Could This Be The Year Hemsky Breaks Out?

Ever since his 77 point season in 05-06 followed by the Edmonton Oilers magical Stanley Cup run, Oilers fans have been waiting for Ales Hemsky to take the next step and become an "elite" player by reaching the 80 point plateau. Every year, people always ask the question, "Will this be the year?" All the signs seem to point to yes. Last year Hemsky showed flashes of absolute dominance, especially that game against Columbus on Jan 20, where he was in on all four Oilers goals, scoring two of them, including the winner. He did cool off in the final stretch though, only posting 14 points. The entire team collapsed, however, going 7-9-4 resulting in the Oilers sliding from sixth place in the Western Conference to eleventh. Now the team hasn't really changed since last season, so why should we expect Hemsky to do any differently this season? Well the first, and probably biggest, factor is coaching. Near the end of last season, Hemsky expressed his frustration with t...