Wednesday Re-Set

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The Pipeline Show is taking a 2-day golf trip to Jasper starting at 5:00 AM on Wednesday, about 4 hours from now so... this will be brief.

Last night on the program we started things off by discussing several hot topics including young David Musil and the situation that was created when he and his family moved back to Canada. We also talked to A.J. Jacubec about that same subject at the end of the show. You can hear our opening segment and that interview with A.J.

Next up was an interview with an old buddy of Millards who just so happens to be a scout with the Nashville Predators - Rick Knickle. Knickle talked about the Preds and their strategies when it comes to scouting and drafting, what he values in a player, some examples of players he's zeroed in on and also touched on players currently in the system. You can hear that Nashville update here.

The WHL's Prince George Cougars have a new coach in Dean Clark, new uniforms and a new outlook on life as they prepare for the 2009-10 season. Wade Klippenstein is the Assistant GM for the Cougars and he walked us through the changes and explained how the team and the community have a renewed sense of hope. Here is the link to the Cougars update.

The final guest on the program is an always popular one with Oiler fans; Rob Schremp. With coaching changes at all levels of the Edmonton system it really is a clean slate for a lot of players, the least of which being Schremp. The former 1st round pick answered a lot of questions from fans who wanted to know everything from off season training, why he doesn't shoot more to possibly playing in Europe. You can be sure he's not sitting around relaxing this summer like in the photo from a London Knights softball game (see above). Hear the Schremp interview here.

Of course we played Bad Ass Trivia as well, this week's questions seemed to have a theme but the callers couldn't quite figure it out.

5 To Watch For In The AHL

Last week Guy threw out some names who might be WHL rookie of the year candidates. Today I have 5 players to watch for in the AHL who might vy for the top freshman award.

1. Michael Backlund-forward-Calgary Flames
The Swede was all over the map last year, playing for his home country, then staying in Canada after the World Junior Championship. Backlund, drafted 24th by the Flames in 2007, played one game with the big club before joining the Kelowna Rockets for their Memorial Cup run. Is Backlund ready for the NHL? I don't think so, but he's certainly ready to excel with Abbotsford of the AHL.

2. Thomas Hickey-Defence-LA Kings
Hickey was pencilled in on the shut down pairing with Colton Teubert at the WJC in Ottawa, but the pair struggled and the role fell to Keith Aulie and Tyler Myers. Despite that, Hickey is ready to say goodbye to the WHL's Seattle Thunderbirds and join the perennial successful Manchester Monarchs. Hickey suited up for 7 games when the T-birds season wrapped up last year and netted 7 points. This after putting up 51 points in 57 games including 15 goals with Seattle. The Kings shocked everyone when they snagged Hickey 4th overall (ahead of Karl Alzner) in 2007, but some time in the AHL should get him ready to join the already impressive blueline in LA. Expect Hickey to see some action in the NHL next year.

3. Logan Couture-Forward-San Jose
4 years in the OHL is enough for the 9th overall pick of 2007. Couture averaged more than a point per game during his junior career including scoring 39 goals and 87 points in 62 games for Ottawa last year. I'm not sure why this guy has never been a player for Hockey Canada, but I think he'll make a good pro. After some seasoning with Worcester of the AHL that is.

4. Ryan McDonagh-Defence-New York Rangers
Will the Rangers as Mcdonagh to leave Wisconsin after 2 years and turn pro? That's what I'm banking on with him on this list. The blueliner was involved in the trade that send Scott Gomez to Montreal and New York might want to get his pro career started. With Bobby Sanguinetti likely graduating to the big club this year there will be an opening on the blueline with the farm.

5. Angelo Esposito-Forward-Atlanta
An injury derailed what was a pretty good season for Esposito. After a good first half with Montreal and a decent WJC Esposito was shut down in the 2nd half, ending up with 42 points in 35 games. He played one AHL the year before in Chicago. Atlanta's farm club is full of AHL veterans that would be a nice help in Esposito's development. That is if he doesn't blow the Trashers socks off in training camp and make the team.


Also watch out for a few other players like Keith Aulie in Abbotsford as it's not likely the Brandon Wheat King will get to participate in the Memorial Cup. Jonathan Blum was the top blueliner in the WHL and should start rising up the rankings in Nashvilles organization. How about Riley Nash? The Oilers prospect is pretty sure he's heading back to Cornell, but a lot could change between now and then. Physically he's probably ready for the AHL and I think it's better to struggle for the first half and succeed in the 2nd half of the AHL then have a good full season in college.

"Seen Arsene?"

