Here’s an interesting tidbit of information that’s seemingly been floating around Edmonton but had yet to hit the mainstream news cycle… Until yesterday.
“I’ve been told that one of the Oilers tested positive… I heard that was a week or so ago and thankfully everything is good. No symptoms.” – Jason Gregor Show 7/6/2020
Oh Gregor! You wascally wabbit!
Now, here’s the rub. We don’t know who the Oiler is that tested positive or where he was located. Not that that is important. What’s important is this player is safe. That said, if he tested positive in Canada, he should be in isolation for another 5-7 days. If he was in the US when tested, Lord help him… I think the protocol for positive cases there is to hit up a beach rave and then open mouth kiss as many people as possible.
I’m kidding. Relax. But seriously USA, get your shit together. It’s getting beyond embarrassing.
I haven’t seen Andreas Athanasiou arrive yet to phase 2 in Edmonton and I could be wrong but I think he’s been in Florida with his significant other. If so, I hope he’s been careful.
**4 hours post-publish edit: AA has joined the team. I missed that somehow. That’s one me. If there are any London Knights fans out there who’ve gotten bent out of shape due to the comment above. Relax. Your boy is healthy and on the ice. You can stop assuming that I’m assuming Athanasiou was the infected Oiler now.**
So about 600 players and personnel will be arriving in my old stomping grounds and that’s got me a bit worried. Sure there’s going to be something like 9000 tests a day being administered to players and staff working within the hub. Downtown Edmonton is going to be turned into a makeshift minimum security prison (open roof of course) but it seems like every day there are new players testing positive and I’m not all that impressed with the NHL’s plan to deal with any “outbreak” or positive tests nor am I delighted with Alberta Health (BC Health, well done for not caving in) and everyone in Edmonton being pleased as peaches that there’s going to be some hockey being played there.
**Just an aside for a moment. Do those of you that played hockey remember what it was like when you traveled to another city for a hockey tournament and your team got their own floor and maybe some players got their own rooms? Do you remember those players actually staying in their rooms and not getting into any shenanigans? Me either.**
I guarantee you that there would be a glorious uproar if say Edmonton decided to create this same sort of environment for something like an international ping pong tournament or the World Championships for darts… You’d have folks left and right screaming bloody murder about the risks of COVID-19 being spread about the city and now little of an economic impact that allowing such events would have. Yet, ice hockey is okay… It transcends all common sense and sanity.
“BLH, you’re being harsh on the folks who live there. There’s nothing wrong with being excited about NHL hockey returning. Maybe they need this kind of pick me up. They’ve been stuck in their houses all this time with nothing to do.”
Well, you’re right. There isn’t anything wrong with being excited for hockey. But let’s pretend we can talk like grown-ups for a second and leave the condescension on the curb. If hockey is the only thing that’ll raise your spirits, you need to get out and live a bit more! Find something else that relieves that craving for live hockey.
I mean, what a time to pick up some new hobbies or get back into some old ones! And BOOKS! Remember them! Do you know someone who absolutely loaded up on toilet paper during that ridiculous run earlier? Find them, point at them and have a good chuckle. You’ll get some vitamin D from the sunshine while you’re at it! It’s really a win-win as long as you’re all masked up.
I love hockey as much as the next person but my mental health is definitely NOT tied to it. If I can find a way to entertain myself all the way over here in my little corner of Taipei, surely, the folks back home in Northern Alberta can too. Christ, I’m on a bloody island here! You guys have an entire continent you can explore and ZERO excuses.
Be careful about things though. According to CTV, the 7-day average of COVID-19 cases has nearly tripled from a month ago from 17 to 46. A far cry from March’s high of 255.4, but still. We’ve seen numbers skyrocket at the drop of a hat. Did I read right that Edmonton has passed Calgary in terms of active cases?…
I’m sure inviting 600 or so people from all over North America should be fine though.
My Edmonton Oilers Play-In Lineup
Alrighty, so we’re getting close to pre-return to play training camp and people in the Edmonton media are starting throw together their lineup predictions. So here’s mine,
RNH-McDavid-Kassian
Athanasiou-Draisaitl-Yamamoto
Nygard-Sheahan-Archibald
Neal-Khaira-Chiasson
Extras: Ennis/Haas/Russell
Yesterday, Bob Stauffer more or less said that Athanasiou is on the outside looking in right now and he’s going to have to work his way into this Oilers lineup.
Boy, that is a shame to see. Giving up a fan favorite like Sam Gagner and TWO 2nd round picks for this guy and he’s already on the outside looking in… Not good folks. Not good.
I really would like to see him on Leon’s wing. Leon thrives with ultra fast wingers and those wingers thrive with Leon…
As for the defense and goaltending,
Klefbom-Larsson
Nurse-Bear
Russell-Green
Extras: Jones/Benning
Dave Tippett knows better than to throw the rooks into the fire. So I think he’ll stick with the veterans unless they give him a reason not to.
I reckon Mike Smith will start and Koskinen will back up and I support that fully but I am a bit concerned about Smith’s age. The games are going to be full blast from the get-go and you know the Blackhawks will be trying to score those cross-ice one-timers as often as possible. Will Smith’s groins be able to handle that kind of workload after such a long layoff or should the Oilers go with Koskinen’s massive spread?
Notice there’s no Granlund being spoke of?…
How do you think the lines will shape up with camp starts? Let us know in the comments!
Puck Racism
The sales are starting to trickle in with this design and I’m going to spam the hell out of it on my website and the BLH Hockey Instagram because I feel passionate about it and I feel like Hockey is Diversity deserves the proceeds that I’ll be donating to them.
So, please. If you’ve got an extra $20 lying around and you want to do a good thing for good people, click the pic down below and grab a t-shirt, a mask, a onesie, a tank top, or some stickers.
Hockey is Diversity is a German group whose aim is to draw attention to the ethnic diversity in society, which goes beyond the sporting borders in order to sensitize people interculturally. The diversity that has long been regarded as an enrichment in sport as a melting pot of people of different ethnicities, cultures, and religions should also be transferred to society.
