#reddox

I decided i will post gacha world related stuff no matter their quality (i have the sudden urge to draw gw every ???)

i think i shouldve gave reed a gun or something

First a quick look at some of the Oilers prospects and their performance this weekend. Klefbom finally played a full game after being left out for most part early in the season with Färjestads BK. Färjestad have had their worst start of a season in almost 20 years and the only good news here would be that Klefbom haven't been a part of that. In their 1-4 loss (vs. Brynäs IF) Klefbom played about 13 minutes but were not on the ice for any goals against. Hopefully Klefbom will be awarded with more time on the ice.

Two more notes from the Swedish Elite League would be that former Oiler Rob Schremp still haven't managed to put up a point with MODO and are one of three players currently voted for the biggest disappointment in the SEL so far, ouch. The other three former Oilers and Barons are doing better. Reddox and Moran are playing on the top-line together with Finnish semi-star Tomi Kallio. So far they haven'r registered many points (the historic goal by Reddox still stand out) but reports say they are doing good. Ex-Oiler Martin Gerber (93,46SV%, 1.98GAA) have also received lots of praise since his comeback to Sweden and I still would like to have Gerber sign with the Oilers and do whatever we can to get rid of Khabby.

Speaking of Khabby he did have a great game yesterday, well.. ..except for that one goal. Khabby needs more then one good game to convince me, he needs a stretch of 'em. But, now back to the prospects..

CHL have started and the first results are in (thanks to SeamusfromJasper for spreading the word).. Blain (C) 1-1-0-1 Davidson (C) 2-0-3-3 2 Reider 1-1-0-1 Musil (A) 2-0-2-2 Bunz 0W 1L 0T, 3.04GAA, 91,4SV%

Johan Motin (whom I wrote about earlier this week) didn't get a single shift with the Oilers during training camp and is now sent back to Oklahoma City and the Barons. But seeing how little (d'oh, nothing) he got to play with the Oilers, adding to that Renneys earlier comment on "letting the AHL-players play so that the AHL-coaches would get a chance as well to see how they perform" and with the early cut I very much doubt Motin will be around much longer in this organization (and apparently EliteProspects agree as they even used me as a source, "doubtful rumor", for Motin returning to Sweden.. now how did that happen?). Either way it kind of saddens me to see Motin being left out at the age of 21.

With players returning from injury Oilers management had to make room. As I've discussed earlier the most probable choice would've been to send down Omark back to OKC. It was just the easy way out, with his contract and rookie-status. They could also have sent Reddox packing (again) but he would have to clear waivers (which haven't exactly been a problem earlier but just might this time).

To say our 4th line have been good would be a lie - except for Ryan Jones (who's spent more time on a 3rd line though). JFJ, MacIntyre, Fraser and Stortini have all played worse then I would've expected them to do. But Stortini seemed to have things going for him last year so in the back of my head there was someone saying he might bounce back. He won't, atleast not in an Oiler-jersey. Stortini is put on waivers and is heading to OKC Barons, should he not get picked up.

For the sake of the peps down in OKC I'm hoping he won't get picked up. But I'm guessing he will (rumors speak already about Leafs). He comes at a low price, sure - he doesn't win all fights (far from it).. But he can bash opponents, he fights for his teammates and he goes to the net. And compared to MacIntyre he can even skate. So why keep JFJ and MacIntyre one might ask.. Sadly, I have no idea whatsoever. JFJ have fought hard all season to prove his doubters right, MacIntyre can't do much except fight.. and fight, he hardly does (nobody wants to fight him). Shortly put, this was not the correct call. Either one of JFJ or MacIntyre should've gone ahead of Stortini.

The positives are obvious though. Reddox and Omark survives another day. I'd even say Reddox is safe for now, probably for the remainder of the season which I'm really happy about, his shot at becoming a real NHLer. The other positive is that should Stortini clear, he will help the Barons reach the playoffs - and that is indeed, a very good thing. I can still see Omark sent down though, with the return of Brule, time will tell. Oilers management continues to amaze us so who knows..

Just as we thought the Oilers-offensive would become healthy with Horcoff back, Brule reported to be fine and Eberle taking the ice again injury struck again. Hemsky got a concussion and will be sidelined for awhile. While his injury might be just a game or three who knows how long it will take. For his sake I'll hope he gets back in time for the All Star Game.

