Latest news with #Emberson
BBC News
20-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Reform councillor opposes Lenham Heath housing development
A newly-elected county councillor has publicly backed opponents of one of the biggest proposed house building schemes in for 5,000 new homes on Lenham Heath were approved by Maidstone Borough Council last year, when it was run by the the new Reform UK councillor for the area, Sarah Emberson, has spoken in support of the pressure group Save Our Heath Lands (SOHL) that is campaigning against the development. The government has pledged to build 1.5m homes across the UK and relax planning laws in an attempt to tackle the housing crisis. 'I want to protect the countryside' Renting or buying a home is a struggle for many in Kent and there is a shortage of affordable housing in parts of the county. The Heath Lands development is set to be built in stages, but would also include local amenities, schooling and a railway station. There are questions over how the rail station will be funded, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Ms Emberson, who lives in nearby Ashford, said: "I want to protect the countryside. I brought up my family here because I wanted them to enjoy green spaces and the quality of said she wanted to preserve the "county way of life... like a lot of people do.""We're only guardians of the countryside. This not our land – but when it's gone it's gone."
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Edmonton Oilers discover Missing Link -- and it made all the difference vs Vegas
The Edmonton Oilers discovered their Missing Link against the Vegas Golden Knights — and it made all the difference in the team coming together to beat VGK in the final two games of the series, both Edmonton shutouts. Much has been made of coach Kris Knoblauch putting together a solid checking line to faceoff against the Jack Eichel trio, and while that move was big, even bigger the insertion of Troy Stecher into the line-up to replace little-used d-man Ty Emberson. It's something of a mystery why it took so long for Oilers d-man coach Paul Coffey to switch out Emberson for Stecher. Emberson had had a solid start to the 2024-25 season, with his strongest stretch of play in December thru January. But Stecher had out-played Emberson by a wide margin in the final three months of the season. If you're into hockey stats, you can see these fluctuations and trends in performance in the Cult of Hockey's highly-granular video review of Grade A shots at even strength. Emberson started strong for a d-man, -0.37 Grade A shots per game (a good number for a d-man) from October through January, but finished up weak, -1.06 per game (a poor number for a d-man) from February to April. Meanwhile Stecher trended up from -0.65 per game to -0.46 per game, from a bit below average to a bit above average. Stecher was coming off an ankle injury and surgery that had kept him out of the 2024 playoffs and was slow to heal up over the summer. He started slow this regular season but as his speed and agility took off, he became a solid option, often pairing up with Nurse. For his part, in the final three months of the season Emberson became increasingly uncertain with the puck and less physical on defence. This downward trend continued into the playoffs, with the increased pace of the games. Enter Troy Stecher in Game Four. The Oilers had been leaking a high number of Grade A shots against in the first round against Los Angeles, and did so again in Games 2 and 3 against Vegas, giving up 21 Grade As in Game 2 and 16 in Game 3. If that trend continued, the Oilers were in trouble. But Stecher stepped up big time, moving the puck sharply, defending courageously, helping to settle down the suddenly erratic Darnell Nurse, and bringing coherence, stability and three solid sets of d-man duos to the Oilers line-up for the first time in the still young 2025 playoffs. Coffey trusted Stecher enough to play him 15:45 at even strength in the veteran d-man's first two games back. That's more than twice as much as he was playing Emberson at even strength, just 7:31 in the first nine games of the playoffs. Emberson was struggling to quickly and efficiently make break-out passes. Stecher has excelled at this same task, blasting back into his own zone to retrieve pucks and quickly and accurately moving them out of the Oil's end. This has helped free up Nurse to play a more aggressive game. Nurse had struggled on a pairing with Evan Bouchard in the first nine games of the playoffs. I'm not sure why, but both of them were making a few too many bad reads together, as if neither was sure of his partner, both trying to do too much at some times, but doing too little at others. It's a good thing then that Nurse and Stecher meshed against Vegas, but it's no surprise. They had played together 474 even strength minutes in the regular season, with the team scoring 19 goals and giving up just 16 Their pairing worked then, which only adds to that mystery of why it took Edmonton so long to go back to Stecher in the playoffs. He had been injured late in the year against Winnipeg, but was physically ready to play by Game Four against Los Angeles. But the Oilers were had just won a huge victory in Game Three against the Kings. And they kept winning, even as Emberson and Nurrse struggled. Perhaps the Oil stuck with the same line-up out of fear of upsetting a winning line-up formula. Maybe Coffey was hesitant not wanting to mess with success, even as it was increasingly clear that something was amiss with the defence, and that constantly juggling the pairings at even strength was a big part of the problem. Two ideas come to mind with Stecher's strong run of play. First, that if he had been healthy last season for the playoff run, it might have made a huge difference for the Oilers. Nurse had his worst playoff season, struggling until the final when he was played with Philip Broberg. But if Stecher had been there, maybe Nurse's game would have come around sooner. And maybe Broberg would not have caught the eye of the St. Louis Blues. Second, now that the Oilers have three solid defensive pairins — Kulak/Bouchard, Walman/Klingberg, Nurse/Stecher — there's not nearly so much of a push to rush Mattias Ekholm back into the line-up. This is excellent news for the Oilers. I've noticed that when players come back too soon and when players try to fight through major injuries, their performance is often below-average to wretched. Nurse, who was banged up in the playoffs in 2024, is a prime example of that. The Oilers don't need an injured Ekholm who struggles to make plays. That's the Ekholm we saw when he tried to play through sickness and injury in the final months of the season. But if Ekholm can get healthy enough to play as he did at the start of this 2024-25 season, he can help Edmonton win a Stanley Cup. The Oilers now have the luxury of not rushing, of making sure Ekholm is good to go before he steps in.
