Well, I think that we can all agree on the biggest news story of the week, Anton Lander. This speedy Swede and good friend of Magnus Paajarvi has been a key player for Sweden with the world juniors and the captain of his Swedish Elite team Timra IK. Lander was left off of the roster for the World Championships this year, and so it was somewhat unsurprising that he may have been slightly more inclined to make the move to North America. It was believed and rumoured that Lander was not keen or eager to play in the AHL; that it was NHL or Sweden in his mind. Can you blame him if these were his thoughts? Of course not. In interviews that Lander has recorded since his signing he specifically says that he will have no problem with playing in Oklahoma City. The Edmonton Sun's Terry Jones had a fantastic tweet on the signing "Anton Lander signs with Oilers. He's penciled in as a third line centre who will wear a letter most of his career." With this signing, the Oilers may have inked a centreman and a team leader.
Newly signed Hunter Tremblay is already looking forward to next season. Tremblay scored his first AHL goal in game 4 of the Oklahoma City Barons playoff series with the Hamilton Bulldogs and isn't going to look back now. Baron's head coach Todd Nelson has expressed his pleasure with the play of Tremblay, even through such a short showing, on Oilers' Lunch with host Bob Satuffer.
Injured Edmonton Oiler Ryan Whitney made his panelist debut on TSN this week during the Canucks' game 7. Whitney is a witty and funny man. During the celebrations at the end of the game, Whitney asked "Where is Bettman, is he getting the Stanley Cup?" (I'm paraphrasing as I didn't write it down at the time)
Jordan Eberle is representing his country well in the IIHF World Senior Hockey Championships in Slovakia. The World Juniors' Canadian saviour scored twice against Belarus in game one of competitions on Friday. These will likely not be the only goals we will hear of.
The Oklahoma City Baron's president wrote a letter to fans this week, thanking them for their support through the inaugural season. Key moments of the season were stated in the letter include "On the ice this season, the Barons began building memories with moments including: Colin McDonald leading the American Hockey League in goals scored, Alex Giroux recording his 600th AHL point, Bryan Helmer playing in his 1000th AHL game and becoming the top scoring defenseman in AHL history as well as the Barons great run to finish the regular season and qualifying for the AHL Calder Cup Playoffs." The Barons were an excellent addition to the Oilers' family this year and if this year and next year will no doubt bring many more memories and exciting experiences.
There is now only one Oilers prospect playing in the playoffs of the 2010-11 season, Drew Czerwonka. Czerwonka plays for the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook British Columbia. The Ice is currently awaiting the results of the Western Conference playoffs which involve the Portland Winterhawks and the Spokane Chiefs. As of Friday morning, the Portland Winterhawks were leading the series 2-1.
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In NHL news, the second round of the playoffs has begun and the Canucks are now the only Canadian team still in it. I think that most people can see it the way I do, there are just as many Canadians on the Predators' roster. No matter which team you are cheering for, just try to keep it reasonable shall we?
Ex-Oiler Dwayne Roloson is playing hockey that some wish he was still playing in Edmonton. It's always easy to look back and figure out what should have happened. Would Roloson be playing as well if the Oilers had met his conditions? Would the Oilers themselves be in a better position? All hard to say. I did think that the signing of Nikolai Khabibulin was a lateral move at the time. Now, I might be more inclined to say that signing Roloson would have been better. If the Oilers had stuck with who they had in net though, would they have drafted Taylor Hall last summer and Larsson/Nugent-Hopkins/Landeskog etc this summer. The Oilers lost by a number of points, I have a feeling that they would still have easily finished as a lottery team both years.
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Eberle scores twice to lead Canada over Belarus - Cult of Hockey McCurdy
Dustin Penner gets no love in Los Angeles - Cult of Hockey Staples
The pro scouting department of the Oilers isn't getting the job done - Cult of Hockey Staples
West, Round Two, and Thoughts On Round One - Black Dog Hates Skunks
WHL Bantam Draft Preview-Forwards - Coming Down the Pipe!
Bulldogs Eliminate Barons - Copper & Blue Reynolds
RADIO GA-GA V: APPETITE FOR OILERS LUNCH - Oilers Nation Brownlee
The Top Goal-Scorer in the American Hockey League - Oilers Nation Willis