Still, the thought of all the players coming back forces you to start thinking about who will remain on the Oilers roster should you fast-forward a month from now. With Omark and Reddox being the two Oklahoma City Barons-callups currently on the roster, these two are the most likely candidates to be sent back down. But is that really the best thing to do? Have the other players done enough to remain on the team ahead of Omark and Reddox? Or does one or both of Omark and Reddox showed they deserve their spot?

Whatever happens the lines will be juggled to make way for Eberle, Hemsky (as Horcoff will play his first game tonight) and perhaps Brule. I for one would like to hang onto both Omark and Reddox. Omark is starting to find his game and I'd say his 8 points in his first ever 16 NHL-games in a struggling Edmonton-team is rather OK. Even better when considering his TOI/G is one of the lower of the top-9 with 14.21. I look at him as a big contributor to the Oilers powerplay aswell as the shootout. He can make things happen on his own which is a skill that any team could use and especially a team such as Oilers who tend to be outshot more then they outshoot their opponent. Reddox ability to skate, hit, kill penalties and his work-ethic make up for his lack of size. I believe this year will be his breakthrough. Reddox would have to clear waivers to be sent back to OKC Barons and while Reddox is king at clearing waivers, I do believe he won't be able to pass through unrecognized this time. He's been terrific in the AHL and been very stable during his current stint in the Oilers (4 assists and a +1 rating in 8 games if you wanna talk stats).

But how on earth do we keep both of Omark and Reddox on the team? My gut feeling say we won't. Management will send Omark (easy way out, his contract will make sure of it) to OKC Barons while Reddox might be held onto in favor of JFJ. But, should they both remain this is how I would do it (barring trades).

Penner - Hall - Hemsky: I'd like to see Hall at center for a longer period. Should he be up for the task, the draft bode for a different scenario then if he doesn't. We need to know, simple as that. This line showed real potential at times, stick with it.

Omark - Horcoff - MPS: I'd like to keep the Swedes together for now. I'd also like to see Horcoff in the middle of the two. I could see it work out in similar fashion as Hall - Horcoff - Eberle did, with C13 acting as some kind of mentor and defensive supporter of the two. Could be a good way to get both of the Swedes going for real could it not? Eberle could be used instead of MPS (see below).

Jones - Gagner - Eberle: The spot here taken by Jones could as easily be Reddox but I've used Jones as he and Gagner showed some chemistry when they played together earlier on. Personally, I'd favor Reddox but Jones looks like the best solution to not come up with a completely new line. Eberle will bring a lot to the line making it more balanced. Another thought that comes to mind would be to put Eberle with Omark and Horcoff to reunite the Jones - Gagner - MPS line. That would (at least in my mind), for better or worse, make a possible Omark - Horcoff - Eberle-line a more obvious 2nd scoring ditto.

Reddox - Cogliano - Brule: Possibly the smallest 4th line in the NHL? Yeah, I know.. dumb Swede who doesn't consider the important of size you say (which is a valid point, but I considered it, so not entirely true). The likes of Stortini, MacIntyre and JFJ haven't really used their size anyway so with a playoff spot gone with the wind, why not give Brule a chance to shine again in a new role. This line would do well when it comes to the hit column, it's gritty consisting of tons of effort and work-ethic. Cogliano would continue his new role as a defensive/2-way center and should we not keep Cogliano and/or Brule this would at least showcase them. Either Brule finds a new role in this team or he should be traded (and if the latter, we need to find a way to rise his value again). I'd put Stortini as my first healthy scratch.

So, what happens with JFJ, Fraser and MacIntyre? Well, I would send JFJ to OKC Barons without much hesitation. Should he clear waivers he will make a nice contribution to the Barons. Should he not clear I for one wouldn't bother too much about it. MacIntyre seems like a good guy but Dubnyk said it best (when he joked about it) - MacIntyre need a pair of hands (but he didn't seem to get 'em for Christmas so.. he's out) - shortly put, I don't believe in thugs. Fraser have been nothing but a disappointment for me, though lately he's slightly upped his game, so for now - he might remain on the team as a second healthy scratch.