifically to inquire after the health of his countryman Jaroslav Pouzar. Alas, the word is not good; Pouzar is in ill health again, whether it's a relapse of the leukemia or something even more sinister, Frank's tone was sombre. I thanked him, and told him how Pouzar was one of my favourite Oilers of all time which he really seemed to appreciate. "As were you" I hastened to add (and it's true), "I even liked you when you played for Calgary!" His forced laugh reminded me suddenly of Esa Tikkanen scoring the series-winner off of the unfortunate Musil's shinpad in '91, but that wasn't what I was referring to at all. Hope he didn't take it the wrong way; as I rediscovered recently even the best intentions can go down wrong sometimes. I shook Musil's hand, wished him, Pouzar and the Oilers good fortune, and rejoined the great unwashed in the slow-mo stampede to the exits.

And with that it's Game on! with the new season.

18 comments:

PDO said...

Excellent.

More than anything, glad to see (even if you're a batshit crazy goaltender) that you finally have your own blog.

Lowetide said...

Terrific, Bruce. Enjoyed the old timey stuff most of all.

I'll make it a daily visit.

B.C.B. said...

That was great.

Finally a site that I'll check everyday, not on OilersNation

Bruce said...

Thanks, fellows, appreciate the kind words. And the link!

This will be a work in progress for awhile, not that I expect to be at a loss for words or anything. :)

As for OilersNation, I was thinking what with them looking for talent and me as an unrestricted free agent I might invite myself to camp. I'd even settle for the rookie minimum.

I keed. I'm gonna hang right here for the foresseable future while I figure this shit out.

Oilman said...

Nice read Bruce - coulda used a picture of the eye candy - but that's your only deduction;o)

Julian said...

Thanks Bruce, this is really good stuff to read. Yet another Oilblog to keep an eye on.

Gord said...

My friend and I arrived very early and had our pick of seats. I chose to sit in the row in front of the cordoned off section for the Oiler "family"

Reading BDHS's blog, I knew you would be at the game - I looked for your red Canada Cup shirt but could not see it... Because we were on the same side (I was close to centre ice).

As the game finished, my wife & I walked past & I suspected that was you - but the fans leaving made it impossible to stop & say hi...

Jonathan Willis said...

First off, it's great to see you blogging, Bruce. You're easily one of the commenters whose opinions I most look forward to hearing, and you bring a perspective that I won't have for years and years (I'm only 22, after all).

Now, to the post itself:

Meanwhile, my comments on Perugini were things like:

-- excellent rebound control
-- no rebound on screen shot
-- again, no rebound
-- battled hard against crease crashers

... and he just looked by far the more polished, professional goalie at this point.


Thak you for that. With my computer down, I haven't been able to watch any of this pre-season stuff yet, but I doubt it surprises anyone that I'm pulling for Perugini. I'm really glad to hear that he looked solid.

Bruce said...

I doubt it surprises anyone that I'm pulling for Perugini.

Jonathan: That comment was a variation on a brief comment I wrote on Lowetide ("Attention-Getter") the night of the game, which I prefaced thusly:

I made a point of watching the two goalies, and actually had some idea who Perugini was thanks to some posts Jonathan made about him at C&B. Who he was tonight was by far the more impressive of the two goalies, earning third-star honours with 30 minutes of shutout work. ...

That seems to be how this community works; we feed off of each other. Speaking of which, thanks for the link on your blog roll! As you can see I have got a preliminary one set up here, and hope to add to it in time. Maybe I'll even get OilersNation up there eventually. :)

Oilman: the thing about the eye candy is that no picture would do justice to the, uh, dynamics of the presentation. Would you prefer 1000 words?

Mr DeBakey said...

Whodat Jamie Bates?
Another 4-year NCAA guy, dat’s who.
It appears he’s the only one of the NCAA free agents invited to the June camp who was offered a pro contract.

Notice the Oil bulked up on RW depth this summer?
Bates, Bernier, Chwedoruk, Corazzini, plus Ryan MacMurchy who had a solid season in Stockton – a leading scorer and one of the few with a positive +/-.

For a guy who couldn’t carry the puck in the proverbial bushel basket,
Pouzar was a damn fine Oiler.
I don’t think he ever got enough credit during the Oiler’s first Cup run.
In the first period of the SCF opener in Nassau County, he smoked Trottier [My eyes grow dim, but I’m sure it was Trottier]. He also got very much in the face of Oiler’s nemesis Swingin Billy Smith.

dstaples said...

Welcome to the Oilogosphere. Or welcome to the blogging part of it, as you've already been a M.V.C. -- most valuable contributor -- for some time now.

Bruce said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bank Shot said...

Maslonka is the type of guy you trade for a washing machine. What a disgrace.

I also liked Lerg in the Bears game. He was more of a playmaker then I would have imagined. He passed up a few decent shooting opportunities to pass. He'll need to turn on the afterburners to make any kind of noise at main camp, as he's starting off well behind guys like Brule, and Potulny.

I'm not sure why the Oilers are so fascinated by large men with awkward skating and zero puck skills. Rohlfs, Paukovich, Reaney, Pisano, yuck.

Erberle has some nice skill. I didn't think his compete level was very high when he didn't have the puck however. made at least a couple weak clearing attempts.

It was funny to see Garet Hunt lining up for the pre-game anthem between Plante, and Paukovich. The guy must be about 5'5".

In closing, "Atta boy Gimby!"

Bruce said...

DeBakey: thanks for doing my homework for me w.r.t. Master Bates. I'll have a separate piece up addressing your comments on Pouzar shortly.

Thanks to all you others for the kind comments. It's nice to hit double digit replies on the first effort (and only a few of them are mine!).

Jonathan Willis said...

RE Jamie Bates: (from the Quinnipiac website) “I’m very excited for Jamie,“ said Quinnipiac men’s hockey head coach Rand Pecknold. “He’s been a great player for his four years at Quinnipiac and has worked very hard to get where he is today. He’s also a model student-athlete and this is a testament to his character.”
Bates is scheduled to graduate in May and will continue the required coursework for a bachelor’s degree in finance while embarking on his professional playing career.

Bates was also the team captain - I guess we shouldn't be surprised the Oilers invited him.

That seems to be how this community works; we feed off of each other. Speaking of which, thanks for the link on your blog roll! As you can see I have got a preliminary one set up here, and hope to add to it in time.

Not at all. I'd be negligent if I hadn't put a link up!

Bruce said...

Well I never heard of Quinnipiac either ... that one just got by me completely. But my comments under Lerg about four-year NCAA guys would apply pretty much across the board. Nice to see the Oil giving some of these guys a shot; it's probably the best source going of undrafted free agents.

Greg MC said...

Very informative, much appreciated!

slopitch said...

Good stuff Bruce, glad to see you have a blog. We had very similar takes on the game. I think you must have been about 2 rows behind me woulda been cool to sit and talk hockey. If only...