Oil Spills - Christmas Is Over. Time For The World Juniors To Start.

Oilers News

The Kind of Goaltending That Makes a Saint Swear - OilersNation - Every year there are a handful of teams that start out at a certain level – good, middling, bad – and are then either impelled upward by glorious goaltending or dragged downward by shoddy goaltending. A very good team can come *this* close to missing the playoffs if it sticks with Ty Conklin; a bad team can ride Semyon Varlamov all the way to the postseason. Guess which side of that chasm the Oilers are on this year.

Lowetide continues his winter look at the Oilers' prospects. Up next, Mitchell Moroz - Mitch Moroz is a very famous prospect among Oilers fans for a couple of reasons. He was selected early in the second round of the 2012 draft when Bob McKenzie ranked him No. 56 and many fans never forgave team or player for the perceived sin. I’ve argued for two and-a-half years that blaming the player is ridiculous but the slings and arrows continue. The other reason he’s famous? Moroz was part of one of Edmonton’s rare championships in hockey this century, a breathless run to the Memorial Cup in 2014 spring. What do those two things tell us about Moroz the player? Not one damn thing, actually.

Oilers and Flames have headed in opposite directions since their last flashes of success - Edmonton Sun - Rome may not have been built in a day, but if it were constructed at the rate of the Edmonton Oilers' rebuild, they might just now be putting the finishing touches on the Colosseum. It’s been eight years going on nine since the Oilers made the playoffs. Making matters worse, is down the road, the Calgary Flames' rebuild seems miles ahead despite starting years later.

Would Oilers send Leon Draisaitl back to the WHL? - Edmonton Journal - The Edmonton Oilers decided the world junior championship wasn’t an option for Leon Draisaitl, who could be playing for Team Germany in Montreal and Toronto, but that doesn’t preclude them from sending Draisaitl back to the Western Hockey League–if his rights are traded from Prince Albert Raiders to, say, the Kelowna Rockets, the best team in the league.

World Juniors

World Juniors 2015: Canada team preview - Eyes On The Prize - Team Canada enters the 2015 World Juniors with the possibility of tying a dubious record, a five year gold drought is on the horizon if they can't find a way this year. The team is stacked with skilled players, but can they get what they need to not underperform like they have of late?

What to expect from Canada’s four preliminary games - Sun Sports - Canada’s quest to put an end to the talk about the failure to win gold at the world junior since 2009 begins on Friday. A glance at Canada’s four games in the preliminary round.

Zachary Fucale to start for Canada vs. Slovakia - CBC - Goaltender Zachary Fucale will get the nod in goal on Friday when Canada opens up the world junior championships against Slovakia in Montreal.

Get to know the tournament’s 10 countries - National Post - From players to watch this year to the number of outdoor rinks, find out more about the tournament's countries with these maps.

And lastly

At Black Dog Hates Skunks, Pat McLean has a nice post about what really matters at this time of year. - I've been writing here for nearly nine years now. Isn't that mental? I don't write so much anymore, it's hard to say the Oilers suck in a different manner. The team is a disgrace but through this blog I have met so many good people and have been part of a fun community for nearly a decade. I have a rich and wonderful life and this has been a good part of it and I am lucky beyond measure.