Future Edmonton Oilers captain Taylor Hall isn’t the first NHL up-and-comer who has had to play a secondary role when wearing Team Canada silks at the Olympics or the World Championships and he won’t be the last.So, while there's a segment of Oilers fans out there less-than-impressed with how Hall was used, or wasn't used, by Lindy Ruff and his staff at the 2013 World Championships, my guess is his lack of ice time and any consternation that comes with it will play in Hall's favor in the long run.I can't imagine Hall, coming off a season in which he scored 16-34-50 – he's the first Oiler to finish in the top-10 in NHL scoring since Doug Weight did it in 2000-01 – is going to waste any time sulking about his role. He's got a little bit too much "I'll-show-you" in him not to use this experience as motivation.As Jason Gregor pondered earlier today, I wonder if Team Canada brass will take a look at how Hall reacted, and will react from here on out, to his use with an eye to the next Olympics. Chances are, Hall, who is still only 21, won’t be looking at top-six minutes at Sochi in 2014, so if he's going to make the cut he'll likely have to show he can accept – and excel – with bottom-six minutes.My guess is Hall will.FAST FREDDIEI had to smile when former Oiler draft pick Fredrik Pettersson scored the shootout goal to beat Team Canada in Stockholm because I know first-hand the former Calgary Hitmen forward knows how to make an impact.Pettersson, a seventh-round pick by the Oilers in the 2005 Entry Draft, and I had a little run-in at training camp in Edmonton – I want to say it was right after his draft year, or maybe it was 2006.Anyway, I rolled out of the parking lot at Rexall Place in a spanking new Charger SRT8 I was driving at the time and headed into the intersection at 118th Ave and Wayne Gretzky drive with Pettersson, Alexei Mikhnov and Patrick Thoresen right behind me in a pick-up truck.To make a long story short, a dump truck stalled just past the intersection. I saw it and braked in time. Pettersson didn't and ploughed into me – nothing serious, maybe 20 KMH, but the bumper of his truck fit nicely into my trunk lid and peeled it back like a sardine can.I'll never forget the look on Mikhnov's face when he saw it was me. Mikhnov looks at me, looks at the car and, barely able to speak a word of English and perhaps envisioning an account of the mishap in the newspaper the next day, said, "This is bad."Not really, although it cost Fast Freddie about $4,000.WHILE I'M AT IT. . . We still don’t have word whether mayor Stephen Mandel, who oversaw the downtown arena debate from the start to the final 10-3 vote to approve the project, intends to run for another term of office, but I certainly hope he does.Simply put, Mandel strikes me as a man who says what he means and means what he says. I think no matter where you stood on the question of a new arena for the city, we can agree that's all too rare in the world of politics. I've been in Edmonton since 1989 and I don't recall a straight-shooter like Mandel occupying the mayor's chair.. . . So, what's the over-under on the number of players who finished this season on Edmonton's roster who will still be with the team when the Oilers play their first game in the new arena? I say six.Listen to Robin Brownlee Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the Jason Gregor Show on TEAM 1260.

It is a tournament that is supposed to determine the top junior team in the country. But at this year’s Memorial Cup in Saskatoon, draft-eligible players will be competing for another prize: the chance to go No. 1 in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.

You don't need an Ivy League education to realize that Mark Arcobello has been a huge reason for the Oklahoma City Barons' return to the American Hockey League's Western Conference Finals this spring. The Yale University alum with the degree in...

