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Happy Birthday To: SMURDS, JRock71, Cpt Waffle, TexasOiler, Morgan99

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 Re: January 17 [message #772508 is a reply to message #772489 ]
Sun, 17 January 2021 20:29 Go to previous messageGo to next message
welcometotheOC  is currently offline welcometotheOC
Messages: 612
Registered: April 2010
Location: Also, sadly, Cowtown

No Cups

PlusOne wrote on Sun, 17 January 2021 14:51

benv wrote on Sun, 17 January 2021 12:14



I feel there's a lot of Oiler fans who (even though they know who Plante was) don't realize Jacques Plante did play for the Oilers.



Count me as one of those. While not obsessive I consider myself a pretty big Oiler fan. My Dad is a big Habs fan. I dont recall ever hearing this before.

Cool thread Benv, thanks for doing this.


I knew, because I got his autograph at Kenilworth arena. I was in about grade 4 I think and my school had an Easter skating outing there and as we were lined up waiting to get in, the Oilers were coming out from a practice (no idea why they were practicing there) and most of them stopped to give autographs, including Plante (I was a big Habs fan then too) and Norm Ullman which I got, but I lost them at some point 🙁



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 January 18 [message #772547 is a reply to message #771063 ]
Mon, 18 January 2021 09:37 Go to previous messageGo to next message
benv  is currently offline benv
Messages: 546
Registered: May 2006
Location: Edmonton

No Cups

Busy day, with five players to talk about, so let's get right to it:


Paul Shmyr
Born: January 18, 1946 in Cudworth, SK.
Position: Defense (shoots left)
Acquired by Oilers: Signed as free agent, August 1, 1977.
Oilers Career: 1977-78 to 1978-79: 160 games (18 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Claimed by Minnesota in WHA dispersal draft, June 9, 1979.
Died: September 2, 2004 (age 58) in Surrey, BC of throat cancer.

Shmyr was one of the best defensemen in the history of the WHA. After a a few years in the NHL, Shmyr dedicated himself full time to the WHA, being one of few players to play in it for its entire seven year existence. By the time the Oilers signed him in the summer of 77, he was already a three time first team all star and coming off a season where he was voted the best defensemen in the league. The Oilers made him their captain and he would reward them by playing every game for two seasons, getting almost 50 points each year from the blue line, and making the second all-star team in 1979. Shmyr was lost to the Minnesota North Stars in the dispersal draft when the Oilers moved to the NHL. He played three more seasons in the league before retiring in 1982. He passed away of throat cancer in 2004 at the age of 58. He was the first player to be inducted into the WHA hall of fame in 2010. RIP Paul.


Pete Laframboise
Born: January 18, 1950 in Ottawa, ON.
Position: Left Wing/Centre (shoots left)
Acquired by Oilers: Signed as free agent, May 1975.
Oilers Career: 1976-77: 17 games (0 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Not re-signed following 76-77 season.
Died: March 19, 2011 (age 61) in Ottawa, ON (no cause given).

Laframboise (nicknamed "the Raspberry" for obvious reasons) was a scoring forward in the OHL who managed to carve himself a career in the NHL from 1972-75 as a depth forward with a bit of offense. In 1975 he switched leagues and signed with the Oilers in the WHA. In his two years in the organization he only managed 17 games during the 76-77 season, spending the rest of his time in the AHL. The Oilers cut him loose after the season and he spent the rest of his career in the minors before retiring in 1979. Following his playing career, he moved back to his hometown of Ottawa and established the Rideau Mailing Services firm. He died at home in 2011 at the age of 61. RIP Pete.


Mark Messier
Born: January 18, 1961 (turns 60 today) in Edmonton, AB.
Position: Left Wing/Centre (shoots left)
Acquired by Oilers: Drafted 48th overall, August 9, 1979.
Oilers Career: 1979-80 to 1990-91: 851 games (166 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Traded to NY Rangers with futures for Louie DeBrusk, Bernie Nichols, and Steven Rice, October 4, 1991.

THE MOOSE IS 60! I probably don't need to say much about the guy second only to Gretzky in Oiler lore and known as one of (if not THE) greatest leaders in hockey history, but here goes anyway. Messier started his pro career by signing as a 17 year old with Cincinnati in the WHA. After an unremarkable season (1 goal, 11 points) he went into the deep 1979 draft where the Oilers managed to get him with the 48th pick (maybe the biggest steal in draft history?). He slowly developed into the best power forward in the league, going from 33 to 63 to 88 to 106 points in his first 4 years in the league. By this time he had switched from left wing to center (Gretzky/Messier was pretty good 1/2 center combo for many years) and was a major part of the Oilers powerhouse teams and helped lead them to four Stanley Cups in five years. When Gretzky left in 1988, Messier took over the captaincy and did what many thought was unlikely--get the Oilers a fifth cup without the greatest player of all time. After the 1990-91 season Messier was upset that the Oilers were dismantling the dynasty teams, and decided he too wanted out. They dealt him to the Rangers and he would go on to lead them to a Stanley Cup as their captain in 1994. He played until he was 43 (do I need to mention his stint with the Canucks?--nah) before finally announcing his retirement in 2005. Messier's Oiler career included a Hart trophy in 1990, and three times he was a first team all star. He went into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007 and is often in the top 20 (sometimes even top 10) on those "best players of all time" lists. On the Oilers he's third all time in both games played and total points; in NHL history it's 2nd and 3rd all time. Happy 60th Mark.


Dean Kennedy
Born: January 18, 1963 (turns 58 today) in Redvers, SK.
Position: Defence (shoots right).
Acquired by Oilers: Claimed on waivers from Winnipeg, January 18, 1995.
Oilers Career: 1994-95: 40 games (0 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Retired in 1995.

From 1985 to 1995 Kennedy carved himself a successful NHL career as a steady right handed defenceman that could shore up any blue line. On his 32nd birthday, the Jets put him on waivers and the Oilers claimed him to shore up their own blue line for the strike shortened 1995 season. He would play 40 games (out of 48) in that shortened season and then decided to retire prior to the 95-96 season when he couldn't hook up with any teams. He eventually settled down by purchasing a cattle ranch in Pincher Creek Alberta. Happy 58th Dean.


Jason Labarbera
Born: January 18, 1980 (turns 41 today) in Burnaby, BC.
Position: Goalie (catches left).
Acquired by Oilers: Signed as free agent, July 5, 2013.
Oilers Career: 2013-14: 7 games (0 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Traded to Chicago for futures, December 14, 2013.

Labarbera had been a career back-up goalie (or occasional starting goalie in the AHL) for ten years when the Oilers signed him in the 2013 off season to back up Devan Dubnyk. When the Oilers signed Ilya Brygalov in November, however, it quickly became clear there was no room for Labarbera. He would only play 7 games with the team and they dealt him to the Hawks for futures. Labarbera spent most of the rest of his career in the AHL before retiring in 2016. Since retiring he has become a goaltending coach working for the Calgary Hitmen and then the Calgary Flames. He was also the goaltending coach for the team Canada junior team that just won the Silver medal here in Edmonton a couple of weeks ago. A happy 41st birthday to Jason.


And that's all for today. Return tomorrow for more.



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 January 19 [message #772793 is a reply to message #771063 ]
Tue, 19 January 2021 09:55 Go to previous messageGo to next message
benv  is currently offline benv
Messages: 546
Registered: May 2006
Location: Edmonton

No Cups

As we stew in the gloom of another Oiler loss, you can read about today's birthday boy, perhaps leading one of the most charmed careers in NHL history:


Billy Carrol
Born: January 19, 1959 (turns 62 today) in Toronto, ON.
Position: Centre (shoots left).
Acquired by Oilers: Claimed on waivers from NY Islanders, October 9, 1984.
Oilers Career: 1984-85 to 1985-86: 70 games (9 playoff games)
Left Oilers: Traded to Detroit for Bruce Eakin, December 28, 1985.

Carrol was a two way, penalty killing forward who had a short but very fortunate NHL career. He came up with the NY Islanders and was part of their last three championships as well as their 1984 loss to the Oilers. The Oilers picked him up on waivers at the start of the 84-85 season and he played a full season with them plus getting spot duty in the playoffs, which earned him his 4th Stanley Cup ring. The next year the Oilers barely played him and ended up trading him to Detroit after he only got in 5 games by Christmas. He ended his career with the Wings and retired in 1987--nothing left to prove I guess. Nice way to end it--seven year NHL career, 4 cups and 1 more appearance in the finals. He must wonder why players like Marcel Dionne and Gilbert Perreault had so much trouble winning the cup--it's so easy. He is the only player who won cups with both the Oilers and Islanders during their dynasty years. Can't find much about what he's been up to the last 33 years--he probably found a winning lottery ticket or something. He is the uncle of current Columbus player Boone Jenner. Wherever you are Billy, happy 62nd.





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 Re: January 19 [message #772795 is a reply to message #772793 ]
Tue, 19 January 2021 10:00 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Adam  is currently offline Adam
Messages: 6765
Registered: August 2005
Location: Edmonton, AB

6 Cups

benv wrote on Tue, 19 January 2021 09:55

As we stew in the gloom of another Oiler loss, you can read about today's birthday boy, perhaps leading one of the most charmed careers in NHL history:


Billy Carrol
Born: January 19, 1959 (turns 62 today) in Toronto, ON.
Position: Centre (shoots left).
Acquired by Oilers: Claimed on waivers from NY Islanders, October 9, 1984.
Oilers Career: 1984-85 to 1985-86: 70 games (9 playoff games)
Left Oilers: Traded to Detroit for Bruce Eakin, December 28, 1985.

Carrol was a two way, penalty killing forward who had a short but very fortunate NHL career. He came up with the NY Islanders and was part of their last three championships as well as their 1984 loss to the Oilers. The Oilers picked him up on waivers at the start of the 84-85 season and he played a full season with them plus getting spot duty in the playoffs, which earned him his 4th Stanley Cup ring. The next year the Oilers barely played him and ended up trading him to Detroit after he only got in 5 games by Christmas. He ended his career with the Wings and retired in 1987--nothing left to prove I guess. Nice way to end it--seven year NHL career, 4 cups and 1 more appearance in the finals. He must wonder why players like Marcel Dionne and Gilbert Perreault had so much trouble winning the cup--it's so easy. He is the only player who won cups with both the Oilers and Islanders during their dynasty years. Can't find much about what he's been up to the last 33 years--he probably found a winning lottery ticket or something. He is the uncle of current Columbus player Boone Jenner. Wherever you are Billy, happy 62nd.



I questioned the stat about the only player to win with both the Oilers and Islanders, thinking of this guy: https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=2592

Unfortunately for Jonsson, he was on the Oilers on the wrong year. Lost to Gretzky and the Kings and then went back to Europe, so missed out on the 1990 win.

Pretty crazy career for Billy Carroll. That's a whole lot of champagne out of the Cup.



"Thinking that a bad team's best players are the reason the team is bad is the "Tambellini re-signing Lennart Petrell" of sports opinions." @Woodguy55
#FireLowe #FireBobbyNicks #FireKenHolland #FireKeithGretzky

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 January 20 [message #772868 is a reply to message #771063 ]
Wed, 20 January 2021 10:06 Go to previous messageGo to next message
benv  is currently offline benv
Messages: 546
Registered: May 2006
Location: Edmonton

No Cups

Three players up for your consideration today:


Kari Makkonen
Born: January 20, 1955 (turns 66 today) in Harjavalta, Finland.
Position: Left Wing (shoots left)
Acquired by Oilers: Signed as free agent, July 22, 1979.
Oilers Career: 1979-80: 9 games (0 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Returned to play in Finland after 79-80 season.

Makkonen was a Finnish player drafted in both the NHL and WHA in the mid-70s but elected to stay and play in Finland until 1979, when the Oilers were able to convince him to come over and give North America a try. Makkonen would play only 9 games for the Oilers (getting 4 points) and play another 16 in the minors. He decided to return to Finland in 1980 and didn't look back playing the rest of his career there until retiring in 1991. Since retiring, Makkonen has become a full time coach in his native country, coaching as both an assistant and head coach at various levels in Finnish leagues. A happy 66th to him.


Dick Tarnstrom
Born: January 20, 1975 (turns 46 today) in Sundbyberg, Sweden.
Position: Defense (shoots left).
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by Pittsburgh for Cory Cross and Jani Rita, January 26, 2006.
Oilers Career: 2005-06 to 2007-08: 51 games (12 playoff games)
Left Oilers: Traded to Columbus for Curtis Glencross, February 1, 2008.