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Don't expect billboards to start popping up around Edmonton but the Oilers have signed another AHL veteran to help bolster their AHL roster in Springfield. Defenceman Dean Arsene, a 6'2 and 210 lb native of Abbotsford BC, has 8 years of pro experience under his belt and has played 426 pro games.

I mentioned Arsene's name last week as someone I believed the Oilers were considering and tonight a fan over at HFBoards.com noticed that Arsene's name has in fact turned up at Capgeek.com as being on Edmonton's payroll. According to the handy cap-related site, it's a 1-year deal worth $500K. With today's rather late formal revelation of their Chris Minard and Matt Nickerson signings, I suppose you can expect a formal announcement from the Oilers later this week/month.

So fans will be asking two things: Who is Dean Arsene and will he impact the Oilers at all?

Arsene entered the scene as a member of the Regina Pats in the WHL. He played a year and a half with the Pats before being dealt to the Edmonton Ice in 1997-98. The big blueliner stuck with the Ice through their move to Kootenay and he ended up playing three and a half years in Cranbrook before turning pro.

Through his WHL career it is clear that you shouldn't expect any offence from Arsene as he ended with all of 8 goals through five seasons.

His pro career started in the ECHL with the Charlotte Checkers where he played 63 games. Arsene moved up a level with the Hartford Wolfpack the next season dressing for 50 games in the AHL. Back to the ECHL the next year, Arsene was back and forth between ECHL Reading and Hershey in the AHL.

The Hershey Bears have been Arsene's home since 2003-04 as he has played 5 and a half years for Washington's farm club helping them win two Calder Cups including the one picked up this past June.

Here are some of the names that Washington has had Arsene around on their farm to help groom for the NHL: Karl Alzner, Mike Green, Josh Godfrey, John Carlson, Sami Lepisto and Jeff Schultz. Clearly Arsene isn't going to show those types of players how to play an offensive style but what he was able to do was show guys how to come to the rink prepared to play a pro game, how to live and train away from the arena and the other ropes that young prospects need to be shown so they can develop properly.

As seen in the picture at the top, Arsene has been a captain at the AHL level and would be a reasonable candidate to secede Tim Sestito for the 'C' this coming year. The other photo displays another aspect of Arsene's game that will come in handy for Springfield - he's averaged about 150 PIM a season over his pro career.

This is a good signing for the Oilers, for the Springfield Falcons and most importantly, for the blueline prospects Edmonton owns that will be looking to Arsene for leadership and guidance.

Going, Going....

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The message at the end of the 2008-09 season was clear: "It is a priority to make the Springfield Falcons better via free agency". We're ten days into the feeding frenzy and so far the Oilers have only signed one impact AHL player while the list of available players gets rapidly smaller every day.

Here's a list of the players from the Falcons' roster last season who are currently not part of the team: Tim Sestito (traded to NJ for a conditional pick - a 7th if he plays in 25 NHL games for the Devils), Guillaume Lefebvre (UFA), Tyler Spurgeon (not qualified), Stephane Goulet (not qualified), Charles Linglet (UFA), Shane Willis (UFA), Hans Benson (UFA), Bryan Young (not qualified), Mathieu Roy (UFA), Mike Gabinet (UFA), Sebastien Bisaillon and Danny Sabourin (UFA). That's 12 players of various levels of talent off the roster.

The list of RFA players is also notable: Gilbert Brule (pencilled in for NHL duty), Ryan Potulny, Ryan Stone, Rob Schremp, Devan Dubnyk, Colin McDonald and Liam Reddox. That's another 7 players.

After two years of struggling in the minors, there is a real possibility that Slava Trukhno may choose to stay in Europe. He is still a player the Oilers want to have in Springfield as they believe he may turn the corner under the tutelage of Rob Daum. That said, the last indication I got was that it wasn't a guarantee that the Russian/Dane would return because the phrase "we expect him to come back" was used.

All of the RFA players are expected to be back with the possible exception of Schremp who needs to clear waivers and likely hopes that won't happen. He could also opt to head to Europe for a bigger pay day and a higher-level playing opportunity but my understanding is that his preference is to wait and see if another NHL club plucks him off waivers. Schremp (seen above sitting with Jeff Tambellini at the 2008 AHL All-Star game) recorded just 7 goals last year.

My hunch is that Bryan Young will end up returning on a minor league deal and that the door may not be completely closed for Tyler Spurgeon to do the same thing.

As of Friday July 10th, Edmonton has managed to land two free agents who will make their mark in the minors - one by scoring, the other by scarring.

