oilersrule66

"the young hockey addict"

Welcome to the next oilers dynasty • Canada • 21 Years Old • Male

Oilers sign Belov

The Oilers made a move this week. Yes, I said they made a move. This is what it's gonna be like now, no more Mr. Nothing Tambelini. MacT is actually gonna make moves to try to improve the team. MacTavish is going to try to make the team better but he's not going to make any moves that are gonna screw us in the future. In summary, he's not gonna masively over-pay for a 40 year old UFA and he's not gonna give up one of the superkids to improve the team immediatly, because we all know that will kill us in the long-term.

Now, this blogs about the Oilers signing Anton Belov so I better start talking about that. From what i've seen Anton Belov is a big offensive/ 2-way defenceman who has a good shot from the point and can hit. Isn't that all you want in a defenseman? He is 6'4'' and 216 pds so he adds the size that Edmonton needs. He also has a left handed shot which we need for our second pairing. All of this leads me to believe MacT signed him to be on the 2nd pairing.

But the question is...... Is he good enough to play on the second pairing?
Well, he has OK numbers in the KHL the past couple years,

--- Regular Season --- ---- Playoffs ----
Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
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2004-05 CSKA Moscow Russi 30 0 0 0 14 -- -- -- -- --
2005-06 CSKA Moscow Russi 18 0 2 2 35 1 0 0 0 0
2006-07 CSKA Moscow Russi 49 4 5 9 42 12 1 3 4 8
2007-08 CSKA Moscow Russi 54 1 4 5 69 6 1 1 2 16
2008-09 Omsk Avangard KHL 38 1 4 5 71 5 1 0 1 4
2009-10 Omsk Avangard KHL 39 1 10 11 48 -- -- -- -- --
2010-11 Omsk Avangard KHL 54 4 10 14 28 8 1 2 3 4
2011-12 Omsk Avangard KHL 50 0 6 6 30
2012-13 Omsk Avangard KHL 46 9 17 26 30
2012-13p Omsk Avangard KHL 12 1 3 4 24
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and he can hit and play physical. But he was actually one of the best defense in the KHL last season because he has good all around play. He can play solid defense and shut down opposing players with his size and strength. This is something Edmonton could really use on their D-core as they have mostly offensive defense and not many 2-way/ shutdown.

All of this leads me to believe that he could be a good 2nd pairing option for the Edmonton Oilers. And the good thing about his contract is that if he doesn't pan out and he can't compete in the NHL we just have to let him go next year. So there's no consequence if he doesn't work out.

That's all for today, thanks for reading!

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