The White Flag Has Been Raised

I surrender to the fact that barring a trade or a strong push from management, Rob Schremp's preseason is likely over. While once again I feel that he's done o.k., once again he has failed to stick out in a good way.

While I would've liked to have seen him get into 4-5 preseason games, there were a ton of forwards in similar situations as Schremp in terms of waiver eligibility. I will now, barring a surprising twist concede that Schremp will be sent down. However unlike many I do believe that he will be claimed on waivers.

Either way the kid has failed me 1 last training camp and he has no one to blame but himself. If he does clear waivers he had better eat the AHL alive if he wants anotther shot with the Oil at some other point in the season.

Rob Fuckin' Schremp Hockey

He had better play it to a "T" if he wants to make the club, because he needs to carry his line tomorrow and then some if he expects to have a shot with the Oil for game #8 of the preseason and possibly beyond.

Flair, flash, execution, and offensive production. That is what the kid needs to bring, he needs to run the teams PP like nobodies business and show some offense 5 on 5. If his first 2 games have been Rob Fuckin' Schremp hockey, then he needs to take that and toss it in the crapper because he's not carrying the puck with confidence and he sure as hell hasn't shot the puck like he should.

The irony in all of this is that what could be his last game with an oil drop on his chest maybe missed by his biggest fan due to prior obligations. I hope to come home late tomorrow night to read that the kid finally got his shit together and tore it up. However as many times as he's let me down the last year or so, I sure as hell wouldn't put my money on it.

MacIntyre-Schremp-Reddox

Go get 'em kid!

EDIT-Suddenly Rob finds himself centering Penner and Eberle, 2 of the Oilers best forwards this preseason. This is surely the opportunity that I have been pleading for, now it's time to see once and for all if Rob Schremp can handle the pressure of a 1 game winner take all situation, do it while playing his natural position, and grab a roster spot by the balls. I won't even get to watch the frickin game tonight, but hopefully when I come home later on tonight I'll see Rob's name on the scoresheet in a big way.

Contrary To Popular Belief, Bloated Salaries Will Play A BIG Part In The Making Of This Team

Pisani $2.5 Million
Moreau $2.0 Million
Nilsson $2.0 Million
Eberle $1.19 Million
Pouliot $825K
Brule $800K
Schremp $715K
Stone $600K
MacIntyre $538K
Jacques $525K
Reddox $515K

Whether you think that Robert Nilsson and Fernando Pisani are the best players for their roster spots or not, at least one of them will likely be down the road before the season starts. Hypothetically speaking if the Oilers traded Fernando Pisani and Robert Nilsson for assets that don't count against the cap or buried them in Springfield and replaced them with Stone and Schremp, they would come out with $3.185 Million in cap space. That may not seem like a lot, but when it comes to re-signing Gagner, Cogs, and Grebeshkov next year as well as a potential cap drop, it is considerable. That much cap space could allow the Oilers to be buyers at the deadline, or better yet allow them to be buyers on the trade front.

Let's take this 2 steps further.....

Out: Moreau, Pisani, Nilsson, Staios
In: Jacques, Stone, Schremp, Peckham

Cap Savings: $4.76 Million

Suddenly we go from spooning with the cap ceiling to having the room to add more impact players while also having cheap youth to entice other teams in trade. I highly doubt that the Oilers would go this route as they have never seemed to have been keen on selling off vets in recent history and most certainly not en mass like what I'm proposing. However a number of other contracts are near immovable and it's time for Tambellini to start cleaning up the cap hell that he inherited.

The Day Of Reckoning For Rob Schremp To Be Held On Another Day!

Once again Rob Schremp isn't showing as much as he should at camp, he's far from equaling what he did in his first 2 regular season games last season with the Oil. His speed is better but the player is the same, still not looking for his shot and still not trying to back the defense down on the rush. I've been saying that this camp, it's all on Schremp. No matter what kind of a "relationship" he had with the previous coach, this is a new staff and he just needs to go out and play well.

Unless he ups his game he will be AHL fodder yet again and this time IMO he'll have no one to blame but himself for blowing a golden opportunity. At that point I'd prefer that he gets claimed on waivers if he is sent down just so that I can sever the fan ties that I've had with the kid for what seems like an eternity.

Once again this season I've gone against the grain to say that it's not over yet for Rob Schremp and that he'll make it. If he fails me this time it will be the last. He's 23 years old now, he's gotten faster, he's gotten stronger, he has all world puck skills, now does he have the heart and the mental toughness to become an NHL player?

I'm waiting to find out once and for all. It's all on you Rob, bring it and succeed or fail miserably yet again.

Game 3 Sees Jacques and Stone Flourish and Schremp and Brule Sputter, Oh Yeah, and That Comrie Guy Did OK!

Just to bust Bluebelle's chops on a Saturday morning I figured that I'd give her a super long title even for me LOL!

