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Player News - Oilers

Date: Team: Pos:
Kristians Pelss - W - Oilers

Oilers prospect Kristians Pelss was confirmed dead Saturday.

The 20-year-old had been missing in his home country of Latvia. Early reports indicated that he had drowned after diving into the Daugava River and officials confirmed finding his body. "The Edmonton Oilers are deeply saddened by the loss of Kristians Pelss, a young man who played in our organization," the team said in a statement. "Kristians had gone missing earlier in the week after returning home to Riga, Latvia, for the offseason. Exact details in regards to what led to this tragedy remain unclear. He was just 20 years old." Pelss was a seventh-round pick in the 2010 draft who had eight points for the Oilers' AHL affiliate.
Source: NHL.com
Jun 15 - 10:54 PM
Kristians Pelss - W - Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers have released a statement on missing prospect Kristians Pelss.

There were reports that Pelss, 20, had drowned in Latvia, but those reports are unconfirmed. "The Edmonton Oilers organization, including the Edmonton Oil Kings, Oklahoma City Barons and affiliate Stockton Thunder, is aware of the reports regarding Kristians Pelss going missing while visiting Riga, Latvia, this week," the Oilers said in their statement. "There has been contradictory information reported, at times, and we are trying to confirm the facts. Once we are able to do that, we will be able to offer further comment. At this time, our thoughts and prayers are with the Pelss family. Kristians spent two years with the Oil Kings before beginning his pro career in the Oilers system, splitting last season between the Barons and the Thunder."
Source: Oilers.nhl.com
Jun 14 - 10:58 AM
Kristians Pelss - W - Oilers

Kristians Pelss has reportedly drowned back home in Latvia, but there have been some conflicting reports regarding the situation.

The 20-year-old Oilers prospect, who played this past season in AHL Oklahoma City and Stockton of the ECHL, is believed to have leaped to his death Tuesday from a bridge in Riga. Latvian Hockey Federation spokesman Maris Gorbunov said he couldn't confirm or deny reports and a state police spokesman couldn't comment until the search is completed and the missing person is found. We'll keep you posted on this tragic story once more information is known.
Source: Edmonton Journal
Jun 13 - 2:29 PM
Dallas Eakins - D - Oilers

Ever since Dallas Eakins became the Edmonton Oilers' new coach, he's run into a Twitter-related problem.

"The phone buzzes every time somebody follows me on Twitter and I don’t know how to turn it off," Eakins said. That's a lot of noise given that he's increased his Twitter followers by more than 10,000 to 27,513 at the time of writing. He originally thought it was stupid, but now he loves Twitter. "It’s a great way to get your message out there to fans," he said. "It’s a good place to pass out some praise for a player."
Source: Edmonton Sun
Jun 13 - 10:04 AM
Taylor Hall - W - Oilers

Taylor Hall wants to be more of a leader next season.

With some veterans such as Shawn Horcoff and Ales Hemsky potentially on their way out, Hall is ready to start being more of a guy who's looked up to in the locker room. "Whether they’re here or not, I’m still looking forward to being more of a leader next year and maturing as a player and a person," Hall said. "I’m still pretty young and regardless of who’s here, I look forward to becoming an even better player, a more rounded player and a more rounded person. I think all of us young guys relish at being better at leading teams, being better in the last five minutes and doing those things that leaders do." Just 21, Hall already has 65 goals and 80 assists in three seasons.
Source: Edmonton Sun
Jun 12 - 10:01 AM
Dallas Eakins - D - Oilers

The status of Edmonton Oilers assistants Kelly Buchberger and Steve Smith is uncertain after the hiring of Dallas Eakins as head coach.

Buchberger has survived four coaching regimes prior to the Eakins hiring while Smith joined the team's staff in 2010. Both players are former Oilers and famed members of the "old boys club" that always seems to outlast any outsider hired by the organization. GM Craig MacTavish, a club member himself, said Eakins would get to pick his assistants but said he hoped Buchberger and Smith stay.
Source: Edmonton Sun
Jun 11 - 9:51 AM
Sam Gagner - C - Oilers

Sam Gagner called the Edmonton Oilers' latest coaching change a "wakeup call" for the players.

The Oilers fired Ralph Krueger and hired Dallas Eakins, who will be Gagner's fifth coach in six seasons with Edmonton. "There’s been a lot of change since I’ve been there, and it just makes it that much more hungry to turn things around," Gagner said. "That’s the exciting part, from my perspective. I’ve been through all of this and now we have a chance with the group we have to move forward." Gagner is scheduled to be a restricted free agent this summer and the Oilers are expected to try to lock him up long term. The 23-year-old center had 14 goals and 38 points in 48 games this season.
Source: Edmonton Sun
Jun 11 - 9:27 AM
Teemu Hartikainen - W - Oilers

When new Edmonton Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins starts training camp in the fall, prospect Teemu Hartikainen may not be on the ice.