Tarnstrom was an offensive defenseman who spent nearly a decade playing in the Swedish elite league, before finally coming to try his hand in the NHL in 2001. After one season with the Islanders (who originally drafted him way back in 1994), he went to Pittsburgh and had some success, actually leading the team in scoring (doesn't happen to often for a defenseman) in 03-04. Halfway through the 05-06 season he was sick of losing (remember when Pittsburgh sucked?) and requested a trade allowing the Oilers to pick him up cheap for their playoff drive. He contributed to their Stanley Cup drive that year, although he lost some favour with the coaches as he had more healthy scratches as the playoffs went on. He chose to go back to Europe and play in the Swiss league for the 06-07 season, but returned to play for the Oilers again to start the 07-08 season. He was never quite able to capture his offense of previous seasons, and the Oilers ended up dealing him to Columbus before the end of the season. After that he returned to Sweden and finished his career there, before finally retiring in January of 2013 due to a spinal disc herniation injury. Can't find what he's been up to since, so I'll just wish him a happy 46th.


Anthony Stolarz
Born: January 20, 1994 (turns 27 today) in Edison, New Jersey
Position: Goalie (catches left)
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by Philadelphia for Cam Talbot, February 15, 2019.
Oilers Career: 2018-19: 6 games (0 playoff games)
Left Oilers: Signed as free agent by Anaheim, July 2, 2019.

Stolarz was a prospect goalie drafted by the Flyers in 2012, he spent many years in their system getting a handful of games with the Flyers but spending most of his time in the minors, before he was dealt to the Oilers for Cam Talbot. Stolarz spent his brief time in Edmonton backing up Mikko Koskinen, getting only six games in with the team. The Oilers chose to go another direction after the season and Stolarz signed with the Ducks, where he has played mostly for their AHL affiliate (he got in 1 NHL game for them last year). He's still in the Ducks system, presumably waiting for the AHL season to start. Happy 27th Anthony.


And one closing piece of irony for the day: last night I happened to watch episode 4 of the Netflix mini-series on the history of swearing which was all about the "dick". One of the points brought up was how no one under the age of 70 uses Dick as a name anymore--and lo and behold we find an exception with the 46 year old Tarnstrom. Maybe it doesn't have the same connotation in Sweden.




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 January 21 [message #773018 is a reply to message #771063 ]
Thu, 21 January 2021 09:59 Go to previous messageGo to next message
benv  is currently offline benv
Messages: 546
Registered: May 2006
Location: Edmonton

No Cups

A day late, but we can commemorate the US inauguration day with three American born players today. Oh, and one New Brunswicker (New Brunswickite?).


Jim Troy
Born: January 21, 1953 (turns 68 today) in Boston, Massachusetts.
Position: Right Wing (shoots right)
Acquired by Oilers: Purchased rights from NY Rangers for cash, January 1978.
Oilers Career: 1977-78: 47 games (2 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Claimed by Indianapolis in intra-league draft, June 1978.

Not much info on Jim Troy's hockey career. He toiled in the minor leagues until being given a chance by the Whalers in 1976, and then the Oilers mid-way through the 77-78 season. Based on his point production, I assume he was a defensive forward (he got 2 points in his 47 games with the Oilers). Following his time with the Oilers he wouldn't see the majors again as he was in the AHL until his 1981 retirement. He was then hired by none other than Vince McMahon to coach the Cape Cod team in the ACHL. When the team folded after one year, Troy was hired by McMahon as senior vice president of Titan Sports and was part of McMahon's purchase of WWF. He left the WWF in 1990 (after a physical altercation with Koko B Ware!) and worked as a boxing promoter and manager as well as producer with ESPN. A happy birthday to Jim and his interesting post hockey life.


Moe Mantha
Born: January 21, 1961 (turns 60 today) in Lakewood, Ohio
Position: Defense (shoots right)
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by Pittsburgh (with Dave Hannan, Chris Joseph, and Craig Simpson) for Paul Coffey, Dave Hunter, and Wayne Van Dorp, November 24, 1987.
Oilers Career: 1987-88: 25 games (0 playoff games)
Left Oilers: Traded to Minnesota for Keith Acton, January 22, 1988.

Mantha had a decade long NHL career with just a brief stop in Edmonton. He was a highly offensive defenseman with Winnipeg and Pittsburgh when the Oilers got him in the package in the Paul Coffey trade. He played 25 games for the team in the 2 months he was here, but his production was way down and he was then dealt to Minnesota for Keith Acton (his production picked up again in Minnesota--maybe it just wasn't a fit in Edmonton?). He played until 1992 when he decided to retire after being demoted to the AHL. Since his retirement Mantha has been a minor league coach, head coaching in the ECHL, AHL, NAHL, and OHL for many different teams. He retired as a coach last year. He is the uncle of current Oiler prospect Ryan Mantha. Happy 60th Moe.


John LeBlanc
Born: January 21, 1964 (turns 57 today) in Campbellton, NB.
Position: Left Wing (shoots left)
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by Vancouver with 5th round pick for Greg Adams and Doug Smith, March 7, 1989.
Oilers Career: 1988-89: 2 games (1 playoff game).
Left Oilers: Traded to Winnipeg (with 10th round pick) for 5th round pick, June 12, 1991.

LeBlanc was a goal scoring forward who just never quite managed to stick in the NHL. After getting a half season with the Canucks in 87-88, the Oilers traded for him at the 89 deadline. He would only play 2 games for them and one more in the playoffs. While he never got another sniff with the big club, he did light things up with the Cape Breton team in the AHL leading the league in goals in 89-90 (54 goals). After sitting out the entire 90-91 (can't find out why--likely injury) the Oilers dealt him to the Jets at the draft as part of a package to move up. He continued his career, mostly in the AHL where he tended to light things up, getting occasional games in the NHL. He retired in 2001. Wherever you are now, John a happy 57th.


Doug Weight
Born: January 21, 1971 (turns 50 today) in Warren, Michigan.
Position: Center (shoots left).
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by NY Rangers for Esa Tikkanen, March 17, 1993.
Oilers Career: 1992-93 to 2000-01: 588 games (39 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Traded to St. Louis (with Michel Riesen) for Jochen Hecht, Jan Horacek, and Marty Reasoner, July 1, 2001.

During their rebuild of the early 90s the Oilers had targeted Doug Weight for a few years, before they finally managed to pry him out of New York for Esa Tikkanen. The trade was done while the Oilers were in MSG for a game with the Rangers and the two players actually passed each other in the hall as they changed dressing rooms for the game. The trade was a very good one for the Oilers as Weight was arguably their best player and undoubtedly their best forward during his eight and a half years with the team. He lead them in scoring seven times (failing only in 98-99 when he missed half the season with an injury). He captained them during his last two years with the team, and is the only Oiler to get over 100 points in a season between Messier doing it in 1990 and McDavid in 2016. While Weight loved his time in Edmonton, he grew too expensive for the cash strapped team in 2001 and they were forced to deal him for cheaper parts--a familiar refrain for Oiler fans at the time. He would play another 10 years in the NHL with St.Louis, Carolina (winning the cup in 2006--DAMN THE MEMORIES), Anaheim, and the NY Islanders before retiring in 2010. Weight then stepped right into coaching, becoming first an assistant and eventually head coach of the Islanders until he was dismissed after the 17-18 season. He was inducted into the US hockey hall of fame in 2013. A very happy 50th to Doug.




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 January 22 [message #773119 is a reply to message #771063 ]
Fri, 22 January 2021 11:02 Go to previous messageGo to next message
benv  is currently offline benv
Messages: 546
Registered: May 2006
Location: Edmonton

No Cups

One ex-Oiler to discuss today:

Ben Eager
Born: January 22, 1984 (turns 37 today) in Ottawa, ON.
Position: Left Wing (shoots left)
Acquired by Oilers: Signed as free agent, July 1, 2011.
Oilers Career: 2011-12 to 2013-14: 84 games (0 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Left to play in KHL, July 11, 2014.

The Oilers had high hopes that Eager would be the gritty power forward/enforcer type they were seeking when they signed him to a 3-year contract in the free agent frenzy of 2011. He'd been a first round draft pick and a 5 year NHL veteran with four different teams (including a cup ring with the Hawks in 2010) by that point. After a reasonable first season with the Oilers, Eager suffered from injuries, diminished play, and an ugly pre-season incident in Toronto (when he was charged with assault for beating up a pub doorman) that caused him to miss most of the 12-13 season and spend the bulk of the 13-14 season with the AHLs OKC Barons. He left the Oilers once his contract was up trying to make it in the KHL, but soon returned to North America and played the rest of the season in the AHL before retiring in 2015. Since the internet won't tell me what he is up to lately, I'll just say happy 37th to him.

And that's all for today--back tomorrow.



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 January 23 [message #773284 is a reply to message #771063 ]
Sat, 23 January 2021 11:34 Go to previous messageGo to next message
benv  is currently offline benv
Messages: 546
Registered: May 2006
Location: Edmonton

No Cups

Another Oiler alumnus who is a year older today:


Jaroslav Pouzar
Born: January 23, 1952 (turns 69 today) in Cakovec Czechoslovakia.
Position: Left Wing (shoots left)
Acquired by Oilers: Drafted 83rd overall, June 9, 1982.
Oilers Career: 1982-83 to 1986-87: 186 games (29 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Left to play in Germany in 1985 (and again in 1987).

Pouzar was already 30 years old when the Oilers selected him in the fourth round of the 1982 draft. He had been a high scoring forward in his native Czechoslovakia, and the Oilers had tagged him as a potential left winger for their top line with Gretzky and Kurri. When Pouzar debuted in the 82-83 season, he did get some time in this role, but eventually developed into more of a role-player with the team, contributing to both Stanley Cup wins in 84 and 85. Following the 85 season, Pouzar decided to go play in Germany, but decided to return to Edmonton late in the 86-87 season, just in time to help the Oilers to a 3rd cup victory. Following this season, he left the Oilers and North America for good, playing in Germany until he retired in 1991. No info on what he's been up to the last 30 years, but one interesting fact about him: his 186 games with the Oilers are the most for a player that played his entire NHL career with the Oilers--I'm excluding current Oilers (many who would surpass this total) since they have yet to play their entire careers. The fact that this number isn't very high shows that despite their rich history, there are just not that many players who are "Oilers for life". But I digress--happy 69th birthday Jaroslav, wherever you are.





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 Re: January 23 [message #773288 is a reply to message #773284 ]
Sat, 23 January 2021 13:35 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Skookum Jim  is currently offline Skookum Jim
Messages: 3827
Registered: March 2006
Location: Burnaby, BC

3 Cups

benv wrote on Sat, 23 January 2021 10:34

Another Oiler alumnus who is a year older today:


Jaroslav Pouzar
Born: January 23, 1952 (turns 69 today) in Cakovec Czechoslovakia.
Position: Left Wing (shoots left)
Acquired by Oilers: Drafted 83rd overall, June 9, 1982.
Oilers Career: 1982-83 to 1986-87: 186 games (29 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Left to play in Germany in 1985 (and again in 1987).

Pouzar was already 30 years old when the Oilers selected him in the fourth round of the 1982 draft. He had been a high scoring forward in his native Czechoslovakia, and the Oilers had tagged him as a potential left winger for their top line with Gretzky and Kurri. When Pouzar debuted in the 82-83 season, he did get some time in this role, but eventually developed into more of a role-player with the team, contributing to both Stanley Cup wins in 84 and 85. Following the 85 season, Pouzar decided to go play in Germany, but decided to return to Edmonton late in the 86-87 season, just in time to help the Oilers to a 3rd cup victory. Following this season, he left the Oilers and North America for good, playing in Germany until he retired in 1991. No info on what he's been up to the last 30 years, but one interesting fact about him: his 186 games with the Oilers are the most for a player that played his entire NHL career with the Oilers--I'm excluding current Oilers (many who would surpass this total) since they have yet to play their entire careers. The fact that this number isn't very high shows that despite their rich history, there are just not that many players who are "Oilers for life". But I digress--happy 69th birthday Jaroslav, wherever you are.



Thats amazing.. would never have guessed.. great trivia question!
Good work Benv



McDAVID! Oh YEAH Baby!!
Tic-Tac-Tao!
Keep on Rockin' in the Free World
P. Chiarelli math.. T. Hall = A. Larsson, Yak= bag o'pucks (OK he got one right...) K. Russell = $4.1 M+NMC, G. Reinhart= M. Barzal + A. Beauvillier, J. Eberle = R. Spooner,

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 Re: January 23 [message #773296 is a reply to message #773284 ]
Sat, 23 January 2021 16:50 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Adam  is currently offline Adam
Messages: 6765
Registered: August 2005
Location: Edmonton, AB

6 Cups

benv wrote on Sat, 23 January 2021 11:34

Another Oiler alumnus who is a year older today:


Jaroslav Pouzar
Born: January 23, 1952 (turns 69 today) in Cakovec Czechoslovakia.
Position: Left Wing (shoots left)
Acquired by Oilers: Drafted 83rd overall, June 9, 1982.
Oilers Career: 1982-83 to 1986-87: 186 games (29 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Left to play in Germany in 1985 (and again in 1987).