Chris Minard was an AHL All-Star last year as he racked up 34 goals and 57 points in 54 games. He's not old enough to take up a AHL Veteran roster spot (260 pro games) but he's definitely an impact player and one that I know head coach Rob Daum is very pleased to have in the fold.

"He played extremely well for Wilkes-Barre last year and he was around for [Pittsburgh's] Stanley Cup run," Assistant GM Kevin Prendergast told me, "What he does is score. If he can get his skating up another notch more I think he could actually be a potential call up for us."

Minard is a 6'1, 200 lb left winger although he spent some time at center during his OHL career in Owen Sound, Oshawa and Toronto.

The other newcomer is of far less significance but with his 6'4 and 235 lb frame, Matt Nickerson (left) is expected to provide the Falcons with heavyweight toughness. He'll never be mistaken for a skill player but I'm told he can line up as a forward or a defenceman and that after two seasons in Finland he should at least be able to get around a North American rink as a skater.

Johan Motin, Alex Plante and Milan Kytnar are expected to slide into the line up in Springfield, the two defenders essentially filling the holes left by Roy and Gabinet/Bisaillon/Young. But so far... that's it. 12 players gone from the roster and only 2 free agents and 3 rookies coming in to replace them. I know the organization is still actively shopping but if they can't land some fish into the boat soon, those vacancies are going to end up being filled by ECHL players.

Assuming all of the RFAs do return, the forward lines might look something like this:

Minard - Stone - Potulny
Trukhno - X - Schremp
X - O'Marra - McDonald
Lerg - Paukovich - Kytnar

I know that Edmonton would like to get Charles Linglet back under contract. He had 16 points in 21 games with the Falcons last year and could easily slip onto the second line LW spot, possibly forcing Schremp (if he's back) to the middle with Trukhno on his off-wing.

However, the rest of the forward positions are still needing to be filled and while I know the Oilers are negotiating with a few free agents, top caliber AHL players are being snapped up by the rest of the league:

- Graham Mink gone to Florida/Rochester.
- Darren Haydar, Brett Skinner, Brian Willsie, David Jones and Matt Hendricks are all now with Colorado/Lake Erie.
- Carolina/Albany signed Steve Goertzen.
- Dany Sabourin and Drew Fata are now with Providence.
- Jason Krog is back with Atlanta/Chicago along with goalies Drew MacIntyre and Peter Mannino.
- Calgary/Abbotsford landed Jason Jaffrey.

There are good players available for the taking but there are a couple of hurdles in Edmonton's way; a self-imposed budget for the minor league team and the lofty asking price of those talented players.

Alex Giroux (left) led the AHL in scoring last year and is looking to cash in on that with a 1-way contract which would guarantee him in the neighborhood of $500K to play in the minors. He scored 60 goals last year and would definitely take an average team and vault them into excellent status. But paying $500K to a player on the farm, like Mathieu Roy last year, is not something Edmonton wants to do.

Ryan Vesce is a 2-time AHL All-Star and is definitely someone who is high on the list for teams looking to bolster their farm club. However he's after a 2-year deal with a 1-way contract in the second year. He might get it from someone but I find it hard to believe that it would be the Oilers. Vesce is 5'8 and I can't see the big club calling up players that size when their NHL roster has already been deemed too small by the new GM. However, on the farm he might very well be Springfield's captain, that's how highly some in the organization feel about him.

According to NHLPA.com (since removed), Chris Minard is going to be paid $550K by the Oilers this year - I'm not positive but I assume that is a 2-way deal. assuming that's the same ballpark that Giroux and Vesce want to play in (and rightfully so) then I get the sense that it's too rich for Edmonton.

Which I honestly don't get.

AHL contracts do not count against the NHL salary cap right? Is a million bucks too much to ask for those two players who, when added to the mix already in Springfield, would practically guarantee a playoff spot for the Falcons? Isn't having your prospects on the farm surrounded by winners exactly the type of development the organization should be striving for? Isn't that a smart way of spending your money?

I'm told the Oilers are currently sitting at 45 NHL contracts; would not vastly improving the Falcons by signing those two impact players, even if it bumped the contract count to 47, be worth it in the long run?

Obviously if they could get guys like Linglet, Vesce (pictured) and Giroux under minor league contracts that would be the perfect scenario. However, while Edmonton waits for the player demands to drop, the other 28 AHL teams continue to add and the risk increases that the Falcons will miss out completely.

Springfield should be better - a full season of Ryan Stone, Chris Minard and Ryan Potulny might be as good a line as there is in the league. They have the potential to add the above free agent trio to the mix and provide Springfield with a true powerhouse AHL line up, something their fans have not watched in recent memory.

