A handful of player signings, the relocation and renaming of a minor league affiliate and summer training camps highlight the activities of the Edmonton Oilers’ prospects this summer. Below is also an update on many of the lesser talked about players filling out the system’s depth pool as the 2004-05 season quickly approaches.
AHL on the Road
For the third time in as many seasons, Edmonton’s AHL affiliate will begin the season in a completely new city. After some years in Hamilton and then a single year in Toronto, the farm club has hit the highway to set up base in Alberta as the new Edmonton Road Runners.
Road Runners GM Scott Howson firmly believes that the AHL can be a success story in Edmonton and if so, the franchise will operate here for more than just one year.
“Fans of the Oilers have always heard about these guys, but they have never got to see them up close, maybe a little on television and some of you guys have written about them a bit, but now they’ll get to watch them grow,” Howson said at the recent press conference where the club unveiled the team’s new logo.
“I’ve seen it from year to year where a guy might not even be able to play on the AHL team in November and by March he’s one of the best players. Six months later he could be playing in the NHL, that’s how development happens. Mike Bishai couldn’t play on our team in Hamilton, he was a spare on our Calder Cup final team, and midway through the next year he’s playing in (the NHL).”
More interesting is the recent revelation that, unlike in 1994, there is no prerequisite for players to play in the AHL this year during an NHL stoppage. It was expected that players who played at least 50 games in the AHL would be the only ones allowed, outside of newly graduated players, to play in the league this year but that is not the case and in fact, it will be waivers only that separates NHL vets from playing.
“The NHL teams can send down anybody they want but they have to clear waivers,” Howson outlined. “(Jarret) Stoll does not have to clear waivers but we haven’t made that decision yet (to send him or not). (Ales) Hemsky could play in the minor league but those are our only two guys who do not have to clear waivers. We could send Jason Smith down but he’d have to clear waivers and you’d have to pay him his one-way contract.”
With Hemsky already set to play in Europe during a lockout, Stoll is the only Oiler from last year who might return to the farm team this year. Not Marc-Andre Bergeron, nor Alexei Semenov.
One kink to sharing a building with the Oilers that the Road Runners will have to live with is playing and practicing at unusual times. There will be situations where the Oilers and their opponents will practice during the mornings and then the Road Runners will have an afternoon skate for their own session. If Rexall Place is in use, the AHL club could take advantage of other facilities in town like the Agricom or even Millennium Place in Sherwood Park for their practices.
Rookie Camp and
Games Finalized
The Oilers will welcome a number of their top prospects for a fall training camp that begins on September 9 and culminates in two exciting games five days later. The list of players from across Canada who will travel to the Alberta Capital is expected to include forwards Rob Schremp, Zack Stortini, Stephane Goulet, Tomas Micka, Marc-Antoine Pouliot, J.F. Jacques, Troy Bodie, Liam Reddox and Tyler Spurgeon, blueliners Bryan Young, Roman Tesliuk, and Max Gordichuk and goalie Devan Dubnyk. Also to be potentially included are young local professionals like Jeff Woywitka, Kyle Brodziak and Doug Lynch as well as rookie Road Runners Jeff Deslauriers, Jason Platt, Brock Radunske and Eddie Caron.
The Oilers will ice a roster of prospects to take on a similar collection of Calgary Flames players for a clash on Monday September 13. The game will be played at the University’s Clare Drake Arena with a tentative start time of 6:30 scheduled. The following night the Oiler kids will tackle the CIS powerhouse University of Alberta Golden Bears in their annual match up.
The original plan was to have a four-team mini-tournament also involving the Vancouver Canucks but the NHL squashed the idea that proposed games after the current CBA expires on September 15. With Rexall Place occupied for a week by a WWE event and also the Canadian Country Music Awards, Clare Drake Arena became the logical choice. The facility can hold nearly 3000 fans and sell outs are definitely expected for both of these games.