Pouzar was already 30 years old when the Oilers selected him in the fourth round of the 1982 draft. He had been a high scoring forward in his native Czechoslovakia, and the Oilers had tagged him as a potential left winger for their top line with Gretzky and Kurri. When Pouzar debuted in the 82-83 season, he did get some time in this role, but eventually developed into more of a role-player with the team, contributing to both Stanley Cup wins in 84 and 85. Following the 85 season, Pouzar decided to go play in Germany, but decided to return to Edmonton late in the 86-87 season, just in time to help the Oilers to a 3rd cup victory. Following this season, he left the Oilers and North America for good, playing in Germany until he retired in 1991. No info on what he's been up to the last 30 years, but one interesting fact about him: his 186 games with the Oilers are the most for a player that played his entire NHL career with the Oilers--I'm excluding current Oilers (many who would surpass this total) since they have yet to play their entire careers. The fact that this number isn't very high shows that despite their rich history, there are just not that many players who are "Oilers for life". But I digress--happy 69th birthday Jaroslav, wherever you are.



Another player with a pretty charmed life when it came to NHL seasons and post-season success. Went to the finals every single year he played in the league and he got his name on the Cup three times. Only a bit player the last couple of times out with just 3 games in each of the '85 and '87 Cup wins...but even so, that's pretty impressive.



"Thinking that a bad team's best players are the reason the team is bad is the "Tambellini re-signing Lennart Petrell" of sports opinions." @Woodguy55
#FireLowe #FireBobbyNicks #FireKenHolland #FireKeithGretzky

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 January 24 [message #773332 is a reply to message #771063 ]
Sun, 24 January 2021 11:47 Go to previous messageGo to next message
benv  is currently offline benv
Messages: 546
Registered: May 2006
Location: Edmonton

No Cups

A quartet of recent players to look at today:


Chris Ferraro
Born: January 24, 1973 (turns 48 today) in Port Jefferson, New York
Position: Center (shoots right)
Acquired by Oilers: Signed as free agent, August 13, 1998.
Oilers Career: 1998-99: 2 games (0 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Signed as free agent by NY Islanders, July 7, 1999.

Ferraro was a journeyman player, having a career that spanned almost 20 years, most of it in the minor leagues. In the middle of that journey he spent one year in the Oilers organization during the 98-99 season where he averaged over a point a game with Hamilton and got in two games with the big club before it was off to a new team the following the season. Ferraro retired from pro hockey in 2009 having played just 74 games in the NHL and hundreds more in the AHL, IHL, ECHL and other leagues. He and his identical twin brother Peter have the distinction of being only the second identical twins to play on an NHL team together when they were both on the Rangers in 1996. He also had some tragedy in his life--his wife died of cancer in 2002 only 16 months after they were married. I hope Chris is doing well and has a nice 48th birthday today.


Patrick Cote
Born: January 24, 1975 (turns 46 today) in La Salle, QU.
Position: Left Wing (shoots left).
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by Nashville for 5th round pick, June 12, 2000.
Oilers Career: 2000-01: 6 games (0 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Not re-signed following 2000-01 season.

Cote was an enforcer who was in the Oilers system for one season in 2000-01. Cote was tough as nails--I believe I heard George Laraques claim that he was the toughest guy he every played with. He certainly didn't score much getting 3 points in the 105 total NHL games he played. The Oilers would be the last he would see of the big leagues as he went back to his native Quebec to play senior hockey, before finally retiring in 2008. Since leaving Edmonton, he's had some trouble with the law getting arrested for marijuana possession (30 pounds!) in 2002, and then being sentenced to 30 months in prison for robbing two banks in Montreal in 2014. Hopefully Patrick has straightened out his life and can enjoy his 46th birthday.


Zack Kassian
Born: January 24, 1991 (turns 30 today) in Windsor, ON.
Position: Right Wing (shoots right)
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by Montreal for Ben Scrivens, December 28, 2015.
Oilers Career: 2015-16 to present: 332 and counting (17 playoff games)

Kassian was a 1st round pick in 2009 with hopes of turning into an elite power forward in the NHL. He had some trouble getting his career on track, bouncing between three organizations. After being suspended by Montreal for substance abuse the Oilers acquired him on the cheap during the 15-16 season in hopes he could beat the booze and get his career and life back on track. It has been generally a great success with Kassian having his best NHL years with the Oilers in a career that continues. He's sober, married with kids (one just born), and playing with the best player in the league. Let's hope for continued success and hope he pots one tonight in Winnipeg on his 30th birthday.


Griffin Reinhart
Born: January 24, 1994 (turns 27 today) in West Vancouver, BC.
Position: Defense (shoots left).
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by NY Islanders for 1st and 2nd round picks, June 26, 2015.
Oilers Career: 2015-16 to 2016-17: 29 games (1 playoff game).
Left Oilers: Claimed by Vegas in expansion draft, June 21, 2017.

Reinhart was a star defenseman with the Edmonton Oil Kings helping lead them to a memorial cup in 2014, 2 years after being drafted 4th overall in the NHL. After only 1 year in pro hockey, the Oilers paid a steep price to acquire him, hoping he could still develop into a star. He played 29 games with the team in 15-16, but was relegated to the minors for the entire 16-17 season, getting in only one playoff game when the Oilers were decimated with injuries on the back end. They left him unprotected in the expansion draft and Vegas ended up plucking him away. He never got in a game with the Golden Knights, playing two years in their AHL system before leaving to play in the KHL in 2019. While he never lived up to his promise we can still wish him well on his 27th birthday today.




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 Re: January 24 [message #773529 is a reply to message #773332 ]
Mon, 25 January 2021 01:22 Go to previous messageGo to next message
stemhovlichski  is currently offline stemhovlichski
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benv wrote on Sun, 24 January 2021 11:47



Patrick Cote

Hopefully Patrick has straightened out his life and can enjoy his 46th birthday.




Great stuff, benv!!! This ex-Oilers story is wild and unbelievable but true! Hope it's okay to add some more info to your excellent work.

Cote got released from prison, reoffended, was sent back, got shot by a prison guard while trying to kill another inmate, was eventually given statutory release, but then went to a police station and demanded to be locked up again or he was going to start trashing cop cars! His wish was granted and he was sent back in a year and a half ago. Serious psychological issues for this guy. Hope he gets the help he needs.

Link, (in French): https://www.tvanouvelles.ca/2019/05/28/un-ancien-goon-de-la- lnh-bien-determine-a-rester-en-prison



Restored: "We're sucking hind banana here." - Pat Quinn, Jan 18, 2010

"...the Oilers have been rebuilding for so long that it’s hard not to be cynical." - NBC's Ryan Dadoun Jan 2, 2015

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 Re: January 24 [message #773543 is a reply to message #773529 ]
Mon, 25 January 2021 09:38 Go to previous messageGo to next message
benv  is currently offline benv
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stemhovlichski wrote on Mon, 25 January 2021 01:22

benv wrote on Sun, 24 January 2021 11:47



Patrick Cote

Hopefully Patrick has straightened out his life and can enjoy his 46th birthday.




Great stuff, benv!!! This ex-Oilers story is wild and unbelievable but true! Hope it's okay to add some more info to your excellent work.

Cote got released from prison, reoffended, was sent back, got shot by a prison guard while trying to kill another inmate, was eventually given statutory release, but then went to a police station and demanded to be locked up again or he was going to start trashing cop cars! His wish was granted and he was sent back in a year and a half ago. Serious psychological issues for this guy. Hope he gets the help he needs.

Link, (in French): https://www.tvanouvelles.ca/2019/05/28/un-ancien-goon-de-la- lnh-bien-determine-a-rester-en-prison


Wow, good find--obviously Cote has NOT in fact straightened out his life.

And please feel free to add anything to anything I post in this thread. As I said at the beginning, I'm only doing a surface internet search, so if you have further info, it's most welcome!



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 January 25 [message #773544 is a reply to message #771063 ]
Mon, 25 January 2021 09:46 Go to previous messageGo to next message
benv  is currently offline benv
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Just one Oiler with a birthday today, but he's an important one:


Esa Tikkanen
Born: January 25, 1965 (turns 56 today) in Helsinki, Finland.
Position: Left Wing (shoots left)
Acquired by Oilers: Drafted 80th overall, June 8, 1983.
Oilers Career: 1984-85 to 1992-93: 522 games (114 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Traded to NY Rangers for Doug Weight, March 17, 1993.

Tikkanen is that rare player who started his NHL career in the Stanley Cup Finals, appearing in one game in 1985. He soon settled into his place for the next three years on the left wing with Gretzky and Kurri, providing a defensive responsibility and providing secondary scoring. When Gretzky left in 1988, Tikkanen didn't miss s beat, continuing to be one of the Oilers top players and scorers. He went from Gretzky's linemate to his tormentor as he was often tagged to shadow #99 in the four Oilers/Kings series from 89 to 92 (three of them Oiler victories). His propensity for yammering in his opponents ears with a mix of Finnish and English (dubbed by some as Tik-Talk and Tikkanese) was effective in disrupting his victims. In addition to his defensive play, Tikkanen was also a good scorer leading the team in scoring (regular season and playoffs) in 1990-91, where he scored the game 7 overtime winner against Calgary in the first round (the first time in Oiler history they had a game 7 overtime). When the Oilers went into all out rebuild in 1993, Tikkanen was dealt to the NY Rangers where he would capture another Stanley Cup. Tikkanen would bounce around the NHL for the next 6 years, before returning to Finland in 1999, and finally retiring from hockey in 2001. Tikkanen has five kids with two different wives (both divorced), and has been living in Finland since his retirement.

[Updated on: Mon, 25 January 2021 09:50]


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 January 26 [message #773609 is a reply to message #771063 ]
Tue, 26 January 2021 10:02 Go to previous messageGo to next message
benv  is currently offline benv
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Location: Edmonton

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Yes, it is the Great One's 60th birthday. But let us not forget about Dan Newman--although I hear Jim Matheson thinks that Newman's January 26 birthday is disrespectful, and he should immediately change it.


Dan Newman
Born: January 26, 1952 (turns 69 today) in Windsor, ON.
Position: Defense (shoots left)
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by Montreal (with Dave Lumley) for 2nd round pick, June 13, 1979.
Oilers Career: 1979-80: 10 games (0 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Traded to Boston for Bobby Schmautz, December 10, 1979.

Newman was long time minor league defenseman who got into about 100 NHL games in the late 70s, when the Oilers traded a draft pick for him to augment their expansion line up to start their first NHL season. He would only play 10 games with the team before they swapped him to Boston for veteran forward Bobby Schmautz. Newman would play the rest of the season in the minors and then retire in 1980. The only piece of info I can find since his retirement is he plays with the Detroit Red Wings alumni--weird since he never actually played for the Red Wings (probably because he's from Windsor?). Regardless, a happy 69th to Dan.


Wayne Gretzky
Born: January 26, 1961 (turns 60 today) in Brantford, ON.
Position: Center (shoots left).
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by Indianapolis (with Peter Driscoll and Eddie Mio) for cash, November 2, 1978.
Oilers Career: 1978-79 to 1987-88: 768 games (133 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Traded to Los Angeles (with Mike Krushelnyski and Marty McSorley) for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, three 1st round picks, and cash.

He's Wayne Gretzky--if you don't already know everything about him, please get one of the dozens of biographies written about him. Since it's common in Oilerland to focus on his sale to the Kings, and curse Pocklington's name for it (and I'll admit that this sentiment is justified), I will instead focus on his acquisition in 1978 and retention in 1979, which is not as widely documented. So after Gretzky was originally signed by the Indianapolis Racers (did you know he scored his first pro goal AGAINST the Oilers) it was to a personal service contract (rather than a standard player contract) to Racers' owner Nelson Skalbania. When Gretzky was sold to the Oilers (along with the two other players--for $700,000!), Pocklington reworked the contract to ten years (still personal service) with options for 10 more years. The unique structure of this deal forced the NHL to allow the Oilers to keep Gretzky when the Oilers joined the NHL in 1979. I don't think people appreciate how remarkable it is that the Oilers got to keep the greatest player ever without even having to draft him (just cost them a priority selection in the dispersal draft). I've never heard of any blowback, but I have to imagine the Colorado Rockies (who had the number 1 pic, in the 1979 draft) should have been pretty pissed they lost out--they got Rob Ramage instead (might have saved the franchise to have Gretzky). Anyway the rest is history--Gretzky played the best 10 years of hockey ever seen with the Oilers, they traded him in 1988 for pennies on the dollar (at least the hockey end of the deal--I'm sure Pocklington enjoyed his 15 million) and Oiler fans were left to wonder what might have been. Today, though, we can all wish Wayne a very happy 60th!


