OilersNation Roundup
by Jonathan Willis on Feb 9, 2009 9:36 PM MST
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Hi Folks!
I don’t know who all is still dropping in here from time to time, but this isn’t anything as exciting as a really new post. Rather, I find that it’s a little difficult to find what I’ve written quickly on the OilersNation website, so I’ve decided to log it all over here. I’ll likely start doing a once-a-week summary, so if you haven’t followed me over there (and are somewhat improbably still reading here), this will be a bit of a Coles Notes edition. Most importantly, it will help me flip through the work that I’ve done. Bolded articles are ones I want to remember.
February 9 – Moving In Different Directions: Minor League Teams. This post examines the struggles of the Springfield Falcons and Stockton Thunder, Stockton’s resurgence, and the case for firing Jeff Truitt.
February 8 - GDB 53: Not Taking Steps Back. The game-day thread for Edmonton’s 3-2 SO loss in Minnesota; mostly I vent about how stupid the comments by Craig MacTavish and Ethan Moreau were after the previous day’s loss to Detroit.
February 7 - GDB 52: Moving In Different Directions. I predict doom for the Oilers as they play Detroit. The Oilers lose 8-3.
February 5 - AHL Prospect #13 - Josef Hrabal. Hrabal’s numbers look really bad. Looking further, they are in fact really good. He’s a better defenseman than he’s shown in Springfield.
February 4 - AHL Prospect #14 – Sebastien Bisaillon. Bisaillon’s always been an incredible scorer, likely against butter-soft opponents. NHL Future? Maybe, but probably not.
February 3 - Examples In Bad Sportswriting: Dan Barnes. Terry Jones writes 300 lousy articles a year. Dan Barnes writes one. Clearly, an opportunity not to be missed.
February 2 - Fire Craig MacTavish. It took a long time, but I finally turned on the coach. It hurt.
January 31 - AHL Prospect #15 – Colin McDonald. Bet you didn’t know McDonald has a degree in management. Good thing to, because this whole "NHL career" idea may not work out as hoped for.
January 29 - AHL Prospect #16 – Guillaume Lefebvre. Lefebvre’s only chance at an NHL job involves using his fists. He’s smallish and crazy, so who knows.
January 28 - The Oilers Top-12 Prospects, by TSN. TSN rates the Oilers twelve best prospects. I rate the job TSN did. Not only is my rating more negative, it’s more accurate.
January 27 - Team Review: Doug Risebrough Style. Doug Risebrough’s a smart man. Therefore, I steal his ideas.
January 24 - Why? My defense of statistics. Statistics, consider yourselves defended. I knew you’d feel reassured.
January 24 - Tambellini Should Follow Gillis’ Lead. Mike Gillis is a crybaby who complains about his schedule. Why can’t Steve Tambellini be like that?
January 23 - Josef Hrabal: Maverick? Josef Hrabal refuses to report to the ECHL. I comfort myself by playing the Top Gun anthem. Also, that Danger Zone song.
January 22 - Blessing In Disguise. Thank God I’m not an Islanders fan. Also, Dany Sabourin should help prevent Devan Dubnyk from suffering post-traumatic stress disorder by providing him with the hopeful thought that maybe, just maybe, somebody else will be shelled behind that miserable Springfield team.
January 21 - Compare and Contrast (Because I Can’t Leave Well Enough Alone). There are only two kinds of people in the world: Me, and people who mock me for not believing that Vincent Lecavalier is a top-10 N HL player.
January 20 - News and Notes. Everything you need to know about Potulny’s demotion, the waiver wire transfer of some guy named Murphy, and Matt Thomas resurrecting the Stockton Thunder. Also Penner and Souray punch things.
January 19 - Paradigm Shift. An article so subversive that nobody realized it was subversive. All according to plan.
January 18 - Vincent Lecavalier.Consider two very different players. Vincent Lecavalier, and Vincent Lecavalier.
