Weekend Update: Draft Countdown

The dog days of summer are nearly here. The Stanley Cup has been won and awarded and now all that hockey fans have to look forward to is the 2011 NHL entry draft next weekend, and free agency day on July 1st. This year's draft is another big one for the Oilers. Not only do they have the first overall selection for the second year in a row, but they also currently have the 19th overall selection from the LA Kings and the deal for Dustin Penner. If the Oilers were trade either the first or the 19th selection, I would see the 19th moving first. The 19th plus a player may land them another lottery pick or at least top ten. It will all depend on which team they are dealing with and which player Stu McGreggor and his team have their sights set on.

Ryan Jones stuck to his word, and after reaching 20, 000 followers on twitter has donated $5,000 to the Stollery Children's Hospital. Jones wasn't the only Oiler donating, Gilbert Brule also stepped up to the plate and matched Jones' donation.

The Oilers also visited the free agent market this week, but this time in Finnland. The Oilers have signed forward Antti Tyrvainen and centreman Lennart Petrell. Of course, Derek was excited. After seeing some of those videos however, I suspect that there may be a few more people excited.

Oilers' goaltending prospect Tyler Bunz has attended the first Team Canada juniors goalie camp and has made the first cut. There were eight invited to the first camp, and now it is down to four. Bunz will participate in the Team Canada Camps this August in Edmonton and Fort McMurray.

Ex-Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish did not get the coaching job in Minnesota. The job was instead given to AHL coach Mike Yeo. MacT still has a few other possibilities for getting back to NHL coaching, especially since he has also interviewed with Winnipeg. If I had my pick, I would much rather be the first Winnipeg Jets coach in fifteen years.

The Oklahoma City Barons' organization was honoured by the city of Oklahoma. This was the Barons' first season in Oklahoma City and for them to make such an impact on the community and the playoffs was a great accomplishment. True the Barons had more media coverage from Edmonton and anyone who writes about the Oilers than the Oklahoma City sports department, but that may change given more time.

Of course, the Stanley Cup was also awarded this week. Congratulations to the 2010-11 Boston Bruins! The best part is that we will no longer have to hear about anyone pumping or not pumping anyone's tires.

The stories of the riots will continue for quite some time, and of course news report are that facebook and Twitter will help to find some of the guilty parties and bring them to justice. Facebook has also helped to find the kissing couple as well. The man's father tagged him in the photo, and now the couple have lost their anonymity.