I'll close today by saying that I read an article a few months back talking about a study that showed that kids in sports born earlier in the year had a competitive advantage, since they are consistently the oldest in their age cohorts, and tend to have a better chance of long term success. I bring it up because it just occurred to me that McDavid, Messier, and Gretzky--I would say the three most prominent Oilers in history, all have January birthdays. I wonder how much that competitive advantage really helps.



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 January 27 [message #773834 is a reply to message #771063 ]
Wed, 27 January 2021 10:09 Go to previous messageGo to next message
benv  is currently offline benv
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Location: Edmonton

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Ugh, I'm still raw from last night. Blowing third period leads are the worst kind of losses. But we must soldier on:


Dave Manson
Born: January 27, 1967 (turns 54 today) in Prince Albert, SK.
Position: Defense (shoots left)
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by Chicago (with 3rd round pick) for Steve Smith, October 2, 1991.
Oilers Career: 1991-92 to 1993-94: 219 games (16 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Traded to Winnipeg with 6th round pick for Mats Lindgren, Boris Mironov, 1st round pick, and 4th round pick, March 15, 1994.

Manson was a star offensive defenseman in junior, who made his NHL debut with Chicago at the age of 19. By the 88-89 season he started to become a star, getting 54 points for Chicago from the backend. Prior to the start of the 91-92 season, the Oilers made a good hockey trade dealing Steve Smith to the Hawks for Manson. He immediately became their top defenseman, putting in two great seasons of 47 and 45 points. By his third season with the team, the Oilers were in full rebuild, and ended up dealing him at the deadline to Winnipeg for quite a haul (including the 4th overall pick--just don't look up who they used it on). Meanwhile Manson continued his NHL career, bouncing around to a half-dozen different teams, before finally hanging up his skates in 2002. Since retiring, Manson went into coaching, mostly in the WHL. He returned to the Oilers' organization as an assistant coach with Bakersfield since 2018. HIs son Josh (born 5 days after the Oilers acquired his dad) is currently playing with the Anaheim Ducks.

And now if you will allow me an indulgence, I will tell a brief personal story on why I've always liked Manson. Sometime during the 90-91 season, I was living in Calgary working a Saturday afternoon shift at a local business. Our manager was from Prince Albert and she was childhood friends with Manson. As she left for the day, she mentioned she was having lunch with him, since the Hawks were in town to play the Flames on HNIC that night. I had a huge loathing of Theoren Fleury at the time (didn't every Oiler fan?) and asked her if she would ask Manson to level Fleury for me. Sure enough when I watched the game that night, Manson got Fleury with a nice clean, hard check into the boards. The next day at work, I asked my manager if she passed along my message, and she said she did and Manson laughed and replied he would do his best. Now, I'm sure Manson would have made that hit no matter what, but it always made me feel good to think that maybe I had some direct influence on that hit, and it made me love Manson. Thus I was really thrilled when he actually joined my team the next year. So on his 54th birthday, I wish him the happiest of days!


Liam Reddox
Born: January 27, 1986 (turns 35 today) in Whitby, ON.
Position: Left Wing (shoots left).
Acquired by Oilers: Drafted 112th overall, June 27, 2004.
Oilers Career: 2007-08 to 2010-11: 100 games (0 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Left to play in Sweden after 10-11 season.

"The Red Ox" was an Oiler 4th rounder who slowly worked his way up through the proper channels, finishing his junior career in the OHL and then 1 year in the ECHL, followed by the AHL. From the 07-08 season to the 10-11 season he would split time between the AHL affiliate and the Oilers, managing a total of 100 games with the Oilers, mostly during the 08-09 and 10-11 seasons. While he had some scoring touch at the minor level, with the Oilers he was mostly a gritty checking forward. Following the 10-11 season the Oilers chose not to renew his contract and he left to play in the Swedish league. He would stay for eight years until switching to the British Elite League in 2019, where he plays to this day. A happy 34th to Liam.



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 Re: January 27 [message #773840 is a reply to message #773834 ]
Wed, 27 January 2021 12:04 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Adam  is currently offline Adam
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benv wrote on Wed, 27 January 2021 10:09

Ugh, I'm still raw from last night. Blowing third period leads are the worst kind of losses. But we must soldier on:


Dave Manson
Born: January 27, 1967 (turns 54 today) in Prince Albert, SK.
Position: Defense (shoots left)
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by Chicago (with 3rd round pick) for Steve Smith, October 2, 1991.
Oilers Career: 1991-92 to 1993-94: 219 games (16 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Traded to Winnipeg with 6th round pick for Mats Lindgren, Boris Mironov, 1st round pick, and 4th round pick, March 15, 1994.

Manson was a star offensive defenseman in junior, who made his NHL debut with Chicago at the age of 19. By the 88-89 season he started to become a star, getting 54 points for Chicago from the backend. Prior to the start of the 91-92 season, the Oilers made a good hockey trade dealing Steve Smith to the Hawks for Manson. He immediately became their top defenseman, putting in two great seasons of 47 and 45 points. By his third season with the team, the Oilers were in full rebuild, and ended up dealing him at the deadline to Winnipeg for quite a haul (including the 4th overall pick--just don't look up who they used it on). Meanwhile Manson continued his NHL career, bouncing around to a half-dozen different teams, before finally hanging up his skates in 2002. Since retiring, Manson went into coaching, mostly in the WHL. He returned to the Oilers' organization as an assistant coach with Bakersfield since 2018. HIs son Josh (born 5 days after the Oilers acquired his dad) is currently playing with the Anaheim Ducks.

And now if you will allow me an indulgence, I will tell a brief personal story on why I've always liked Manson. Sometime during the 90-91 season, I was living in Calgary working a Saturday afternoon shift at a local business. Our manager was from Prince Albert and she was childhood friends with Manson. As she left for the day, she mentioned she was having lunch with him, since the Hawks were in town to play the Flames on HNIC that night. I had a huge loathing of Theoren Fleury at the time (didn't every Oiler fan?) and asked her if she would ask Manson to level Fleury for me. Sure enough when I watched the game that night, Manson got Fleury with a nice clean, hard check into the boards. The next day at work, I asked my manager if she passed along my message, and she said she did and Manson laughed and replied he would do his best. Now, I'm sure Manson would have made that hit no matter what, but it always made me feel good to think that maybe I had some direct influence on that hit, and it made me love Manson. Thus I was really thrilled when he actually joined my team the next year. So on his 54th birthday, I wish him the happiest of days!


Liam Reddox
Born: January 27, 1986 (turns 35 today) in Whitby, ON.
Position: Left Wing (shoots left).
Acquired by Oilers: Drafted 112th overall, June 27, 2004.
Oilers Career: 2007-08 to 2010-11: 100 games (0 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Left to play in Sweden after 10-11 season.

"The Red Ox" was an Oiler 4th rounder who slowly worked his way up through the proper channels, finishing his junior career in the OHL and then 1 year in the ECHL, followed by the AHL. From the 07-08 season to the 10-11 season he would split time between the AHL affiliate and the Oilers, managing a total of 100 games with the Oilers, mostly during the 08-09 and 10-11 seasons. While he had some scoring touch at the minor level, with the Oilers he was mostly a gritty checking forward. Following the 10-11 season the Oilers chose not to renew his contract and he left to play in the Swedish league. He would stay for eight years until switching to the British Elite League in 2019, where he plays to this day. A happy 34th to Liam.



Amazing Manson story. I always liked him here. He and MacIver were a pretty strong pairing, just at the point the Oilers started to go straight down the standings. Sather did pretty well on both trades too. Manson pretty much matched Steve Smith over those three years for both production and playing with an edge, and then Mironov pretty quickly developed in to a really good replacement for Manson too (plus I always liked Mats Lindgren).

I also always loved the story about Manson snapping and just about ending Mike Keenan over the mind games Keenan was famous for.

Reddox was the Patrick Russell of his day. I just remember him playing multiple games with Hemsky and Horcoff on the first line and getting glorious chance after chance but with zero hands.



"Thinking that a bad team's best players are the reason the team is bad is the "Tambellini re-signing Lennart Petrell" of sports opinions." @Woodguy55
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 Re: January 27 [message #773871 is a reply to message #773840 ]
Wed, 27 January 2021 17:29 Go to previous messageGo to next message
welcometotheOC  is currently offline welcometotheOC
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Location: Also, sadly, Cowtown

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Adam wrote on Wed, 27 January 2021 12:04

benv wrote on Wed, 27 January 2021 10:09

Ugh, I'm still raw from last night. Blowing third period leads are the worst kind of losses. But we must soldier on:


Dave Manson
Born: January 27, 1967 (turns 54 today) in Prince Albert, SK.
Position: Defense (shoots left)
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by Chicago (with 3rd round pick) for Steve Smith, October 2, 1991.
Oilers Career: 1991-92 to 1993-94: 219 games (16 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Traded to Winnipeg with 6th round pick for Mats Lindgren, Boris Mironov, 1st round pick, and 4th round pick, March 15, 1994.

Manson was a star offensive defenseman in junior, who made his NHL debut with Chicago at the age of 19. By the 88-89 season he started to become a star, getting 54 points for Chicago from the backend. Prior to the start of the 91-92 season, the Oilers made a good hockey trade dealing Steve Smith to the Hawks for Manson. He immediately became their top defenseman, putting in two great seasons of 47 and 45 points. By his third season with the team, the Oilers were in full rebuild, and ended up dealing him at the deadline to Winnipeg for quite a haul (including the 4th overall pick--just don't look up who they used it on). Meanwhile Manson continued his NHL career, bouncing around to a half-dozen different teams, before finally hanging up his skates in 2002. Since retiring, Manson went into coaching, mostly in the WHL. He returned to the Oilers' organization as an assistant coach with Bakersfield since 2018. HIs son Josh (born 5 days after the Oilers acquired his dad) is currently playing with the Anaheim Ducks.

And now if you will allow me an indulgence, I will tell a brief personal story on why I've always liked Manson. Sometime during the 90-91 season, I was living in Calgary working a Saturday afternoon shift at a local business. Our manager was from Prince Albert and she was childhood friends with Manson. As she left for the day, she mentioned she was having lunch with him, since the Hawks were in town to play the Flames on HNIC that night. I had a huge loathing of Theoren Fleury at the time (didn't every Oiler fan?) and asked her if she would ask Manson to level Fleury for me. Sure enough when I watched the game that night, Manson got Fleury with a nice clean, hard check into the boards. The next day at work, I asked my manager if she passed along my message, and she said she did and Manson laughed and replied he would do his best. Now, I'm sure Manson would have made that hit no matter what, but it always made me feel good to think that maybe I had some direct influence on that hit, and it made me love Manson. Thus I was really thrilled when he actually joined my team the next year. So on his 54th birthday, I wish him the happiest of days!


Liam Reddox
Born: January 27, 1986 (turns 35 today) in Whitby, ON.
Position: Left Wing (shoots left).
Acquired by Oilers: Drafted 112th overall, June 27, 2004.
Oilers Career: 2007-08 to 2010-11: 100 games (0 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Left to play in Sweden after 10-11 season.

"The Red Ox" was an Oiler 4th rounder who slowly worked his way up through the proper channels, finishing his junior career in the OHL and then 1 year in the ECHL, followed by the AHL. From the 07-08 season to the 10-11 season he would split time between the AHL affiliate and the Oilers, managing a total of 100 games with the Oilers, mostly during the 08-09 and 10-11 seasons. While he had some scoring touch at the minor level, with the Oilers he was mostly a gritty checking forward. Following the 10-11 season the Oilers chose not to renew his contract and he left to play in the Swedish league. He would stay for eight years until switching to the British Elite League in 2019, where he plays to this day. A happy 34th to Liam.



Amazing Manson story. I always liked him here. He and MacIver were a pretty strong pairing, just at the point the Oilers started to go straight down the standings. Sather did pretty well on both trades too. Manson pretty much matched Steve Smith over those three years for both production and playing with an edge, and then Mironov pretty quickly developed in to a really good replacement for Manson too (plus I always liked Mats Lindgren).

I also always loved the story about Manson snapping and just about ending Mike Keenan over the mind games Keenan was famous for.

Reddox was the Patrick Russell of his day. I just remember him playing multiple games with Hemsky and Horcoff on the first line and getting glorious chance after chance but with zero hands.


And I've always hated that Bonsignore pick...



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 Re: January 27 [message #773895 is a reply to message #773871 ]
Thu, 28 January 2021 08:57 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Adam  is currently offline Adam
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welcometotheOC wrote on Wed, 27 January 2021 17:29


And I've always hated that Bonsignore pick...


Just remember that Sather converted Bonsignore, Steve Kelly and Bryan Marchment in to Roman Hamrlik, who was better than just about anyone in that 1994 draft. Bonsignore was a bust, but just look at this first round - it's pretty ugly.

https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl1994e.html

There was really no one we would have gotten at #4 who later we would have thought was an amazing pick. Ryan Smyth is the highest scoring player out of the first round by 300+ points.