Rumour has it this picture was taken at city hall early this week when the 7-year arena deal saga finally ended. City council voted 10-3 in favour of the final funding model, and unlike previous votes this should be the final vote as council waived the conditions, according to mayor Stephen Mandel. The mayor made a quick appearance on my radio show on Wednesday, and he gave Mark Spector and I a quick recap of the arena deal and how we can finally move forward on the project.  Jason Gregor: Does today finally feel like the project is complete compared to other days in this process? Mayor Mandel: I thought it was complete lots of other time, so… But I think today is the culmination and that everything seems to be in place, and it will move ahead. Mark Spector: What about the things around the arena, when do the plans begin to break ground for the other developers? MM: Well there are a couple of high-rise condos being built right now; there are a couple of other projects underway that will take the time it takes them. Mr. Katz has a bunch of projects planned and we hope that those will move ahead. But that is not something that we control, people have to make an investment and we think they will because it will be profitable, and we will go from there. JG: I think that the arena is a solid central focus, but to really revitalize it, to really make downtown prosper, we need proper revitalization around it. Is there any sort of protection contingency in place to ensure the surrounding development actually occurs? MM: No you can’t mandate people to spend a whole bunch of money. It has to be feasible and we hope that once this is now finalized that people will look at building stuff. There are lots of plans, developments, that we hear about constantly going ahead once the arena is finally put to bed. So we will see what those are. We expect them to be substantial. I would say there are maybe two or three multi-million dollar projects that are going to go ahead. This is a lot of money. MS: This became a project that you guys seemingly just couldn’t let get away. It was a lot tougher negotiation, I will assume, than you thought in the end. But in the time that you got that close to the finish line, with everything that you just spoke about at stake, did you feel as the mayor of this city that this is just one that you couldn’t let get away on you? MM: There are lots of projects that we’ve done which we believe were equally important. This was very special, I mean the downtown museum, the Alberta Museum was very special. This will act as a catalyst to bring 18,000 to 20,000 people downtown 200 nights a year. We think it’s going to create opportunities for businesses downtown, solidify businesses downtown, and open up the doors for investment. So this is important. But it’s also a statement about Edmonton and that you believe in the city, that it’s a great city and it can support something like this. So it was really a statement about Edmonton and I’ve got to give Daryl Katz the credit. He persevered and he’s a tough guy to negotiate with, but that’s his choice. But the fact is that he had a vision and hopefully that vision will materialize in the areas surrounding the arena, but also in the arena.  JG: One of your councillors, Kerrie Diotte tweeted out afterwards that part of this deal is contingent on $7 million from the federal government and according to his sources they’ve never even been approached on that. Is there any truth to that? MM: You know, Kerry Diotte can tweet what Kerry Diotte wants to tweet. He wants to represent what he wants to represent. We will apply for money from the federal government under the building Canada program which we’ve talked to the MPs about and this project will qualify for it. There hasn’t been an application for it yet, because the money hasn’t been put available. So that’s how little Kerry Diotte knows. Maybe he should do some homework before he tweets all of the time.   MS: You guys were in B

STOCKHOLM - Swedish defenceman Alex Edler was suspended for the remainder of the IIHF World Championship on Friday for delivering a knee-on-knee hit on Canadian forward Eric Staal.

Photo by Michael Miller/WikimediaIf the Oilers are going to make a heavy pitch for a defenceman they probably aren’t going to get, that defenceman shouldn’t be Shea Weber. It should be the Washington Capitals’ Karl Alzner.Why Alzner?What kind of defenceman do the Oilers want to add on their blue line? Ideally, they would obtain somebody young who can be a fit in a top-four role on the left side for years to come. It should be a player who skates well and is capable of moving the puck. A player used to seeing top opponents would be a good fit, and it certainly wouldn’t hurt if he had size on his side.Enter Karl Alzner. The 6’3”, 213 pound defender turns 25 in September. He averaged a hair under 21 minutes per game in Washington this season, playing 17:17 at even-strength and 2:34 in short-handed situations. Here in part is how Matthew Coller, writing for Hockey Prospectus described him last summer:Karl Alzner has turned out to be one of the league’s top stay-at-home defensemen. His size and skating ability make life difficult for forwards trying to enter the offensive zone and his hands make fast breakouts of the Capitals’ offense possible… Alzner is an All-Star caliber defenseman who is underpaid at $1.3 million; a restricted free agent after 2012-13, the former Calgary Hitman looks due for a major payday.Going by behindthenet.ca’s quality of competition statistics, Alzner has led the Capitals blue line in two of the last three seasons; he has also been heavily leaned on in the defensive zone.Why a trade is just barely possiblePhoto by Michael Miller/WikimediaThen why on Earth would the Capitals trade Alzner? The answer is that they likely would not; he’s an excellent defenceman and the kind of guy every team wants. What opens the door, at least a little bit, is Washington’s salary cap situation. By my count the team has 11 forwards, six defencemen and two goaltenders signed for next year with a total cap hit of $58 million, leaving them somewhere in the range of six million to replace second-line centre Mike Ribeiro, sign restricted free agents Alzner and Marcus Johansson (34GP – 6G – 16A – 22PTS) and add one other player to the roster. It’s a tight fit.A lot depends on how much money Alzner wants; there hasn’t been much in the way of news on contract negotiations yet (Washington’s season having ended only recently) but he’s one of those players who can be difficult to value because his primary contributions are defensive. On the one hand, he’s a top-two even-strength defenceman; on the other he’s a guy who had five points this year. He’s coming off a two-year contract where he earned less than $2 million per season; it seems a safe bet the Capitals will work hard to keep the dollars on his next deal modest.An offer sheet is far from an ideal solution, but it might be a possibility here for a motivated Oilers club; more practical might be the threat of an offer sheet. Based on last year’s draft pick compensation rates (the salary cap is dropping, RFA compensation rates likely will too) the Oilers could offer a deal in the $4.0 - $4.5 million/year range and only need to surrender a first and third round pick next year in exchange; it’s a risk but Alzner is a good enough player to justify the trade if the Capitals declined to match. Alternately, the Oilers could threaten to offer something in that range and simultaneously offer an enticing package for Alzner’s rights.The smart money here is on nothing happening, and Alzner re-upping with the Capitals at a modest cap figure sometime this summer. But because the player is such a strong fit for the Oilers’ needs both in the here and now and three years from now, Edmonton should at the very least talk to Washington about what it would take to make a deal happen.STREAKCREDSign up for StreakCred - the new playoff pool game from the Nation Network. For only $10 you can win solid prizes and a portion of the proceeds go to supporting the MS Bike Tour and the Edmonton Down Syndrome Socie

