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Weekend Update: Aggravation

By Lisa McRitchie
Poor Ryan Whitney, out of focus, and still out of the game for the near future.
Poor Ryan Whitney, out of focus, and still out of the game for the near future.

Edmonton Oilers fans hopes for the season were stuck by another blow Friday afternoon. It appears as though defenceman Ryan Whitney is still quite possibly a long way from returning. The defenceman is still not skating without pain so cannot play a game. Whitney did receive surgery on his ankle which was injured December 28th, 2010 and is seeing improvements, but they are happening a lot slower than anyone would like.

In Sunday's Joey Moss Cup, Ben Eager was injured in the game's only hit by  Kirill Tulupov, a defenceman in Edmonton on a try-out basis. At first I had hoped that it was more muscular soreness and discomfort that kept Eager out of the Oilers' lineup, but eventually it was said that Eager did indeed suffer a concussion and is recovering. 

Nikolai Khabibulin has been another source of aggravation for for many Oilers fans. The team MVP started in net for the Oilers against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday, a game that the Oilers would eventually lose. The loss is of course not due to the play of one player, this is still a team game, but Khabibulin looked as though he will have a slow start to his season. This is not unlike many NHLers, but  of course this is a cause for concern. 

On the same evening, the Edmonton Oilers also played the Chicago Blackhawks in Saskatoon. This squad found victory and local Oilers fans were able to get a glimpse of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Ryan Smyth playing and scoring together. 

On Thursday night, against a Vancouver Canucks team that looked as though it might be breaking the NHL veteran rules, the Oilers fell short losing 2-1. Sure their opponents looked to be more like the Chicago Wolves plus Owen Nolan, but coach Tom Renney felt that perhaps had the game had more organized play, the Oilers may have been victorious.

The Oilers have also assigned several players this week and are getting closer to a season opening roster. On Monday 9 players, all amateurs were either released from their try-outs or assigned to their junior teams. On Wednesday, 4 more players, again all junior players including netminder Tyler Bunz we re-assigned to their teams. Friday saw 7 more cuts and assignments, stocking up and preparing Oklahoma City for their training camp which begins September 26th especially with the assignment of David LeNeveu.

The Edmonton Oil Kings had a very successful year last season, despite having a short playoff run with thanks to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and the Red Deer Rebels, but the team hopes to do better this year. Oil Kings' defenceman Keegan Lowe is playing at the Carolina Hurricane's training camp  with Ralph Krueger's son Justin Krueger. It is very likely that Lowe will be re-assigned to the Oil Kings shortly, and will play this season in Rexall Place in front of fans who are paying 30% less for their tickets. 

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