"Thinking that a bad team's best players are the reason the team is bad is the "Tambellini re-signing Lennart Petrell" of sports opinions." @Woodguy55
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 Re: January 27 [message #773919 is a reply to message #773895 ]
Thu, 28 January 2021 11:40 Go to previous messageGo to next message
welcometotheOC  is currently offline welcometotheOC
Messages: 612
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Location: Also, sadly, Cowtown

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Adam wrote on Thu, 28 January 2021 08:57

welcometotheOC wrote on Wed, 27 January 2021 17:29


And I've always hated that Bonsignore pick...


Just remember that Sather converted Bonsignore, Steve Kelly and Bryan Marchment in to Roman Hamrlik, who was better than just about anyone in that 1994 draft. Bonsignore was a bust, but just look at this first round - it's pretty ugly.

https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl1994e.html

There was really no one we would have gotten at #4 who later we would have thought was an amazing pick. Ryan Smyth is the highest scoring player out of the first round by 300+ points.



Thanks, didn't realize it was 2012 bad. Hey, that Ethan Moreau guy would have been a great pick at 4 - captain material icon_lol



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 Re: January 27 [message #773931 is a reply to message #773919 ]
Thu, 28 January 2021 13:12 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Adam  is currently offline Adam
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welcometotheOC wrote on Thu, 28 January 2021 11:40

Adam wrote on Thu, 28 January 2021 08:57

welcometotheOC wrote on Wed, 27 January 2021 17:29


And I've always hated that Bonsignore pick...


Just remember that Sather converted Bonsignore, Steve Kelly and Bryan Marchment in to Roman Hamrlik, who was better than just about anyone in that 1994 draft. Bonsignore was a bust, but just look at this first round - it's pretty ugly.

https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl1994e.html

There was really no one we would have gotten at #4 who later we would have thought was an amazing pick. Ryan Smyth is the highest scoring player out of the first round by 300+ points.



Thanks, didn't realize it was 2012 bad. Hey, that Ethan Moreau guy would have been a great pick at 4 - captain material icon_lol


It's a pretty good comparable. The Oilers have been a little unlucky in that two of the handful of drafts where we've had exceptionally high picks have been two of the worst draft years ever.

That mid-1990s period though was a weird black hole. In 1995, there's Iginla, and then a massive drop to Shane Doan (both of whom the Oilers could have had at #6 and there are only 4 other players who scored over 500 points (Sykora, Savard, Langkow, Dvorak). 1996 is even worse. Matt Cullen, with 731 points is the highest scoring player in the draft. Best player by a country mile is Zdeno Chara (657 points). Only players with 500 points are Briere (696), Zubrus (591), T. Kaberle (563) and Dumont (523). Three years in a row where the just wasn't much to be had, and the first round looks awful in hindsight.

Compare that to 1993 where 15 players had 500 or more points, or 1997 which only had 7 over 500, but three of those scores 1100 or more. 1998 had 13 guys over 500.

The Oilers are just bad at choosing the wrong years to suck. Although - that said - I don't think we can complain now...



"Thinking that a bad team's best players are the reason the team is bad is the "Tambellini re-signing Lennart Petrell" of sports opinions." @Woodguy55
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 January 28 [message #773899 is a reply to message #771063 ]
Thu, 28 January 2021 09:42 Go to previous messageGo to next message
benv  is currently offline benv
Messages: 546
Registered: May 2006
Location: Edmonton

No Cups

A busy day with four players on the agenda:


Colin Campbell
Born: January 28, 1953 (turns 68 today) in London, ON.
Position: Defenseman (shoots left)
Acquired by Oilers: Claimed from Pittsburgh in expansion draft, June 13, 1979.
Oilers Career: 1979-80: 72 games (3 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Claimed on waivers by Vancouver, October 10. 1980.

Campbell was a gritty defenseman who carved himself a decent NHL career that spanned ten years and 636 games where he rarely played in the minors. His one year on the Oilers came in the middle when the Oilers got him in the expansion draft for their first NHL season. He played the entire season with the team as one of their regular blueliners, but they opted to let him go on waivers to Vancouver prior to the start of the following season. After retiring in 1985, Campbell went into coaching, first as an assistant with the Red Wings and eventually as head coach with the Rangers (right after their cup win). After the Rangers canned him 1998, Campbell took on the role he is most known for as he became the NHLs Senior Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations, a position he holds to this day. He's had his share of controversies in this role (I'll let you look those up yourself if you don't know), but we'll look past that today and wish him a happy 68th.


Cal Sandbeck
Born: January 28, 1956 (turns 65 today) in International Falls, Minnesota.
Position: Defenseman (shoots left).
Acquired by Oilers: Signed as free agent, June 1977.
Oilers Career: 1977-78 to 1978-79: 17 games (5 playoff games)
Left Oilers: Not re-signed following 78-79 season.

Sandbeck was a US college defenseman who scored a contract with the WHA Oilers in 1977. He got in 11 games at the end of his first season and was even used in the playoffs. The next year he only played 6 games for the Oilers, spending the rest in the minors and they chose not bring him back after that. This would be Sandbeck's only taste of the big leagues as he would retire shortly thereafter in 1980. No info on what he's been up to the last 40 years so let's just wish him a happy 65th.


Mark Napier
Born: January 28, 1957 (turns 64 today) in Toronto, ON.
Position: Right Wing (shoots left).
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by Minnesota for Terry Martin and Gord Sherven, January 24, 1985.
Oilers Career: 1984-85 to 1986-87: 175 games (28 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Traded to Buffalo (with Lee Fogolin and 4th round pick) for Normand Lacombe, Wayne Van Dorp and 4th round pick.

Napier had been a high scoring winger in the WHA and then with the Canadiens and North Stars in the NHL when the Oilers dealt a couple of younger players to Minnesota to acquire him to boost their offense for their cup defense season. Napier fit right in with the Oilers (if I recall he played a lot with Messier and Anderson) getting over a point a game in 84-85 and contributing to their cup win. He played every game for the team in 85-86, but then saw his production start to slip the following year. The Oilers shuffled him off to Buffalo (with former captain Lee Fogolin) at the trade deadline in 1987. After a few years there he would play in Italy until retiring in 1993. After coaching in junior for a while he became president of the NHL alumni association, which he held until 2016. To this day he remains an executive director. A happy 64th to Mark.


Colin Fraser
Born: January 28, 1985 (turns 36 today) in Sicamous, BC.
Position: Centre/Left Wing (shoots left)
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by Chicago for 6th round pick, June 24, 2010.
Oilers Career: 2010-11: 67 games (0 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Traded to Los Angeles (with 7th round pick) for Ryan Smyth, June 26, 2011.

Fraser was a depth forward who played one year with the Oilers sandwiched between his two cup wins. The Hawks dealt him to Edmonton after their 2010 cup win as they had to trim salary. Fraser ended up playing one year in Edmonton, where he was hardly a scorer but contributed as a penalty killer and fourth line centre/winger. In June 2011, Fraser ended up being the price to get Ryan Smyth back to town as the Oilers sent him to the Kings. Things worked out well for Fraser though, as he would be part of their cup victory that year (though he would miss out in 2014, due to not playing in the playoffs). After being sent to the AHL in 2014, he played a couple of months in Germany before retiring in November, 2015. Since then, Fraser has worked as a scout with the Blackhawks. Happy 36th Colin.



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 January 29 [message #774122 is a reply to message #771063 ]
Fri, 29 January 2021 12:05 Go to previous messageGo to next message
benv  is currently offline benv
Messages: 546
Registered: May 2006
Location: Edmonton

No Cups

I said at the beginning that I would report on coaches and GMs as well as players--we finally get our first coach appearance today:

Pat Quinn
Born: January 29, 1943 in Hamilton, ON.
Coached Oilers: 2009-10: 82 games (0 playoff games)
Died: November 23, 2014 (age 71) in Vancouver, BC.

Quinn was a late blooming defenseman, not playing his first NHL game until he was 25. Once he arrived though, he never played in the minors again, enjoying an eight year career with Toronto, Vancouver, and Atlanta before retiring in 1977. He immediately went into coaching, getting the head job with the Flyers in 1978. He would coach the Flyers for 4 years (made the finals in 1980), the Kings for two and a half, the Canucks for ten (as GM and coach--made the finals in 1994), and then the Leafs for seven, finishing up in 2006. Following his dismissal with Toronto he coached Canada at the Spengler cup and the World junior team. He returned to the NHL when the Oilers hired him as their head coach for the 2009-10 season, replacing the long time MacTavish. The season did not turn out well as the Oilers finished with only 27 wins and finished dead last in the league for the first time in their history. The disastrous season caused Quinn to be "moved" to a senior advisor position (even he admitted he got fired) and replaced by his associate coach, Tom Renney. He left this position after one year, and retired to Vancouver. He died of an undisclosed illness in November 2014 at the age of 71. He was elected to the HHOF as builder in 2016. While his time with the Oilers was hardly memorable (I would say both due to a poor team and an outdated approach) he certainly had his NHL success. RIP Pat.


Glen Cochrane
Born: January 29, 1958 (turns 63 today) in Cranbrook, BC.
Position: Defenseman (shoots left)
Acquired by Oilers: Claimed on waivers from Chicago, November 7, 1988.
Oilers Career: 1988-89: 12 games (0 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Retired in 1989.

Cochrane was a tough, bruising defenseman that came up through the Flyers organization in the early 80s. After brief stints in Vancouver and Chicago, the Oilers picked him up on waivers during the 88-89 season. He would only play 12 games for them (0 points and 52 penalty minutes) and then decided to hang up the skates for good following the season. Following his career, Cochrane went into coaching working as an assistant with Kelowna in the WHL for three seasons. He then went on to scouting, working six years with the Avalanche, and then the last 13 years with the Anaheim Ducks. A happy 63rd to Glen.

Steve Passmore
Born: January 29, 1973 (turns 48 today) in Thunder Bay, ON.
Position: Goalie (catches left)
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by Quebec for Brad Werenka, March 21, 1994.
Oilers Career: 1998-99: 6 games (0 playoff games)
Left Oilers: Signed as free agent by Chicago, July 8, 1999.

Passmore was a goaltending prospect in the Nordiques system when the Oilers swapped Brad Werenka (a fairly highly rated defensive prospect) for him. Passmore had some struggles in the Oilers' system missing almost the entire 95-96 season with heavy metal poisoning. He did recover and eventually worked his way to being the Oilers number 3 guy behind Joseph and Essensa. He finally got his NHL shot in 1999, when the Oilers traded Mikhail Shtalenkov and made Passmore the backup to Essensa. He got in 6 games with the team recording ok numbers (but only 1 win) before the Oilers traded for Tommy Salo and Passmore was back in the minors. He left as a free agent the following year and spent the next five years splitting time between being an NHL backup and a minor league starter. He went to Europe during the NHL lockout and finished his career there before retiring in 2007. He currently enjoys his retirement in Kelowna. Happy 48th to Steve.



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 Re: January 29 [message #774146 is a reply to message #774122 ]
Fri, 29 January 2021 15:55 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Adam  is currently offline Adam
Messages: 6765
Registered: August 2005
Location: Edmonton, AB

6 Cups

benv wrote on Fri, 29 January 2021 12:05


Steve Passmore
Born: January 29, 1973 (turns 48 today) in Thunder Bay, ON.
Position: Goalie (catches left)
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by Quebec for Brad Werenka, March 21, 1994.
Oilers Career: 1998-99: 6 games (0 playoff games)
Left Oilers: Signed as free agent by Chicago, July 8, 1999.

Passmore was a goaltending prospect in the Nordiques system when the Oilers swapped Brad Werenka (a fairly highly rated defensive prospect) for him. Passmore had some struggles in the Oilers' system missing almost the entire 95-96 season with heavy metal poisoning. He did recover and eventually worked his way to being the Oilers number 3 guy behind Joseph and Essensa. He finally got his NHL shot in 1999, when the Oilers traded Mikhail Shtalenkov and made Passmore the backup to Essensa. He got in 6 games with the team recording ok numbers (but only 1 win) before the Oilers traded for Tommy Salo and Passmore was back in the minors. He left as a free agent the following year and spent the next five years splitting time between being an NHL backup and a minor league starter. He went to Europe during the NHL lockout and finished his career there before retiring in 2007. He currently enjoys his retirement in Kelowna. Happy 48th to Steve.



The funniest thing about Passmore was that he took his mask off at every stoppage - because he wanted face recognition with the ladies!



