Just Play The Kids...

by Jonathan Willis on Apr 12, 2009 9:28 AM MDT

Taylor Chorney got his NHL debut in the second-last game of the season, and he played again last night. He had the worst plus/minus on the Springfield Falcons at -29, and it seemed obvious he wasn't ready for the NHL. With the season already over, the Oilers decided to give him a quick look.

2GP - 0G - 0A - 0PTS, -4

The worst plus/minus mark on the Oilers is Patrick O'Sullivan's -7. The worst mark by a defenseman is Ladislav Smid's -6. In two games, Taylor Chorney moved himself almost to the bottom of the pile. It's a small sample, but it jives with his AHL numbers, and shows the difficulties most prospects have adapting to the professional game.

Jeff Deslauriers also got shelled last night, after playing very well the night before. Here are his numbers on the season:

10GP - 4W - 3L - 0OTL, 3.34 GAA, .901 SV%

That shouldn't be a surprise; he put up a .906 SV% in his AHL conditioning stint and in his best year (last season) he put up a .912 SV% in the AHL. After his good game against Calgary in game #81 of the season, I read in a few different places that Deslauriers should get 50% of the starts next season.

There's a simple rule that I like to follow when making decisions like this: prospects who are average or below average in the AHL very rarely turn out to be immediately good in the NHL, no matter how nice it would be if they did. It amazes me how few people understand that.

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Comments

Have you read the first chapter of Outlier's (Malcolm Gladwell)? You should. It talks about how hockey players drafted in the first or second round are favoured to the extent that its ridiculous.

When I see a guy like Chorney getting some experience at the top level and a guy like Hrabal ending up back in Sweden it confuses me. Granted nobody really knows why Hrabal was bounced around so much but...

by jdrevenge on Apr 12, 2009 10:51 AM MDT reply actions

I've glanced through Ouliers, but I haven't sat down with it yet.

It's on my list, although right now I'm reading a biography of Scotty Bowman.

by Jonathan Willis on Apr 12, 2009 12:07 PM MDT reply actions

Word em up. I'm thinking you'll like it. Especially the first section of the book where they talk about how hockey players born in months jan-april have a better chance of making it to the nhl than those born in may-december.

by jdrevenge on Apr 12, 2009 12:56 PM MDT reply actions

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Northwest Standings

	GP	W	L	OTL	PT
Vancouver Nucks Misconduct	54	34	15	5	73
Colorado Mile High Hockey	56	28	25	3	59
Minnesota Hockey Wilderness	54	25	21	8	58
Calgary Matchsticks and Gasoline	55	25	22	8	58
Edmonton The Copper & Blue	54	21	28	5	47

(updated 2.11.2012 at 1:04 AM MST)

21 - 28 - 5

Streak: Lost 2

Oilers Schedule

Next 5 Games

@ Ottawa Silver Seven	Sat 02/11	12:00 PM MST
Toronto Pension Plan Puppets	Wed 02/15	8:00 PM MST
Colorado Mile High Hockey	Fri 02/17	7:30 PM MST
Vancouver Nucks Misconduct	Sun 02/19	7:00 PM MST
@ Calgary Matchsticks and Gasoline	Tue 02/21	7:00 PM MST

Last 5 Games

@ Detroit Winging It In Motown	Wed 02/08	L 2 - 4
@ Toronto Pension Plan Puppets	Mon 02/06	L 3 - 6
Detroit Winging It In Motown	Sat 02/04	SO - W 5 - 4
Chicago Second City Hockey	Thu 02/02	W 8 - 4
Colorado Mile High Hockey	Tue 01/31	W 3 - 2