Oilers Sign Ben Ondrus

by Scott Reynolds on Jul 11, 2010 3:08 PM MDT in News

The Edmonton Oilers have signed forward Ben Ondrus to a one-year two-way contract that will pay him $550,000 at the NHL level and $130,000 at the AHL level. Ondrus is a twenty-eight years old and is a veteran of 437 AHL games in addition to 52 NHL games. He's not a scorer (only 142 career AHL points) but Ondrus is the exact type of player Oilers' general manager Steve Tambellini has talked about recruiting for the bottom lines (physical, hard worker, filling combatant) and if injuries hit at the bottom of the roster, there's a decent chance he'll be the guy who gets called up ahead some superior offensive options. With Ondrus under contract the Oilers now have 43 NHL contracts signed.

We can also now see that, although there's still some work to do, the Barons roster is beginning to take shape. If we assume that the Oilers carry fourteen forwards and seven defenders at the NHL level, the Barons group now looks something like this (with three of the forwards listed starting the year in the NHL):

Paajarvi-Giroux-Eberle
Jacques-Vande Velde-Omark
Reddox-Moran-McDonald
Hartikainen-O'Marra-Ondrus
Marquardt-Kytnar-Cornet

Petiot-Petry
Chorney-Taylor
Motin-Plante
Bendfeld

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Still need the goalie situation solved…

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by HF4L on Jul 11, 2010 3:53 PM MDT reply actions

They sure do! I thought that they would at least go out and get a minor league veteran, but so far all’s been quiet.

by Scott Reynolds on Jul 11, 2010 3:55 PM MDT up reply actions

If they want a Minor league veteran, I would look an a goaltender by the name of Andy Franck. He was great in providence a couple of years ago, when he got called up from Youngstown of the CHL.

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by HF4L on Jul 11, 2010 3:59 PM MDT reply actions

I just looked him up and, to be honest, he looks awful statistically. Plus, he doesn’t really have the kind of experience I meant. When I say veteran, I mean a guy who has already established himself with a few successful AHL seasons and maybe a bit of NHL time as well. Someone that they can depend on.

by Scott Reynolds on Jul 11, 2010 4:50 PM MDT up reply actions

Yeah I see your point, it’s been awhile since I have seen his stats.

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by HF4L on Jul 11, 2010 5:04 PM MDT up reply actions

After running through my little exercise last week,
Adam Munro is the man for me.

I’ve never seen him play
But his numbers are certainly pointing in the right direction

Here’s some goaltending

And, here’s some non-tending

by Mr DeBakey on Jul 11, 2010 7:02 PM MDT up reply actions

Meh, Munro has never played more than 30 games in the AHL, so hasn’t even established himself as a starter.

That said, he does look like a finisher, judging from that second video. I love how it ends with “For tickets, call …”

Writer for The Copper & Blue and primary shareholder of Zorg Industries

"Never be ashamed of who you are" -- Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg

by Bruce McCurdy on Jul 12, 2010 10:54 AM MDT up reply actions

nine two four

Gimme an underdog everytime

by Mr DeBakey on Jul 12, 2010 7:04 PM MDT up reply actions

If that’s a Sv% I dunno where you’re getting it from. Other than posting a .937 Sv% in 5 GP with the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies (!!) in the ECHL in 2003-04, Munro has never topped .913 anywhere else.

Writer for The Copper & Blue and primary shareholder of Zorg Industries

"Never be ashamed of who you are" -- Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg

by Bruce McCurdy on Jul 12, 2010 11:02 PM MDT up reply actions

Adam, Scott whatever

I guess I shouldn’t comment unless sober.

SCOTT Munroe’s last two AHL seasons:
Team….. GP…. Mins…. Shots…. GA…. Avg….. %
Bridgeport - 40… 2310… 1212… 97… 2.52… 0.920
Philadelphia - 56… 3271… 1812… 134… 2.46… 0.926

by Mr DeBakey on Jul 13, 2010 8:53 AM MDT up reply actions

OK, that makes a helluva lot more sense. Adam Munro finished last season in Siberia. ;)

Scott Munroe has posted three solid AHL seasons in a row (.918 the year before). He too was born in 1982, and could be a classic late bloomer waiting for the right opportunity. He’s an interesting possibility at least.

Writer for The Copper & Blue and primary shareholder of Zorg Industries

"Never be ashamed of who you are" -- Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg

by Bruce McCurdy on Jul 13, 2010 12:13 PM MDT up reply actions

To me, that’s what a GM should be doing – looking for intersting possibilities.
Now, maybe this Munroe kid has some technical issues, but those numbers scream “Take a Chance”!

