Edmonton Oilers Rookies Defeat Vancouver Canucks Rookies 5-2

Yesterday was the final game of the Young Stars Classic in Penticton. The Edmonton Oilers already have beaten the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 and the Calgary Flames 4-1. Yesterday they were able to go undefeated through the tournament by beating the Vancouver Canucks 5-2.

This game was another dominating effort by the Edmonton Oilers rookies over a fellow Canadian rookie squad. Just like in the two games before the Holloway-Bourgault-Hamblin line were able to take over the game.

This time it wasn’t just them though. They got some support from first round pick Reid Schaefer. Schaefer was able to open the scoring in this game with a beauty of a shot from the top of the circle.

Seeing him score is something I was hoping to see in this camp. The way he played last season in the WHL I am glad to see that some of it has followed him to his NHL career and that he did let the nerves get to him.

Highlights

As I mentioned above Reid Schaefer was able to open the scoring just about halfway through the second period. Up to this point in the game the goalie were playing a very solid game as were the team’s defense.

This was a nice shot by Schaefer. Watching that shot there is no reason to doubt the 32 goals he put up last year in the WHL. I am looking forward to seeing how he fares against NHL level goalies this coming week in the Edmonton Oilers main camp.

Dylan Holloway scored the next goal on a beautiful one man effort. He was able to pick up the puck in his end and go coast to coast for the goal. The most impressive part of this goal for me was the drove by the defenseman and was able to cut back and slide the puck underneath the goalie.

That type of move shows me that he is ready to be playing in the NHL. He knows he has the strength and skill to beat these rookies and he is showing us. If Holloway keeps playing this style of game he is going to make it impossible for the Edmonton Oilers coaches to not keep him on the NHL roster.

The Vancouver Canucks shortly after Holloway’s goal are able to bring this game to within one goal. After a scramble in front of the net the puck gets held it nicely at the point. After that it seems the Oilers defense fell apart.

They left a player wide open on the back door and then the puck found its way to the slot where Linus Karlsson was standing and he was able to fire the puck into the back of the net.

This goal is one that Olivier Rodrigue would love to have back. It is just an unlucky goal scored against the Edmonton Oilers. Linus Karlsson throws the puck on the net from behind the goal line and it finds a way through to tie the game at 2.

The good news about letting in bad goals is they seem to even themselves out. This is the case on the Edmonton Oilers 3rd goal. I honestly had to watch this goal 3-4 times to see what actually happened.

The shot from the point gets deflected way up in the air and ends up going up and over everyone before landing in the net. This is a classic “they don’t ask how, they ask how many” scenario. No one is going to be saying its a nice as Holloway’s goal, but it counts for the same amount.

This goal is another nice goal to watch.  Cole Dubinsky was able to make a nice move around the defenseman then roof it on the backhand over top of the goalie. This goal shows a lot of skill. First of all to beat the dman 1v1 then to have the ability to get the puck up and under the bar on his backhand. Nice play here by Dubinsky.

The Edmonton Oilers were able to add an empty net goal at the end to make the game a 5-2 final. After watching all the games this past few days, I would say this was the Edmonton Oilers strongest showing of the rookie tournament.

Edmonton Oilers Training Camp

Now the rookie tournament is over it is time to move our focus on to the NHL regulars and the Edmonton Oilers main training camp. There is a lot of things at stake this year for the Edmonton Oilers. After losing in the Western Conference Finals last season, the fans and organization now have their eyes on the Stanley Cup.

The Edmonton Oilers play 8 preseason games and they start on this Sunday September 25 at 4PM MT. The schedule of the preseason looks like this.

• Winnipeg Jets @ Edmonton Oilers Sept 25, 4PM
• Edmonton Oilers @ Seattle Kraken Sept 26, 8PM
• Edmonton Oilers @ Calgary Flames Sept 28, 7PM
• Calgary Flames @ Edmonton Oilers Sept 30, 7PM
• Edmonton Oilers @ Winnipeg Jets Oct 1, 6PM
• Vancouver Canucks @ Edmonton Oilers Oct 3, 7PM
• Edmonton Oilers @ Vancouver Canucks Oct 5, 8PM
• Seattle Kraken @ Edmonton Oilers Oct 7, 7PM

After that the NHL regular season will start for the Edmonton Oilers on October 12th at 8PM as they will be taking on the Vancouver Canucks. This will not only be the season opener but also their home opener.

I am excited to see how the next couple weeks play out, because I don’t know about you, but I am ready to watch some meaningful Edmonton Oilers hockey.