You may have noticed the NHL wasn't around for half of the season due to something mystical do to a "lockout". Do you remember the NHL Lockout? Seems like only yesterday. God, how I miss it. Those were the days.

But sadly, hockey players and the league eventually decided that making millions and millions of dollars for working three hours a day and playing a children's game made more sense than a lockout. I was immediately frustrated when the lockout ended, because I was enjoying watching Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Justin Schultz tearing up the AHL. Schultz would have set the goal-scoring record for defensemen, I tells ya. Damn NHL and NHLPA with their damn CBA.

In an effort to make the best of the situation, the Oilers called up all these fine lads when the so-called "lockout" ended. So far, all four are putting up numbers that could be compared fairly to what they were doing in the AHL before their glorious season was so rudely interrupted.

The Oklahoma City Barons were an interesting team to watch. With all of the Oilers super-kids on the roster, you'd think they'd be unbeatable in the AHL. Actually, they were quite beatable. Why? The Oilers organization lacks prospect depth. After the four kids, there wasn't much there.

The Oilers start to the 2013 NHL season is so-so at best. Why? A lack of roster depth. The kids have been great. The veterans haven't.

Is there a pattern to this?

Here's my list of everything/everyone that has been right with the Oilers this season:

1. Justin Schultz - Not only is this kid Rookie of the Year in the NHL, but he's an all-star team member and could finish in the Top 3 of defensemen scoring for the whole league. He's four games into his NHL career, playing a very difficult position to learn, and he's already clocking over 25min of ice per game, and is playing in all situations. Aside from going at a better than point-per-game clip, he's also a "+" player, meaning he doesn't blow defensively.

2. Jordan Eberle - He's everything you'd want in a Captain: Never takes a shift off, scores clutch goals. He's the leader in Edmonton now.

3. Taylor Hall - Yes Hall start to the season hasn't been flawless. Too much dancing; not enough prancing. But he's a plus player who has more fire than the rest of the Oilers roster, so Hall's 60% equals 120% for most other players.

4. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - He's like Hall: Not going at 100% yet. Still, more good things than bad things happen when he's on the ice.

5. Sam Gagner - Four points in four games and much improved at the faceoff dot. Good enough for me to suggest he should stick around and that he perhaps isn't the problem everyone thinks he is.

6. Nail Yakupov - Yakupov looks like a 1st overall pick should look in his first season: His enormous talent is obvious, and he's scored a couple amazing goals so far. But it's going to take him two more seasons before he's a prime-time player. For now, he's been fine.

7 + 8. Jeff Petry and Ladislav Smid - Edmonton's solid defensive pairing, and two guys who bring functional toughness every single game.

9. Mark Fistric - Keep in mind I have little information so far. In the few games he's played, he's been big, mean and defensively sound. The Oilers can't have six defensemen like this, but there's definitely room for one Fistric to play in the 5/6 pairing.


Those nine guys are what's right. Here's a few guys I can't make up my mind on:

10. Devan Dubnyk - Good game, bad game, good game, bad game. If he wants to be the long-term starter in Edmonton, he needs to play at least three good games for each bad game. Still not sure if he has it in him or not.

11, 12 + 13. Magnus Paajarvi, Lennart Petrell and Teemu Hartikainen - You can't tell much about players when they get 10min or less of ice time in a game, playing on a line with guys who aren't very good.

14. Nick Schultz - Not sure what is happening here. He was absolutely brilliant in his first game this season, but it's been downhill ever since. I realize he has a tough gig covering for Justin when he jumps up the ice, but I'm not sure if the pairing fits.

15. Eric Belanger - Some people are going ape for him because he's won a face-off at the right time and he's done a few other things fairly well. I won't bash how he's playing, because this season's Belanger is much improved over last-season's Belanger. I'm still not sure he actually helps this roster, though.

16. Ben Eager - Played a quality first game, but got hurt again. Players like this provide more distraction than assistance.


Which brings us to the players that just aren't that good this season.