January 18 - AHL Prospects #17 – Bryan Young. Yawn.
January 17 - Oilers Trade Garon to Pittsburgh. I’m okay with it, as it turns out.
January 17 - KHL Goaltenders. Don’t sign Ray Emery. And don’t develop your own goaltenders.
January 16 - Something’s Wrong in Springfield. Bruce Landon openly complains about the Oilers organization. Nothing wrong there of course, except that he’s the President/GM of their farm team.
January 15 - AHL Prospects #18 – Mathieu Roy. Have you ever stepped into an elevator shaft? If so, please phone Mathieu Roy and help him through this season.
January 14 - Thrashers Trade Jason Williams. Scott Howson out-GM’d Don Waddell. That’s a "welcome to the NHL" moment, Scott.
January 14 - News and Notes. Prostitutes, goalies, all-star games, Sebastien Bisaillon and an NHLPA agent all cameo here.
January 14 - The Ovechkin Minutes. Recap from the Oilers game in Washington.
January 11 - The Ottawa Options. Don’t bother trading with the Senators.
January 7 - The New 4th Line. Stortini, Brodziak and Strudwick. Sometimes crappy defenseman make great 4th line left wingers.
January 6 - AHL Prospects #19 – Geoff Paukovich. Geoff Paukovich: dirty player, man of "character".
January 4 - AHL Prospects #20 – Ryan O’Marra. The most insanely hyped 4th line AHL’er ever. Well, other than Jason Bonsignore.
January 1 - Penalty Differential. Hey – Ethan Moreau takes lots of penalties! Who knew?
December 31 - Mathieu Garon. Jason Labarbera = almost no trade value. Mathieu Garon = Jason Labarbera. Therefore, Mathieu Garon = almost no trade value.
December 31 - Fresno Falcons Fold. Like a shirt. Also, Stockton gets their coach.
December 29 - Jason Strudwick. Save yourself some time and look up the definition of "boat anchor".
December 29 - Comparables for Tom Gilbert. Tom Gilbert and defenseman with a similar career curve.
December 26 - Evaluating the Defense Pairings. Blah. Witty comment.
December 23 - Line Matchups: Edmonton/Phoenix. A review of the game against Phoenix.
December 22 - Depth. It’s a problem.
December 21 - Phoenix Roster Breakdown. Turns out that Zybnek Michalek can really play hockey.
December 19 - Damian Cox. Apparently, Cox believes that Ales Hemsky is overpaid. Do you know what’s equally apparent? Damian Cox is some kind of genius because he somehow managed to con the Toronto Star into paying for that opinion.
December 18 - To Russia With Love. Dan Lacouture bolts to the KHL. His mom and I notice.
December 18 - Ales Hemsky and Shawn Horcoff. This is a good tandem. Stop whining.
December 17 - Positives and Negatives. The Oilers lose 9-2 to Chicago. But on the bright side, Marc Pouliot has a good game.
December 16 - Linus Omark Will Be Signed. He’ll make his "omark" on a contract, and get a chance to make his "omark" on the NHL. Don’t get mad at me; I’m just bracing you for the inevitable Edmonton Sun headline.
December 14 - Stars acquire Sutherby. The Oilers might be able to use him.
December 13 - Curtis Sanford and Edmonton. Turns out he usually plays the Oilers tight.
December 10 - Joffrey Lupul. Crybaby.
December 9 - Ales Hemsky shoots the puck. This should be required reading for broadcast tandems. Other RTSS stuff too.
December 8 - Chris Gratton. A useful NHL’er on waivers.
December 4 - Oilers Amateur Prospects. Lots of fun updates on the young guys.
December 2 - Up and Down. The story of Dubnyk and Schremp.
November 28 - Finding Problems on This Team. A Corsi evaluation of the Oilers.
November 28 - Craig MacTavish Death Watch. Blogosphere update.
November 28 - First Line LW. A comparison of the various candidates.
