Oh my goodness it feels like forever since I wrote one of these. Forgive me if it takes me a couple to shake the rust off, but if that excuse works for players then surely it works for writers too, no? The Oilers young stars are set to take on those of the Vancouver Canucks. There is going to be an actual game played between 2 different teams. If that doesn’t excite you then I don’t know what will!

This tournament has a couple things going for it but it always seems like the 1st game is also the worst game. This, I think, is largely due to the unstructured nature of the tournament. It’s not as if the Oilers were allowed to get a bunch of practice time in and drill the system into their heads, so they’re largely going on instincts. That, as it often turns out, plays out well in the attacking zone but the Defensemen get hung out to dry. So even if the defense looks brutal tonight lets try to forgive them since this is as close to shinny these guys have played in years.

The club isn’t pulling any punches with the first game, though. All of the big names are there in full force and, unlike the big club, they have size right down the middle of the ice. This is an imposing set of Centermen offset by a few faster, smaller wingers. It’s a strong group, in my opinion. If you’re an Oiler fan (or not) you’ll get to see Leon Draisaitl, Darnell Nurse, Greg Chase, Jujhar Khaira, and Martin Gernat. These players all have significant opportunity to wear Oiler silks in the future occupying various roles.

Some of these kids might only ever play on the 4th line as call ups, some might be stars in this league. For many this will be about as close as they ever get to the NHL. Showing well here only goes so far, as training camp for the big club will be where traction is really gained, but showing poorly could cost them greatly. There’s going to be a lot of nervous energy tonight.

LINEUP

As mentioned above, the Oilers aren’t messing around by holding back their kids from seeing game time. It’s the who’s who of Edmonton’s prospects. The only down side will be the constant goalie changes. The Draisaitl line is big, can play in their own zone, and has talent to spare. It’s a scary line. Then the Oilers follow that up with the big Khaira, mean Kessy, and Holmberg (who scored 62 goals last year). The Joneses are the ones I know the least amount but that Yakimov/Tkachev combo interests me. It does so mainly out of the endless amusement I will get seeing Tkachev (who would look small standing next to my Grandmother) stand next to the hulking Yakimov.

Moroz Draisaitl Chase
Kessy Khaira Holmberg
Roy Jones Jones
Tkachev Yakimov Houck
Winquist Ewanyk Krushelnyski

Nurse Gernat
Boland Musil
Simpson Oesterle
Craig Ludwig

Broissoit
Tuohimma
Rimmer
Bouchard

OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME

1) Find Some Kind Of Structure. This match will be chaos and it will be up to the Oiler prospects to play a game with some kind of rhyme and reason. If they can do that then their talents will be able to shine. If they cant then it’s Bad News Bears. The Nurse-Gernat pairing will need to direct the traffic out there tonight if they have a hope at making sense of things.

2) Strength Down The Middle. The Canucks prospects will be looking up a lot in this game at the Oiler Centermen. Draisaitl and Ewanyk are 6’1”, Khaira is 6’3”, and Yakimov is 6’5”. Draisaitl might be the smallest of the bunch but he’s tipping the scales at a frightening 215lbs. And if you’ve been paying attention to the way the Edmonton media has been talking about Yakimov’s body you might have mistaken the sports media coverage for excerpts from a Harlequin novel. His 6’5” frame is apparently quite dreamy. Nonetheless, it’s finally a strength in the Oiler system and they can have a chance to use it tonight.

3) No One Suspects The Butterfly. Tkachev will be my favourite underdog in this tournament. Standing three and a half feet tall and weighing only 17 pounds, Tkachev managed to score at better than a point per game clip in the CHL. Ok, actually he’s 5’9” and 141lbs but he scored 30 points in 20 games with Moncton this past season. That’s a lot of production and he’s just so darned adorable. He’s going to look like Yakimov’s child when he lines up beside him. I don’t care, as long as he has the offensive skills. The Oilers don’t NEED him as a prospect, I don’t care. I cheer for the little guy.

Puck drops tonight at 8:32PM Mountain Time on the Oilers’ website. Game On!

Follow me on Twitter @Archaeologuy

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