As the title says, Jacques and Stone were very good, and as a result both made convincing arguments for roster spots. Jacques dished out some big hits, and actually backed up his actions with his fists. I'm glad that someone knows what comes with a hard hitting physical style of hockey. On top of that he scored a very nice goal and did pretty good on the PK save from one kill where he failed to clear the puck twice in a row.

Stone? Very nice pass to Chorney who scored with a very well placed shot. He also added at least one other assist and continued to play a heady and gritty game. Me thinks Fernando Pisani's days as an Oiler will be coming to an end if Stone can pull off another game or 2 this preseason like he has in his first 2.

Now the bad. Schremp had a couple of good cycling shifts but he just didn't do what he needs to do to make the club. It frustrated me to see him not produce tonight, he's faster, he's stronger, but he made the same error tonight on the PP. I once again found myself pissed at Robbie for not looking for his shot when the pass wasn't there. At best he scores, at worst it's another faceoff in the O zone. He had better get his stuff together, because like Nilsson he'll pull off a nice move or 2 mixed in with not much else when they aren't clicking.
Nilsson if a more proven commodity, Schremp needs to play better to get himself onto the roster.

Brule also had a few nice plays and was playing the body. Unlike Schremp (to my knowledge) Brule was coming off of the flu. This was Jillbear's first action of the preseason and he will undoubtedly get more games in as should Schremp. The problem is that a guy like Stone has yet to have anything but a really good game to date. It really is amazing how the club has so many players that could fill roster spots without much difference in terms of quality of play. The difference could literally be the contracts of these players. Nilsson, Pisani, and Moreau are all bigger cap number guys.

Something tells me that Tambellini is busy, busy, busy, trying to do a quantity for quality trade. At least he better be. Or maybe lesser versions of the Kessel deal, dealing contracts for picks and resulting cap space. This could be a very key point in Tambellini's career in Edmonton, time to shed salary to improve the teams position in the future.

Lastly but certainly not least, Mike Comrie had himself a whale of a game in his Rexall return. Comrie and O'Sullivan seem like a very solid duo and they should provide us with a security blanket should Gagner and whoever else is on his line have slow starts this season. I wasn't a big fan of the signing because of the makeup of this team and the amount of capable bodies that will probably be lost of waivers, but he brings us a guy that should outperform his contract and a guy that can fit in a number of spots up and down the lineup.

However if he really wants to back up what he says about how he loves Edmonton, let's wait to see if he'll re-sign for a little bit of a hometown discount on a multiple year deal after this season. Color me skeptical, but IMO the doubts of his short term worth to this team were snuffed out tonight.

The Lineup That I'd Like To See Vs. Florida

Nilsson-Gagner-Schremp
Jacques-Pouliot-Stone
Potulny-Brule-Kytnar
Brennan-O'Marra-McDonald

Arsene-Visnovsky
Chorney-Plante
Young-Motin

Khabibulin
Deslauriers


The top line gets a chance to see how effective they could be, and see how Schremp does with similarly skilled players on the right wing.

The 2nd line could be a potential 3rd or 4th line, it also gives all 3 a shot to show what they've got as all three are fighting for a bottom 6 role.

The 3rd line consists of 2 NHL hopefuls and a potential AHLer in Kytnar. It gives Brule a chance to play his first preseason game without too much ice time unless he's over the flu. It also give the coaches a chance to decide between him and Potulny.

The 4th line, well, the 4th line consists of 2 AHLers and a potential replacement for MacIntyre. But we are stuck with the 8 vets rule IIRC. Not sure when that ends, but hopefully it'll be soon so that guys like Kytnar, O'Marra, etc. can be on their merry little way.

IMO it's imperative that the coaches get long looks at the guys making a push for a roster spot as well as those that may not have a spot locked up yet.

Preseason Game #2, Eberle and Pouliot Shine

Great games by Eberle and Pouliot as they both strive to make the big club. Nilsson had a decent night, but he wasn't great by any stretch putting him on par with some of the others battling for a roster spot, the difference? His is the highest cap hit of the group.

MacIntyre was MacIntyre, a good fight and some physical play but not much else. However that's to be expected of big #33. Reddox, well he took penalties and did not much else. IMO Reddox is behind Jacques and Stone in terms of bottom 6 hopefuls. There really is no room for a small grinder unless he can throw some big hits from time to time (Brule fits that bill much better than Liam does).

6 games to go, the pressure is on and some of the players are making it easy on Quinn and co. while others are forcing them to make tough decisions. I do however feel that Eberle should not make the club unless he greatly outplays the others, it is entirely possible, but we have a number of guys that could be lost to waivers, Eberle's rookie contract should wait until next season, at that point he could very well be ready for the Oil. The strides that he's made from last camp are impressive.

The Initial Bar Has Been Set

Not very high, but a few players can't even see over it after the 1st of 8 preseason games.

The Bar Setters:

Mike Comrie-The veteran who would have to crap the bed to not make the club, MC got 2 assists tonight and was one of the Oilers best forwards tonight.

Rob Schremp-I would've liked to have seen a little more, but he did well on the PP and was respectable at ES despite playing on an unfamiliar wing. Either way he did more good than bad for his chances with tonight's performance.