November 25 - Oklahoma City. The Oilers are seriously considering moving their AHL team to Oklahoma.
November 24 - Leafs Acquire Stempniak. Trade analysis.
November 23 - A More Rational Lineup. Team news and notes.
November 21 - The Penalty Kill. Killing Everything But Penalties.
November 21 - Peace For Our Time. A blogosphere roundup. Unfortunately, nobody commented on the Neville Chamberlain joke, which I thought was actually quite funny.
November 19 - Context Matters. The Oilers’ schedule and its effect on the standings.
November 18 - NHL Hirings: Occasionally Imprudent. With quotes from Neil Smith!
November 18 - Pisani Injury and Minor League Update. A fairly self-explanatory title.
I don’t know who all is still dropping in here from time to time, but this isn’t anything as exciting as a really new post. Rather, I find that it’s a little difficult to find what I’ve written quickly on the OilersNation website, so I’ve decided to log it all over here. I’ll likely start doing a once-a-week summary, so if you haven’t followed me over there (and are somewhat improbably still reading here), this will be a bit of a Coles Notes edition. Most importantly, it will help me flip through the work that I’ve done. Bolded articles are ones I want to remember.
February 9 – Moving In Different Directions: Minor League Teams. This post examines the struggles of the Springfield Falcons and Stockton Thunder, Stockton’s resurgence, and the case for firing Jeff Truitt.
February 8 - GDB 53: Not Taking Steps Back. The game-day thread for Edmonton’s 3-2 SO loss in Minnesota; mostly I vent about how stupid the comments by Craig MacTavish and Ethan Moreau were after the previous day’s loss to Detroit.
February 7 - GDB 52: Moving In Different Directions. I predict doom for the Oilers as they play Detroit. The Oilers lose 8-3.
February 5 - AHL Prospect #13 - Josef Hrabal. Hrabal’s numbers look really bad. Looking further, they are in fact really good. He’s a better defenseman than he’s shown in Springfield.
February 4 - AHL Prospect #14 – Sebastien Bisaillon. Bisaillon’s always been an incredible scorer, likely against butter-soft opponents. NHL Future? Maybe, but probably not.
February 3 - Examples In Bad Sportswriting: Dan Barnes. Terry Jones writes 300 lousy articles a year. Dan Barnes writes one. Clearly, an opportunity not to be missed.
February 2 - Fire Craig MacTavish. It took a long time, but I finally turned on the coach. It hurt.
January 31 - AHL Prospect #15 – Colin McDonald. Bet you didn’t know McDonald has a degree in management. Good thing to, because this whole "NHL career" idea may not work out as hoped for.
January 29 - AHL Prospect #16 – Guillaume Lefebvre. Lefebvre’s only chance at an NHL job involves using his fists. He’s smallish and crazy, so who knows.
January 28 - The Oilers Top-12 Prospects, by TSN. TSN rates the Oilers twelve best prospects. I rate the job TSN did. Not only is my rating more negative, it’s more accurate.
January 27 - Team Review: Doug Risebrough Style. Doug Risebrough’s a smart man. Therefore, I steal his ideas.
January 24 - Why? My defense of statistics. Statistics, consider yourselves defended. I knew you’d feel reassured.
January 24 - Tambellini Should Follow Gillis’ Lead. Mike Gillis is a crybaby who complains about his schedule. Why can’t Steve Tambellini be like that?
January 23 - Josef Hrabal: Maverick? Josef Hrabal refuses to report to the ECHL. I comfort myself by playing the Top Gun anthem. Also, that Danger Zone song.
January 22 - Blessing In Disguise. Thank God I’m not an Islanders fan. Also, Dany Sabourin should help prevent Devan Dubnyk from suffering post-traumatic stress disorder by providing him with the hopeful thought that maybe, just maybe, somebody else will be shelled behind that miserable Springfield team.