New York Times
04-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
How Ty Emberson's role with Edmonton Oilers has evolved in NHL playoffs
Edmonton Oilers defenceman Ty Emberson has a unique role with the team this spring. A top option on the penalty kill, Emberson's five-on-five ice time is about five minutes less than in the regular season. He's the No. 6 defenceman on the team, played in all games during the recently completed series against the Los Angeles Kings, but isn't part of the regular rotation at five-on-five. Advertisement Why is this happening? Part of the deployment is no doubt Emberson's lack of NHL experience, but there's another reason. Here's a look into the Oilers coaching staff, what is valued and where those missing minutes are landing. Emberson has been a strong PK option for the Oilers since November. During the regular season, he averaged over two minutes a game short-handed, and his numbers were among the best of Edmonton's defence. His GA-60 (6.4) was superior to the results when he was at rest (9.47, via Natural Stat Trick). In the playoff series against the Kings, Emberson delivered two minutes per game and once again beat the rest of Edmonton's defencemen in goal suppression. The Kings' series had plenty of chaos, so Emberson's GA-60 (13.74) was inflated drastically compared to the regular season. When he was off the ice, the results (16.17 GA-60) were even more frightening. The Oilers coaching staff values Emberson on the penalty kill. A quick comparison of the playoff numbers reflects a clear top three PK men, with Emberson part of that group. PK numbers via Natural Stat Trick Emberson's spot in the starting lineup is secure based on these numbers. He's one of the top PK men each game, and even in a period where the short-handed crews struggled against the Kings, Emberson's underlying numbers are quality. Emberson's five-on-five minutes have declined during the postseason. He's being used sparingly compared to the regular season in the game state: All numbers five-on-five, via Natural Stat Trick Emberson's 51 minutes five-on-five has seen Edmonton score two goals and allow one, while being outshot 24-14 by the Kings. Small samples will produce such conflicting numbers, but the regression suggested by the shot share is significant. The coaching staff is going with veterans, a tale as old as time. Advertisement Emberson will probably take on more minutes next regular season and be a stronger option in the 2025 postseason. Where are those minutes previously given to Emberson landing? Enter Brett Kulak. He has emerged as a super utility player. Coach Kris Knoblauch has identified two interesting wrinkles in his defensive units. First, the exceptional performance of the Jake Walman and John Klingberg pairing has held sway, convincing the coaches that that duo is a key element in team success. Any efforts to split up the pairing seem fleeting, and the duo quickly returns to working together. Second, Kulak has emerged as an elevated fifth defenceman, gobbling up the Emberson minutes in an effort to outscore opponents. Here are the top seven pairings by ice time during the Kings series, with minutes played and results. All numbers five-on-five, via Natural Stat Trick Emberson is part of a single pairing. The numbers are solid and those results come in a depth role. The Kulak-Emberson duo is slightly under 50 percent in expected goals, nothing alarming about that number for a third pairing. However, it's noteworthy that this tandem is the only one in the group that is below 50 percent expected goals. Meanwhile, Kulak can be found on three pairings of 29 minutes or more. His 124 five-on-five minutes ranked him No. 2 (Darnell Nurse) among Edmonton's defencemen in the third round. A quick note on Nurse and Evan Bouchard. Despite the low scoring rates, the expected goal share suggested that regression should be expected. Some fans are frustrated with the coaching staff's seeming stubbornness about the duo, but the underlying numbers endorse staying the course. Emberson's minutes during this postseason are not guaranteed, but his future with the organization looks to be safe. He recently signed a two-year extension ($1.3 million annually) and figures to be in the mix for regular work next season. Advertisement His current role is somewhat unusual, but it's a valuable piece of the puzzle for the Oilers coaching staff. Taking advantage of Kulak's tireless skating, and improving the puck movement ability of the defence makes this deployment effective. Emberson fits in perfectly due to his penalty-killing goal suppression. He has provided enough quality play to stay in the lineup. Why is Emberson playing less at five-on-five? The Oilers' current success is heavily based on moving the puck into the neutral zone (and enemy territory) quickly. Kulak is taking Emberson's minutes because he's fast, can pass and transport, and (most importantly) play either side of a pairing effectively. Moving