I've been wanting to do this for a few days, but I needed to wait for the right time. Loser time again! I went back to last year's predictions and I was way off on everything. But then again, the entire season was just a big letdown. I have never stopped watching an Oilers game by choice, but it happened last year because it was very depressing to see some uninspired players play under a coach that played the guys he was crushing on more than anyone else.
For the next few moments, I will try to recap a bit of last season to remind myself of what happened. Stayed tuned for the actual predictions underneath this paragraph. If you are interested in what I think, read on. The one thing that stood out, in terms of players, was our defense. Souray reminded us of how good a player he reall is. Visnovsky, my favorite current Oiler, is fantastic; just sucks that he got injured. As for our forwards, the only thing I really feel the need to say is that, although his production went down, you can really see Gagner start to grow into a much better - Hemsky-like - player. I'm very excited to see what he and Cogliano will accomplish this year.
Last year's prediction: 45-30-7 [97 points]
Last year's actual: 38-35-9 [85 points] WAY off LOL
This year's prediction: 42-32-10 [94 points]
With the addition of Comrie back into the lineup, it really messed up how I think the line combinations can end up. So my point predictions will be based on how I would like to see our lines, and hopefully the way Quinn sees as well. There are many combinations that I would like to see, but since we might ice three scoring lines with the players we have, this is my safest and most logical guess.
Line 1: Penner - Horcoff - Hemsky
-Horcoff is our best suited first line center because I don't think Gagner is ready
-Penner, yes, it's Penner, but if he's motivated, he can really open up space for Hemsky to go
Line 2: O'Sullivan - Gagner - Cogliano
-O'Sullivan has the best all-around game, so he can shoot Gagner's passes and be the defensive mind
-Cogliano's speed can help him gun up the right side, and he sucks at faceoffs
Line 3: Nilsson - Comrie - Pisani
-Nilsson, when he wants, is incredible, so he plays Hemsky's role
-Comrie is pretty much Horcoff, with worse faceoff abilities, but just shooting Nilsson's pucks
-Pisani is our best defensive forward, he can have a multi-purpose
Line 4: Moreau - Brule - (Filler)
-Fourth lines are always hard to predict because they change a lot
-Moreau is a lock, and I'd like to think Brule makes the team based on management comments
Defense 1: Souray - Gilbert
Defense 2: Grebeshkov - Visnovsky
Defense 3: Smid/Strudwick - Staios
-Basically the same as last year.. Our defense is stud
Here come my bold predictions. Remember, the stats assume the players each play 84 games. The new NHL schedule is an 84 game season.
Name: Goals - Assists - Points
Ales Hemsky: 24 - 61 - 85 [He can do it if he's healthy]
Sam Gagner: 15 - 42 - 57 [He's going to be a huge playmaker on that line]
Lubomir Visnovksy: 13 - 42 - 55 [He was our best defenseman when he went down]
Shawn Horcoff: 19 - 35 - 54 [Defensive role will diminish offense]
Sheldon Souray: 19 - 35 - 54 [Lubo being healthy means not as many goals]
Patrick O'Sullivan: 20 - 33 - 53 [Most versatile player on the team]
Tom Gilbert: 11 - 42 - 53 [Played most of the year with a bad back, 50 is possible]
Dustin Penner: 26 - 22 - 48 [He's going to have a big year]
Andrew Cogliano: 22 - 26 - 48 [He wants 30 goals, scored 18 on third line]
Mike Comrie: 17 - 29 - 46 [Not sure what to expect with injury last year]
Robert Nilsson: 10 - 34 - 44 [I think his time with the Oilers is over]
Denis Grebeshkov: 6 - 31 - 37 [He really bloomed, but Lubo is healthy again]
Fernando Pisani: 14 - 22 - 36 [He has a shot. Defense more important though]
Ethan Moreau: 11 - 18 - 29 [Our leader's on-ice role is going]
Gilbert Brule: 7 - 15 - 22 [He's very dynamic as well]
Steve Staios: 5 - 9 - 14 [Steady Steve, what can I say]
Ladislav Smid: 1 - 10 - 11 [He'll finally score a goal, lol]
Zack Stortini: 3 - 6 - 9 [Zack attack!]
*No predictions for other players, because they won't do much anyway.
Goals total: 243 - with this roster. A 9 goal increase from last year, VERY doable. In fact, if we don't score more, I'd be pretty sad.
Okay, well, with our new coaching staff, I do believe some players will be able to have a much better season. There were some players that I predicted last year that actually came incredibly close to their actual achievement (ie. Gilbert actually got 45 points). I also underpredicted some players because I don't want my expectations to be too high.
Training camp starts tomorrow! I'm so excited (=
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