The almost quarter -way Oilers grading.

So its just about quarter way through the season and just after tonights game against the blue jackets i have decided to grade each Oiler on their performance so far, given their stats and what ive seen/heard. The Oilers record after tonights game stands at 9-8-2, which is pretty good considering most of the Oilers games have been on the road so far. After tonights trouncing of the Blue Jackets 7-2 its hard not to feel a little better. So here we go with the grades. (in order by number)


#5 Ladislav Smid-Grade: C Smid hasnt done a whole ton, but thats because he has been hurt and has only played 8 games, 2 assists isnt bad and a +1 rating doesnt hurt, yet still we have not seen the Smid that we were supposed to get in the Pronger trade.

#10 Shawn Horcoff-Grade: C- Horcoff came into this season with a lot of high expectations, before his injury last year he was a point per game player. So far this year he has only mustered 5 goals and 6 assists for 11 points in 19 games, he needs to be better. He also needs to solify his number one center spot.

#12 Robert Nilsson-Grade: B- Nilsson has been great at times, and at times you dont even notice he was there. His effort is there most nights and he can be a great weapon, he just needs to keep it consistent every night. He also needs to improve his -4 rating, and 3 goals 3 assists isnt a very big contribution, still it seems he can be explosive and create lots of chances.

#13 Andrew Cogliano-Grade: B Cogliano has been pretty consistent for the Oilers, giving a good effort almost every night. He may not always be scoring but he uses his speed well and creates tons of chances, he does put a lot of pressure on the opposing defense when he slams on the jets. 4 goals and 4 assists isnt too bad either.

#18 Ethan Moreau-Grade: A- Moreau has been a little bit of a surprise offensively for the Oilers with 5 goals already. At times he can turn a game with one powerful shift, which is what a captain needs to do. However there is the flipside where at times he takes needless penalties which hurt the team. He can also agt times try to do a little bit to much with the puck. Overall though, Moreau has been great for the Oil.

#24 Steve Staios-Grade: B+ Its hard to grade a guy you hardly notice, however sometimes with defensmen going unoticed can be a good thing. Staios has been completely solid for the Oil, with a goal and an assist and a +1 rating, he is just doing his job, no questions asked.

#26 Eric Cole-Grade: D Cole has been almost invisible at times. At times he can be a force, but we have yet to see that every night. Cole has been probably the biggest dissapointment for the Oilers, with only 3 goals and 3 assists, he isnt contributing nearly enough offensivly. Cole needs to get his act together quick, especially if he wants to earn a good contract at the end of the year.

#27 Dustin Penner-Grade: D Penner being scratched for 2 games in a row speaks alot for his play. He put in an amazing effort in columbus tonight, however consistency is the biggest problem so we will see what happens the next few games. Penner has the potential to be a huge contributor for the Oilers, he can easily improve upon his 24 goal total from last year, he just needs to come to work every night.

#33 Steve Macintyre-Grade: A Macintyre isn injured now. but when he was in the lineup he did his job to perfection. He came in here to be the policeman and thats exactly what he was, couldnt ask for much more from the guy.

#34 Fernando Pisani-Grade: C- Pisani needs to contribute more offensivly, his injury hurts both him and the Oilers. Still he wasnt contributing enough offensivly. End of story.

#37 Denis Grebeshkov-Grade: B- Greb's has been fairly solid for the Oilers. He started off really well but has slowed, especially in his point production. He needs to improve on his -3 rating. Otherwise not bad for Grebs thus far. He will continue to be fairly solid.

#43 Jason Strudwick-Grade: B+ Hasnt been a huge force for the Oilers, but he did play his way onto the team and hasnt proven otherwise thus far. He is the definition of solid. He and Staios have been a great shutdown pairing for the Oilers. He isnt a - player so he isnt hurting the team either.

#44 Sheldon Souray-Grade: A+ Souray has been every bit the defensemen the Oilers paid 5 million dollars for a season ago. He leads the team in goals! He is a huge force on the powerplay, and contributes a ton defensivly as well. Couldnt ask for any more from Souray at this point, he has been everything we need.

#46 Zach Stortini-Grade: D Zach just hasnt been the same player he was last year, on most nights i would wayyy rather have Macintyre in the lineup. Stortini doesnt bring much if anything to the ice. When he fights, he doesnt, he just grabs and holds on. So that doesnt even help the team emotionally. He might as well play the rest of the season in the minors.

#51 Kyle Brodziak-Grade: C Kyle shows flashes of brilliance at times, and for a third or fourth line center you cant expect a ton out of him. Yet he just doesnt really contribute much, and it even lead to his healthy scratch a few nights ago. He needs to put a 100% effort in everynight to be effective, and so far he hasnt.

#71 Lubomir Visnovsky-Grade: B "Lubo" hasnt been the defenseman the Oilers traded for. Coming into the season he was expected to contribute a lot offensivly, so far he has been a little bit of a liability. He gives the puck away alot on his own end, and can make some really dum decsions at times. However he is a +3 and has 10 points, so he hasnt been too bad.

#77 Tom Gilbert-Grade: B+ Gilbert has been great for the Oilers so far, the only reason i give him a B+ and not an A, is because he is a -3. His offense has been exactly where it needs to be.

#78 Marc Pouliot-Grade: D Pouliot is lucky he scored tonight otherwise he might have been my only F graded player. He brings absolutley nothing. I dont know how he earns a spot over many other minor league players.

#83 Ales Hemsky-Grade: A++ I actually couldnt wait to grade "Hemmer", he has been everything plus for the Oilers. He has 20 points in 19 games, and brings it every night. Oh and did i mention, he is shooting! He has 48 shots which is only 3rd on the team. He has looked deadly on almost every night. Hemsky may have finally found his game. This is something to be very excited about.

#89 Sam Gagner-Grade: C- Gagner hasnt done a whole lot for the Oilers, which hurts the team alot considering he is heavily relied upon for offense. Recently scoring his 1st goal has helped and he has been putting in a wayyy more visible effort. He can at times be careless with the puck, and makes some pretty bad giveaways. He needs to turn up his play alot.

#38 Jeff Deslauriers-Grade: A Deslauriers has been a succes story for the Oilers, and has proved he is ready for the NHL. The 3 goalie system does hurt him however. He would be alot better off if he was just the backup, and was getting a good 17, 18 games. He is a great goaltender with lots of size. He could potentially gain the number one job in the near future.

#35 Dwayne Roloson-Grade: A Roloson as of late has been possibly one of the best Oilers. If the team is showcasing him, then the Oilers are going to get something great in return. However at this point it looks like Garon is the odd man out, as Roloson has been practicaly a brick wall at times.

#32 Mathieu Garon-Grade: C- Garon has been a major dissapointment for the Oilers. His play has not garnered his number one job which he has lost at this point. He is even starting to look like the odd man out of the 3 goalie monster the Oilers have.