EDMONTON, Alb – The Edmonton Oilers’ coach Craig MacTavish has received a solid performance from his players for the last seven years, finishing above .500 in every season except once. New team owner Daryl Katz has pledged to utilize funds up to the salary cap to ensure they are able to compete with the best of league. The Oilers have also added a new General Manager in Steve Tambellini, who took over for the team when Kevin Lowe moved up as President of Hockey Operations for the Oilers. Kevin Prendergast was also added as an Assistant General Manager during the last summer. Keys to Success: Goalie Mathieu Garon gave a great effort last season, splitting the games with teammate Dwayne Roloson. Garon had a 2.66 goals against average with a .913 save percentage. Roloson’s 3.05 goals-against-average and a .901 save percentage, was solid as well especially considering he is reaching the age of 39. The Oilers can expect consistent net-minding from both goalies. The Oilers can expect big things from their blend of youth and speed. The line of Sam Gagner, Andrew Cogliano, and veteran Robert Nilsson was a reckoning force last year, and hopes to improve this season. Cogliano did not miss a single game last year chocking up 18 goals and 27 assists (fifth on the team). Edmonton can expect the experience of Alex Hemsky, Shawn Horcoff, Ethan Moreau and Fernando Pisani to provide much needed leadership and examples for the youth of the team. As for defense, Sheldon Souray has been on the mend following shoulder surgery last season and should give the team a much needed boost on their power play. With other summer new arrivals such as Jason Strudwick and Lubomir Visnovsky, the defensive depth should be greatly improved. Reasons they could fail: The Oilers remain hopeful that they don’t have a repeat of health problems similar to last season. Additionally, aside from their primary line, they are still a bit lacking in physical size. The Oilers don’t really have any big heavy hitters and might be in trouble if they lack a physical game needed to get the dirty points from winning the corner battles. Rookie Watch: The Oilers have built a strong foundation of youth and speed in their developing leagues. It looks as though Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers will be the teams third goaltender on the roster. Deslauriers is a 2002 draft pick (31st overall), and has a potential as the teams back-up should Roloson be utilized to gain another position player. Center Rob Schremp has a proven ability to score, but needs to work on his speed, and could bump a veteran from the primary roster at the start of the season. How the Oilers will do this season: Assuming the Oilers remain healthy this year, they could see themselves in the playoffs, but the lack of veteran experience will keep them from winning the division. The division should stack up like this: Minnesota, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, and Colorado The top three teams should be playoff contenders, followed by Vancouver and Colorado who should in the end miss out on the playoffs. Edmonton doesn’t look quite ready to take on the physical size and experience of teams such as Minnesota, San Jose and of course Detroit. The Oilers will fight for a playoff position, but with so many quality teams in the conference, look for the Oilers to just miss out on post-season fun. Contact the author at shellie.lima@prohockeynews.com
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