Edmonton Oilers Season Ticket Holders Vote With Their Cheers

The Edmonton Oilers held their annual “Signature Event” evening at Rexall Place, Thursday night, and it was clear which members of the organization are at the top of the list of (a term I really hate, by the way) so-called “Tier-I” fans.

First of all, this is a nice night put on by the Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club. It puts a bold-face on a fact which I have known to be true over almost 27 years of covering sports: Hockey players are the classiest, most down-to-earth professional athletes. Period. My 13 year old secured 7 autographs, and each player could not have been nicer to him. Good on them.

It is a fascinating social study to show up at the event like this, and see how well the team and it’s personnel is received. For all of the talk on social media about how disenchanted the fan base is with the organization, no-one called out management, no boos pelted down from the cheap seats, no jerseys were flung. If the sentiments seen on Twitter and heard on call-in shows are real, then their authors don’t have the guts to show up and make their feelings known, mano-a-mano, with the General Manager. Guess they can always put up another billboard to hide behind.

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But one common theme stood out: On this night, with this crowd, Interim Head Coach Todd Nelson was a Rock-Star. Every time his name was mentioned, there was prolonged and enthusiastic applause for Nelson. It was at its loudest when one fan submitted to the GM that “we want him back next year”. Craig MacTavish was, and quite understandably needs to be, non-committal on that front, and offered up only “He’s doing a great job”.

Other observations, for what they are worth:

-the two longest lines for the 2-hour autograph session were for Nail Yakupov and Taylor Hall. Clearly, these two players win the Tier-I popularity contest. Hall, by the way, was NOT wearing a walking cast.

-Captain Andrew Ference is appreciated by this segment of the fan base. His autograph line was well populated, and he was received very warmly at the Roundtable as well.

–Craig MacTavish reiterated that he “feels strongly about the core”, and strongly suggested that there would be relatively little player turn-over in the off-season.

-I’ll fall over backwards if the Edmonton Oilers deal Oscar Klefbom or Nail Yakupov. The seeded question on these two players Thursday night was met with enthusiastic endorsement from the G.M.

-Jeff Petry is as good as gone. MacT never once referred to negotiations with Petry, when asked about the player, although MacTavish was complimentary of Petry’s game this year. And his response about the liquidity of draft picks was a tell.

-The Edmonton Oilers would welcome another opportunity to host the World Junior Hockey Championships, only at brand-new Rogers Place. Patrick LaForge could barely contain his excitement at the thought.

-Come June, a downtown facility will open, allowing season ticket holders to get a pseudo-reality tour of the new arena’s seating. By mid-October, you will have the opportunity to select your seats.

Over-all, this is an evening which the Edmonton Oilers do well. Fans who (mostly) pay top dollar to watch this team on a nightly basis are treated like valuable customers.

St. Louis Saturday, huh? Yeah. Well, they way they’ve been playing lately…