The Edmonton Oilers are finally on the ice playing hockey against other teams. It may only be a rookies tournament, but it is still Oilers hockey.
The Edmonton Oilers opened up their rookies tournament with a 3-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets rookies.
As far as the rookie tournament goes it really doesn’t have much of an effect on the regular season Edmonton Oilers team. It is a good chance to get an eye on the Oilers top prospects and players that have a chance to crack the NHL roster.
On the rookie team this year I think there is only two players that we may have a chance to see in the NHL lineup come October. Those two players are Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg. They are the two that have the most experience combined with skill.
After watching the game last night there is no doubt in my mind that they were the best players on the ice last night. Holloway’s line seemed to always be in the offensive end of the ice, while Broberg seemed to be calm and collected out there while never really getting into much trouble.
This is exactly what you want to see from potential NHL players. You want to see them standing out in a game where it is all younger players. You need to be the best of the rookies if you want a chance to play regularly in the NHL. To me those two showed that tonight.
Highlights
The Winnipeg Jets opened up the scoring as Brad Lambert drives past the Edmonton Oilers defence and is able to get the puck to end up in the back of the net.
The Edmonton Oilers tie the game up as Carter Savoie sent a perfect pass across the crease to a pinching Darien Kielb and Kielb makes no mistake and buries the puck in the open net.
This was a nice read by Kielb to notice the opening and move into it. Also good eyes on Savoie to notice him back door for the open look.
Halfway through the second period the Edmonton Oilers get a rush up the ice and Kesselring tries to feed Holloway with a cross ice pass and the puck gets deflected into the net as the defenceman tries to intercept.
One thing I think is underrated on this goal is the original pass to Kesselring from Holloway. There was a great touch on that pass.
Just after the Oilers scored the Winnipeg Jets tie the game. This was a bit of a scramble play where the Oilers lost track of Meireles and he scores on a wide open net. This was also a very nice pass by Perfetti.
In the game winning goal this is an example of this Edmonton Oilers line taking advantage of rookies. This line for the Oilers, Holloway, Hamblin and Xavier Bourgault, was the best line in this game.
When they were on the ice they usually had control of the puck. This goal was a good example of the hard work they put in. They forced a turnover and then were able to set up a cross ice tap in for Hamblin.
Next Game
The Edmonton Oilers will face the Calgary Flames rookies tomorrow at 8:30PM. The game can be watched on EdmontonOilers.com. If you don’t want to watch the game I will be putting together another recap article just like this one.