The Oilers continued to trim their roster down to size today announcing seven players who have been cut. From the Oilers website:
The following were assigned to Oklahoma City (AHL) today:
David LeNeveu (G)
Cameron Abney (RW)
Mark Arcobello (C)
Johan Motin (D)
Hunter Tremblay (LW)
The Oilers also assigned the following players to their respective junior clubs today:
Travis Ewanyk (C) to Edmonton (WHL)
Drew Czerwonka (LW) to Kootenay (WHL)
These cuts bring the number of players still in camp to 47.
No major surprises here. A couple more junior eligible players returned to their teams and the first group of players assigned to Oklahoma City. There were some injury questions surrounding Ewanyk and Czerwonka, so what their cuts mean in realation to those questions is anyone's guess.
On the Barons front, Abney, one of my least favorite Oilers, now gets his first chance to establish himself in Oklahoma City. I think making the jump from the WHL to the AHL will be tough for him but the Oilers seem to be heavily invested in him so it's possible he gets a legit shot at making the Barons instead of being sent straight to Stockton.
Hunter Tremblay, he of the long road from the CIS, is one of the guys I'm really pulling for in Oklahoma City. He's an underdog and you can't help but pull for the guy. Last night was the first preseason hockey I had a chance to watch so, unfortunately for me, I never even got to see him in action. I guess Eric and Neal will have to let me know how he looks with the Barons.
When the last round of cuts were made, Neal noted that Czerwonka had survived and wondered if maybe he could be the man to grab the 50th and final pro contract. Clearly that wasn't meant to be. With the opening night roster essentially set, who gets that last contract could easily be the most exciting thing to come out of camp.