Swedish Oil by dohfOs

Putting the “mock” in Mock Draft

Yeah, I’m still around. This Swede won’t go away that easy.. anyway, the Swedish Oil will become more active once again as we get closer to the 13/14-season. Once the lockout went official I just felt a dip in my interest in writing but it’s starting to feel right again so I’ll be back.

Either way, the draft is tomorrow, and lately the draft day(s) have been the SCF for the Oilers, the only time during the season the Oilers actually felt a bit like a winner and there was nothing but excitement surrounding the team. And with the draft, I thought I’d give you my mock draft, and seeing I ain’t exactly a scout, I’ll be putting the word “mock” in mock draft. I’m also limiting myself to the top 10, as I have seen to little of the CHL this year to cover all 30 (sorry folks). Oh well, this is what I foresee happening tomorrow starting 9 PM CET..

01. The Colorado Avalanche select Nathan MacKinnon
..not my first pick had I been them, but it’s pretty obvious where MacKinnon is heading and I very much doubt I even have to explain the reasoning behind this. The Avalanche have already made up their mind and I’ll hardly be able to convince them to do otherwise from over here.

02. The Florida Panthers select Alexander Barkov
..this would be my number one pick (had I been the Avalanche). Barkov is just an extreme talent. The Panthers crave a first line centreman and Barkov is their guy. Barkov would pretty much be a perfect fit for any team, he’s got everything you could possibly want. The only thing he lack is charisma and his English is even worse than mine (but I reckon living in the US will sort that eventually).

03. The Tampa Bay Lightening select Jonathan Drouin
..with Vincent Lecavalier gone the Lightening would’ve liked Barkov but man oh man, Drouin will fit the Bolts perfectly. As the prospect in this draft with the best offensive upside he’ll work wonders with Stamkos and be the Lightening will no longer be in despair once St. Louis retires. St. Louis will also be the perfect model and go-to-guy for Drouin.

04. The Nashville Predators select Seth Jones
..the Predators sure didn’t see Jones falling this much but here he is, the once projected number 1 in the draft Seth Jones falls straight into their arms. How does Predators get all the good defensemen? While the Preds didn’t necessarily “need” Jones they just can’t afford not to pick him now that he’s available. Jones will be the perfect replacement for Ryan Suter and the Preds will laugh at the others for not drafting Jones when they had the chance.

05. The Carolina Hurricanes select Darnell Nurse
..the Hurricanes probably had a hard time deciding what to do with their pick but they decide to go with the emerging Nurse who seem to be the most mature person of the higher picks. The Canes seem to have really fallen for Nurse and with a need on their blueline, along with them being slightly afraid of the Russian factor, as well as Lindholm returning to Sweden for at least a year it was either Nurse or Monahan. Nurse seem to fit the Canes better, therefore Nurse ends up in Carolina.

06. The Calgary Flames select Sean Monahan
..the Flames are looking for a centreman and a future captain and they feel that Monahan will fit that bill better than Lindholm. The fact that Monahan is a Canadian plays in and that is what makes them go with Monahan rather than Lindholm. Feaster also loves the fact that Monahan may very well have been the players the Oilers were looking to get.

07. The Edmonton Oilers select Valeri Nichuskin
..as Lowe once said, you can never have enough elite talent. And with Nurse gone, Monahan gone the Oilers are more than happy to see the big power forward, who also happens to be a left winger, fall to the them. Nichuskin, who’s deemed “NHL-ready”, will fit the Oilers perfectly as the 2LW. Finally some size and the Oil Country will learn to love their new Russian tandem.

08. The Buffalo Sabres select Elias Lindholm
..while Elias truly is an elite talent, many seem to ignore his numbers. The Sabres are lucky to get this kind of player at 8 and although Lindholm will remain in Sweden for at least another year they just can’t walk away from him. Elias could easily have been a top 4 pick one year ago.

09. The New Jersey Devils select Rasmus Ristolainen
..with Adam Larsson not shining yet one would think the Devils possibly would shy away from drafting another European defender. However, the Devils have very few promising defenders in their system and they decide to give it another go. I personally rank Ristolainen ahead of Nurse with Ristolainen being the more complete of the two. That should say something about Ristolainen who I feel is ready to make his NHL-debut in 13-14.

