Jordan Eberle was the lone member of the Edmonton Oilers who received the call to Ottawa for the 2012 NHL All Star Weekend, but as the team's leading scorer he was the most deserving. Although Eberle was picked late in the fantasy he was still picked before Logan Couture. Coutrure of course has won a car and did not have Alex Ovechkin pointing, laughing and tweeting photos of his selection. Still, it is for the best that Eberle did not have to deal with this.
Eberle of course has had quite the history in the Nation's capital in his short career. Eberle was drafted in Ottawa, was a World Juniors star in Ottawa and now we wait to see what he can do there as an NHL All Star. Eberle will play on Team Chara but Eberle was selected by Joffre Lupal. "I'm actually kind of happy Chara didn't pick me because I didn't want to go up and get the jersey from him." Eberle told the Oilers' Tom Gazolla. "I'm like up to his hips. He's a big man, especially when you see him off of the ice. But I'm happy.It would have been kind of neat to go last and get a car and get to donate some money, but it is what it is."
After watching this video of Eberle discussing the events you might be a little excited for the Oilers' sophomore winger. It's great that he can appreciate what an honour it is to be among such talented players, but you also know that he is still a small town Saskatchewan boy, and so in many ways expect him to at least in some ways hang onto some of that modesty.
Ryan Whitney has returned from his injury [again] and hopes that this return will last through the end of the season. Whitney played his first game Tuesday night in the Oilers 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. It wasn't just Whitney that looked better in this game, but the entire team. After all, it could have been and on paper should have been so much worse.
Saturday night the Oilers lost an embarrassing game to the Calgary Flames. The best player for the Oilers was injured Taylor Hall whose competitive nature couldn't let him sit out and heal. Following the loss, Tom Renney had a heated Sunday skate letting the team know exactly what he thought of the effort level. Monday night, Oilers had also managed a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks. You don't want Renney to lose his cool too often with the team. The bag skate or yelling and screaming tactic is only effective when it is pulled out very rarely. When it's a normal occurrence it's just the status quo.
Jordan Eberle was the guest on Saturday night's Hockey Night in Canada After Hours show. Poor Eberle didn't seem to be the focus of the interview, but rather most questions seemed to focus on Eberle's friend and teammate Taylor Hall.
The Edmonton Oil Kings were delighted to hear that Michael St. Croix has been named the CHL Player of the Week for the week ending January 22. St. Croix certainly had a great week too earning 6 goals and 4 assists in three games. St. Croix is the first modern era Oil King to receive this honour.
In Prince Albert Saturday night with a 9-2 victory, the Oil Kings set a new franchise record for wins in a single season. Well, the modern franchise that is. The previous record was 31 games, but there are still several games left this season. Wednesday night, the Oil Kings hosted the Tri-City Americans in another Weiner Wednesday. Sadly, the Oil Kings lost 5-4 in overtime.
Friday night, the Oil Kings continued to set records with their 6-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. St. Croix now has 79 points, a new modern Oil Kings' record.
In case you would like to take in an Oil Kings game, and really why wouldn't you? They are definitely having an excellent season and if you buy a ticket, you will most likely have paid to see a win. Saturday night, the Oil Kings will host Oilers' prospect David Musil and the Vancouver Giants. On Friday February 3rd, the Red Deer Rebels and prominent draft prospect Mathew Dumba will make a visit to Rexall Place.
The Edmonton Oil Kings are also working with the city of Edmonton and the Snow Angels program. The program encourages everyone to pitch in and keep the sidewalks clear, especially if you have senior or mobility challenged neighbours. There are several comical photos from the photo session quite simply because there are so many big and great personalities on the team.
Oiler prospect goaltender Tyler Bunz continues his winning record, but has also taken up the reporters' microphone covering his team's interactive skate with fans. Bunz is a fierce competitor and tends more to the serious side, but definitely has a sense of humour and this is just a glimpse of it.
The Oilers have assigned three players this week; Taylor Chorney, Magnus Paajarvi and Teemu Hartikainen to the Oklahoma City Barons. Paajarvi and Hartikainen are quite likely to remain with the Barons for the rest of the season. With the frequency that defenceman seem to go down to injury, Chorney may get another chance with the Oilers this season.
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Jérémie Blain - #24 in Copper & Blue's Top 25 Under 25 - Copper & Blue Reynolds
Martin Gernat - #25 in Copper & Blue's Top 25 Under 25 - Copper & Blue McCurdy
HEMSKY AND KHABI LIKELY TO MOVE? - Oilers Nation Brownlee
BUYING OUT SHAWN HORCOFF - Oilers Nation Willis
SAY WHAT? - Oilers Nation Strudwick
LEARNING WITH LOU - Oilers Nation Gregor
Dubnyk needs to start stringing good games together- Cult of Hockey McCurdy
Oilers Brass - Black Dog Hates Skunks
Mathew Dumba: 2012 Draft Watch - Oil Patch
The Marty Party at the IIHF World Juniors - Oil Patch