[Izzle]

Originally Posted by New Era

Hall is by far the best the Oilers have to offer. I believe the jury is still out. Until that kid learns to skate with his head up I will not consider him a top anything. As I said, he had a good half season after having a very mediocre 2nd. He has to prove he can play a full season at the same level displayed last season before he proclaimed anything of note. That would be the expectation you would hold for Flames players so I have no idea why you hold Oilers players to a different standard.

I dont think Hall got tagged in his third year. Remember he also played in the AHL, and while the competition is less than the NHL, he did produce playing against pros and men. I expect Monahan to be a bonafide 2 way player in the NHL, but till he does that in the NHL, its disingenuous at best to be comparing him to players that have already succeeded in the NHL.

Originally Posted by New Era

Nugent-Hopkins had a great rookie year. Then the rest of league caught on to him and the way he plays and he got crushed. Not surprised, it happens a lot. The Nuge is going to have to prove he can withstand the rigors of the NHL game and he can survive playing with men. He's never been an overly slippery player, so it will be interesting to see if he survives. It will also be interesting to see if he recovers from his injuries and if he can produce to the level expected of a number one pick. While you say there is a lot to be optimistic about, he does have to prove that optimism is correct. Coming soon, this fall?

You do realize that Nuge got his injury from smashing into the boards. I am assuming you implied that he got crushed from a hit another player had on him. Say that he is weak that his body cant hold up to the NHL grind, but to say that he got crushed is once again disingenuous. Here is a report stating that his on ice awareness is off the charts, which I choose to interpret that he can use it to be elusive:http://espn.go.com/blog/dallasstars/...gent-hopkins-2

Originally Posted by New Era

You can complain all you want about the treatment Yakupov gets but he deserves it. The kid is a punk and not a good hockey player at this point. Yeah, he can put a puck in the net, but can he play the other 185 feet of the ice? So far I think the answer is no. I'd rather Yakupov was on the Oilers than my team, especially on game nights. While you build him up like he's the next Ovechkin I see him more of the next Kovalchuk. As Atlanta or New Jersey fans how they liked him. Even when he was scoring he was a tough player to cheer for. When he wasn't scoring they hated him. Yakupov is that type of player. Don't like those type of players and never will. He may still change his ways, but he has to prove he is not another Kovalchuk and is a complete player.

Wow, I dont think anyone would say no to a Kovalchuk calibre player on their team. How about I ask my Oiler fans friends what they think about Yak... oh wait a sec, they love that guy and his "celebrations". I think there are very few oilers fans that dislike the guy. But then again, he could bolt to the KHL, but then again so could Nichushkin.

Originally Posted by New Era

What I do find funny is that if these guys were all Flames players you would be going out of your way to pick them apart and convince everyone how bad they are or what an uphill battle they have to ever succeed in the NHL. But they are Oilers and you can piss people off by defending them, so you choose to do so. I wish you put as much work into supporting our players as you do in supporting players from other teams or tearing ours down. It would make threads much more enjoyable and less frustrating.

Heck, I would find it hard to defend flames prospects especially considering they've not played an NHL game yet. I am optimistic that our picks will play well, but to bring down other teams and sometimes fabricate faults... not cool.