EDMONTON -- After six years out of the playoffs and a 29th-place finish on the heels of consecutive 30th-place seasons, the promise of a bright future is starting to wear thin for fans of the Edmonton Oilers.

Wholesale Jerseys From China . Its not going over a lot better with Taylor Hall, one of the players those hopes hinge on. While Hall, at the heart of Edmontons rebuild along with fellow second-year player Jordan Eberle and rookie Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, has high hopes for the future just as fans do, he isnt willing to use short-term pain in the name of long-term gain as a crutch indefinitely. Hall, his second season ended by shoulder surgery, made his expectations for next season abundantly clear as the Oilers cleaned out the dressing room and did exit interviews at Rexall Place Monday. "I definitely think we have a good, young core here and were definitely exciting and we definitely have a lot of potential, but I think we were sitting here last year saying the exact same thing," Hall said. "At some point, its got to turn into something. It cant all be hope and promise because eventually the fans are going to stop hoping, theyre going to stop wanting and theyre going to stop coming. "I think next year has to be a playoff year. We have to be a contending team, at least, a team that teams are afraid to play because of our skill level, the way we compete and the way we play defence. It is fun to be in that young nucleus of really good players, but we have to do something with it eventually." With a 3-0 loss to Vancouver Saturday, the Oilers finished the regular season with a record of 32-40-10 for 74 points, leaving them 14th in the Western Conference and 29th overall. While that represents modest progress, a total of seven more wins than 2010-11 and 14 more points than the 62 of the previous two seasons, there remains work to do. Even with the gains, the Oilers finished 21 points back of the eight-place Chicago Blackhawks. "I think you just need that winning mentality, to be honest," said Eberle, who led the Oilers with 76 points. "Weve obviously lost a lot of games the last couple of years. You cant be satisfied with what we did." When fans talk about a climb back to respectability, most of the talk revolves around Eberle, 21, Hall, 20, and Nugent-Hopkins, 18. They had terrific seasons and finished one-two-three in team scoring. "As players, were all maturing," said Hall, asked if he feels ready to take on more of a leadership role. "I know myself, Im doing the same thing. In the room I want to be more vocal and try to take that next step. "I want to be here for a long time. I want to be here when were the team thats contending and were in the playoffs and everything like that, so Im looking forward to kind of taking that next step next year along with Ryan and Jordan and having a bigger voice in the room." Eberle led the Oilers with 34 goals and his 76 points was an increase of 33 points over his rookie season. Hall tallied 27-26-53 in 61 games, 11 points better than he had as a rookie. Nugent-Hopkins was limited to 62 games by a shoulder injury but had 18 goals and 52 points. That left him tied for the NHL rookie scoring lead with Colorados Gabriel Landeskog. "We play a significant role as far as the offensive side of the game," Eberle said. "Whether Im penalty killing next year or doing whatever, I know Im going to play a lot more. That, in itself, youve got to take leadership there. "Definitely, we have to take a lot bigger role as far as leadership and try to guide this team." Aside from Eberle, Hall and Nugent-Hopkins, defenceman Jeff Petry and goaltender Devan Dubnyk made great strides and took on bigger roles as the season went on. At the same time, veterans like captain Shawn Horcoff and Ryan Smyth took lesser roles. "Theyre dominant players now," Horcoff said. "I think youre in that transition now. The one thing we do need is you need a good balance. You need experience. Every winning team has that. "You know, youve got to have veteran guys that have been around a long time and that youthful exuberance. We sort of in that situation now . . . the future is very bright with those three guys right now going forward." Smyth, 35, who is looking for a new contract after returning for a second stint in Edmonton by way of a trade from Los Angeles, finished with 19 goals and 47 points, but 12 of his goals came in the first 25 games. "Were not far off," Smyth said, when asked about contending for a playoff spot next season. "Our record doesnt speak that right now, but next year youve got to think these young guys are a year older. Theyre going to be an impact. I think youre going to see a great deal of transition thats going to happen quick." Notes: Eberle will join Team Canada for the World Championship. .... Ales Hemsky will represent the Czech Republic. Cheap NFL Jerseys . -- Albertas men will be gunning for back-to-back junior curling gold medals, while B. 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The Vikings star running back spoke to reporters Wednesday about his progress during minicamp, providing his familiar optimism on an afternoon otherwise dominated by wide receiver Percy Harvins request for a trade. Peterson says Harvin told hiim recently that hes cutting so well on his surgically repaired left knee its hard to tell he was injured. China Jerseys Free Shipping. But Peterson adds he knows his body is "just not there yet" at full recovery. Hes on track for training camp, but how much he can do and whether the team will let him play at the start of the regular season has yet to be determined. ' ' '