Ryan Stone-A solid game by Stone, not as physical as I'd like, but he did some good pking and showed his versatility.

The Bed Crappers:

JF Jacques-Perhaps playing on a skill line had him looking to shine offensively, unfortunately he forgot his bread and butter which is his physical play. His job was to create space for Schremp and Horc and crash the net. IMO he left a lot to be desired. Luckily this is only game 1.

Ryan Potulny-Didn't show much at all, definitely behind the 8 ball.


Next Up:

Nilsson

Eberle

Reddox

Brule

MacIntyre


There's bound to be a few of these guys to raise the bar even higher than it was set today, however for the bed crappers, they had better bounce back strong the very next game or they could be ditched in a hurry so that the others can be given a longer look.

A New Attitude, Fresh Starts, and Excitement Fills The Air, It's Time For Hockey!

News spread fast of Pat Quinn setting the tone for theseason, in essence telling the Oilers players to stop screwing around at camp and get down to business. This IMO was much needed and it could be seen coming this whole offseason. This is what the Oilers lacked last preseason as they sleep walked through camp and the preseason with little to no fear of losing their jobs. Quite frankly it spilled well into the regular season. A winning start to this season will be vital in transforming this team with a mediocre mindset into a team of winners.

Goofing around and drifting through camp this time around won't cut it, Quinn isn't putting up with half assed efforts. As long as he can mix praise in with malign, he will turn this teams fragile psyche and even frailer work ethic 180 degrees. There are a ton of guys hungry for spots and IMO the final nail to the MacT led Oilers would be a vet that has coasted for too long getting displaced by a new face.

The Oilers management that has in the past worked at a snails pace may very well need to expedite their sluggish approach to player movement with so many waiver eligible forwards on the outside looking in. It's still very early in camp but the enthusiasm of a number of players seems to be spilling onto the ice. The kind of enthusiasm that only change can bring forth.

Extra Preseason Game Should Do Wonders For Coaches And Players Alike

For the first time since the '06-07 season, the Oilers have 8 preseason games lined up. That extra game could be what makes or breaks the Oilers career of a number of players. Nilsson, Schremp, Pouliot, Brule, Jacques, Reddox, Stone, Potulny, the list goes on and on.

The extra game should give the new coaching staff a little more time to digest what they have in certain players and more time to implement their strategies. Also of note, unlike last season there will not be 4 games played in 4 consecutive days, there is a 3 games in 3 days stretch as well as 2 back to backs, but it should make for more well rested players.

Hopefully this time around the new coaching staff won't keep guys around that have no hope in hell of making the big club. It's my opinion that Craig Mactavish often times would keep guys around for far too long instead of focusing solely on guys that are close to making the club and of course getting your veterans sharp for the start of the season.

While 8 games in 12 days is still a hellacious stretch, hopefully the rookies that have no hope in hell of making the club are gone by the 3rd game so that the new coaches can concentrate on the guys that are pushing hard for a spot and for those pushing hard to keep theirs.

I'd like to see these players given between 5 and 6 games to strut their stuff this preseason.....

Schremp, Brule, Pouliot, Nilsson, Jacques, Potulny, Stone, and Peckham. Reddox can also get in some games but unless he's keeping up with the pack, I hope that he's sent packing early on in camp with the understanding that he's one of the first call ups for the bottom 6 if/when injuries happen. This many games should give Quinn and Renney a good feel for these players and give them a legitimate chance to prove that they belong or that they don't.

20 Questions Entering Camp

1) Which players will come out of the gate quickly and climb up the depth chart?

2) Will we see any vets lose their jobs this camp?

3) Which one time promising prospects will be waiver fodder at the end of the preseason?

4) Will a winning mentality be instilled into the players this camp instead of the whole "it's preseason so it doesn't matter, which then leads to it's the start of the season, we'll get better"?

5) Who gets dealt before the start of the season?

6) Is Penner in better shape?

7) How does Visnovsky look after returning from his injury?

8) Does Gagner look poised to break out after maturing more physically?

9) Is O'Sullivan ready to step up into a 2 way offensive role?

10) How will Cogliano look on the wing? How will O'Sullivan look as a center?

11) Did Nilsson really pack on significant muscle mass? If so how much will it improve his play and consistency?

12) Will Quinn employ a 3 scoring line approach?

13) How will Jordan Eberle look in his first lengthy stay with the club?

14) How much has Theo Peckham improved his game and is he ready to grab Strudwick's spot for good?

15) Is this Smid's time to push for shutdown minutes?

16) Will special teams finally become "special" for the Oilers in a positive way?

17) Will the players with letters on their jerseys remain with the same letters?

18) Does Comrie get cast immediately into prime offensive ice?

19) Is this the start of a franchise level season for Hemsky?

20) How will Horcoff react if he suddenly finds himself centering the 3rd line and has no PP time?


So many questions, and many answers will become clearer with the end of every preseason game. It should be a good 'un.