Did Shane Doan Lay A Dirty Hit On Shawn Horcoff?

Jeffrey Chapman — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 22:59:20 +0000

With all of the extra-curricular activity that took place after yesterday’s 2-1 OT victory, the fact that Shawn Horcoff was injured late in the game might have slipped your mind.

Horcoff was decked by Shane Doan with less than two minutes to play. Horcoff was face down for about five seconds, then got up and skated off. He didn’t return, and he’ll miss at least tonight’s game with what’s being called a “strained neck”.

Let’s have a look at the hit in question.

This all starts as the play rushes back towards the Edmonton zone. Corey Potter had just snapped his stick, and now Sam Gagner is chasing after the puck with Phoenix’s Nick Johnson. Johnson and Gagner collide, and the ref raises his arm up on a delayed call

…interestingly, the call goes against Gagner. Moving along.

Ryan Whitney chops at the puck, which slides under Gagner and Johnson. At no time does Horcoff touch the puck.

At this point, Shane Doan hits Shawn Horcoff from behind.. I’ll give Doan the benefit of the doubt and say that Horcoff probably saw the puck go by him before he got clocked, but Horcoff hadn’t become part of the play yet. He surely didn’t touch the puck.

And so it goes.

From the NHL rulebook – Rule 56.1, Interference and Possession of the Puck-

Possession of the Puck: The last player to touch the puck, other than the goalkeeper, shall be considered the player in possession. The player deemed in possession of the puck may be checked legally, provided the check is rendered immediately following his loss of possession.

Two problems with this incident.

Horcoff wasn’t a part of the play, he didn’t touch the puck. That’s basic interference.
Doan hit Horcoff from a vulerable position. Numbers = stop sign. If Doan clocked Horcoff into the boards like this, you can be certain that everyone would be up in arms about how irresponsible a hit it would’ve been.

At the very least, it’s interference. Without fully knowing how Horcoff is feeling in a week, it could end up being a lot worse than we know.

Follow Oil On Whyte on the Twitters.

Jeff – @OilOnWhyte

Ian – @ibleedoil

Jonathan – @jonrmcleod

Troy – @heavyoilcountry

Dave – @rustyknuckler

Check out the Oilers Army!

Click Here to visit our NHL main page “Too Many Men” – Fansided’s Hockey Home on the Internets

Horcoff Keeps The C, Eberle To Get An A

Jeffrey Chapman — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 20:26:01 +0000

ZOMG ZOMG REALLY???? “@oilonwhyte: @wanyegretz @itsthebgb He’s a full time alternate captain.”

— Wanye (@WanyeGretz) January 15, 2013

Wanye is the best.

Oilers Coach Ralph Krueger left the door open yesterday for speculation as far as who his captain was going to be.

Here’s the report card. I give it a B.

Shawn Horcoff will remain captain, at least through the end of this season.
Jordan Eberle has been promoted to a full-time alternate.
Taylor Hall and Nick Schultz will split time as an alternate
Both Ryan Whitney and Ales Hemsky will no longer serve as alternates.

ON HORCOFF KEEPING THE C

I don’t see why people are up in Horcoff’s grill. Fully convinced that if Horcoff was a 50 point player, fans would look upon him with much reverence and respect. Not everybody wants him to shed his C, but a growing number of people are really worked up about it. He’s 34 and a good leader, which is what good captains do. So yeah, he’s earned it. Good for Horcoff, and good for the team.

EBERLE AND THE A

Good for this guy, too. You’ll hear an argument that Hall deserves a full time A as well, but I’ve got a couple of quarters that say Eberle’s being groomed as Edmonton’s next captain. Not sure when that’ll be, but he’s got the full time A at 22 years of age.

HALL AND NICK SCHULTZ TO ALTERNATE AS ALTERNATES

Another nod to youth in Taylor Hall getting some time as an alternate. Hall will make a pretty good argument to wear the C in a couple of years.

ON HEMSKY AND WHITNEY LOSING THEIR LETTERS

Not at all thrilled with Hemsky losing his letter. And until a couple of dozen people let me in on the deal, I thought Justin Schultz was going to be the alternate. It’s Nick Schultz. (puts down pills, picks up icepack).