"Thinking that a bad team's best players are the reason the team is bad is the "Tambellini re-signing Lennart Petrell" of sports opinions." @Woodguy55
#FireLowe #FireBobbyNicks #FireKenHolland #FireKeithGretzky

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 Re: January 29 [message #774155 is a reply to message #774146 ]
Fri, 29 January 2021 16:35 Go to previous messageGo to next message
CrusaderPi  is currently offline CrusaderPi
Messages: 7597
Registered: December 2003
Location: AB Highway 100

6 Cups

Adam wrote on Fri, 29 January 2021 15:55

benv wrote on Fri, 29 January 2021 12:05


Steve Passmore
Born: January 29, 1973 (turns 48 today) in Thunder Bay, ON.
Position: Goalie (catches left)
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by Quebec for Brad Werenka, March 21, 1994.
Oilers Career: 1998-99: 6 games (0 playoff games)
Left Oilers: Signed as free agent by Chicago, July 8, 1999.

Passmore was a goaltending prospect in the Nordiques system when the Oilers swapped Brad Werenka (a fairly highly rated defensive prospect) for him. Passmore had some struggles in the Oilers' system missing almost the entire 95-96 season with heavy metal poisoning. He did recover and eventually worked his way to being the Oilers number 3 guy behind Joseph and Essensa. He finally got his NHL shot in 1999, when the Oilers traded Mikhail Shtalenkov and made Passmore the backup to Essensa. He got in 6 games with the team recording ok numbers (but only 1 win) before the Oilers traded for Tommy Salo and Passmore was back in the minors. He left as a free agent the following year and spent the next five years splitting time between being an NHL backup and a minor league starter. He went to Europe during the NHL lockout and finished his career there before retiring in 2007. He currently enjoys his retirement in Kelowna. Happy 48th to Steve.



The funniest thing about Passmore was that he took his mask off at every stoppage - because he wanted face recognition with the ladies!

Which makes sense. They didn't have social media and DMs to slide into back then. They had to go the Gateway Lanes and earn it.



Please do not feed the bears. Feeding the bears creates a dependent population unable to survive on their own. Bears.

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 Re: January 29 [message #774163 is a reply to message #774155 ]
Fri, 29 January 2021 22:13 Go to previous messageGo to next message
stemhovlichski  is currently offline stemhovlichski
Messages: 346
Registered: March 2006
Location: NSR

No Cups

CrusaderPi wrote on Fri, 29 January 2021 16:35

Adam wrote on Fri, 29 January 2021 15:55

benv wrote on Fri, 29 January 2021 12:05


Steve Passmore
Born: January 29, 1973 (turns 48 today) in Thunder Bay, ON.
Position: Goalie (catches left)
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by Quebec for Brad Werenka, March 21, 1994.
Oilers Career: 1998-99: 6 games (0 playoff games)
Left Oilers: Signed as free agent by Chicago, July 8, 1999.

Passmore was a goaltending prospect in the Nordiques system when the Oilers swapped Brad Werenka (a fairly highly rated defensive prospect) for him. Passmore had some struggles in the Oilers' system missing almost the entire 95-96 season with heavy metal poisoning. He did recover and eventually worked his way to being the Oilers number 3 guy behind Joseph and Essensa. He finally got his NHL shot in 1999, when the Oilers traded Mikhail Shtalenkov and made Passmore the backup to Essensa. He got in 6 games with the team recording ok numbers (but only 1 win) before the Oilers traded for Tommy Salo and Passmore was back in the minors. He left as a free agent the following year and spent the next five years splitting time between being an NHL backup and a minor league starter. He went to Europe during the NHL lockout and finished his career there before retiring in 2007. He currently enjoys his retirement in Kelowna. Happy 48th to Steve.



The funniest thing about Passmore was that he took his mask off at every stoppage - because he wanted face recognition with the ladies!

Which makes sense. They didn't have social media and DMs to slide into back then. They had to go the Gateway Lanes and earn it.


More likely Goose Loonies!

Which made me Google "Goose Loonies" to find out when it became Thunderdome. Which led me to find out there's still a Goose Loonies in another city! Which led me to urge you who is reading this to Google where it is so you can be surprised like I was!!!



Restored: "We're sucking hind banana here." - Pat Quinn, Jan 18, 2010

"...the Oilers have been rebuilding for so long that it’s hard not to be cynical." - NBC's Ryan Dadoun Jan 2, 2015

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 January 30 [message #774174 is a reply to message #771063 ]
Sat, 30 January 2021 11:29 Go to previous messageGo to next message
benv  is currently offline benv
Messages: 546
Registered: May 2006
Location: Edmonton

No Cups

Three guys on the docket today, none of whom even played a full season with the team. See if you remember these names:


Don Nachbaur
Born: January 30, 1959 (turns 62 today) in Kitimat, BC.
Position: Centre (shoots left).
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by Hartford (with Ken Linseman) for Brent Loney and Risto Siltanen, August 19, 1982.
Oilers Career: 1982-83: 4 games (2 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Claimed on waivers by Los Angeles, October 3, 1983.

Nachbaur was a depth center, a ten year bubble NHLer who spent about 1/3 of his ten year North American pro career in the NHL and the rest in the AHL. The Oilers acquired him as a throw in when they swapped Risto Siltanen for Ken Linseman. He would spend one year in Edmonton getting in only 4 games (plus two in the playoffs) with the Oilers and spending the rest of the year in the AHL. He left the Oilers as a free agent the following season, spending most of the rest of his career in the Flyers organization. As with many bubble players, he tried his luck in Europe (Austria) in 1990 where he played until retiring in 1994. Nachbaur then went into coaching having served as an assistant or head coach across many leagues, including the WHL, AHL and NHL. Most recently he was a head coach in the Swiss league. Happy 63rd Don.


Darcy Martini
Born: January 30, 1969 (turns 52 today) in Castlegar, BC.
Position: Defenseman (shoots left).
Acquired by Oilers: Drafted 162nd overall, June 17, 1989.
Oilers Career: 1993-94: 2 games (0 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Left to play in Europe in 1996.

Martini was a career minor league defenseman, drafted in the late rounds when he was 20 years old. He spent a few years in the Oilers organization, but only got in 2 games with the team (the only two NHL games he would play). He tried his hand in Europe in 1996, playing in Germany, Austria, and Italy before retiring in 2002. Not sure what he's been up to since so I'll just wish him a happy 52nd.


Ryan Spooner
Born: January 30, 1992 (turns 29 today) in Ottawa, ON.
Position: Centre (shoots left)
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by NY Rangers for Ryan Strome, November 16, 2018.
Oilers Career: 2018-19: 25 games (0 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Traded to Vancouver for Sam Gagner, February 16, 2019.

Spooner was a scoring centre who had been putting up decent numbers at the NHL level, scoring 49, 39, and 41 points in three consecutive seasons. When he found himself struggling to start the 18-19 season, the Oilers swapped him for their own struggling player, Ryan Strome. I don't think it's controversial to say the trade was a bad one. Strome thrived (and as of this writing continues to thrive) in New York, while Spooner simply could not get things going in Edmonton. After he put up only 3 points in 25 games, they demoted him to Bakersfield, and finally exchanged him for another struggling player in Sam Gagner. Spooner finished out the season in Vancouver, before going to the KHL where he is in his second season with HC Dinamo Minsk. You weren't great here, Ryan, but I'll wish you a happy 29th nonetheless.



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 January 31 [message #774349 is a reply to message #771063 ]
Sun, 31 January 2021 11:17 Go to previous messageGo to next message
benv  is currently offline benv
Messages: 546
Registered: May 2006
Location: Edmonton

No Cups

We finish off January with four players:



Curt Brackenbury
Born: January 31, 1952 (turns 69 today) in Kapuskasing, ON.
Position: Left Wing (shoots left)
Acquired by Oilers: Claimed on waivers from Quebec, October 10, 1980.
Oilers Career: 1980-81 to 1981-82: 72 games (2 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Signed as free agent by St. Louis, October 1, 1982.

Brackenbury had been a WHA stalwart, a gritty checking forward with Minnesota and Quebec prior to coming to the Oilers on waivers prior to the 80-81 season. The Oilers used him liberally that year getting in 58 games and he became a fan favourite, but he was more out of favour the following season spending most of the 81-82 season in the Oilers' Wichita farm team. He signed with St. Louis the following year and then retired in 1983. Following his retirement, he got into boating. competing for Canada in the Americas cup in 1986. Not sure what he's been up to since, but a happy 69th to him.

Eddie Mio
Born: January 31, 1954 (turns 67 today) in Windsor, ON.
Position: Goalie (catches left)
Acquired by Oilers: Traded from Indianapolis (with Peter Driscoll and Wayne Gretzky) for cash, November 2, 1978.
Oilers Career: 1978-79 to 1980-81: 99 games (3 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Traded to NY Rangers for Lance Nethery, December 11, 1981.

Mio was just establishing himself in the WHA when the Oilers bought him from Indianapolis as part of the Gretzky sale. He backed up Dave Dryden for the 78-79 season. He then eventually took over as the starter in the Oilers' inaugral NHL season, until being relegated to back up when the Oilers acquired Ron Low. In 80-81 he took over the starting job from Low when the latter faltered, but was once again pushed aside later in the season when the Oilers acquired Gary Edwards and saw the emergence of a young Andy Moog. Despite playing more games than any other goalie in the Oilers' first two NHL seasons, he never saw one minute of playoff action (it was Low in 80 and Moog in 81). The following year, he became the Oilers' fourth goalie playing in the minors to start 81-82 when Grant Fuhr joined the team. He was dealt to the Rangers where he returned to the NHL, finishing his career with Detroit before retiring in 1986. In his retirement, Mio became a player agent, and then later became director of player development for the Phoenix Coyotes. A happy 67th to Eddie.

Bobby Dollas
Born: January 31, 1965 (turns 56 today) in Montreal, QU.
Position: Defense (shoots left)
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by Anaheim for Drew Bannister, January 9, 1998.
Oilers Career: 1997-98: 30 games (11 playoff games)
Left Oilers: Traded to Pittsburgh (with Tony Hrkac) for Jospeh Beranek, June 16, 1998.

Dollas was a veteran defenseman the Oilers acquired in 1998 to prepare for their playoff drive. Dollas proved a serviceable d-man, playing 30 games and 11 playoff games with the team, contributing to the upset playoff win over the Avalanche. This half season would be his only one with the Oilers as he was dealt in the offseason. He would play 3 more seasons in the pros, before returning to his home province of Quebec to play semi-pro and then finally retired for good in 2006. Since his retirement he's found himself as a hockey analyst on TSN radio in Montreal, as well as working as a hockey instructor. Happy 56th Bobby.


Gaetan Haas
Born: January 31, 1992 (turns 29 today) in Biel-Bienne, Switzerland
Position: Centre (shoots right)
Acquired by Oilers: Signed as free agent, July 1, 2019.
Oilers Career: 2019-20 to present: 58 games and counting (1 playoff game)

Haas was an undrafted player who had played nearly a decade in his native Switzerland when he started to attract some NHL interest. He finally came over in 2019 and joined the Oilers for the season, getting in 58 games, mostly as their third/fourth line centre. As I write this, we have yet to see him in 2021, as he heals from an injury. Hopefully he can help the Oilers steady their bottom 6 woes when he returns. A happy 29th Gaetan.


Hey I got through the first month of this. See you in February.




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 January summary [message #774361 is a reply to message #771063 ]
Sun, 31 January 2021 13:34 Go to previous messageGo to next message
benv  is currently offline benv
Messages: 546
Registered: May 2006
Location: Edmonton

No Cups

So I ran some basic stats on the players I've looked at so far.

As I mentioned earlier there has been exactly 700 players to suit up for the Oilers (could be 701 tonight if Skinner or Grosenick gets the start--we'll see). So if we expected an even distribution of birthdays across the year we would expect 700*31/365.25 = 59.4 players born in January. We actually had 81 which is way above expectation. This seems to lend support to the hypothesis that elite athletes are more likely to be born earlier in the year. In addition to the large number of players we also have McDavid, Messier, and Gretzky (I would say the three most prominent Oilers) all born in this month as well as Doug Weight, Esa Tikkanen, and Jacques Plante (okay, Plante's not an elite OILER, but he was an elite player).

81/59.4 = 1.36, so we were 36% above what was expected. I'll compute this number each month and see if it consistently goes down as we go later into the year.


I've also been keeping track whether players shoot/catch left or right just to see how even it really is. For the 81 players so far, here's the breakdown:

10 goalies: 9 catch left, 1 catches right
26 defencemen: 17 shoot left, 9 shoot right
45 forwards: 35 shoot left, 10 shoot right

Definitely a preponderance of lefties so far--I'll be curious to see how much that persists.



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 Re: January summary [message #774366 is a reply to message #774361 ]
Sun, 31 January 2021 14:23 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Adam  is currently offline Adam
Messages: 6765
Registered: August 2005
Location: Edmonton, AB

6 Cups

benv wrote on Sun, 31 January 2021 13:34

So I ran some basic stats on the players I've looked at so far.