Emberson down the depth chart can be justified if it's working, and Kulak went 5-3 goals (64 percent expected) with various defensive partners during the Los Angeles series. The stars of the show during that run were Walman-Klingberg, who outscored opponents 3-0 in 55 minutes in the first round this spring. Knoblauch and his staff are so enamored with that pairing that the club is willing to deal with some uneven play from the Nurse-Bouchard pair. In 58 minutes, the trio went 3-7 against the Kings. The pairing may face even more difficult challenges against the Vegas Golden Knights in the next series. With Ekholm still unavailable, and the coaching staff likely to run Nurse-Bouchard and Walman-Klingberg as the top two pairings, the role of Kulak becomes even more important. Troy Stecher may be inserted into the lineup at some point, with the Oilers possibly running seven defencemen in games. All of this is designed to keep the club in the playoffs until Ekholm returns. At that point, the Oilers will run the pairings envisioned at the trade deadline.
New York Times
28-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Why it's important for the Edmonton Oilers to sign Ty Emberson now
The heart of the Edmonton Oilers roster — Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl — are in their late 20s. Those two men are surrounded by players who are in their 30s, especially in the feature roles on the team. The only men on the Oilers roster who play a prominent position and are mid-20s are Evan Bouchard (25) and Stuart Skinner (26). Advertisement None of that is out of time with the rest of the NHL. A team with a strong chance to win the Stanley Cup will often have a large swath of the roster in the age 28-32 range. Players peak around 25, and by 30 are nearing a performance cliff that can see their role change in a hurry. NHL teams protect themselves against the erosion of key players by keeping a large group of youngsters on the roster or with the minor-league affiliate. Those men, aged 20-24, are usually value contracts (most under $1 million, none over $3 million) and capable of stepping up into a feature role when required. The problem in Edmonton is that very few players match that description at this time. Currently, Ty Emberson (24), Vasily Podkolzin (23) and Matt Savoie (just turned 21) are the only NHL roster players under 25. Savoie is the only rookie on the team this season, and he's played in just three games. The Oilers are vulnerable. The 28-32 'heart of the order' roster players need more than three men 20-24 pushing for ice time. Now that Savoie is in the NHL, what's bubbling under? The Oilers have one of the poorest prospect pipelines in the NHL. Corey Pronman at The Athletic rated Edmonton No. 30 last summer, while Scott Wheeler at The Athletic slotted the Oilers No. 29 last month. The organization is running out of playable and or tradeable assets. The current quality and depth of the system is the kind of talent pool normally seen when viewing a team like the current Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins have an older foundation (Sidney Crosby is 37, Evgeni Malkin is 38) and a substandard pool of prospects. That's the cost of three Stanley Cup victories during the period when future Hall of Famers like Crosby and Malkin led the team to glory over a 20-year period. The investment of future assets at consecutive trade deadlines landed three championship seasons and a happy fan base. Advertisement The Oilers? Few prospects, and zero championships. The clock is ticking on the careers of McDavid and Draisaitl. Savoie is in the first year of his three-year entry deal, and Podkolzin has one more year on his $1 million AAV deal. Both men are signed for next season and will be two of the value contracts on the Oilers in 2025-26. Emberson is a restricted free agent this summer, with arbitration rights. He will reach full free agency in the summer of 2027. He's a key young player for Edmonton for several reasons, the most obvious being the lack of youth on the roster. Emberson won't be expensive on his next contract and he brings a range of skills. Here's a look at his speed: Via NHL Edge at The numbers for Emberson are well above average. The Oilers are a speedy team overall, but Emberson is the fastest at his position. Among the right-handed defencemen on the team, Emberson's top skating speed (36.14 kph) ranks ahead of Evan Bouchard (35.44), Troy Stecher (34.18) and John Klingberg (31.68). His young legs have been especially helpful on the penalty kill, where his GA-60 ranks No. 1 among Oilers regulars in the discipline. Puck IQ 'bins' quality of competition and gives us a unique view of a player's deployment against elite, mid- and lower-level competition. Emberson plays 24 percent of his five-on-five time versus elite competition. That's third pairing, and a terrific spot for a young defenceman finding his way in the NHL. His results against the league's best (47.9 percent Dangerous