17. Ales Hemsky - The "old" Hemsky showed up for a game, only to be replaced by the "new" Hemsky again. The Oilers need to add a big body to their Top 6, and most have suggested Gagner will be the player who needs to go to make room. Gagner is playing his way onto this roster; Hemsky is playing his way off of it. Hemsky's biggest problem stems from over-handling the puck. For someone who passes the puck extremely well, he never seems to pass it. He doesn't shoot enough either. Plays die on the end of his stick.

18. Shawn Horcoff - Can anyone tell me why Oilers Head Coach Ralph Krueger continues to stick No Hands Horcoff on the powerplay? Schultz, Hall, Eberle and Nuge are so good, they can score on the PP even though Horcoff is out there tripping over the blueline. Slow moving; lazy and indifferent. The Oilers can't buy this guy out fast enough.

19. Ryan Smyth - Speaking of buyouts, what in the world has happened to Smyth's feet? He's never been a brilliant skater, but he's so slow now compared to everyone else. He needs to get it going, fast.

20. Darcy Hordichuk - 1min of ice this season, and a stupid, needless, momentum-ruining penalty in the offensive zone. Never play him again.

21. Ryan Whitney - I heard from Oilers mini-camp that Whitney looked finally healthy and ready to resume being a Top 4 defenseman. He's been atrocious. I don't think he's ever recovering for his foot problems.

22. Corey Potter - He played a couple bad games and looked terrible with Whitney...But in retrospect, I can't tell anymore if Potter was the problem or Whitney was the problem. Against Colorado, I'd pull Whitney out and give Potter a few shifts with Fistric to see what occurs.

I won't analyze Yann Danis, Theo Peckham or Ryan Jones. Not enough information for that to occur.

I'll acknowledge Linus Omark not because he's trying to play on the Oilers, but because he's the first player I've ever heard of who's gotten into a fight during a shootout. Yep. Happened the other day. He fought the goalie, after the goalie didn't like his behavior in the shootout. Does anyone still think this idiot has any trade value whatsoever? Worst attitude ever.

You will notice from the title of this blog, it's a two-parter. It is simply too long to have as a single blog. So for now, I'll summarize Part I.

- The Oilers lack organizational depth. Some of you might be saying to yourself, "how can a team that has drafted 1st overall three years in a row have organizational depth"? Simple. The Oilers pre-rebuild had an entire roster that needed to go away. The 1st overall picks drafted went directly onto the roster. Everyone else drafted is just working their way to the Oilers AHL roster now. The team is still trying to move some of the broken piece from the old regime.

Next season, David Musil, Martin Gernat, Tobias Rieder, and Travis Ewanyk should all be on the Barons roster. Prospect defenseman Brandon Davidson, who has been battling cancer, should also be back. You never know...Dillon Simpson could start his pro career too, and Oscar Klefbom could be sent to the AHL instead of playing in the NHL to start his North American pro career. That's potentially five prospect defensemen coming on in one season.

Up front, the Barons signed washed up free agent Jonathan Cheechoo, so that tells you something about the depth issues on the farm. The Oilers have a number of guys who could be in the AHL in a season or two, but they're too young now to be there. The crew down there now without Hall, Eberle, Nugent-Hopkins, Paajarvi and Hartikainen is extremely bleak. One of the guys the Oilers were counting on to get better and play Top 6 minutes, Tyler Pitlick, is gone for the season.

- One of the issues with Horcoff, Smyth, Hemsky, Whitney and a few others is that in trade, they likely aren't going to bring you a long-term roster solution. Hemsky is perhaps the player worth the most in trade, but with his contract being $5mil per season, moving into a year when the size of the cap is going to shrink by 9%, he's a tough sell. Horcoff and Smyth has no trade value; Whitney might be worth a 3rd round pick; Hemsky a 2nd and a mid-range prospect...if you can find a team willing to take his contract.

- If the Oilers want to improve their immediate depth situation, they either need to deal draft picks or prospects too young to be in the AHL currently. Outside of Oscar Klefbom, who can't be dealt because he's injury, the Oilers don't exactly have star prospects they can move to bring in other star prospects. I'm not sure if I'm the Oilers I'm interested in dealing Martin Marincin, Gernat or Rieder.

Part two of this blog will looking at a number of prospects/players the Oilers could go after. Some could assist the NHL club immediately; others would be brought in to help the AHL now with hopes of helping the big club later.

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