News Article: Training camp starts. Camp discussion

[nexttothemoon]

Nice thing about Gravel and Jerabek is that they are 26/27 respectively so they have been around the block somewhat and aren't totally green rookies at the pro level.

You are potentially getting these players right when they could breakout after being developed elsewhere for several years.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Based on the fact that he’s a very good player with first round talent that had to spend most of his summers recovering instead of training.

You know he had very little help in Vancouver, right? They had two players over 20 goals. In the WHL. That’s pathetic. How pathetic? The horrendous Oil Kings had three. Four if you include Koch.

Barzal’s last year in junior he had ten goals in 41 games. You never know how finishing ability will translate.

Isn't this a bit odd. The Giants had the 2nd highest goal scorer in the league in Ty Ronning. He had 61goals.

That would be about the 2nd most helpful guy in the entire WHL for a playmaker to want to play with.

 

[McOvechking]

Nice thing about Gravel and Jerabek is that they are 26/27 respectively so they have been around the block somewhat and aren't totally green rookies at the pro level.

You are potentially getting these players right when they could breakout after being developed elsewhere for several years.

Or we realize neither of them are capable of competing at the NHL level and then our defense is as anemic as we worry it is.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Nice thing about Gravel and Jerabek is that they are 26/27 respectively so they have been around the block somewhat and aren't totally green rookies at the pro level.

You are potentially getting these players right when they could breakout after being developed elsewhere for several years.

I'm very keen on Gravel, but both are the type of attempts a team needs to make. If the Oilers win on either, and Gravel is a good bet, its a win.

 

[CycloneSweep]

Koskinen, age 30, seems mature, thoughtful, but seemed a bit defensive about the KHL question at the end. Calm guy though, its what you need in net.

One thing I didn't like is him saying "NHL, not much difference" Um, wait to you start facing some NHL 40 goal scorers. **** gets different in a hurry.

To be fair he has played internationally and excelled against NHL players before. He is still wrong but he has some idea.

 

[Drivesaitl]

To be fair he has played internationally and excelled against NHL players before. He is still wrong but he has some idea.

We're about to find out, heh.

I like his attitude just think he hasn't seen supreme scorers in NHL play before. International hockey is different even if it involves some NHLers. Playing for Finland is different too as they have a history of keeping GA low regardless of who is in net.

Thing is SKA had most of the KHL talent. even in that league he wasn't often facing elites of any kind. About 3-4 clubs are even remotely competitive.

I'm hoping, but we don't know what we got here.

 

[Arpeggio]

I get the impression from Chiarelli's interview that he's pretty bitter about Karlsson not having the Oilers on his list, and in turn not even having the opportunity to bring him in.

 

[FlameChampion]

I get the impression from Chiarelli's interview that he's pretty bitter about Karlsson not having the Oilers on his list, and in turn not even having the opportunity to bring him in.

Yeah hes generally pretty conservative when he talks to the media, but he kind of went out of his way to make the point clear that we werent on his list.

I hate california teams so much

 

[Drivesaitl]

I get the impression from Chiarelli's interview that he's pretty bitter about Karlsson not having the Oilers on his list, and in turn not even having the opportunity to bring him in.

Its positive that Karlsson renegotiation is somebody elses problem. Guy turned down 88M over 8 yrs in Ottawa. Good luck finding a team willing to pay an offensive D with 9 goals that much.

Theres no way, contractually, for Karlsson to be an Oiler. Why even worry about it. No team can spend say 32M on 3 players. That's absurd. Karlsson wants Connor McDavid type money. He can suckballs.

 

[CycloneSweep]

I get the impression from Chiarelli's interview that he's pretty bitter about Karlsson not having the Oilers on his list, and in turn not even having the opportunity to bring him in.

I think it was cause he landed in the division and he didn't even get a shot.

If he went elsewhere he probably would of just shrugged.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Isn't this a bit odd. The Giants had the 2nd highest goal scorer in the league in Ty Ronning. He had 61goals.

That would be about the 2nd most helpful guy in the entire WHL for a playmaker to want to play with.

The Oilers had the highest scorer in the league - how’d that work out

 

[Faelko]

Safe to assume the Oilers sign Upshall the minute they know how much cap they have after Nurse signs.

 

[YakDavid]

Safe to assume the Oilers sign Upshall the minute they know how much cap they have after Nurse signs.

I got a weird vibe from the tweet when they said it didn't mean he was done with us.

 

[Ritchie Valens]

How did Koskinen look, did anyone here bear witness or hear from anyone in the media?

 

[McAsuno]

How did Koskinen look, did anyone here bear witness or hear from anyone in the media?

Stopped all shots apparently.

