The weekend is now over. The Oilers' preseason schedule ended with an exciting 5-4 win over the 'Nucks. I wouldn't normally blog so much about hockey, but I am so intrigued and excited to see what the season will be like for our team.
There are so many different reactions to our team this year. Some people, who I would never, for the life of me, suspect turn against the Oilers in predicting a bad season to come out and say that we'll finish close to last place in the conference. There are also the faithfully optimistic who looks on the good of the team and say that we are definitely a playoff contender. I stand somewhere in the middle, but a little close to the optimistic side of things.
I think that whether you love or hate our team this year, it will be interesting to see how the season turns out. That's why I am heavy on the hopeful side in that making the playoffs would make everyone, who doubted them, wrong. But also, if the year doesn't turn out great, I won't be too disappointed because this year, in reality, is more of an adapting year - a year of change.
With final cuts approaching, I would hate to be Pat Quinn and company in determining the starting roster for October 3rd. Based on all the pressers that I've listened to, this is what I think the lineup might look like, as well as what I would prefer based on what Quinn has said and done.
Jacques - Horcoff - Hemsky
Penner - Gagner - Cogliano
O'Sullivan - Comrie - Stone
Moreau - Brule - Stortini
MacIntyre
Reddox
Souray - Gilbert
Visnovsky - Smid
Grebeshkov - Staios
Strudwick
Out: Nilsson, Pisani, Pouliot
The bottom 4 forward spots are so tough to work with. We have an incredible depth and it's almost impossible to predict what Quinn wants. I think that the moment we signed Comrie, Nilsson was done, and I just don't think very much of Nilsson anymore. Pisani could stick instead of MacIntyre, but I believe that having MacIntyre on our team DOES make a difference. Having just Stortini doesn't have enough of a deterrence effect on other team's big fighters. However, saying goodbye to Pisani will be hard because he's a good player, but overpaid. I also really like Reddox. Pouliot is useless; exhibit A, his "pubis situation". Also, I believe this Oilers' team needs a shakeup, like cutting a veteran, to send a message through the lineup that we have to play hard. I know not everyone will agree with what I have, but that's okay, that's the fun part of it all.
Since this is so popular now:
The Script - We Cry
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Breakfast At Timmy's
I had the pleasure to go to Tim Horton's for breakfast, with Uncle Alfred, today. For most people, it was just another Monday morning, a start to a new week. I very rarely, if ever, go to Tim Horton's on a weekday morning for breakfast, but I got to experience it today. If you are wondering, I had a great chat with our next English Pastor (it's going to be hard to adjust to Ps. Alfred from Uncle Alfred), and I believe that he will be an excellent pastor for our congregation.
However, the reason for this post is because of an occurrence that happened while I was waiting for Timmy's to get the food ready. I was sitting at the table waiting, patiently, and across from me were two elderly ladies enjoying tea together. They both looked very spirited from my view, and it was probably enhanced by the way the sun was shining through the window. As I'm trying to make myself look occupied, I couldn't help but overhear the conversation these two ladies were having. They were talking about participating in line dancing. When I heard about this - I can't exactly remember which dance they were talking about - two things immediately came to mind. The first one was that I was reminded of when we used to have to do social dancing in school. Those times of dancing were probably the most awkward for many people, and I don't think I need to explain it to you. The second thing that came to my mind was a very pleasant thought. It was that of a carefree feeling kind of energy that was emitting from the two of them. You can totally sense it in the tone of their voices, their facial expressions and everything about them. I thought to myself that it must be pretty awesome to be their age and to live so righteously.
So after this little encounter, I was inspired to rethink my thoughts about age. I now believe that being a child and being retired are the two best stages in life. Why? Because you get to actually live without the worry of a busy lifestyle that the majority of people seem to have.
Pretty sweet, eh?
However, the reason for this post is because of an occurrence that happened while I was waiting for Timmy's to get the food ready. I was sitting at the table waiting, patiently, and across from me were two elderly ladies enjoying tea together. They both looked very spirited from my view, and it was probably enhanced by the way the sun was shining through the window. As I'm trying to make myself look occupied, I couldn't help but overhear the conversation these two ladies were having. They were talking about participating in line dancing. When I heard about this - I can't exactly remember which dance they were talking about - two things immediately came to mind. The first one was that I was reminded of when we used to have to do social dancing in school. Those times of dancing were probably the most awkward for many people, and I don't think I need to explain it to you. The second thing that came to my mind was a very pleasant thought. It was that of a carefree feeling kind of energy that was emitting from the two of them. You can totally sense it in the tone of their voices, their facial expressions and everything about them. I thought to myself that it must be pretty awesome to be their age and to live so righteously.
So after this little encounter, I was inspired to rethink my thoughts about age. I now believe that being a child and being retired are the two best stages in life. Why? Because you get to actually live without the worry of a busy lifestyle that the majority of people seem to have.
Pretty sweet, eh?
Friday, September 18, 2009
Rejuvenated
There was a whole lot of rejuvenating being done over this past week. And even though I'm still unemployed, I am a much happier person now than I was last week. I feel great, thanks for asking. Hockey has began again - the Oilers started their preseason games this week - and AWANA began as well. However, I must take an intermission first, then I will come back to write about them.
So now that I'm back and refreshed a bit, I'm ready to go. I always find new joy every time we start up AWANA for the year. Seeing these kids and being able to work with them by helping them grow is one of the biggest honors I have, and I want to do my best to help them grow the way that they should. I know I had something I wanted to say during the night, but I've forgotten now. So I guess that's too bad. I really look forward to getting to know these kids more throughout the year. I have to admit, though, that I'm not the fondest of my small group, because I was stuck with all the kids that are harder to control. But I guess that it's a good challenge for me in teaching me how to discipline and that I get to see that these kids just want to be loved. So it's pretty sweet.
Hockey's preseason has also begun, and boy am I really excited for the Oilers this year. This year more than the last couple, I am so excited to see what our team can accomplish under a new voice in Pat Quinn and Tom Renney. I know that players-wise we didn't really get much better, but the fact that we have a proven coach makes it all the reason to be happy. And a lot of times when people come to critiquing the Oilers, they forget that we were in a playoff spot for much of last year. What screwed us over was an uninspired team because we grew out of the MacT era. So I definitely we can make a run for a playoff spot this year!
Patrick O'Sullivan; keep an eye on him, he's quickly becoming one of my favorites.
So now that I'm back and refreshed a bit, I'm ready to go. I always find new joy every time we start up AWANA for the year. Seeing these kids and being able to work with them by helping them grow is one of the biggest honors I have, and I want to do my best to help them grow the way that they should. I know I had something I wanted to say during the night, but I've forgotten now. So I guess that's too bad. I really look forward to getting to know these kids more throughout the year. I have to admit, though, that I'm not the fondest of my small group, because I was stuck with all the kids that are harder to control. But I guess that it's a good challenge for me in teaching me how to discipline and that I get to see that these kids just want to be loved. So it's pretty sweet.
Hockey's preseason has also begun, and boy am I really excited for the Oilers this year. This year more than the last couple, I am so excited to see what our team can accomplish under a new voice in Pat Quinn and Tom Renney. I know that players-wise we didn't really get much better, but the fact that we have a proven coach makes it all the reason to be happy. And a lot of times when people come to critiquing the Oilers, they forget that we were in a playoff spot for much of last year. What screwed us over was an uninspired team because we grew out of the MacT era. So I definitely we can make a run for a playoff spot this year!
Patrick O'Sullivan; keep an eye on him, he's quickly becoming one of my favorites.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Edmonton Oilers 2009-2010 Season [Predictions]
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 (=
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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