According to Craig Custance of ESPN The Magazine, Hartikainen is headed to Ufa of the Kontinental Hockey League. Hartikainen, who is slated to become a restricted free agent next month, had one goal and two assists for three points in 23 games with the Oilers this season. He was drafted by the Oilers in the sixth round (163rd overall) in 2008.
Source: tsn.ca
Jun 10 - 10:54 PM
Dallas Eakins - D - Oilers

New head coach Dallas Eakins wants to see the Edmonton Oilers raise their fitness level.

"I think there may be some big adjustments for the players with me coming in here," Eakins said. "I am somebody that firmly believes that if you’re talented, just being talented is not enough. I want players to be so fit that a forward, if I ask him to play 26 minutes that night, he's going to play 26 minutes at a high level. If we’re in a Stanley Cup playoff game and we go to quadruple overtime, he will still be firing on all cylinders. That is something I am passionate about, so that is something that will probably be a bit of a challenge on the buy in, but it is non-negotiable and they will eventually buy in." The players Eakins will be trying to get to buy into his philosophy are primarily young players who have never been given enough time to get comfortable with a coach before management replaces them. For example, this will be Taylor Hall's third NHL coach as he goes into his fourth season.
Source: Edmonton Journal
Jun 10 - 6:38 PM
Dallas Eakins - D - Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers have officially selected Dallas Eakins as the team's newest head coach.

Eakins has been rumored to be the Oilers choice since they fired Ralph Krueger on Saturday. Eakins has been great at the AHL level and the Oilers hope that he will be able to help take their young core to the next level. Hopefully Eakins will last a bit longer than those that came before him, as he'll be the fifth Oilers coach in just six seasons.
Source: Oilers.nhl.com on Twitter
Jun 10 - 3:46 PM
Ralph Krueger - C - Oilers

Ralph Krueger was fired by GM Craig MacTavish during a Skype call.

Krueger was taken aback at the firing as he had two years remaining on his contract and there were no signs that he was about to be let go as Edmonton coach. "I definitely did not see it coming," said Krueger. "Craig and I spent a good part of the week together at the world championships in both Helsinki and Stockholm. There were eight or nine days on the road together with no sign of dismissal. It was Thursday, about this time in my time zone here in Switzerland when I had my Skype with Craig. I was taking a three week break after the world championships and scheduled to come back to work in Edmonton June 21. I was just setting up the schedule for the season in my office when the call came." It appears that Dallas Eakins will be named the new coach of the Oilers.
Source: Edmonton Sun
Jun 10 - 7:23 AM
Dallas Eakins - D - Oilers

It appears that the Edmonton Oilers will make it official by naming Dallas Eakins as their new head coach, the Globe & Mail's James Mirtle reports.

The team has had four head coaches in the last five years, so Eakins must feel confident that he can get the job done with the team's hyped core of young prospects. Ralph Krueger certainly didn't get a long leash, although perhaps new GM Craig MacTavish simply needs "his guy."
Source: James Mirtle on Twitter
Jun 9 - 3:17 PM
Dallas Eakins - D - Oilers

Rumors persist that Dallas Eakins will be the new head coach of the Edmonton Oilers.

The Oilers fired Ralph Krueger on Saturday and while it is expected that Eakins will be named the new coach, GM Craig McTavish would not confirm the rumor. Eakins is one of the top coaching prospects and is looking for an NHL gig as he has coached the AHL Toronto Marlies to a lot of success since taking over in 2009. Stay tuned as Darren Dreger of TSN is reporting that Eakins will be named the Oilers new coach as early as Tuesday.
Jun 9 - 7:19 AM
Ralph Krueger - C - Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers have fired head coach Ralph Krueger.

"I want to acknowledge a tremendous commitment Ralph had to our players and staff in his three years with this organization," GM Craig MacTavish said. "During the process of me conducting those interviews, I recognized I tried to add a coach that was more closely aligned to how I wanted to run the team than what Ralph was looking for. We're very close with a coaching candidate but at this point we haven't formalized a deal. I'm hopeful that our current staff will be retained but it will be up to the new coach." It is believed that Dallas Eakins of the AHL Toronto Marlies will be the Oilers' new bench boss. Whoever is picked will be the Oilers' fourth coach in five seasons.
Source: Oilers.nhl.com on Twitter
Jun 8 - 6:18 PM
Ralph Krueger - C - Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers have reportedly decided to part ways with head coach Ralph Krueger.

An announcement is expected soon to verify that move. Toronto Marlies bench boss Dallas Eakins is believed to be the frontrunner to become the Oilers' next head coach, but it sounds like nothing has been determined yet. If Krueger is done, he will have only lasted one shortened season. Eakins would be the fourth Oilers coach in just five seasons.
Source: Elliotte Friedman on Twitter
Jun 8 - 5:44 PM

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