The Road Runners are set to open their own camp during the last week of September with Scott Howson pinpointing the 30th as the day for the first on-ice session.
The Oilers have invited 5’8 180 lb center Martin St. Pierre, whose 110 points were third best in OHL scoring in 2003-04, to the rookie camp and obviously if he attends he would play in the finally games as well. St. Pierre, an undrafted free agent, has completed four years in the OHL, all with the Guelph Storm, and recorded 320 points in 257 games. St. Pierre turned 21 earlier in August.
European Player
Updates
Hockey’s Future had the opportunity to speak with Oilers VP of Hockey Operations Kevin Prendergast during the recent Team Canada summer camp about a variety of players, in particular some of the lesser-known players in the system.
According to Prendergast, Ukrainian prospect Alexei Mikhnov has very recently signed with Avangard Omsk in Russia but no terms were immediately known. Asked if he felt this was a positive move from Novosibirsk, Prendergast indicated he did.
“I think it’s a huge positive,” he said. “(Omsk) is one of the best teams in that league, it’s going to put him into a position where he’s going to have to play a lot tougher every night. It’s going to be a lot easier for us to see him. It will be much better competition than there was in Novosibirsk, not that it wasn’t good there but that was always a bottom team looking up and now on a top team he’s going to have to play better. He’s going to have to play hard to keep his position because they spend a lot more money on their players.”
The downside to the move is that it will be harder for Mikhnov to garner an important role on a team with a larger group of strong players.
“Well that’s up to him and that’s what we want, we want him to be able to fight through those situations in order to get better,” countered Prendergast. “Playing in Novosibirsk he was the big guy but even though he did get better, being on a better team with better players, it’s going to give him more grit to play, we hope.”
Swedish center Jonas Almtorp is entering a pivotal year in his development. The Oilers are expecting to see the two-way forward reach new levels in 2004-05 and will be able to watch over him frequently.
“He’s going on 22 this season so this year is a critical year for Jonas; he’s got to make himself known this year,” agreed Prendergast. “He’s a checking forward, a good defensive player and we’ll have a good look at him this year via Kenta Nilsson. Our European scouts aren’t going to travel a lot but instead watch the guys in their countries so Jonas is going to get a lot of viewings this year.”
Kristian Antila returned to Europe late last season after a failed attempt at making inroads in North America. Now playing for Luleå in the SEL, the Oilers feel he is well positioned to regain his form.
“He’s only 24 and when you start thinking about goalies in the NHL they are 28 or 29 so we have time to wait for him to come back,” Prendergast said. “He had a family situation where they weren’t happy in North America and that was tough on him. With him and (Bjorn) Bjurling over there, we have what we think of as two good goalies that we can look too for down the road.”
Antila quickly found his rhythm when he went back overseas last year so keeping him on their list was an easy decision for the Oilers.
“I saw (Antila) play when he went back and he had two shutouts his first two games and Tommy Bergman, who works for Toronto, he leans over to me and says ‘how good are your goalies?’ cause he played so well,” laughed Prendergast. “I talked to Kristian and he just felt more comfortable. It’s just a maturing thing and we feel that there is still a lot of potential there, he’s a big kid and he finds ways to stop the puck. Even though he struggled here, if there’s one position you’re going to have patience with, it’s goaltending.”
One player who might yet turn up at the World Junior Championships this winter is Czech blueliner Josef Hrabal. The 2003 eighth round draft pick has been invited to the national team’s camp and is seeking to make an impact.
“He’s on their invited roster but if he’ll make the team I don’t know,” Edmonton’s chief scout reported. “He made the national team in his age group last year and played pretty well when we saw him. I think it’s 50/50 for him to make the team but Frank Musil has been working with him this summer and says he’s worked really hard. Hopefully we’ll get to see him in North Dakota at Christmas time but I know he’s going to get an opportunity and that’s all we can ask for right now.”
