Edmonton Oilers 2010-2011

You know I have to do this every year. If I don't, it goes against my nerdy nature. Feel free to ignore this blog post and scroll down to read about the power of a hurricane in my previous post.

I remember sitting in my seat, when I was still in Edmonton, and Steve Tambellini picked Taylor Hall. I think I was the only person in my family that let out a "YES!" It was Seguin vs. Hall for the longest time, and I wanted Hall. I believe that Seguin will be a better player than Hall in a few years, but Hall's dedication to hockey is unmatched by anyone.

As much as I am hoping for the Oilers to make the playoffs this year, it probably won't happen. I said probably. So I'm guessing that we'll finish in the bottom 10 in the league and end up with another top 10 pick next June.

So, instead of going through the entire team, I think I'm just going to take a wild guess at the lucky 13 players (top 9 forwards, top 4 defensemen) who should lead the Oilers in points. I should also say that this assumes the player plays a full 82 games; so that means Hemsky probably won't get to the number; but if he played all 82, that's what I'm expecting to see.

Name [Goals-Assists-Points]
Forwards
1. Hemsky [25-60-85]
2. Penner [30-30-60]
3. Horcoff [20-35-55]
4. Gagner [18-35-53]
5. Eberle [17-30-47]
6. Hall [19-25-44]
7. Brule [16-26-42]
8. Paajarvi [11-29-40]
9. Cogliano [14-25-39]

Defense
1. Whitney [11-32-43]
2. Gilbert [7-29-36]
3. Foster [10-25-35]
4. Vandermeer [3-20-23]

Hemsky has already broken out, so don't go asking when he's going to get to that elite status; he's just never had linemates to play with. I think Eberle will be the best rookie in the first chunk of the season because he already has the experience. And then, depending on how things go, he'll get passed by either Hall or MPS, making the gap in points really close. With his ability to exceed every single expectation, Eberle will then keep pace with whoever has exploded - because that's just what he's done his whole career. I honestly don't know if Cogliano will play more than half the season here. If our third line remains Brule, Paajarvi, and Cogliano, that line is going to struggle constantly. Then maybe Penner gets moved down to, bumping Hall up to play with Gagner and Hemsky, and MPS to play with Horcoff and Eberle.

On defense, I think Whitney should be leading in points, leaving Gilbert to battle Foster for second. Foster might edge out Gilbert because of his amazing shot on the powerplay.

Well, that's about it for my predictions. I think the Oilers will finish no higher than 11th in the Western Conference.