Joel Quenneville, Bruce Boudreau and Paul MacLean have been announced as the finalists for the Jack Adams Award, given to the head coach who has contributed most to his team's success.

For over a decade, Ethan Moreau skated portside for the Edmonton Oilers checking line. He was tough, rugged and could score some goals, became a leader  and captain during his time in Edmonton.Ethan Moreau arrived in Edmonton via trade from Chicago. It was a huge deal, one of those that takes some time to sort through and decide a winner. Moreau was an up and coming physical winger for the Chicago Blackhawks, a team that was struggling to win hockey games during the 1998-99 NHL season.On Friday night, March 19, 1999 Chicago waived veterans Bob Probert, Dave Manson and Doug Zmolek. The next morning, Saturday, March 20, 1999, The Blackhawks pulled the trigger on a large trade with Edmonton's Glen Sather: Chicago traded L Ethan Moreau, R Daniel Cleary, C Chad Kilger and D Christian Laflamme to the Oilers for D Boris Mironov, L Dean McAmmond and D Jonas Elofsson. Sather made another deal (same day), bringing Tommy Salo in from the Island, finally replacing Curtis Joseph after a rocky year trying to replace him. Slats: "It is a major shakeup for the team and it is unfortunate to do it at this time of year, but we felt we needed to inject life into the club." GRITTY WINGER WITH SOME SKILLThis summer, Edmonton Oilers GM Craig MacTavish will search the free agent lists and available players on other rosters in search of a gritty, physical, punishing winger with size and speed. Looking into the Oilers own past, we wouldn't be going too far astray in suggesting MacT might be looking for an Ethan Moreau type. The new GM certainly appreciated him as a player: MacT in December 2005: "You can't help but get inspired watching that type of effort from the guy. He creates something almost every time he touches the puck--out of frit, hard work and intensity. It's a great example for everybody and I'm happy to see him get rewarded for it." WILLINGNESS TO COMPETEMoreau was a role model for the younger Oilers during much of his time in Edmonton, and his attitude and effort had a lot to do with his emergence as a team leader. Moreau: "A lot of it comes down to your willingness to compete and win. If you win one battle along the way, on the powerplay or the penalty kill, it makes a world of difference." Moreau made his mark as a tough, intelligent two-way winger on the '3line' for the Oil--mostly with center Todd Marchant and right winger Mike Grier in the early years and then later with Jarret Stoll and Fernando Pisani. One of the 'turning points' in the career of Moreau as an Oiler was new coach Pat Quinn's decision to put him on the 4th line opening night fall 2009. THE BEGINNING OF THE ENDWhen MacT left, Moreau and the veterans were used in different situations. Moreau (along with Shawn Horcoff, Fernando Pisani) was used in defensive situations more often, and an eye injury in 2008-09 seemed to impact his career in a negative way. Also, Moreau played the game with abandon and by the time Pat Quinn arrived Moreau's body was breaking down more often and the results didn't match the effort and desire.Moreau always took a lot of penalties, but provided other things that allowed team and fanbase to overlook them. As his ability to play his style of game faded, those penalties became a focal point and Moreau's popularity waned over time. Moreau became a less valuable player whose contract was out of sync with his performance. As the team kept losing and posting disappointing results, Moreau--the captain--became a lightning rod for all that was wrong in Edmonton. When Steve Tambellini announced in the spring of 2010 that he was changing the culture, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the captain of the team wasn't long for the Oilers.WAIVERSMoreau was claimed on waivers by the Columbus Blue Jackets June 30, 2010. Steve Tambellini's "culture change" was underway.CAREER HIGHLIGHTS King Clancy Award winner, 2008-09 took a lead role in the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation and in particular the Inner City High School pr