Fenwick, minus-9 percent relative to other Oilers blue) are within the window of expected based on usage and experience. His results against mid- and low-level talent are impressive, and his overall DFF percentage (53.5) suggests a young player who can move up the depth chart in the years to come. Advertisement The eye test and the Puck IQ math tell us Emberson is improving. As he gains more experience, he should be able to take on more minutes from the older players on the team. Imagine the current situation one year from now, with Emberson capable of playing second-pair minutes. He'll be on a value contract, possibly playing a feature role at five-on-five (he's already there on the penalty kill) and a big part of Edmonton's future. The cost for Emberson (Cody Ceci and a third-round pick in the 2025 draft) will have been well worth it if the team can sign him, and Emberson continues to develop. It's impossible to say the club will have completely recovered from the Philip Broberg offer sheet, but if Emberson can emerge as the solution on the second pair right side general manager Stan Bowman will have delivered in an important area. The Oilers organization took a hit last summer when Broberg and Dylan Holloway left via offer sheets. The loss of complementary players who could grow into prominent roles set the team back significantly. It can be seen on the ice during the team's current struggles. It behooves Bowman to sign Emberson and set a new course with the handling of young players during the contract process. The NHL is changing, with agents for young players finding a new revenue option via the offer sheet. Emberson is arbitration eligible, so the Oilers will sign him before the fall (unless Emberson is dealt at the deadline, which seems a distant bell). However, Bouchard is eligible for an offer sheet, and the team is vulnerable in that area. The huge increase in cap dollars would seem to reduce the risk of an unmatchable offer for Bouchard, but getting him under contract before the window opens for offer sheets would be a wise move. Signing Emberson is another key move for the Oilers. Advertisement Signing both would go a long way to solving a youth issue on the team. A team that is aging across the roster could enter the fall with Bouchard and Emberson as strong options on right defence and prospect Beau Akey pushing up from the AHL Bakersfield Condors in 2025-26. Bowman needs to build up the roster with young players capable of taking on key roles in the future. Emberson could represent the tip of the spear for an organization that badly needs to show it has learned the lesson of leaving itself vulnerable to a ravenous NHL in constant search of quality youth. The Oilers have none to spare.
New York Times
17-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Making the early call on Oilers' 2025 free agents: Who will sign? Who's too expensive?
Stan Bowman's first season as general manager of the Edmonton Oilers has seen him work around the edges of the roster. Names like Vasily Podkolzin, Ty Emberson, Kasperi Kapanen and John Klingberg were brought in to help in depth roles, with Podkolzin and Klingberg (in his early days) occupying prominent positions. Advertisement Bowman didn't take the Oilers job to tweak. There's a franchise-altering move out there, but it hasn't landed yet. Things may change slightly at the deadline, offering Bowman a chance to put his first big name on the roster. It will certainly change in the summer, with a new (higher) cap number and several free agents hitting the exit ramp. A good place to start in evaluating Bowman's summer is by taking a long look at Edmonton's free agents — restricted and unrestricted. Note: In evaluating NHL free agents, this article will employ the brilliant work of The Athletic's Dom Luszczyszyn and Shayna Goldman. The NHL player cards produced by this team offer a valuable 'line in the sand' for each player's value. It's an exceptional tool and gives fans a real-time view of how much each player is producing for his team. Here's an early look at a possible summer splash for Bowman in his first full offseason in Edmonton. The list of restricted free agents on the Oilers roster is short and exceptional. Emberson and Evan Bouchard have delivered well beyond their respective cap numbers, with Bouchard at supernova levels in 2024-25. The numbers are overwhelming for Bouchard, who is an impact NHL player. The Oilers would be wise to sign him long-term this summer, buying restricted and unrestricted seasons through the end of the decade. Emberson's situation is a little different, but a multiyear value contract isn't out of the question. Edmonton's penalty kill spiked in a good way when Emberson took on a bigger role early in the year. Assume both of these men sign in the summer, with a five- or six-year deal for Bouchard the smart play. The two best veteran Oilers in their walk years are wingers Connor Brown and Corey Perry. Both are delivering