As I mentioned earlier there has been exactly 700 players to suit up for the Oilers (could be 701 tonight if Skinner or Grosenick gets the start--we'll see). So if we expected an even distribution of birthdays across the year we would expect 700*31/365.25 = 59.4 players born in January. We actually had 81 which is way above expectation. This seems to lend support to the hypothesis that elite athletes are more likely to be born earlier in the year. In addition to the large number of players we also have McDavid, Messier, and Gretzky (I would say the three most prominent Oilers) all born in this month as well as Doug Weight, Esa Tikkanen, and Jacques Plante (okay, Plante's not an elite OILER, but he was an elite player).

81/59.4 = 1.36, so we were 36% above what was expected. I'll compute this number each month and see if it consistently goes down as we go later into the year.


I've also been keeping track whether players shoot/catch left or right just to see how even it really is. For the 81 players so far, here's the breakdown:

10 goalies: 9 catch left, 1 catches right
26 defencemen: 17 shoot left, 9 shoot right
45 forwards: 35 shoot left, 10 shoot right

Definitely a preponderance of lefties so far--I'll be curious to see how much that persists.


I do wonder if you'd see that right/left split narrowing over time too. When I was a kid, it seemed like there wasn't much concern about the having someone shooting the proper way on each wing and defence and there were relatively few right-shots on the Oilers. Anecdotally, it seems more common now, which may be because more kids play other sports first now, rather than just hockey. I have heard that American players who are right handed are more likely to shoot right in hockey, whereas Canadians traditionally have had righties shoot left and lefties shoot right.

On those old Oilers teams:

Left shots:
Gretzky
Messier
Anderson
Tikkanen
MacTavish
Krushelnyski
Hunter
Pouzar
Semenko
Buchberger
Coffey
Huddy
Lowe
Gregg
Muni
Smith
Jackson

Right Shots:
Kurri
Simpson
Lumley
Hughes
McClelland
McSorley
Fogolin
Beukeboom

That's a pretty huge tilt to left shots - we would have had a lot of games in those years where 5 of 6 defencemen shot left including everyone in the first two pairings.



"Thinking that a bad team's best players are the reason the team is bad is the "Tambellini re-signing Lennart Petrell" of sports opinions." @Woodguy55
#FireLowe #FireBobbyNicks #FireKenHolland #FireKeithGretzky

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 February 1 [message #774553 is a reply to message #771063 ]
Mon, 01 February 2021 10:03 Go to previous messageGo to next message
benv  is currently offline benv
Messages: 546
Registered: May 2006
Location: Edmonton

No Cups

We kick off a new month with five players:



Ken Baird
Born: February 1, 1951 in Flin Flon MB.
Position: Defense (shoots left)
Acquired by Oilers: Selected in General WHA player draft, February 12, 1972.
Oilers Career: 1972-73 to 1976-77; 1977-78: 276 games (10 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Signed as free agent by Calgary, November 1, 1976.
Reacquired by Oilers: Signed as free agent, May 31, 1977.
Left Oilers for good: Signed as free agent by Winnipeg, December 2, 1977.
Died: December 18, 2016 (age 65) of heart failure in Snow Lake, MB.

Baird was a true original Oiler being one of the players taken in the first general draft before the first WHA season. Baird immediately found a home in Edmonton, becoming one of their regular blue liners over their first four seasons. After only playing 2 games in the 76-77 season, Baird signed with rival Calgary, but would return to the Oilers the following season before leaving again (after only 7 games) for Winnipeg. Baird went to play in Germany following the 77-78 season, and finished his career there before retiring in 1982. He enjoyed his retirement back home in Manitoba before succumbing to heart failure in 2016 at the age of 65. RIP Ken.

Tommy Salo
Born: February 1, 1971 (turns 50 today) in Surahammar, Sweden.
Position: Goalie (catches left)
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by NY Islanders for Mats Lindgren and 8th round pick, March 20, 1999.
Oilers Career: 1998-99 to 2003-04: 334 games (21 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Traded to Colorado (with 6th round pick) for Tom Gilbert, March 9, 2004.

When the Oilers were desperate for a proven starter late in 98-99 season, Salo seemed like manna heaven. He came over from the NY Islanders relatively cheap and immediately stabilized the Oilers nets playing almost all the games (65 to 73 each season) through his first four full seasons with the team. His play started to drop off in the 03-04 season (possibly related to his famous "head goal" at the 2002 Olympics), and he soon found himself on the outs, and was dealt at the deadline to Colorado. Following the season he would return to Sweden and play three seasons there before retiring in 2007. Following his career he first went into coaching and then became a general manager in his native Sweden. He recently got into some legal trouble with a drunk driving conviction just a few days ago where he was sentenced to two months in prison. I'm sure it's not a great 50th for you Tommy--hope things get better soon and DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE!


Geoff Sanderson
Born: February 1, 1972 (turns 49 today) in Hay River, NWT.
Position: Left Wing (shoots left).
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by Philadelphia (with Joni Pitkanen and 3rd round pick) for Joffrey Lupul and Jason Smith, July 1, 2007.
Oilers Career: 2007-08: 41 games (0 playoff games)
Left Oilers: Retired in 2008.

Sanderson had been a high scoring winger for fifteen years in the NHL (once had 89 points with Hartford in 92-93) when he was traded to the Oilers in a blockbuster with the Flyers. His best years were behind him and he was a depth forward, playing half the games for the Oilers in 07-08. He retired at the end of the season. Following retirement, Sanderson spent a couple years in coaching and scouting, but soon gave that up in 2013 and formed his own business--an oil and gas rental company. Sanderson is the only player in Oiler history (so far) born in the Northwest Territories. A happy 49th to him.


Patrick O'Sullivan
Born: February 1, 1985 (turns 36 today) in Toronto, ON.
Position: Centre (shoots left).
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by Carolina (with 2nd round pick) for Erik Cole and 5th round pick, March 4, 2009.
Oilers Career: 2008-09 to 2009-10: 92 games (0 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Traded to Phoenix for Jim Vandermeer, June 30, 2010.

O'Sullivan was a supreme talent as a youth, but suffered from emotional and physical abuse from his father throughout his life which he claims affected his career. He had had a bit of success with the Kings when the Oilers acquired him at the deadline of the 08-09 season. He did manage to produce some points on a bad Oiler team over the remainder of the 08-09 season and the full 09-10 season, but was never a favourite among fans or coaches. As a result he was waived and then traded to Phoenix. He bounced around the NHL, AHL and one year in Europe before retiring in 2013. Following his retirement, O'Sullivan wrote a book on his life and currently enjoys his retirement raising his two sons. Happy 36th Patrick.


Ladislav Smid
Born: February 1, 1986 (turns 35 today) in Frydlant, Czechoslovakia
Position: Defense (shoots left)
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by Anaheim (with Joffrey Lupul, two 1st round picks and a 2nd round pick) for Chris Pronger, July 3, 2006.
Oilers Career: 2006-07 to 2013-14: 474 games (0 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Traded to Calgary (with Olivier Roy) for Laurent Brossoit and Roman Horak, November 8, 2013.

Smid was a young first round pick defenseman who came to the Oilers as one of the "five assets" the Oilers acquired when they were forced to deal Chris Pronger. Smid proved an apt defensive defenseman who could be relied on in his own zone. He toiled with the Oilers for over seven seasons; unfortunately he could never be part of a winning team here, as he is second (behind only Sam Gagner) in games played for the team without ever playing in the playoffs. He was dealt to Calgary early in the 13-14 season. He spent a lot of time in Calgary on the injured list (missing the entire 16-17 season) before returning to the Czech republic for the 17-18 season. He continues his career there to this day. A happy 35th to Ladislav.

[Updated on: Mon, 01 February 2021 15:08]


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 Re: February 1 [message #774704 is a reply to message #774553 ]
Tue, 02 February 2021 17:08 Go to previous messageGo to next message
oilfan94  is currently offline oilfan94
Messages: 330
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Location: USA

No Cups

benv wrote on Mon, 01 February 2021 12:03

We kick off a new month with five players:

Geoff Sanderson
Born: February 1, 1972 (turns 49 today) in Hay River, NWT.
Position: Left Wing (shoots left).
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by Philadelphia (with Joni Pitkanen and 3rd round pick) for Joffrey Lupul and Jason Smith, July 1, 2007.
Oilers Career: 2007-08: 41 games (0 playoff games)
Left Oilers: Retired in 2008.

Sanderson had been a high scoring winger for fifteen years in the NHL (once had 89 points with Hartford in 92-93) when he was traded to the Oilers in a blockbuster with the Flyers. His best years were behind him and he was a depth forward, playing half the games for the Oilers in 07-08. He retired at the end of the season. Following retirement, Sanderson spent a couple years in coaching and scouting, but soon gave that up in 2013 and formed his own business--an oil and gas rental company. Sanderson is the only player in Oiler history (so far) born in the Northwest Territories. A happy 49th to him.




Sanderson was one of my favourite non Oilers players before they acquired him. It is a real shame that it was his last season that he spent in Edmonton, and they didn't manage to get him any sooner than that. He had a weird up and down career since he was really good in Hartford, but then not so much in Buffalo (in 1999 he was outscored that year by guys like Brian Holzinger and Michal Grosek) then ended up being really solid on those early Blue Jackets teams. He was always crazy fast though, and I seem to remember him winning the fasted skater at the Oilers team competition in 2008 despite the fact that he was 35, and it's not like the 2008 team was that awful either.



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 February 2 [message #774627 is a reply to message #771063 ]
Tue, 02 February 2021 09:52 Go to previous messageGo to next message
benv  is currently offline benv
Messages: 546
Registered: May 2006
Location: Edmonton

No Cups

Just a couple of short term Oilers that call Groundhog day their birthday:



Dave Donnelly
Born: February 2, 1962 (turns 59 today) in Edmonton, AB.
Position: Centre (shoots left).
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by Chicago for cash, October 19, 1987.
Oilers Career: 1987-88: 4 games (0 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Left to play in Europe after 87-88 season.

There's very little info on Donnelly that I can find. He was a 2nd round pick back in 1981 getting a bunch of points and PIMS in the AJHL. He played some US college hockey (North Dakota) and then played in the NHL first with the Bruins then the Hawks. He played 71 games for the Hawks in 86-87 so he must have had something going on. The Oilers bought his contract for the 87-88 season, but he only played 4 games for them (no record of any minor league time--was he injured?). He tried his luck in Europe for two seasons before returning to North America and playing in the AHL and the Canadian National Team, before retiring in 1992. He's off the grid since then, so wherever you are Dave, happy 59th.


Ilya Byakin
Born: February 2, 1963 (turns 58 today) in Sverdlovsk, USSR.
Position: Defense (shoots left).
Acquired by Oilers: Drafted 267th overall, June 26, 1993.
Oilers Career: 1993-94: 44 games (0 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Signed as free agent by San Jose, September 18, 1994.

When the Oilers drafted Byakin in 1993, he was already 30 years old and had had a long prosperous career in Russia. He came to Edmonton for the 93-94 season and after putting up 11 points in 12 games in Cape Breton, he graduated to the big team and proceeded to put up 28 points in 44 games--impressive numbers from the back end. For whatever reason, the Oilers were not impressed enough to keep him around and let him walk when he signed with the Sharks the following year. After just 13 games with San Jose he would return to Europe (Swedish elite league) in 1995. He came back to North America to play a couple of years in the IHL, but then returned to Russia, playing into his 40s before retiring in 2004. I hope he's doing well and I wish him a happy 58th.



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 Re: February 2 [message #774629 is a reply to message #774627 ]
Tue, 02 February 2021 10:25 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Adam  is currently offline Adam
Messages: 6765
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Location: Edmonton, AB

6 Cups

benv wrote on Tue, 02 February 2021 09:52


Ilya Byakin
Born: February 2, 1963 (turns 58 today) in Sverdlovsk, USSR.
Position: Defense (shoots left).
Acquired by Oilers: Drafted 267th overall, June 26, 1993.
Oilers Career: 1993-94: 44 games (0 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Signed as free agent by San Jose, September 18, 1994.

When the Oilers drafted Byakin in 1993, he was already 30 years old and had had a long prosperous career in Russia. He came to Edmonton for the 93-94 season and after putting up 11 points in 12 games in Cape Breton, he graduated to the big team and proceeded to put up 28 points in 44 games--impressive numbers from the back end. For whatever reason, the Oilers were not impressed enough to keep him around and let him walk when he signed with the Sharks the following year. After just 13 games with San Jose he would return to Europe (Swedish elite league) in 1995. He came back to North America to play a couple of years in the IHL, but then returned to Russia, playing into his 40s before retiring in 2004. I hope he's doing well and I wish him a happy 58th.