January 21 - Compare and Contrast (Because I Can’t Leave Well Enough Alone). There are only two kinds of people in the world: Me, and people who mock me for not believing that Vincent Lecavalier is a top-10 N HL player.
January 20 - News and Notes. Everything you need to know about Potulny’s demotion, the waiver wire transfer of some guy named Murphy, and Matt Thomas resurrecting the Stockton Thunder. Also Penner and Souray punch things.
January 19 - Paradigm Shift. An article so subversive that nobody realized it was subversive. All according to plan.
January 18 - Vincent Lecavalier.Consider two very different players. Vincent Lecavalier, and Vincent Lecavalier.
January 18 - AHL Prospects #17 – Bryan Young. Yawn.
January 17 - Oilers Trade Garon to Pittsburgh. I’m okay with it, as it turns out.
January 17 - KHL Goaltenders. Don’t sign Ray Emery. And don’t develop your own goaltenders.
January 16 - Something’s Wrong in Springfield. Bruce Landon openly complains about the Oilers organization. Nothing wrong there of course, except that he’s the President/GM of their farm team.
January 15 - AHL Prospects #18 – Mathieu Roy. Have you ever stepped into an elevator shaft? If so, please phone Mathieu Roy and help him through this season.
January 14 - Thrashers Trade Jason Williams. Scott Howson out-GM’d Don Waddell. That’s a "welcome to the NHL" moment, Scott.
January 14 - News and Notes. Prostitutes, goalies, all-star games, Sebastien Bisaillon and an NHLPA agent all cameo here.
January 14 - The Ovechkin Minutes. Recap from the Oilers game in Washington.
January 11 - The Ottawa Options. Don’t bother trading with the Senators.
January 7 - The New 4th Line. Stortini, Brodziak and Strudwick. Sometimes crappy defenseman make great 4th line left wingers.
January 6 - AHL Prospects #19 – Geoff Paukovich. Geoff Paukovich: dirty player, man of "character".
January 4 - AHL Prospects #20 – Ryan O’Marra. The most insanely hyped 4th line AHL’er ever. Well, other than Jason Bonsignore.
January 1 - Penalty Differential. Hey – Ethan Moreau takes lots of penalties! Who knew?
December 31 - Mathieu Garon. Jason Labarbera = almost no trade value. Mathieu Garon = Jason Labarbera. Therefore, Mathieu Garon = almost no trade value.
December 31 - Fresno Falcons Fold. Like a shirt. Also, Stockton gets their coach.
December 29 - Jason Strudwick. Save yourself some time and look up the definition of "boat anchor".
December 29 - Comparables for Tom Gilbert. Tom Gilbert and defenseman with a similar career curve.
December 26 - Evaluating the Defense Pairings. Blah. Witty comment.
December 23 - Line Matchups: Edmonton/Phoenix. A review of the game against Phoenix.
December 22 - Depth. It’s a problem.
December 21 - Phoenix Roster Breakdown. Turns out that Zybnek Michalek can really play hockey.
December 19 - Damian Cox. Apparently, Cox believes that Ales Hemsky is overpaid. Do you know what’s equally apparent? Damian Cox is some kind of genius because he somehow managed to con the Toronto Star into paying for that opinion.
December 18 - To Russia With Love. Dan Lacouture bolts to the KHL. His mom and I notice.
December 18 - Ales Hemsky and Shawn Horcoff. This is a good tandem. Stop whining.
December 17 - Positives and Negatives. The Oilers lose 9-2 to Chicago. But on the bright side, Marc Pouliot has a good game.
December 16 - Linus Omark Will Be Signed. He’ll make his "omark" on a contract, and get a chance to make his "omark" on the NHL. Don’t get mad at me; I’m just bracing you for the inevitable Edmonton Sun headline.
December 14 - Stars acquire Sutherby. The Oilers might be able to use him.
December 13 - Curtis Sanford and Edmonton. Turns out he usually plays the Oilers tight.