10. The Dallas Stars select Alexander Wennberg
..the 2nd Swede to go is centreman Wennberg. This is a guy who seem to have what it takes and one I personally have been very impressed watching and while some concerns have been that he might not produce offence I just don’t see that issue. Wennberg have done extremely good given his circumstances. When the Swedish Junior-coach got a job in the SHL with Frölunda, Wennberg was one of the first he called and got signed. Wennberg will, much like Lindholm, stay in Sweden for another year or two but once he makes it over to Texas I can really see him making an impact with Dallas.

So, there it is.. now, let’s see exactly how wrong I am.

Omark set to play in Europe 2012/13

Linus Omark have officially found a new home in the Swiss team EV Zug. He signed a 1 year deal which will see Omark return to Europe for 2012/13. The reason for signing a short-term deal is due to the imminent lockout and the fact he’s still determined to make it to the big league.

I’ve decided to return to Europe due to the lockout. It’s an especially bad timed lockout for me (personally), seeing I was injured for the majority of last season. Had this been one year ago, I might have been traded earlier - before I got hurt. Basically all I want is to play hockey but if this lockout turns out to be for just 2 months my situation will be even worse.

I want to play in the NHL and that’s it. But at this moment, all I can do is to have one heck of a season (in Switzerland) and hopefully that could open up for a return (to the NHL). (In Zug) I will be handed a good role that should suit me and that was important to me. If things turn out as I hope they will I’ll get a lot of ice-time and I’m really looking forward to that.

The Oilers will still hold his rights for another two seasons. I personally want to wish Omark all the best with his new team and hopefully he’ll be able to impress and make a return to the NHL for 2013/14.

(Source: kuriren.nu)

Omark and another misquote

In this beloved time of the Internet and news travelling across Twitter faster than anyone could ever had imagined just a couple of years ago another interesting item to Oiler (and Barons + Luleå-fans) saw the light today.

#NHL— #Oilers Linus Omark tells Norrbottens-Kuriren news that if he can’t find an NHL club, he will play for Luleå HF of the SEL.

— NHLwiki (@NHLwiki)

July 11, 2012

Obviously I looked it up and the item and unsurprisingly it was another Omark misquote.

What it said was in fact that he was looking to find a home “hopefully within the near future, but you never know” (how things go). If a lockout should occur, something Omark says he “haven’t been thinking about that much, as I just want to find a home (i.e, a team to play for)”. Another funny thing with the misquote is that it clearly stated that “he will play for Luleå HF of the SEL” when in fact the item reads that if a lockout occurs playing for Luleå is far from a guarantee, but “obviously Luleå comes first in mind, but that’s nothing I’m thinking about at this moment”.

So there it is.. don’t believe in every tweet you read.

(Source: kuriren.nu)

Oilers trying to convince Klefbom to stay with guaranteed ice-time

When I (via Mr. Eriksson) broke the news to Canada that Klefbom was about to sign his ELC with the Edmonton Oilers it was also said that Klefbom would remain with his Swedish team, Färjestad (not Färjestads with an “s”) BK, for another season. This might be changing.

The reason for this is that the Oilers brass are now trying to convince the young Swede to remain with (and in) Edmonton come 2013/14. And while the signing of Schultz (the younger) led you (well: me) to believe they wouldn’t go with Klefbom this year (two rookie defensemen might not be the best way to go about things) a tremendous rookie camp along with the new coach Kreuger in charge things seem to have changed. According to sources who’ve talked to Klefbom the Oilers have tried to persuade Klefbom, offering him a spot on the Oilers roster with guaranteed ice-time, a guarantee that the highly thought of Schultz didn't receive (or so they say). Klefbom have yet to make up his mind, saying “it’s obviously a lucrative offer” that “makes you think” but “nothing is decided yet and I’ve asked them for more time to make a final decision”.