At this point there is little doubt that Kalle Olsson will be playing in the WJC for Sweden. After a solid performance in August at the three-team mini-tournament hosted by the U.S., Olsson could be one of his country’s top players.
“Kalle played very well and he has two big attributes; size and he can skate,” Prendergast pointed out. “Both Lorne (Davis) and Stu (MacGregor) liked what they saw, they feel he’s a legitimate NHL prospect and they think he’s going to make that junior team. Kalle’s certainly a player I think we’ll consider, at the end of this year, to signing if his progress continues.”
The Oilers also have a Euro playing in North America to try and fit into their plans somewhere. 21-year-old Tomas Micka played in the ECHL last year. He could play there again or even in the AHL this season.
“He could play in the AHL but we’re still talking to him,” Prendergast said, but sounded as though that were unlikely. “He has an opportunity to play at home, not for a team that we’d like but Frank Musil is looking around to see if we can get him on a better team. If not, we will bring him to our rookie training camp in September and then keep him around for the Road Runner camp. We’ll try to find a place for him to play, maybe loan him to another AHL team or let him go back to Greenville and the ECHL.”
North American Update
Mankato speedster Jake Brenk is entering his senior year with the Minnesota State team and clearly is in a position where he needs to prove himself to the Oilers.
“He’s certainly got a lot that he can bring to the table; he’s a big kid at 6’3 and 195 lbs but he’s never really had a lot of opportunity yet,” Prendergast began. “This is a huge year for him because he’s a senior now and all the other guys who were ahead of him are gone now. This is the year that Jake should take over and we’ll be keeping a close eye on him. You’re right though that he’s got NHL wheels and he’s got a lot of good tools but he’s never got himself into the position where he’s going to play regularly and hopefully this year he can do that.”
To the casual observer it would seem that Brenk’s lack of success in his first three years has him basically in the same boat that Chris Legg was in this time last year.
“He’s in a position where he has to win himself a contract now and if not he’ll come to training camp as an invite next year,” said Prendergast. “He’s a centerman who can handle the puck very well and he’s got a lot of good skills but this is the year where it’s up to him to show us that he deserves to get a contract.”
Another underachieving college prospect has been Patrick Murphy from Northern Michigan. The late round pick from 2002 has only managed 11 points in a total of 56 games played over the course of the last two seasons.
“Pat is one of those kids who is a third or fourth line player, an up and down grinder type of guy. His conditioning this summer, I’m told by his coach and from other people that know him, is not as good as it should be and it’s time for him to look into the mirror and understand that it’s not a given,” said a clearly disappointed Prendergast.
“He’s going to play for a coach like Walt Kyle who’s not going to give you anything. He’s a junior now but he’s going to have to work hard for his spot in a second line situation and I know Walt was disappointed that he wasn’t working as hard as he felt he needed to back in June, so he’s had all summer to get back on track and hopefully he has.”
For the second time in three years, Eddie Caron has left the University of New Hampshire for another team. The difference this time around is that he definitely won’t be coming back. The Oilers recently signed the hulking winger to a contract and expect him to challenge for an AHL roster spot. With two years of eligibility left and a less than sparkly college hockey career so far, the question is why now?
“We’re not happy with his progress it’s that simple,” Prendergast confessed. “We took him higher than a lot of teams felt he should have been taken but we really liked the upside of him at the time. We haven’t really seen the progress that we’d like to see and now we want to put it in our own hands. It was a tough negotiation, I know Scott (Howson) went back and forth with the agent, but he was only going to come on our terms to play for us. I think we were fair to him as a guy who only got one goal last year. Eddie still has that potential and a lot of upside that he can bring to the table but we want to be able to monitor and be in control of it and I think he made a great decision for his hockey future. We think he’s got a chance to play for the Road Runners sometime this year.”
The situation in New Hampshire wasn’t the best for Caron but certainly not because of anything to do with the program the Wildcats have.