impressive value, often playing ahead of players who were expected to contribute more: Bowman will want to tread carefully in this area of the roster. Brown and Perry are having strong seasons, but one of the priorities this summer will be improvement in foot speed among the wingers. Brown is above average according to NHL Edge, but Perry (who turns 40 in May) might not be a priority signing option. Advertisement Jeff Skinner was an early disappointment who has been coming on in recent weeks. His return for another season looks like a long shot, but goal scorers have extreme value and one or two massive playoff markers could change the signing scenario for this player. On the other hand, Derek Ryan looks like a player who has reached the end of the line as an NHL player. Currently playing in the AHL with the Bakersfield Condors, he could be a recall option this season. Ryan is unlikely to get an NHL contract from Edmonton for 2025-26. Kasperi Kapanen has played well enough to be considered for another deal in the same price range. NHL Edge has his top speed and his top shot speed at the high end of the graph. Klingberg is in the 'too soon to know' category. If he can successfully fill the hole on the second pairing alongside Darnell Nurse over the next four months, Bowman will move quickly to get an extension done. Five games into Klingberg's Edmonton career, no one knows how this is going to turn out. This is a key area for Bowman and the Oilers this summer. New general managers often walk most minor-league RFAs in the system at the first opportunity. This is due to differences in approach and the fact the new manager wants to have enough room to wheel on the 50-man list. In any offseason, fans will see much turnover in this area. When a new GM comes in, that number usually goes higher. Alec Regula might be the most interesting name here. Bowman claimed him on waivers in December for Edmonton and traded for Regula in 2019 when he was manager of the Chicago Blackhawks. That kind of move usually indicates a significant belief by the GM in the player in question. Regula could emerge as an NHL option later in this season or the playoffs. He hasn't played a game in the NHL or AHL since being claimed. Advertisement The best player on this list may be Roby Jarventie, acquired in the offseason from the Ottawa Senators. Jarventie has played in just two AHL games for Bakersfield this season and has had another year derailed by injury. Bowman will have to make a tough decision on this player, who has NHL ability but can't stay healthy. The player most likely to be signed from this group is Noah Philp. He has 12 NHL games on his resume this season and could push for a regular job over the rest of 2024-25 with Edmonton. If that doesn't happen, Philp is an easy sign and then should be a plug-and-play for Edmonton's fourth line in the fall. The other player in this group worth extending is Olivier Rodrigue. Over the last three seasons, Rodrigue has consistently been one of the top-10 goaltenders in league save percentage. He might spend his career as a No. 3 goaltender in an NHL organization, but he is bona fide. NHL teams target centres, defencemen and goaltenders for their AHL teams, and the Oilers were loaded at centre this season. Unfortunately, Lane Pederson and James Hamblin (who is under contract for another season) both got hurt for extended periods. Bowman would be wise to sign Pederson, who is an exceptional centre at the AHL level. He can mentor young wingers and give Bakersfield fans something to cheer for every night. The Condors have some impressive defencemen, but most of the group is right-handed. Chances are the top performing RH defenceman (Connor Carrick) will be signed, meaning Phil Kemp's run in the organization could be coming to an end. Kemp is a strong AHL player and has earned an NHL look, so his agent probably casts about looking for a team with a weak RH defence depth chart. Looking at the current list of free agents, the locks to sign are Bouchard, Emberson and Philp. The list of players Bowman will want to sign for value deals starts with Brown and ends with Carrick. The players who may be too expensive this summer include Brown, Klingberg (if he pops) and (because of his AHL value) Pederson. Advertisement Bowman will want to make room for college free agents, Europeans interested in the NHL (he was impressive in this area during his 'Hawks years) and players from Canadian junior leagues who have gone undrafted or didn't sign with their drafting teams. The big item is signing Connor McDavid (who reaches unrestricted free agency after next season), then Bouchard. After that, Bowman's influence will be felt across the Edmonton and Bakersfield rosters. We can make the call on many of the free agents from here. The toughest call is probably Perry, who is older and slow but makes so many smart plays in the offensive zone he'll be difficult to replace. (Photo of Corey Perry: Perry Nelson / Imagn Images)