 

[Ritchie Valens]

Stopped all shots apparently.

That's alright! Nice start to camp.

 

[t0nedeff]

I really hope Benson works his way up to getting a few games with Drai. If he makes the team and from what I've seen he very well could I'd much rather Mclellan find out now that they can mesh together instead of just ignoring it for the rest of the year like he did with JP all of last season.

 

[SK13]

It's the predictable way to start....

I wonder how long the leash for Lucic will be. They spent the better part of 1/2 a season trying to get Lucic going last year, often to the huge detriment of the rest of his line. We can't afford to give him all the games in the world to get going again.

It's predictable because it's right. There's a not-subtle difference between giving a guy the best chance to rebound in preseason and letting him drag down teammates in December.

 

[LaGu]

Its positive that Karlsson renegotiation is somebody elses problem. Guy turned down 88M over 8 yrs in Ottawa. Good luck finding a team willing to pay an offensive D with 9 goals that much.

Theres no way, contractually, for Karlsson to be an Oiler. Why even worry about it. No team can spend say 32M on 3 players. That's absurd. Karlsson wants Connor McDavid type money. He can suckballs.

Is it 88 now? It was 80 yesterday. HF-inflation or new (credible) reports? You don't think a team will pay $11M a year for Karlsson? Really?

Wrt Benson, I was wrong pointing at juniors, implying WHL, he basically came in broken already with injuries. Maybe he'll never get over his problems, maybe he will. No matter what he is an interesting prospect who had talent in spades at a very young age. So I can't blame some people, including myself, to be a bit excited that he's looked good so far, still I think he's bound for the AHL this year. If he manages there this year we'll see more clearly what we've got. .... unless he gets injured...

 

[Senor Catface]

I really don't see this 1st line projection potential in Benson.

Even if he forces his way into the conversation for the team, send him to the AHL. He needs to get used to the travel and games played in the pro life.

Sure it's due to injuries, but he hasn't played more than 58 games since 14-15. There's a huge mental factor that comes with playing a travel filled 82 game season. The AHL will be great for him.

What do I know, I'm just an ol' chunk of coal.

 

[hockeyguy1967]

Dude is the biggest mouthbreather I've seen...



He can barely say 5 words without stopping to breathe. He needs to get a septoplasty and whatever else is needed so he can breathe through his nose. I guarantee this is affecting his abilities and his brain. I could care less if he stops dropping the mitts, he can be a physical presence without fighting and we need him to be a top 6 forward.

Mouth-breathing is strongly associated with all sorts of negative physical and psychological effects.

Caleb Jones had similar surgery last year BTW. TBH, I was already a nosebreather but I had a septoplasty earlier this year and it's life-altering.

This was after training lol

 

[hockeyguy1967]

Is it 88 now? It was 80 yesterday. HF-inflation or new (credible) reports? You don't think a team will pay $11M a year for Karlsson? Really?

Wrt Benson, I was wrong pointing at juniors, implying WHL, he basically came in broken already with injuries. Maybe he'll never get over his problems, maybe he will. No matter what he is an interesting prospect who had talent in spades at a very young age. So I can't blame some people, including myself, to be a bit excited that he's looked good so far, still I think he's bound for the AHL this year. If he manages there this year we'll see more clearly what we've got. .... unless he gets injured...

I would take Karlsson at 11m 100 times out of 100 times over Tavares.

 

[Dempsey]

People are getting way ahead of themselves with Benson. I expect he'll go to the AHL and produce as a decent second line winger there for a season or two while maybe getting a few NHL games in. I'm not gonna argue with the people here thinking he's going to re-kindle his magic from his minor midget days...bump the thread if I'm wrong

 

[Arpeggio]

This was after training lol

He really does always breathe like that though.

 

[nexttothemoon]

People are getting way ahead of themselves with Benson. I expect he'll go to the AHL and produce as a decent second line winger there for a season or two while maybe getting a few NHL games in. I'm not gonna argue with the people here thinking he's going to re-kindle his magic from his minor midget days...bump the thread if I'm wrong

I'm not saying Benson is going to skip to the front of the line and play beside Mcdavid this season either (although the competition isn't massive on this team considering the winger depth out there).

Personally I just think he has very high upside and he can reach that IF he stays healthy.

This is a player that's basically been stuck in limbo but he's equivalent to a top 10-15 pick in the draft. Those players have 1st line/top 6 potential... but obviously they may not reach that because a LOT can happen to derail their careers (such as constant injuries).

With Benson... nothing is missing except a healthy body but obviously that's a huge factor in making it at the NHL level. If you can't stay healthy you'll slowly drift away into "never-was" land.

I think he does well this season in Bakersfield and likely gets a call-up at some stage when injuries hit.