Well, with roughly 10 games left in the regular season, and it is pretty obvious now that we will finish with a top 5 pick in the draft this summer. But, this season for me was NOT a complete failure like many are stating, and there is a completely different team inside that locker room, a team I am very proud of for the most part. At times were the loses frustrating, aggravating, never-ending, and redundant? Absolutely, but the players on this Edmonton Oilers club, fought with everything they had, the played with blood, sweat and tears, essentially they played with heart and passion for the logo on their chest. I feel like this group of players, this family, they understand what that logo means in the hearts of every Oilers fan young and old. They understand what this city and its fans went through last season and how they saw the players in that locker room just give up and admit defeat.
The players that dress for this team hate to lose as much as they love to win. A huge amount of the credit for instilling this culture is the coaching staff, they expected nothing less than 110% every night out of this group, and when that didn’t happen they were the first ones to hold them accountable for what happened and how they played. So, Tom never called a bag skate when the team under preformed, but he called out their character, called them out not only as hockey players but as people, that sometimes is more motivating, then a bag skate. He called them out as men, and challenged them to prove that they are better, and that they don’t deserve the label as lazy, half-ass players, and that is the exact response Renney often got.
Yes, this year’s team is young and inexperienced but hell they sure know how to play exciting hockey. Seeing the magic that has developed between Hall and Eberle, makes any hockey fans heart race with excitement, seeing the heart and passion from third line winger Ryan Jones, erupt on the ice, and seeing Ryan Whitney show why he wore the A and anchored our back-end, thinking about it makes me grin. This year was a development year, and it was a year to get everything figured out, which did happen, but they did not go down without a fight.
One thing is absolute next season will be a BIG year! It’s time the rookies see what Edmonton is like during the playoffs cause there’s nothing like it.
Now this part of the blog, is really just me sounding off about a part of a young oilers team that I absolutely LOATHE………….bandwagon puck bunnies.
My issue, okay so first I must say, yes the young players on the team are good looking hell most of the team is decent looking, however should that matter when you are watching, NO, should that matter when you are decided why you like or don’t like a player, NO.
I don’t believe that you can go to a hockey game and talk about only how the players are looking during warm-ups or during the game, you cannot consider yourself a hockey fan. I don’t have a problem with girls saying that the players are good looking, cause I am guilty of doing it too, however hockey comes first, and if not don’t claim to know hockey when you don’t.
That's all folks
Peace