Strategic Initiative (The Rebuild)

My Take on Taking Strategic Initiative

As from a grotesque fairy tale, the doomsday prophets of this forum emerge from their lairs to claim their spoils. Unfortunately, many are too busy giving themselves credit to receive additional pats on the back. These grim losing days, growing ever so familiar as it rhymes so well with our past, do seem to narrow our vision to the level of 2008-Hemsky looking for the power-play back door pass. If it is possible to describe this season as a reversion to the performances we have become all to familiar with (although reversion implies some change) so the fans revert to their explanatory theories. Most of the time they orbit, like trusty lunar objects, around reactive measures – the sacking of a coach, the removal of a player, the stripping of a captaincy or the execution of the executives. What about pro-active approaches? As Alan Kay said: “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.”

Once again I will shamelessly forge my arguments in the foundries of far greater speakers than I, as Dwight D. Eisenhower said: “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” Planning, at least planning discernible from the outside, has been glaringly absent in recent years. Seneca noted that “If you do not know to what port you are sailing, no wind is favourable” and that still illustrates how one should “Never confuse movement with action” (as Hemingway put it). And mounted loyally astride on the directionless Oiler prairie horse are the fans, though we seem to face backwards far too often. It is always about blame here, now we’re busy figuring out if Lowe or Tambellini is most responsible, naturally so, because as with most mammals the droppings of the equus is left in its trail. But what about the road ahead? (more…)

History of Change

As the Oilers have fallen 6 straight in a row, fans are screaming for CHANGE CHANGE! We haven’t done anything in the past few years! CHANGE! Well, the players may not have changed, but the organization as a whole has actually been dynamically changing the past few years, from the top down.

July 2, 2008
Daryl Katz is announced as the new official owner of the Edmonton Oilers.
This happened only just one and a half years ago. This was a sign of a new era. The Oilers now have a single owner with lots of money, were able to spend to the cap now, take on front loaded contracts, and be able to compete financially. With seemingly unlimited money, this changes the way not only how the entire organization pays players, but more importantly they can spend more on the ‘grinders’ of management, the scouts, coaching staff, development team, capologist, negotiators, etc.

July 31, 2008
Steve Tambellini named GM of the Oilers
Now with the owner change, the next guy in line is the GM. (more…)

Horpensky`s 09/10 quarterly report

Dustin Penner: A+
This guy seriously looks like a man on a mission. I always knew he had great hands, but he’s even using is body a lot more to do that ‘Eric Cole drive’. I like how he’s given the “A” when given the chance, and he’s making a very strong case to keep it with his play. His defensive game has always been great, so I don’t know why MacT roasted him a lot even last year when he was leading the team in +/-.

Ales Hemsky: A-
He’s been the same Hemsky as always, except this time he isn’t leading the team in scoring. Great vision, frustrating when he skates right into defenders. I’ve kinda gotten used to that, but it would be nice to see him take his game to a safer level. Reminds me kind of like Alex Kovalev, fun to watch when he’s hot, but extremely frustrating when he’s cold.

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On coaching comparisons and team psychology

It is as inevitable as gravity, tidal cycles and Leaf-suckage - fans and experts alike compare head coaches Pat Quinn and Craig MacTavish. The roster MacTavish commanded in his last Oilers campaign has all but entirely spilled over into Quinn’s reign, and we are tempted to draw some early conclusions. As anyone can easily observe the results have immediately improved. Though the statistical sample is limited our record stands at 6-2-1 for a strong .722 point percentage after 9 games. That, of course, has a particularly satisfying taste to the neglected palates of Oilers society, having been starved with the mediocre pastries of .500 hockey for years. But alas, this is only statistics and as Evan Esar said “It is the only science that enables different experts using the same figures to draw different conclusions.” Still, the conclusions here seem to flow in the same vein – Pat Quinn is a better coach than Craig MacTavish. The questions are; Is Quinn really better? If so, why is he better? What has changed? How has it changed? (more…)

Pat Quinn`s Edmonton Oilers

Looking back at the recent off season, Edmonton Oilers fans endured both an embarrassing refusal by one Dany Heatley to waive his no-trade clause as well as what felt like some stagnation in terms of our roster of players.  Dwayne Roloson was let go due to age and concerns over the duration of a contract that he was seeking.  Kyle Brodziak was traded at the draft for a bucket of pucks.  We also let go of Ales Kotalik which raised concerns over the loss of the scoring that he brought to the Oilers.

If you add it all up, we lost an aged but competitive goalie who battled on a nightly basis, a center who could win draws and kill penalties, and a big if not physical winger who could score goals.  Following these changes, not surprisingly several Oilers bloggers lamented the refusal of Oilers’ management to find a center who can kill penalties and win face-offs, a shut-down defensemen, and a big winger who could score goals.  Oh, and did I mention that we transitioned from the Oilers old boys club to the Nucks old boys club (sort of). (more…)