The Edmonton Oilers are back in familiar territory today, hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs in what reads as a home game with a road-team crowd attached. When one of the Original 6 clubs shows up in the West, the visiting fans tend to show out, and that should be part of the atmosphere tonight.
If Mike Babcock can get his team to forecheck to TML defense, it will be a long night for the road team and those fans cheering for the road squad. If it becomes a track meet?
Those fans will have a wonderful time. Please read this.
There’s also a bigger hockey-history thread running through the conversation around the Oilers right now. In a 1990 summer edition of The Hockey News, Harry Neale wrote, “ Not that all of Sather’s moves work out.
Vladimir Ruzicka didn’t fit in with the team last year-but blame that circumstance partially on a lingering prejudice against players from Iron Curtain countries. Ruzicka has an outstanding shot and the talent to be No. 2 behind Mark Messier at center.
” Ruzicka was a big pivot (6.03) and he was an impressive scorer, but he was one-dimensional and both the Toronto Maple Leafs (who drafted him) and the New York Rangers (who traded for his signing rights, but Phil Esposito didn’t like him) passed on the opportunity to bring him over.
Glen Sather still wanted the talent, so he dealt for Ruzicka’s rights and signed the Czech center to a four-year contract in December of 1989. The reaction inside the organization was positive enough. In the January 26, 1990 edition of The Hockey News, management and coaching had already seen reasons to like him.
“I don’t think you have to worry about him keeping up with the team,” observed GM Glen Sather. “He can skate.”
Coach John Muckier was impressed by Ruzicka’s puckhandling ability. “He’s got good hands and he skates exceptionally well.
He looks like he’s in pretty good shape, although he got tired towards the end of practice.”
His time in Edmonton didn’t last because of the defensive side of the game. Muckler used him in 25 games, and Ruzicka scored 11 goals, but the fit wasn’t there for the style the Oilers wanted. Sather eventually moved him to the Boston Bruins, receiving Greg Hawgood in return in one of those trades that fit the old Sather-Harry Sinden rhythm.
That old example leads into the present-day Oilers, who are finding success with players from “Iron Curtain” countries again. Vasily Podkolzin is at the center of that story.
His play has made him a leading figure in the Oilers’ ‘new wave’ of players 25-and-under who matter now and should matter later. Shakir Mukhamadullin is from Russia as well, and while he is not established yet, the tools are there for him to become an NHL player.
Podkolzin, in particular, looks like the kind of player Mike Babcock would have appreciated. He earned a featured role right away, bringing offense, work rate, and usefulness on both sides of the puck. That combination gives him extra value and makes him Babcock’s top left winger.
Looking ahead, the Oilers are projected to have six forwards healthy who can score consistently: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Podkolzin, Zach Hyman, the currently injured Matt Savoie and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Kasperi Kapanen can occasionally look like a scoring winger, and Ike Howard looks like a strong bet to become one. That makes six plus two maybes, but the Oilers still need nine forwards who can really move the needle.
That’s why Dmitri Voronkov comes up as a name worth watching. Stan Bowman is expected to explore a trade for center Ryan O’Reilly or a similar type at the deadline, but Voronkov would be the winger I’d target instead.
He’s a big body at 6.05, 230, he moves well, and his scoring line works out to 22-23-45 per 84 NHL games. He can battle, he can transport pucks, and he can find creative outlets with the puck.
The possession numbers back up the appeal. Voronkov’s DFF% is strong, especially when measured against his teammates, and his most common linemates last season were Kirill Marchenko and Adam Fantilli. That’s a good sign for what he can be.
Aaron Portzline at The Athletic recently summed up the tension around him this way: Voronkov “has not lived up to the promise he showed as a power forward with a combative style and soft hands. The Blue Jackets have grumbled for years about his lack of conditioning.
So why would another team want him? Voronkov has enormous potential, and at times he’s looked like an NHL impact forward.”
That’s the bet: risk now, payoff later. For the Oilers, Voronkov would be a worthwhile swing, especially if they’re serious about building more scoring depth around the core. Enjoy the game.
In Other News...
Oilers Suddenly Face A Goaltending Question They Cant Ignore
A quiet stretch around the Oilers crease turned into a more serious personnel issue after Edmonton placed Devon Levi on injured reserve and brought up Matt Tomkins on emergency depth. Levis injury has not been disclosed, and the move means the Oilers will have to manage at least the next week without him while sorting out the ripple effect behind the scenes.
For a team that already has enough to monitor on the injury front around the league, this is the kind of goaltending twist that demands attention immediately. Edmonton now has to lean on its current options while Levi recovers, and the timing adds another layer of uncertainty as other clubs continue to get healthier or reshuffle their own lineups. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Just Sent Trent Frederic A Message He Cant Ignore
Trent Frederic found himself on the outside looking in against the Carolina Hurricanes, a reminder that the Oilers are not interested in simply carrying passengers through the bottom six. Coach Mike Babcock said he wants more from that group in terms of hard work and consistent physical engagement, with a premium on puck battles and pressure below the topsix level.
Frederic has already been told the message is bigger than one night, and he said he understands what is being asked of him as he tries to win his way back into the lineup. The balancing act for Edmonton is familiar at this point: the team needs energy and edge from its depth forwards, but it also needs those shifts to turn into something more than isolated moments of toughness. [Read more 🡒]
Hurricanes Just Missed On A Goalie Move Fans Will Feel
The goalie market has already turned into one of the more fascinating subplots around the league, and the Carolina Hurricanes were right in the middle of it. They made multiple attempts to pry Connor Hellebuyck out of Winnipeg, working through complicated trade proposals in hopes of landing a difference-maker in net, but the Jets asking price never came down enough to get a deal done. The New Jersey Devils were the club that ultimately finished the job, leaving Carolina to watch a move they clearly wanted slip away.
For Edmonton fans, it is the kind of near-miss that only sharpens the discussion about how aggressively contenders have to chase impact talent. The Oilers know the ripple effect these goalie decisions can have, especially when rivals are willing to keep pushing until a deal breaks their way. In this case, Carolina kept pressing, but the path to Hellebuyck ended with another team taking advantage of the opening. [Read more 🡒]