It’s a bit surprising but then again, maybe it isn’t. Stauffer did hint about Klefbom being miles ahead of the rest of the D-prospects (and that’s usually a good tell) and the Oilers web team seem to want to make Klefbom possibly coming over a bigger story than it perhaps should’ve been (seeing Klefbom earlier had said he would remain in Sweden). Personally I believe that Klefbom would be able to make the jump, in a lesser role, but he’s a very mature young guy indeed. I’d say he’s more “NHL-ready” than say Murray, I’d also say Klefbom would have gone higher than Murray had he been 2 months younger (and perhaps that says something?) - told you when we drafted him and I’m saying it again - Klefbom at #19 was a steal.

The Färjestad “GM” (well, sort of) didn’t know anything about the Oilers trying to lure Klefbom to cross the pond earlier than said and he remains confident that Klefbom did do well during the rookie camp but would stay in Sweden, get a bigger role with his team and seize the opportunity to represent Tre Kronor (Team Sweden), with that said - Färjestad did sign a Finnish defenseman, pretty much out of the blue, just the other day but maybe that’s reading too much into things..

It’s still up in the air and I suppose it’s all about what’s best for the development of the player and the organization as whole. I’m guessing most would say another year in the SEL (or even in the AHL) would be best and they might very well be right. But I believe that Klefbom wouldn’t make Kreuger (or even Tambo) look dumb for playing his as soon as this coming season. Then again - guaranteed ice-time is never, at least in my book, a good thing. Earn it.

“Update”..

Yeah, wouldn’t really call it an update but HockeySverige made a brief addition to the Klefbom story where Klefbom have told ‘em today that he’s “leaning towards staying with Färjestad” as he feels that staying in Sweden for another year would probably benefit his development more than risking to take a leap over the pond too early. Which basically means that the Oilers still want him to come over, Klefbom is still undecided but the ball is very likely with him.

(Source: twitter.com)

This is it.

I’ve been quiet here for a while (I’m more active on Twitter). Either way.. today is draft day, which is (sadly) a little bit like Christmas and playoffs all at once for us Oilers fans and I thought I’d give my opinion before it all goes down.

But this being both Christmas and our playoffs, you can also feel let down by what you receive. You know what feeling you got when you were a kid (well, some might be getting the same feeling even when older) when you received a soft present containing a couple of socks when you in fact were expecting the latest Nintendo game station. That very same thing might happen today, we might be getting something we didn’t expect or even want.

To start things of Robin Brownlee of the OilersNation and Alan Hull of the Copper & Blue pretty much summed up my own personal feelings.

Robin Brownlee:

While I’m impressed with Yakupov’s Sarnia teammate Alex Galchenyuk and think he better fits the organization’s needs in terms of position, nothing trumps the need for a team that’s missed the playoffs six straight years than taking the BPA. Here and now, Yakupov is that player. It doesn’t hurt, in my estimation, he also has a swagger to him. This team could use some of that.

Alan Hull:

MO, they certainly can’t pick at #1 and take anyone else. I’m not partial to trading down, but I’m very intrigued by Galchenyuk. I think they take Yakupov, which I’m good with. Picking Murray or Reinhart @ #1 is a huge mistake. If (they are) going to trade down, only scenario I like is swapping for #2 or #3 and taking Galchenyuk, but only if they feel (he) is the top guy.

I personally hope they won’t go after Murray. He’s good, but very comparable to Klefbom. Had Klefbom been two months younger than he is, he would’ve been ranked where Murray is today. If the Oilers are looking to add a D-man I really hope they would go after someone who has more upside to him. On my personal wishlist, I have all of Rielly, Dumba, Ceci and Reinhart ranked ahead of Murray.

Another player I really don’t want the Oilers to pick is my fellow Swede Forsberg (something people know by now if they have read my comments spread out over the Oilogosphere). He’s a poor man’s Landeskog. I love Landeskog, but Forsberg is nowhere near him. That and the fact Forsberg won’t be able to do much good in the NHL for another 3-4 years (why on earth would we waste our #1 pick on him!?). I wouldn’t even take him with the 10th (if we had it) OV pick.

