NHL Rookie of the Year 2011

With 22 points (nine goals, 13 assists) in 31 games, Jordan Eberle is a front runner for the Rookie of the Year 2011 award.

Eberle is tied for the lead in National Hockey League rookie scoring with Carolina Hurricanes centre Jeff Skinner and San Jose Sharks centre Logan Couture, who Eberle will see on Tuesday, when the Oilers are in San Jose.

After netting a pair in the Oilers' 6-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night, the rookie has scored four goals in his last three games.

"You can't get too off focus," he said at the conclusion of practice on Friday at Rexall Place. "I think the main thing was I was getting chances and I wasn't playing bad, so I guess sometimes the puck just won't go your way.

"It's amazing. You go (19) games without a goal and then all of a sudden I've got (four) through (three) games. It's a part of the game and you've got to learn to work through that."

Read More NHL Rookie of the Year 2011 at: Puck bounces Eberle's way

Eberle Named top WHL player

The future is looking bright for the Edmonton Oilers.

Not only do the Oilers have the No. 1 pick in June’s entry draft, but prospect Jordan Eberle was Wednesday named 2009-10 Western Hockey League Player of the Year and recipient of the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy.

The 19-year-old Eberle scored 50 goals and added 56 assists for 106 points in 57 regular-season games for his hometown Regina Pats to finish second in WHL scoring. Eberle’s 1.86 points-per-game was the highest average in 11 WHL seasons.

The five-foot-11, 184-pound forward finished tied for second in the league with 19 power-play goals and was also second with six short-handed goals. Eberle, the all-time leading goal-scorer of Canada’s world junior hockey team, was drafted in the first round (22nd overall) by the Oilers in the 2008 NHL entry draft.

Eberle will compete against potential future Oiler teammate Tyler Seguin in the competition for the Canadian Hockey League player of the year award.

Seguin, a member of the Plymouth Whalers who Wednesday was named the Ontario Hockey League’s most valuable player, is the projected No. 1 pick in the NHL draft.

Representing the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is Saint John Sea Dogs centre Mike Hoffman, an Ottawa Senators prospect.

Source: The Vancouver Sun

Oilers Fire Assistant GM Kevin Prendergast

Oilers Fire Assistant GM

Kevin Prendergast considers himself fortunate, even though he was fired on Wednesday.

The Edmonton Oilers' former assistant general manager spent 20 years with the organization before being relieved of his duties by GM Steve Tambellini.

“I’m a lucky guy, I have no complaints,” Prendergast said on Thursday.

“There are not many people that can say that they’ve been with the same team for 20 years. I’ve been in hockey for 28 years now and it’s the first time I’ve been fired, I’ll live with it. It’s unfortunate. I know we worked hard at it and it wasn’t the end result that we wanted.

“But I’ve enjoyed it, I’ve worked with some great people in Edmonton, I’ve learned a lot. This is my home and the opportunity to work with guys like Glen Sather and Bruce MacGregor, Barry Fraser, Kevin Lowe, Scott Howson and Ricky Olczyk, I’ve learned from all these guys,. They’re class people. It’s been great.”

Prendergast joined the organization in 1990 hired on as vice president of hockey operations. He was responsible for the team’s scouting staff and minor league affiliates.

This season, the Oilers AHL team in Springfield struggled, finishing last in the league standings. The Falcons' woes coincided with the Oilers' troubles as half of the farm team was called up to play in the NHL this season.

It was a tough year for the entire organization, right on down to their junior hockey team. Tambellini vowed changes and it’s obvious he wasn’t just talking about player personnel letting go of one of the team's longest-serving staff members.

"We suck. We stink. We look like we don't know how to play hockey."
- Ales Hemsky, Jan 26th 2007

Source: Toronto Sun
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OILERS' OWNER KATZ MAKES BID FOR NEW ARENA IN EDMONTON

Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz made his bid for a new arena official Monday with a zoning application for a large swath of land on the edge of downtown.

In addition to an arena that the NHL team would call home, the application calls for a casino and a mix of hotels, apartments, retailers, broadcasting and movie studios, exhibition and convention facilities and nightclubs.

The land being considered is a 6.5-hectare plot near the present Baccarat Casino just north of the downtown core. None of the buildings would be taller that 60 storeys, the application says.

The city's general manager of planning and development, Gary Klassen, said the application is the first formal step and doesn't commit the city to anything.
Source: TSN
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