Taylor Hall to Wear Kevin Lowe's No. 4 as Oilers Pin Hopes on Rookies

There's a sense of excitement surrounding the Edmonton Oilers as the opening of training camp nears and it's certainly been awhile since anybody got excited about the storied NHL team.

The Oilers have cleaned house after finishing last season as the worst team in the NHL, and there's a sense of renewal as the franchise welcomes a hat trick of young and promising rookies in Taylor Hall, 18, Jordan Eberle, 20, and Magnus Paajarvi, 19.

General manager Steve Tambellini hasn't promised any of his hyped greenhorns a spot on the opening night roster but the team handed each of the NHL wannabes the number they will wear on their Oilers jerseys in a high-profile event this week.

Hall, the top pick in the NHL Draft in June, will become only the second player in team history to wear No. 4, which was last worn by team president Kevin Lowe during the Oilers' golden years. Lowe, a former defenceman and the Oilers' first-ever draft pick, won five Stanley Cups wearing No. 4 with the Oilers and won another Cup with the New York Rangers in 1994. He retired as a player after the 1997-98 season.

"This wasn't difficult by any stretch," said Lowe of handing down his old number. I know I'm excited to see No. 4 back out on the ice again. The first time I saw him play, I just thought, 'Wow, it's odd that a forward looks good in No. 4.' "
Eberle, who starred for Canada at the last two world junior hockey championships and was the Canadian Hockey League's MVP last season, was given No. 14, while Paajarvi, a Swedish winger, was handed No. 91.

The talented Hall has been likened to Mark Messier, a tall comparison that may be placing a little too much pressure on the youngster. Hall is a premier power forward, as is Eberle, but is he 'Messiah' material? Time will tell. Paajarvi, meanwhile, has loads of skill.

Led by Hall, the threesome is expected to help restore the Oilers to their former dynastic glory.

Making the playoffs for the first time since 2006, however, might be an easier short-term goal.

But the kids aren't the only story in Edmonton.

Goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin is in a state of limbo after filing an appeal of his conviction and 30-day jail time in Arizona for two impaired driving charges he racked up during Super Bowl weekend in February. Nobody's sure how long Khabibulin will be in Edmonton before his case is heard -- again.

Khabibulin played only 18 games last season before he was sidelined with back surgery. The Oilers goaltending was never up to snuff after that. Edmonton had the worst goals-against average in the NHL last season.

The other niggling storyline to watch surrounds the future of veteran defenceman Sheldon Souray, who asked to be traded last season and subsequently went unclaimed on waivers.

He has two years and $10.8 million left on his contract, which makes it hard to move him. Souray has said he will report to camp on Sept. 17 and considering how the Oilers have a potential major distraction in Khabibulin's legal status, the last thing they need is a bellyaching Souray.

Tambellini is in his second year as GM and given how the Oilers were prairie-flat last season, he had little choice but to make major changes.

Pat Quinn is gone as coach and Tom Renney, who was an "associate coach" last season, has been handed the reigns behind the bench. Renney's biggest move was to import Ralph Krueger from Switzerland to help him behind the bench.

Krueger is a Canadian who coached Switzerland's national team for a decade.

Also gone are Ryan Potulny, Marc Pouliot, Patrick O'Sullivan, Robert Nilsson and veteran captain Ethan Moreau. In other words, the Oilers didn't lose a lot here.

The Oilers finished 27th in offence last season and going into camp only Ales Hemsky and Dustin Penner can be labeled as proven scorers.

Renney needs a handful of players to start earning their keep, including Shawn Horcoff and Sam Gagner. Horcoff's 36 points in 2009-10 were a five-season low, and Gagner apparently suffered from the sophomore slump, which is an easy excuse for a lot of second-year ills.

On the upside, Gilbert Brule (37 points in 65 games) finally showed he could play in the NHL and Renney needs him to keep improving.

As far as the back end goes, the Oilers are set. Nothing fancy. Just a hard-working blue-collar blueline.

While the expectations are low, there are many reasons to think the worst is behind the Oilers.

Edmonton's kids -- Hall, Eberle and Paajarvi, all first-round picks -- are indeed all right. And they're going to need to be more than just all right to lift the Oilers back from the dead.