Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Will Tambellini Provide The Big Draft Move That Lowe Always Failed To Make?


With a new GM in tow looking to make his mark on this team and its prospect stable, will Tambellini make the kind of impact at this years draft that Lowe always talked about but could never get it done?

Lowe's regime seemed to always be about the fish that got away. "He was the biggest damned Yellow Perch that I've ever seen, 7 to 8 pounds I say, but he broke the net because he was so heavy and he swam away". Now anyone that knows anything about Yellow Perch knows that story is a whopper and then some!

We always got to hear about which players the Oilers were sweet on, but they could never seem to get into position to get them. This culminated in the '07 draft when Lowe felt that he had a deal in place that would've seen the Oilers move up to draft Kyle Turris. Maybe that was just a 2lb. trophy Perch, but that little son of a gun still wasn't in the boat and on ice so it still didn't count.

Will this be the year where the Oilers come out of nowhere to secure a top 5 pick to select a player that they are really high on? The next Marian Gaborik? It's pretty easy to sit back and say "boy, I wish that I had the 4th overall pick so that I could draft so and so", but we need someone to put complete trust in his scouting staff and take a swing for the fences by trading some NHL assets for the right to get a potential superstar.

We've got lots of guys with holes in their games, Schremp and his skating and grit, Nash and his lack of mass, numerous vertically challenged individuals, Plante and his mobility, etc. We need a guy that has speed, skill, grit, and finish. You usually don't find guys like that in the mid-late 1st round or beyond.

We may as well take advantage of the fact that we've had 2 of our franchises worst seasons in the last 3 years here by giving Gagner someone to gel with and lead the Oilers going forward.

Tambellini may or may not look to make a splash at the draft, but if he does, for once can we lowly Oilers fans see our logo climb into top 5 on the 1st round draft board for once? And if nothing happens and we stand pat, can we not hear about how we nearly landed Tavares or Hedman but they spit out the hook at the side of the boat?

6 comments:

Donald said...

Actually, another Lowe/Pendergast trick is to pull a guy out of a hat that they are really high on, but everyone else has down the list, some even into the 2nd round. And then KL and KP walk away from the draft table with smirks on their faces like they've just stole the other GM's lunch money and then explain to the media how they always had "their guy" rated higher than anyone else did, including central scouting, and couldn't believe he was still available when they chose. Therefore they must be so much smarter than all the other GM's. This kind of crap has to stop.

Bryanbryoil said...
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Bryanbryoil said...

Yeah that's for sure! However Petry looks like a good 'un.

I must say that it'd be nice that instead of crossing your fingers and hoping that said player falls into your lap you grow a pair and deal up to get him (as seen with Nash). Instead of doing that with mid-late first rounders, let's do that with the perceived elite prospects of a draft. You really like Gaborik? Then GO GET HIM! You really like Turris? Do what it takes. We haven't gotten an elite player via free agency or the draft. Unless they want to keep hanging their hopes on free agency and potential trades, this is the way to go.

oilerdiehard said...
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oilerdiehard said...

...for once can we lowly Oilers fans see our logo climb into top 5 on the 1st round draft board for once?Surely you have forgotten we took that gem Jason Bonsignore at #4.

Bryanbryoil said...

Not in my time as a fan (that he was drafted, although I was a fan while he was our property). Besides I said "climb up into the top 5" as in watching the logo climb on draft day ;)