For over a decade, Ethan Moreau skated portside for the Edmonton Oilers checking line. He was tough, rugged and could score some goals, became a leader  and captain during his time in Edmonton. Ethan Moreau arrived in Edmonton via trade from Chicago. It was a huge deal, one of those that takes some time to sort through and decide a winner. Moreau was an up and coming physical winger for the Chicago Blackhawks, a team that was struggling to win hockey games during the 1998-99 NHL season.On Friday night, March 19, 1999 Chicago waived veterans Bob Probert, Dave Manson and Doug Zmolek. The next morning, Saturday, March 20, 1999, The Blackhawks pulled the trigger on a large trade with Edmonton's Glen Sather: Chicago traded L Ethan Moreau, R Daniel Cleary, C Chad Kilger and D Christian Laflamme to the Oilers for D Boris Mironov, L Dean McAmmond and D Jonas Elofsson. Sather made another deal (same day), bringing Tommy Salo in from the Island, finally replacing Curtis Joseph after a rocky year trying to replace him. Slats: "It is a major shakeup for the team and it is unfortunate to do it at this time of year, but we felt we needed to inject life into the club." GRITTY WINGER WITH SOME SKILLThis summer, Edmonton Oilers GM Craig MacTavish will search the free agent lists and available players on other rosters in search of a gritty, physical, punishing winger with size and speed. Looking into the Oilers own past, we wouldn't be going too far astray in suggesting MacT might be looking for an Ethan Moreau type. The new GM certainly appreciated him as a player: MacT in December 2005: "You can't help but get inspired watching that type of effort from the guy. He creates something almost every time he touches the puck--out of frit, hard work and intensity. It's a great example for everybody and I'm happy to see him get rewarded for it." WILLINGNESS TO COMPETEPhoto: mastermaq/FlickrMoreau was a role model for the younger Oilers during much of his time in Edmonton, and his attitude and effort had a lot to do with his emergence as a team leader. Moreau: "A lot of it comes down to your willingness to compete and win. If you win one battle along the way, on the powerplay or the penalty kill, it makes a world of difference." Moreau made his mark as a tough, intelligent two-way winger on the '3line' for the Oil--mostly with center Todd Marchant and right winger Mike Grier in the early years and then later with Jarret Stoll and Fernando Pisani. One of the 'turning points' in the career of Moreau as an Oiler was new coach Pat Quinn's decision to put him on the 4th line opening night fall 2009. THE BEGINNING OF THE END When MacT left, Moreau and the veterans were used in different situations. Moreau (along with Shawn Horcoff, Fernando Pisani) was used in defensive situations more often, and an eye injury in 2008-09 seemed to impact his career in a negative way. Also, Moreau played the game with abandon and by the time Pat Quinn arrived Moreau's body was breaking down more often and the results didn't match the effort and desire.Moreau always took a lot of penalties, but provided other things that allowed team and fanbase to overlook them. As his ability to play his style of game faded, those penalties became a focal point and Moreau's popularity waned over time. Moreau became a less valuable player whose contract was out of sync with his performance. As the team kept losing and posting disappointing results, Moreau--the captain--became a lightning rod for all that was wrong in Edmonton. When Steve Tambellini announced in the spring of 2010 that he was changing the culture, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the captain of the team wasn't long for the Oilers.WAIVERS Moreau was claimed on waivers by the Columbus Blue Jackets June 30, 2010. Steve Tambellini's "culture change" was underway.CAREER HIGHLIGHTS King Clancy Award winner, 2008-09 took a lead role in the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation and i

The Oklahoma City Barons advanced to the Western Conference Finals by way of a 5-1 win over the Texas Stars at the Cox Convention Center. Five different players scored and Yann Danis earned his seventh win of the playoffs. Teemu Hartikainen got...