Ilya Byakin was awesome. Defenceman who was more a bit of a rover. He seemed to be all over the ice. My favourite play ever was one where he was involved in a bit of a collision with the other team's goalie and lost his stick. Picked up the goalie's stick and tried to take a shot with it. Turns out, that's a penalty! Only time I've ever seen it called.



"Thinking that a bad team's best players are the reason the team is bad is the "Tambellini re-signing Lennart Petrell" of sports opinions." @Woodguy55
#FireLowe #FireBobbyNicks #FireKenHolland #FireKeithGretzky

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 Re: February 2 [message #774651 is a reply to message #774629 ]
Tue, 02 February 2021 11:55 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Dragon_Matt  is currently offline Dragon_Matt
Messages: 702
Registered: January 2009
Location: edmonton

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In Soviet Union, goalie shoot on you.


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 February 3 [message #774857 is a reply to message #771063 ]
Wed, 03 February 2021 09:48 Go to previous messageGo to next message
benv  is currently offline benv
Messages: 546
Registered: May 2006
Location: Edmonton

No Cups

Just a single player with a single game played today:


Tommy Lehmann
Born: February 3, 1964 (turns 57 today) in Stockholm Sweden.
Position: Centre (shoots left)
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by Boston for 3rd round pick, June 17, 1989.
Oilers Career: 1989-90: 1 game (0 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Left to play in Sweden in 1990.

Lehmann was a Swedish centre who came over to North America with the Bruins organization in 1987. After playing 35 games with the Bruins over two seasons the Oilers got him for a draft pick in 1989. He would only play one game for the team, spending most of the year in Cape Breton. In 1990 he returned to Sweden and finished off his career there, before retiring in 1997. No info on what he's been up to since--happy 57th Tommy.



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 February 4 [message #774948 is a reply to message #771063 ]
Thu, 04 February 2021 09:54 Go to previous messageGo to next message
benv  is currently offline benv
Messages: 546
Registered: May 2006
Location: Edmonton

No Cups

Three players celebrating a birthday today--all fairly recent Oilers, so you should know these guys:


Jerred Smithson
Born: February 4, 1979 (turns 42 today) in Vernon, BC.
Position: Centre (shoots right)
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by Florida for 4th round pick, April 3, 2013.
Oilers Career: 2012-13: 10 games (0 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Signed as free agent by Toronto, November 6, 2013.

Smithson was a defensive centre, playing a long time with Nashville and Florida--he had nearly 600 games under his belt by the time he was an Oiler. If he is remembered by Oiler fans, it's as their only acquisition at the 2013 trade deadline when they were hoping for some help for a playoff drive for the first time since 2006. When all they got was Smithson there was definitely some disappointment. Smithson played 10 games with the Oilers (who flopped mightily at the end of that season, missing the playoffs again) and then signed with Toronto the following year. The Leafs cut him loose after 13-14, and he tried one year in the Danish league before retiring in 2016. Hope you are well Jerred and happy 42nd.


Mark Letestu
Born: February 4, 1985 (turns 36 today) in Elk Point, AB.
Position: Centre (shoots right)
Acquired by Oilers: Signed as free agent, July 1, 2015.
Oilers Career: 2015-16 to 2017-18: 220 games (13 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Traded to Nashville for Pontus Aberg, February 25, 2018.

Similar to Smithson, Letestu was a right handed defensive centre, but with more offensive upside. He signed as a free agent with the Oilers after six seasons with Pittsburgh and Columbus and established himself as their go to third/fourth line centre. During the 16-17 season, he got his career highs in goals (16) and points (35) and had a spectacular playoffs, getting 11 points in 13 games (second only to Draisaitl and ahead of McDavid!). He found himself back in Columbus (via Nashville) near the trade deadline in 2018 as the Oilers were shedding their expiring contracts during another missed playoff season. After spending most of the 18-19 season in the AHL, he tried his luck in Winnipeg for the 19-20 season, but only played in 7 games due to heart muscle inflammation. He officially announced his retirement just over a month ago (Dec 2020). Happy retirement and happy 36th Mark.

Darnell Nurse
Born: February 4, 1995 (turns 26 today) in Hamilton, ON.
Position: Defenseman (shoots left).
Acquired by Oilers: Drafted 7th overall, June 30, 2013.
Oilers Career: 2014-15 to present: 362 games and counting (17 playoff games).

Remember that failed playoff drive in 2013 I just talked about? That allowed the Oilers to get the 7th overall pick and select Darnell Nurse. With well documented family connections to the CFL, NFL, and Women's basketball, Nurse has exceptional athletic bloodlines. Unlike most of the Oilers high picks from the 2010s, Nurse was broken in slowly, getting two games early in the 14-15 season, before becoming an Oiler regular in 15-16 where he has taken his place as a top defender on the Oilers' blueline since then. Let's hope for continued improvement and wish Darnell a happy 26t birthday today.



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 Re: February 4 [message #774950 is a reply to message #774948 ]
Thu, 04 February 2021 11:40 Go to previous messageGo to next message
oilfan94  is currently offline oilfan94
Messages: 330
Registered: June 2006
Location: USA

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benv wrote on Thu, 04 February 2021 11:54


Mark Letestu
Born: February 4, 1985 (turns 36 today) in Elk Point, AB.
Position: Centre (shoots right)
Acquired by Oilers: Signed as free agent, July 1, 2015.
Oilers Career: 2015-16 to 2017-18: 220 games (13 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Traded to Nashville for Pontus Aberg, February 25, 2018.

Similar to Smithson, Letestu was a right handed defensive centre, but with more offensive upside. He signed as a free agent with the Oilers after six seasons with Pittsburgh and Columbus and established himself as their go to third/fourth line centre. During the 16-17 season, he got his career highs in goals (16) and points (35) and had a spectacular playoffs, getting 11 points in 13 games (second only to Draisaitl and ahead of McDavid!). He found himself back in Columbus (via Nashville) near the trade deadline in 2018 as the Oilers were shedding their expiring contracts during another missed playoff season. After spending most of the 18-19 season in the AHL, he tried his luck in Winnipeg for the 19-20 season, but only played in 7 games due to heart muscle inflammation. He officially announced his retirement just over a month ago (Dec 2020). Happy retirement and happy 36th Mark.




Letestu was absolute magic on the powerplay in 2017. I remember the Oilers being on a 4 on 3 powerplay in OT at one point that year and as they were playing I pointed out Letestu to my wife and said "He's the one that is going to score the game winner". Sure enough he scored just a few seconds later. He didn't have a world beater of a career, but that year he was one of those underdogs you just have to love. 11 points in the playoffs that year too, if the Oilers had managed to get to the final he would have reached Pisani status.



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 February 5 [message #774988 is a reply to message #771063 ]
Fri, 05 February 2021 10:00 Go to previous messageGo to next message
benv  is currently offline benv
Messages: 546
Registered: May 2006
Location: Edmonton

No Cups

Three players today:



Bob Russell
Born: February 5 1955 (turns 66 today) in Toronto, ON.
Position: Centre (shoots left)
Acquired by Oilers: Drafted 117th overall (WHA amateur draft), June 1975.
Oilers Career: 1975-76 to 1976-77: 115 games (5 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Not re-signed following 76-77 season

Not a ton of info on Russell. He was a high scoring junior player in the OHA when the Oilers drafted and signed him in 1975. He would play two seasons for the Oilers with modest point totals. After the 76-77 season he played one year in the CSHL and then was out of hockey--he was only 23 so I'm not sure why. He is currently the president of the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League. A happy 66th to Bob.


Linus Omark
Born: February 5, 1987 (turns 34 today) in Overtornea, Sweden.
Position: Left Wing (shoots left)
Acquired by Oilers: Drafted 97th overall, June 23, 2007.
Oilers Career: 2011-12 to 2013-14: 66 games (0 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Traded to Buffalo for conditional 6th round pick, December 19, 2013.

Omark became a youtube sensation for his creative goals in his native Sweden shortly after being drafted by the Oilers in 2007. There was a lot of excitement in Oilerland surrounding his eventual arrival (he was even part of the "HOPE" acronym) which finally happened in 2011. After being demoted to Oklahoma City after his first training camp he succeeded at the AHL level, even getting 5 goals and a shootout winner in one game. When he was called up to Edmonton he dazzled in his first game with a spinorama move in his shootout winner. He would play 51 games in 11-12 getting 27 points. Omark's fortunes took a turn the following season with a new coach where he would play only 14 games for the Oil and played in Switzerland most of the year. He would only play one game for the Oilers in 13-14 and then they traded him to Buffalo for nothing (literally since the conditional draft pick never happened). Starting in 14-15, Omark played in the KHL for five years where he was a point a game player. He is currently playing in the Swiss league. A happy 34th to Linus.

Ty Rattie
Born: February 5, 1993 (turns 28 today) in Calgary, AB.
Position: Right Wing (shoots right).
Acquired by Oilers: Signed as free agent, July 1, 2017.
Oilers Career: 2017-18 to 2018-19: 64 games (0 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Left to play in KHL in 2019.

Rattie was signed by the Oilers after a long time in the Blues organization where he only managed a handful of games after being a fairly high draft pick. After playing most of the 17-18 season in Bakersfield, he was called up to the big club and seemed find some chemistry with McDavid, getting 9 points in 14 games. He started the next season on McDavid's right side, but suffered an early injury and could never seem to back on track despite playing the full season with the big club. The Oilers chose to let him walk and he signed in the KHL in 2019 and is currently in his second season there. Happy 28th Ty.



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 Re: February 5 [message #774990 is a reply to message #774988 ]
Fri, 05 February 2021 10:05 Go to previous messageGo to previous message
Kr55  is currently offline Kr55
Messages: 9446
Registered: May 2002
Location: Edmonton

6 Cups

benv wrote on Fri, 05 February 2021 10:00


Linus Omark
Born: February 5, 1987 (turns 34 today) in Overtornea, Sweden.
Position: Left Wing (shoots left)
Acquired by Oilers: Drafted 97th overall, June 23, 2007.
Oilers Career: 2011-12 to 2013-14: 66 games (0 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Traded to Buffalo for conditional 6th round pick, December 19, 2013.

Omark became a youtube sensation for his creative goals in his native Sweden shortly after being drafted by the Oilers in 2007. There was a lot of excitement in Oilerland surrounding his eventual arrival (he was even part of the "HOPE" acronym) which finally happened in 2011. After being demoted to Oklahoma City after his first training camp he succeeded at the AHL level, even getting 5 goals and a shootout winner in one game. When he was called up to Edmonton he dazzled in his first game with a spinorama move in his shootout winner. He would play 51 games in 11-12 getting 27 points. Omark's fortunes took a turn the following season with a new coach where he would play only 14 games for the Oil and played in Switzerland most of the year. He would only play one game for the Oilers in 13-14 and then they traded him to Buffalo for nothing (literally since the conditional draft pick never happened). Starting in 14-15, Omark played in the KHL for five years where he was a point a game player. He is currently playing in the Swiss league. A happy 34th to Linus.




Legend




"We need to get better immediately. That starts today"
- Lowe, 2013

"Next year I would forecast as another developmental year"
- MacT, 2015

"In Brad we trust"
- All Oilers fans, Present Day

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 February 6 [message #775052 is a reply to message #771063 ]
Sat, 06 February 2021 11:28 Go to previous messageGo to next message
benv  is currently offline benv
Messages: 546
Registered: May 2006
Location: Edmonton

No Cups

Just two "blink and you'll miss them" alumni today--you're a true Oiler fan if you remember either of these guys:


Jim Cross
Born: February 6, 1957 (turns 64 today) in Edmonton, AB.
Position: Defenseman (shoots left)
Acquired by Oilers: Signed as free agent, August 1977.
Oilers Career: 1977-78: 2 games (0 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Retired in 1978.

Cross is a bit of an enigma--there's almost no info on him that I can find. He was playing in the AJHL during the 1977-78 season when he was called up to play for the Oilers for two games. After this there is no record of him having played hockey that I can find. I'm speculating now, but I have to think the Oilers calling up a 19/20 year old defenseman from the St. Albert Saints was some kind of emergency thing, but kudos to Cross for getting a taste of major pro. A happy 64th to him, wherever he may be.


Mike Hudson
Born: February 6, 1967 (turns 54 today) in Guelph, ON.
Position: Centre (shoots left)
Acquired by Oilers: Traded by Chicago for Craig Muni, March 22, 1993.
Oilers Career: 1992-93: 5 games (0 playoff games).
Left Oilers: Claimed on waivers by NY Rangers, October 3, 1993.

Hudson was a journeyman centre who played for seven NHL teams over his career, never getting a firm foothold on any of them. The Oilers were his second team, coming over for Craig Muni near the end of the Oiler's purge of their cup teams. He would only play 5 games for the team, and the Oilers would let him go on waivers the next year. He jumped around to five more NHL teams before going to Germany for the last two years of his career before retiring in 1999. Not sure what he's been up to since, but happy 54th birthday to him.



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