December 10 - Joffrey Lupul. Crybaby.
December 9 - Ales Hemsky shoots the puck. This should be required reading for broadcast tandems. Other RTSS stuff too.
December 8 - Chris Gratton. A useful NHL’er on waivers.
December 4 - Oilers Amateur Prospects. Lots of fun updates on the young guys.
December 2 - Up and Down. The story of Dubnyk and Schremp.
November 28 - Finding Problems on This Team. A Corsi evaluation of the Oilers.
November 28 - Craig MacTavish Death Watch. Blogosphere update.
November 28 - First Line LW. A comparison of the various candidates.
November 25 - Oklahoma City. The Oilers are seriously considering moving their AHL team to Oklahoma.
November 24 - Leafs Acquire Stempniak. Trade analysis.
November 23 - A More Rational Lineup. Team news and notes.
November 21 - The Penalty Kill. Killing Everything But Penalties.
November 21 - Peace For Our Time. A blogosphere roundup. Unfortunately, nobody commented on the Neville Chamberlain joke, which I thought was actually quite funny.
November 19 - Context Matters. The Oilers’ schedule and its effect on the standings.
November 18 - NHL Hirings: Occasionally Imprudent. With quotes from Neil Smith!
November 18 - Pisani Injury and Minor League Update. A fairly self-explanatory title.
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Thanks LT. I was optimistic that somebody was ;)
by Jonathan Willis on Feb 9, 2009 10:02 PM MST reply actions
Great stuff Jonathan.
I have a question about the November 18th post. What's it about? ;)
I have a question about the November 18th post. What's it about? ;)
by Black Dog on Feb 10, 2009 8:51 AM MST reply actions
BDHS: Oh, I don't know, I just thought the idea that some NHL staff aren't exactly put through a thorough vetting process before being hired might have some application to the Oilers.
Ah, who am I kidding - of course it doesnt ;)
Ah, who am I kidding - of course it doesnt ;)
by Jonathan Willis on Feb 10, 2009 9:00 AM MST reply actions
I hate that you write for that crappy site JW. You are one of the best young hockey writers..actually best hockey writers going and I have to click on that site to read you. Unfortunately, I've just stopped clicking on that site.
It's like being forced to go to Calgary to watch the Oilers play.
It's like being forced to go to Calgary to watch the Oilers play.
by Coach pb9617 on Feb 10, 2009 10:38 PM MST reply actions
Coach:
Thanks for the kind words, and I'm sorry you feel that way about OilersNation.
I've gone on record a number of times with how I feel about ON; basically, a site with the kind of ambition they have needs to be a for-profit venture, and I'd suggest that most of the current bloggers (including myself) lack either the ambition, the business chops, the time or the location (since it would almost certainly need to be based out of Edmonton) to get that kind of site off the ground.
On the surface, sure it looks like "Wanye" and Co. are cashing in on the blogosphere, but they've put a lot of work in and staked their own money on the outcome. Plus, they deal with three high-strung writers, two of whom have serious media credentials, and that takes not only work but likely the patience of Job as well.
You're certainly entitled to disagree with me, and I understand it, but after a difficult transition I feel that making the jump was the right choice.
Thanks for the kind words, and I'm sorry you feel that way about OilersNation.
I've gone on record a number of times with how I feel about ON; basically, a site with the kind of ambition they have needs to be a for-profit venture, and I'd suggest that most of the current bloggers (including myself) lack either the ambition, the business chops, the time or the location (since it would almost certainly need to be based out of Edmonton) to get that kind of site off the ground.
On the surface, sure it looks like "Wanye" and Co. are cashing in on the blogosphere, but they've put a lot of work in and staked their own money on the outcome. Plus, they deal with three high-strung writers, two of whom have serious media credentials, and that takes not only work but likely the patience of Job as well.
