Steve Tambellini has been relatively quiet throughout Edmonton Oilers camp. It wasn't that he had anything to hide but the Oilers general manager took a "wait and see" attitude first before discussing what his take has been through the first two weeks and two days of training camp.
"I want people to compete for everything," said the second-year GM. "That's the way it has to be and it's always good when you have internal competition. We're looking to get more from our young players and our veterans because there is a lot of pressure on a lot of people."
Tambellini admitted that some of the vets haven't done much to this point and that some guys could play a little bit better. Yet one vet he wasn't pointing the finger at was Sheldon Souray.
"Sheldon looks focused. He came to camp in very good condition and has been very business like," said Tambellini. "Shelly expects big things from himself."
At the other end of the spectrum is Jordan Eberle. The 19-year-old has been as good if not better than many of the Oiler forwards in the three pre-season games he has played. The dilemma is do you keep the talented 2008 first-round pick to see whether he's ready or just send him back to his junior team in Regina?
"We have some more time to see him play at this level before we ultimately have to make a decision. You hesitate to rush him along" added Tambellini. "He's not afraid to make plays he shows intelligence. We're glad he's making it difficult on us and it will be a hard decision but it is not a race. Can he help us win right now? It depends if he gets the ice time and if he can play enough."
Part of the problem for Eberle and other young upfront players, like Robbie Schremp, is the amount of forwards the Oilers have at camp with one-way deals. Edmonton head coach Pat Quinn has already gone on record as saying there are some 19 forwards fighting for 14 positions which means those who don't make the Oilers may end up trying to land employment elsewhere in the NHL.
"Sometimes you like a player a lot but they are too much money or there just isn't a spot for them and most teams are aware of who is on the bubble," explained Tambellini. "If they get to a point where they can't make your roster then they're available to 29 other teams."
The Oilers roster sits at 34 heading into game six of the pre-season Wednesday night when they host Calgary.