Last but not least I hope we somehow manage to get Henrik Samuelsson of the Edmonton Oil Kings. He’s a guy that I know for a fact wants to remain in the city of Edmonton, he brings a lot to the table the Oilers could use. Please be there for our #32 Henrik!

Speaking of players who wants to be an Oiler, there’s also the darkhorse scoring-machine Faksa, wouldn’t be surprised to see him go early.

Let’s hope we won’t feel let down when this day is over. Please do the right thing - #justtakeYakupov

Klefbom set to sign a three-year entry-level contract with the Oilers

For those of you who follow me on Twitter (@dohfOs) you’ll know by now that the Swedish prospect Oscar Klefbom did receive a phone call from the Tre Kronor head coach Pär Mårts (who calls Klefbom the next big thing in Swedish hockey) to finally make his debut this week with the Swedish national team. It was meant to be sort of a tryout ahead of Worlds after a excellent ending to the season by Klefbom whom throughout the playoffs was matched against the other teams top-scorers, but by the look of things - it just wasn’t meant to be. Klefbom is once again out, this time a Charley horse got in the way, nothing serious but he won’t be playing with the grown-ups this time around.

But as bad news as that might have been for the young Swede, as good is the other. My friend over at Värmlands Folkblad (“VF”, local paper of Karlstad), Johan Eriksson, revealed that Oilers GM, Steve Tambellini, had gone over to Stockholm, Sweden, to meet up with Oscar and finalize his first deal that will make him an Oiler-lock, a three-year entry-level contract with the Oilers. 

Oscar Klefbom will however remain in Sweden for one more season but is looking to come over to Edmonton for at least one camp this coming season.

Eriksson of VF had a chat with Klefbom about the meeting with Oilers GM (freely translated by myself).

Klefbom on the meeting with Steve Tambellini..

- I was a little nervous at first (when meeting up with Tambellini), a bit afraid that he would only put up a plan for my future should look like. But he asked rather a lot of questions about how the season has been, how it looks in Färjestad next year and how I felt about myself, the whole situation, both personally and in terms of hockey. (Signing a contract with the Oilers) is a major thing. NHL has always been the biggest dream for me and the fact they want to sign to a contract now is a proof that they are satisfied with me.

On the next season..

- I explained to him (Tambellini) that I really enjoy working here and what the situation looks like in Färjestad, when Frögren, Sevc and Berglund disappears, it favours me. I’m going up a few notches. We agreed that I would stay another year here (in Sweden, with Färjestad), it will do me good, there’s no stress. Edmonton want me to go over to a camp so I that I will feel more like a part of the team and get to meet all the big stars like Taylor Hall and the others. We’ll see when it gets, it also depends on what Färjestad allows me to do. The club has some real big stars emerging at once and also got a new first choice in the draft this summer. I feel like the timing signing with them and going over there will be perfect, Klefbom smiles.

Klefbom have earlier on stated that he’s no stranger to spending time in the AHL but believes he’s better of playing big minutes and getting even more responsibility with Färjestad, which is more than likely to happen coming into 2012/13. Next year he will be eligible to play in the WJC again, he will play a big part, not only with Färjestad but also in national tournaments with Tre Kronor. All in all this seems to be a very wise decision from both parties. Klefbom is now set to be an Oiler but his contract won’t start ticking until next year. From what I’ve seen of Klefbom this season he could very well have made Oilers straight out of training camp this fall but one more year will, just as he put it himself, do him good. Looking at his success during WJC translating his game to the smaller rink doesn’t seem like a big issue (although the quality of competition is obviously harder in the NHL, duh).

Something tells me I was right last summer, shortly after Klefbom was picked, when I wrote..

Both Brodin and Klefbom comes from the ultimate Swedish winning culture and with Klefbom being the bigger one (size-wise) it’s more or less the ultimate pick for the Oilers. Klefbom is an ace. Not only am I happy we didn’t pick Larsson, I’m also thrilled we ended up with Klefbom, not only is Stu a magnificent bastard, the pick itself is equally magnificent and I for one wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up being a future fan-favorite among Oil-fans.

..I still stand by those words.

(Source: vf.se)