How much better does this forward group look than the one I listed above:

Minard - Giroux - Vesce
Linglet - Stone - Potulny
Trukhno - O'Marra - McDonald
Lerg - Paukovich - Kytnar
x-Schremp gone on waivers

The blueline is again looking very young and could benefit greatly from the addition of an AHL veteran. Jake Taylor is the senior player right now and behind him are Taylor Chorney, Theo Peckham, Cody Wild, Matt Nickerson plus rookies Alex Plante and Johan Motin. Jordan Benfeld may still be allotted for Stockton.

I fully expect Edmonton to add a vet to the mix and won't be surprised if they try and raid one of this year's AHL finalists to do it. Manitoba had Zack Fitzgerald, a defensive defenceman with some size and a +13 rating who is now a UFA. Hershey, the Calder Cup winners, had a young blueline partially led by Dean Arsene (pictured), a big and experienced defenceman that would provide sound leadership for the Falcons. [Edited to remove Staffan Kronwall mention who has already been signed.]

In goal it's going to be Devan Dubnyk's show but as I mentioned before, Aaron Sorochan might be a player to watch at camp in the fall. The former U of A Golden Bear has an opportunity to earn a pro contract and might just end up playing behind Dubnyk in Springfield. He won't be the only free agent goalie at camp though as I expect an un-drafted WHL grad to also be invited in former Portland Winterhawks netminder Kurtis Mucha.

The bottom line is that the Falcons can be much better this year and the only thing right now standing in the way might be... the financial bottom line. The Oilers can either fill their AHL roster holes with expensive impact players that will make a big difference on the standings and in the development of their top prospects or, they can fill the holes with cheaper borderline AHL/ECHL players that will keep Springfield buried in mediocrity.

I've never met or spoken with Darryl Katz before but something tells me he doesn't settle for 'mediocre'.

Wednesday Re-Set

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If you missed The Pipeline Show last night, well let me be your guide as I lead you through what you missed...

Dean and I started the night off by talking about the free agent crop that still waits to be signed at the American Hockey League level. As the Springfield Falcons hope to ice a stronger team, the free agent list is rapidly thinning out and Edmonton's farm club so far isn't any better than it was a year ago. Why? We talked a bit about that and through out some names of guys we think would fit the bill. (Dean and Guy HERE)

TPS made its on-air debut back on February 13th, 2006 and one of planned guests that night was Kyle Chipchura. For whatever reason, that planned interview fell apart but we finally got around to giving him another call and the Alberta product updated us on his summer. Montreal can be an intimidating market for Habs players and Chipchura described it from the perspective of a young guy trying to crack the roster. (Kyle Chipchura HERE)

Obviously with Oilers prospect camp underway in Sherwood Park we spent much of the evening with that in the spotlight. Earlier in the day we spoke with Johan Motin, William Quist, Olivier Roy and Toni Rajala. (Prospect Camp)

We also had extended interviews with a pair of new Oiler prospects in Kyle Bigos and Troy Hesketh - two defencemen that originally caught Edmonton fans off guard at the draft but are starting to change minds as people get to know more about them. (Kyle Bigos and Troy Hesketh interviews)

NEXT WEEK: Our annual show that examines and compares the NCAA and CHL paths to the NHL. Is one really better than the other? We'll speak with a Canadian who is currently playing for a premier NCAA program, a former WHL player who just wrapped up his CIS career and is ready to turn pro, a local media voice who is very staunch in his stance plus another guest who will offer up his/her thoughts on the subject. It should be another beauty show.

Swift Decisions?

One of my WHL sources passed this along to me last night while we were on the air during The Pipeline Show. I mentioned it on the air and thought I would jot it down here as well.

Word is Swift Current is close to filling it's vacant Head Coach/G.M. position after Dean Chynoweth took as assistant coaching job with the New York Islanders. Speedy creek is apparently down to 2 scenarios. One would have former Oilers forward Mark Lamb coming in and pulling double duty. Lamb was most recently in the Dallas Stars organization, but I can't find his name anywhere on the Stars website so he might have a been a casualty of the new regime. Speaking of Dallas, nice to see former Red Deer Rebel Jeff Woywitka sign there for 2 years. There were nights when Woywitka's skating reminded me of Ray Bourque. Then again there were nights when his decision making made me think of Homer Simpson.

The Other scenario that Swift I'm told is looking at is moving Sheldon Ferguson up from Assistant G.M. to the main position with John Becanic as the bench boss. Becanic was last a head coach with Everett until being let go last April. He was the 'tips head coach for 2 years and was with the team for a total of 6.