You're certainly entitled to disagree with me, and I understand it, but after a difficult transition I feel that making the jump was the right choice.
by Jonathan Willis on Feb 11, 2009 6:40 AM MST reply actions
My name is Mike and I run www.NHLsnipers.com. Just curious if you would like to swap links.
Let me know in a quick comment on my site or email me: nhlsnipers at gmail.
If so, send me the link you want listed.
Thanks
Let me know in a quick comment on my site or email me: nhlsnipers at gmail.
If so, send me the link you want listed.
Thanks
by Mike on Feb 11, 2009 10:52 PM MST reply actions
Jonathan: Thanks for posting the linx, I too have missed many of these due to my ambivalence about ON. In a way it reminds me of HF Boards where I have made a few forays, but too often came away with the feeling that I just invested more time than was repaid in information. In no way is that meant towards you, but I much preferred the Copper & Blue where I could go with 100% certitude that "good stuff" awaited.
I'm the type that once I go in, I'm in. I've learned from excellent blogs like this one to dutifully read all the comments cuz they are Quality and indeed are often where the best stuff is hidden. That's a difficult habit to unlearn, which is where OilersNation doesn't measure up in my view to the likes of Lowetide, MC79, BDHS, IOF, and of course C&B -- there's gems to be found for sure, but these's way more noise in the signal. Ultimately (and quickly) that's what drove me away from HF boards -- you could spend all day in there, and spend an awful lot of it off-topic. I still drop in to ON occaisonally, and it's still on my blogroll, it's just a little further down the picklist than C&B once was.
I will definitely read your bolded references above, or at least I would if the links actually worked. Almost all of them give me an error message and "Return to Blogger". Is that just me? If so I can always find the columns in ON via the overland route, so don't go to a ton of trouble.
I do appreciate how frequently you contribute to the comments sections at other blogs. I know from first hand experience how that can distract you from working on stuff for your own blog. Of course one hardly needs to sit at the head of the table to particpate in the conversation ... which is what's so cool about the 'sphere, and why some MSM types have trouble with it. Of course, I would never be speaking about OilersNation ...
I'm the type that once I go in, I'm in. I've learned from excellent blogs like this one to dutifully read all the comments cuz they are Quality and indeed are often where the best stuff is hidden. That's a difficult habit to unlearn, which is where OilersNation doesn't measure up in my view to the likes of Lowetide, MC79, BDHS, IOF, and of course C&B -- there's gems to be found for sure, but these's way more noise in the signal. Ultimately (and quickly) that's what drove me away from HF boards -- you could spend all day in there, and spend an awful lot of it off-topic. I still drop in to ON occaisonally, and it's still on my blogroll, it's just a little further down the picklist than C&B once was.
I will definitely read your bolded references above, or at least I would if the links actually worked. Almost all of them give me an error message and "Return to Blogger". Is that just me? If so I can always find the columns in ON via the overland route, so don't go to a ton of trouble.
I do appreciate how frequently you contribute to the comments sections at other blogs. I know from first hand experience how that can distract you from working on stuff for your own blog. Of course one hardly needs to sit at the head of the table to particpate in the conversation ... which is what's so cool about the 'sphere, and why some MSM types have trouble with it. Of course, I would never be speaking about OilersNation ...
by Bruce on Feb 13, 2009 1:28 PM MST reply actions
Sorry about the links everybody - I've fixed them now.
by Jonathan Willis on Feb 14, 2009 10:28 AM MST reply actions
Bruce: Thanks. I'm still in this mostly for the fun of it, and I like to be able to talk to you and everybody else over at LT's, or MC79, or your site, or wherever.
On the other hand, I also like talking to Brownlee and Gregor; we've butted heads at times, but both have access and experience, and it's nice to get that side of things too.
On the other hand, I also like talking to Brownlee and Gregor; we've butted heads at times, but both have access and experience, and it's nice to get that side of things too.
by Jonathan Willis on Feb 14, 2009 12:00 PM MST reply actions
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