“UNH has a very successful program there and you can’t argue with it,” complimented Prendergast. “They have a lot of small players who are great skaters and play well on that Olympic sized ice surface which puts Eddie in a situation where he’s usually the third line guy. We felt that Eddie needed to play more in tough situations; more PP and first or second line time and he didn’t get that. A lot of the reason for that is probably Eddie’s own doing in that he didn’t earn that but we felt, as a prospect, in order for him to get better, he had to come out now.”
No one expected Marc-Antoine Pouliot to be ready for Team Canada’s summer camp because they knew he had just had surgery in June to repair the long lasting abdominal injury he had from last season. What they didn’t expect was that he wouldn’t be able to participate in the camp at all. After just three days around the team he returned to Quebec to prepare for Rimouski’s training camp.
“He skated lightly when he got (to Calgary) and he did some weight training but he’s not in game shape so you can’t blame them for not keeping him around,” admitted Prendergast. “We are a little disappointed that he is where he is at this point, he probably should have worked harder to get here. He’s not 100 percent and his agent said they didn’t want to go hard at this point. His team in Rimouski was not aware that he is not at game shape and ready to go.”
The Oilers are considering giving Pouliot a team check up before the Oiler rookie camp in September.
“We’re going to talk to the agent in the next couple of days to see if we should bring him to Edmonton and take a look at him to make sure everything’s OK,” he continued. “He had a tough year last year with injuries and he’s probably erring on the side of cautiousness to make sure he’s 100 percent before he gets going again but we want to make sure he’s close to it when we have rookie camp in September.”
Pro Signings
They signed their first pro contracts just days apart from each other, the coach often gets them confused and calls one by the other’s name. Recently it was announced on the same day that both Mike Bishai and Nate DiCasmirro have both resigned with the Oilers.
“Those two guys really do seem joined together don’t they?” joked Prendergast. “Nate’s been a really good player for us and he’s at a point now where he’s going to be a leader on the hockey club and we expect him to be a leader both offensively and defensively. Mike’s a real gifted player in that he makes things happen and he makes players around him better. DiCaz is the plumber who goes in and does all the dirty work so they offset each other very well.”
In between the pipes the club is seeking a veteran presence to help develop star prospect Jeff Deslauriers.
“We’re negotiating with a couple of goaltenders at this point although obviously Deslauriers is the key,” said Prendergast. “Mike Morrison played very well for us last year in Toronto and he’s not out of the picture.”
Morrison, although not announced yet, has been resigned and has been playing summer hockey in the Boston area.
“Mike played over .500 for us and we didn’t expect him to play as well for us as he did. He’s playing in a pro league in Boston right now and Chris McCarthy is going to watch a few games but the early reports that I’ve got are that he’s played really well,” Prendergast continued. “We’re in a position that we can wait if we have too. We can let Mike come in and see if he can win that job or if we get the right goalie for the right price then that’s the way we’ll go but Morrison certainly is not out of the picture.”
One other option Edmonton has looked at is former AHL and NHL Oiler Steve Passmore. His previous association with the club is an obvious asset as is his experience at the minor league level.
“Passmore is someone we’ve talked to and he’s been in the organization before. It’s going to come on our terms though and the goalie we opt for will have to understand that he will play X amount of games but the majority will go to Deslauriers,” outlined Prendergast. “There’s going to be a lot of goalies available come September so if Passmore isn’t interested in what our situation is then we’ll certainly find another one.”
The coach of the Road Runners, Geoff Ward, seems to be comfortable with the two goalies he currently has but is definitely open to other options.
“I don’t think we can lose either way. If we can find the right veteran to work with Jeff, I think that would also be a great opportunity for Mike to be a No. 1 guy in Greenville,’ Ward pointed out. “If we go with Mike and Jeff, I know that I’m comfortable with that and I know our guys played with a lot of confidence in front of Mike last year and I don’t think that will change. Mike really proved himself last year by playing some big games for us.”
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