Goalies with last two AHL [30-game+] Seasons,
GA per 30 shots,
Top 10 of 19, plus the Oiler’s most recent signing:
Jonathan Bernier - 2.21
Nathan Lawson - 2.26
Scott Munroe - 2.29
Cory Schneider - 2.34
Drew MacIntyre - 2.42
Cedrick Desjardins - 2.43
Mark Dekanich - 2.48
Jeff Frazee - 2.49
Jhonas Enroth - 2.52
Tyler Weiman - 2.60
Devan Dubnyk - 2.72

Munro is UFA
Desjardins & Dekanich are RFA

GA per 30 shots = Goals Against per Average Game, GAAG

by Mr DeBakey on Jul 13, 2010 12:38 PM MDT up reply actions

on the blueline...

I’d hope Oilers management has learned to avoid the “Taylor Chorney Development Program”, and would therefore think twice about putting a rookie pro in Petry in the deep end and tell him to walk on water. I like the players listed on the blueline, but would move Plante (history of top-4 in the AHL) up the depth chart, and have Petry playing with a stay-at-homer in Motin. Give Petry whatever powerplay time you want to showcase his offensive abilities, but he’s gotta learn how to play professional defense before he’s thrown to the wolves.

In terms of the toughest even strength opposition:

Petiot-Taylor
Chorney-Plante
Petry-Motin
Bendfeld

Is the way I’d be running out the blue until Petry gets a somewhat consistent sample size for us to play around with.

by doritogrande on Jul 11, 2010 6:17 PM MDT reply actions

Well, the Taylor Chorney development program seems to have worked fine for Tom Gilbert. I think it’s important to remember that each guy is different. I don’t mind them starting Petry in the deep end for a few games to see where he’s at so long as they’re willing to bring him back out if he’s having a hard time. That said, I hope they bring in two or three more solid guys along the blueline to help share the load. The AHL is a funky league in that it’s not uncommon to have back-to-back-to-back games scheduled and, in my opinion, that’s probably not so good for the players. Further, injuries are inevitable at both the NHL and AHL level so if you’re not at least ten deep on the blue, you’re probably going to get burned. Until that happens, I don’t have any problem with rotating guys through the lineup. I think young players can learn qutie a bit by watching a game each week with a development coach. So long as they’re playing significantly more than they’re watching (say a 60/20 split), I don’t think it’ll hinder their development, especially if the rests keep them from doing three games in three nights.

by Scott Reynolds on Jul 11, 2010 7:40 PM MDT up reply actions

Well, the Taylor Chorney development program seems to have worked fine for Tom Gilbert. I think it’s important to remember that each guy is different.

Gilbert has four inches and thirty pounds on Chorney. He might not be a physical guy in the hits category, but early on, he learned how to use his body to gain leverage and win battles in front and move the puck on the wall. Chorney, on the rare occasion that he turns up in the right place, just gets tossed aside.

Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.

by Derek Zona on Jul 12, 2010 9:31 AM MDT up reply actions

Sure, but we’re not really talking about either Chorney or Gilbert, we’re talking about how the Oilers should handle the development of Petry. I’m saying that the Oilers shouldn’t overreact to Chorney’s failure and take the slow boat to China with every defense prospect coming out of college.

by Scott Reynolds on Jul 12, 2010 11:28 AM MDT up reply actions

Has Bendfeld turned into a hockey player in the last two years, or is he simply the seventh-best non-NHL option at the moment, and we need to sign some more guys?

SNN Sports - A theoretical Oilers blog (i.e. theoretically, I write stuff there). Link now 100% less broken.

by Doogie2K on Jul 11, 2010 11:39 PM MDT reply actions

I’m going with door #2.

by Scott Reynolds on Jul 12, 2010 9:00 AM MDT up reply actions

Sounded like Bendfeld had a decent playoffs in Stockton. But Stockton is a long way from the NHL, of course.

Writer for The Copper & Blue and primary shareholder of Zorg Industries

"Never be ashamed of who you are" -- Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg

by Bruce McCurdy on Jul 12, 2010 10:49 AM MDT up reply actions

I hadn’t checked the Bottom 25 Under 25 post when I wrote that. Neeeever mind.

SNN Sports - A theoretical Oilers blog (i.e. theoretically, I write stuff there). Link now 100% less broken.

by Doogie2K on Jul 12, 2010 10:56 AM MDT up 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