As an avid Oiler fan, I must express what every Oiler fan must be feeling these days, EXCITEMENT!! The Oilers boast 3 of the NHL's newest and more highly skilled prospects, and no they don't play in junior or on the farm team, but don the copper and blue. Ya sure, we will lose a bunch of games, but man alive is it ever fun to watch the human highlight reel Jordan Eberle scoring those epic goals each night. Not only that, but watching Taylor Hall and Magnus Paarjarvi fly up and down the ice is like watching a Mclaren take off. These kids are GOOD, very good. Oiler fans should be pumped for the future of this team. As of right now, Eberle, who is the oldest of the three, leads all NHL rookies in scoring, but Paarjarvi is right behind him, and Hall truly not far behind. Hall shouldn't stay back for too long, after getting his first and second goals in just as many nights, it seems as though the Hall Express may have taken off.League Parody
Right around the league there seems to be a sense of parody, where anyone can beat whomever on any given night. The Tampa Bay Lightning and Los Angeles Kings lead their respective conferences. The New Jersey Devils are sitting in last place, after signing the most coveted Free Agent of the off season in Ilya Kovalchuk. Not only that, but the Buffalo Sabres are right behind them, and in the west, Calgary, San Jose, and Anaheim all sit out of the playoff picture. The Colorado Avalanche are really proving that last year was no blip in the radar as they sit atop the NorthWest Division for the time being. Montreal has proven themselves to be a pretty serious threat in the east as they sit in 2nd place. The parody was really shown in how the Maple Leafs began their season. They sat on top of the eastern conference for the first half of the month surprising everyone. No only that, but the ever surprising Nashville Predators went undefeated until early last week. The exclamation point on all the parody, was the Oilers, Blackhawks game on Friday night. The 2nd place team taking on the last place team, with the Oilers coming out with a huge 7-4 win! Be ready hockey fans, this season is setting up to be a real head scratcher.Cracking Down on Fines and Issuing Head Shots
So the NHL decides to start cracking down on head shots with their new punishment and discipline system. With that, they have practically created a bigger issue. What is a head shot? The Hjalmarsson hit on Pominville? Shane Doan didn't seem to think his was. So truly, which one was the epitome of what the NHL is trying to stop? Doan got 3 games for his hit, whilst Hjalmarsson got 2. Here are the two hits. In my opinion, Hjalmarsson's was actually fairly clean, while Doan's was crystal clear a head shot, and he should have gotten more games.
If anything, Hjalmarsson should have gotten an interference penalty. Other then that, I thought it was a good play, but Pominville went into the boards funny. Doan should be ashamed of his hit, it was very dirty, and the fact that he argued it and didn't think it was that bad, makes me lose some respect for such a respectable guy. Either way, Ive seen a few Oilers get their bells rung with no penalty, so in my opinion this whole new hits to the head crackdown is ridiculous.
Aside from the head shots, how about some of the other fines and suspensions being handed out, or more importantly the actions that have brought them on...James Wisniewski's hand gesture, Mike Cammaleri's slash, Briere's crosscheck, and a few "hit to the head" fines. The fines are ridiculous for one, especially when a guy like Tom Gilbert (making $4.25 million per season) gets fined only $2500. Its like getting a $5 speeding ticket. The Wisniewski "hand gesture" was pretty awesome, especially considering it was directed at Sean Avery. I'm sure every Dad who was watching the game had a good chuckle before telling his 5 year old son that what he just saw was very bad...
Draft Class of 08
Steve Stamkos, Drew Doughty, Tyler Myers, Erik Karlsson, Michael Del Zotto, Jordan Eberle, Tyler Ennis, and Josh Baily. All players who are making big impacts on their respective teams. All 2008 1st round picks. Not only that but a few later round picks have made their presence known this season: Derek Stepan (51st overall by the Rangers) scoring a hat trick in his first game. Jason Demers (186th overall by San Jose) had a big season for the Sharks last year and should be an important part of the team this year. Don't forget other 1st rounders currently in the NHL; Alex Pietrangelo, Luke Schenn, Zach Bogosian, Nikita Filitov, Cody Hodgson, Zach Boychuk, and Colin Wilson. Steve Stamkos has had a blazing beginning to the season with 19 points in just 10 games! Tyler Myers is an absolute stud and the NHL's next Chris Pronger. Eberle and Ennis will probably be battling it out for the Calder trophy this season, while Del Zotto and Karlsson have become integral parts of their teams defense corps. Josh Bailey is leading a surprising New York Islanders cast without a lot of their star players. All I'm trying to say is, Draft Class of 08, your not bad....
Well I better stop or else I will eat up all the juicy things to talk about so far, and Smith will have nothing to talk about. Don't worry though, this season seems like it will have plenty of fun topics to come, and maybe a few cinderella stories....Go Oil
-Sporer
If anything, Hjalmarsson should have gotten an interference penalty. Other then that, I thought it was a good play, but Pominville went into the boards funny. Doan should be ashamed of his hit, it was very dirty, and the fact that he argued it and didn't think it was that bad, makes me lose some respect for such a respectable guy. Either way, Ive seen a few Oilers get their bells rung with no penalty, so in my opinion this whole new hits to the head crackdown is ridiculous.
Aside from the head shots, how about some of the other fines and suspensions being handed out, or more importantly the actions that have brought them on...James Wisniewski's hand gesture, Mike Cammaleri's slash, Briere's crosscheck, and a few "hit to the head" fines. The fines are ridiculous for one, especially when a guy like Tom Gilbert (making $4.25 million per season) gets fined only $2500. Its like getting a $5 speeding ticket. The Wisniewski "hand gesture" was pretty awesome, especially considering it was directed at Sean Avery. I'm sure every Dad who was watching the game had a good chuckle before telling his 5 year old son that what he just saw was very bad...
Draft Class of 08
Steve Stamkos, Drew Doughty, Tyler Myers, Erik Karlsson, Michael Del Zotto, Jordan Eberle, Tyler Ennis, and Josh Baily. All players who are making big impacts on their respective teams. All 2008 1st round picks. Not only that but a few later round picks have made their presence known this season: Derek Stepan (51st overall by the Rangers) scoring a hat trick in his first game. Jason Demers (186th overall by San Jose) had a big season for the Sharks last year and should be an important part of the team this year. Don't forget other 1st rounders currently in the NHL; Alex Pietrangelo, Luke Schenn, Zach Bogosian, Nikita Filitov, Cody Hodgson, Zach Boychuk, and Colin Wilson. Steve Stamkos has had a blazing beginning to the season with 19 points in just 10 games! Tyler Myers is an absolute stud and the NHL's next Chris Pronger. Eberle and Ennis will probably be battling it out for the Calder trophy this season, while Del Zotto and Karlsson have become integral parts of their teams defense corps. Josh Bailey is leading a surprising New York Islanders cast without a lot of their star players. All I'm trying to say is, Draft Class of 08, your not bad....Well I better stop or else I will eat up all the juicy things to talk about so far, and Smith will have nothing to talk about. Don't worry though, this season seems like it will have plenty of fun topics to come, and maybe a few cinderella stories....Go Oil
-Sporer
