1. TBD
2. TBD
3. TBD
4. TBD
5. TBD
6. TBD
7. TBD
8. TBD
9. TBD
10. TBD
11. TBD
12. Tyler Pitlick
13. Colten Teubert
14. David Musil
15. Theo Peckham
16. Curtis Hamilton
17. Dillon Simpson
18. Tyler Bunz
19. Olivier Roy
20. Tobias Rieder
21. Brandon Davidson
22. Alex Plante
23. Kyle Bigos
24. Jeremie Blain
25. Martin Gernat
26. And everybody else...

Previous Lists

1. Summer 2011
2. Winter 2011
3. Summer 2010
4. Winter 2010

Arctic Ice Hockey
Battle of Alberta
Battle of California
Black Dog Hates Skunks
Broad Street Hockey
Brodeur is a Fraud
Coming Down the Pipe!
Cult of Hockey
Driving Play
En attendant les Nordiques
Hockey Symposium
Irreverent Oil Fans
Lowetide
mc79hockey
Neal Livingston
Objective NHL
Oil Patch
Oilers Nation
Theory of Ice
Tom Benjamin

Forwards

1. Ryan Smyth
2. Shawn Horcoff
3. Aleš Hemský
4. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
5. Taylor Hall
6. Sam Gagner
7. Éric Bélanger
8. Magnus Pääjärvi
9. Ryan Jones
10. Jordan Eberle
11. Ben Eager
12. Anton Lander
13. Lennart Petrell
14. Linus Omark
15. Darcy Hordichuk
16. Ryan Keller
17. Josh Green
18. Tanner House
19. Ryan O'Marra
20. Tyler Pitlick
21. Curtis Hamilton
22. Ryan Martindale
23. Teemu Hartikainen
24. Mark Arcobello
25. Hunter Tremblay
26. Chris VandeVelde
27. Toni Rajala
28. Philippe Cornet
29. Antti Tyrväinen
30. Milan Kytnár
31. Cameron Abney

Defenders

1. Tom Gilbert
2. Ryan Whitney
3. Ladislav Šmid
4. Cam Barker
5. Andy Sutton
6. Theo Peckham
7. Corey Potter
8. Jeff Petry
9. Taylor Chorney
10. Taylor Fedun
11. Martin Marinčin *
12. Alex Plante
13. Colten Teubert
14. Johan Motin

Goalies

1. Nikolai Khabibulin
2. Devan Dubnyk
3. Yann Danis
4. Olivier Roy

2012 NFL Mock Draft

UFC

Allen Iverson

NBA Power Rankings

NHL Trade Deadline

iPad 3 Rumors

Martin Marincin was drafted out of the top Slovakian league, which meant that we really didn't know a lot about him. During his first WHL season, he let us know in a big way. During the first half Marincin registered 35 points in 33 games before leaving for the World Junior Championships. His second half wasn't quite as good (21 points in 34 games), but the season as a whole was excellent. Marincin ended the year fifth on the team in scoring and a full 40 points clear of the next closest defenseman on his team. Plus, the general feeling was that the tough travel schedule had actually hurt him. When Andrey Osadchenko asked him about it earlier this season, this is what Marincin had to say:

It's horrible. At first it was really tough, but now I've gotten used to this more or less, so it's a little better.

Pretty unequivocal on that one! Put that together with the fact that the Pats are a better team, and I can't imagine Marincin was too upset when he got the news that he'd been traded from Prince George to Regina.

Unfortunately, his offense this year hasn't even kept up with last season's pace, or even last season's second half pace. In 30 games with the Cougars, Marincin registered just 17 points, and in 12 games with the Pats, Marincin has just 6 points so far. So why is Marincin still so high on our list?

Continue reading this post »

With the release of Bob McKenzie's most recent draft rankings, and with less than three weeks remaining ahead of the trade deadline, it is time for the Oilers to start asking some big picture questions about how they intend to take the next step in their rebuilding process.

There is already a great deal of talk that the Oilers, likely to be a lottery team again, obviously need to upgrade their defence. This is not new information. What looking ahead to the draft will do is inevitably lead to people ask questions such as, "Who should the Oilers draft?" Or, if they end up picking in the top two as they currently sit, "Should they trade down to take a defenseman?". Host James Duthie asked as much of TSN Scout Craig Button last night, to which Button replied that he would consider trading down to take Matt Dumba if the Oilers find themselves with an opportunity to draft Nail Yakupov (or, presumably, also Mikhail Grigorenko).

Right now, and over the next 20 days, I think the Oilers need to start making some tough decisions on exactly how they plan to address the notion of upgrading their blueline, and doing so in a manner that fits into the timeline of the rest of their rebuild. Whether or not Steve Tambellini is the right man for this job (he's not) is a discussion for another column.

Continue reading this post »

Corey Potter has had an up and down season with the Oilers. He stepped in at the beginning of the year and did a remarkable job not just as regular part of the defensive rotation, but also on the PP.

Lately though, things have been a bit rough for him. He missed significant time due to an injury, he Frankenstein’d Taylor Hall during a freak accident in warm up and his on ice play has tailed off.

One of the most significant problems he’s had is his defensive play on the rush. It isn’t that he’s getting beat by skaters, he’s just constantly finding himself in bad situations and having to react to a play instead of seeing it develop.

Coach Nielsen does a pretty good job breaking down the defenseman’s responsibilities on the 2 on 1. The Key points are as follows:

• The D’s Initial Positioning is between the attackers.
• The D should have one hand on his stick and the stick extended from the body.
• The D must keep their head on a swivel to check the positioning off the puck.
• The stick can be used to push the puck carrier wider or lure him into making a pass before he’s ready.
• As play progresses below the tops of the circles, the stick should be pointed a bit more toward the puck carrier than directly in front of the body to cut down on the space between stick and skates that attacker could use to pass the puck.

I'll use a recent example against the Chicago Blackhawks to demonstrate some of Potter's deficiencies in this situation.

Continue reading this post »

Though I'm not sure XFINITY realizes who they're appealing to when they ask for votes from Edmonton fans (the stats nerd would be a shoe-in), this is your chance to choose the next social media darling.

Have you ever watched one of those TV shows where from thousands of hopefuls, one star is born? Well, C&B faithful, here's your chance to play "starmaker" and help pick the new voice of sports in social media!

XFINITY is looking for the next renowned sports social media star through its Ultimate Sports Social Media Job contest. The winning candidate will serve as the new voice of XFINITY in the sports social media space and go behind-the-scenes at some of the biggest sporting events in 2012, sharing exclusive insights and updates with fans.

From February 9-19, you can review qualified entry videos and vote for the contestant you'd like to see advance to the finals of the XFINITY Ultimate Sports Social Media Job contest. The five entrants with the most votes will advance to the final round of the contest where they will cover one of five premier sporting events the weekend of March 8-11. Fans can head today to Facebook.com/XFINITY and click on the Ultimate Sports Social Media Job contest tab to vote for your favorite personality (once per day)!

Will you choose the brainiac with the encyclopedia of stats, the former jock who knows the game inside out, or the corporate type who gets the marketing side of the business? You decide. Vote today at Facebook.com/XFINITY!

Have at it, everyone - vote and launch the career of the next Gene Principe.