That culture thing

If I can slip into my Captain Obvious outfit for a moment, I’m here to tell you that nothing builds a winning culture for a team like the Edmonton Oilers like actually winning hockey games. You can’t build it by talking. Slogans won’t get the job done. Remember chopping wood and carrying water? Of course you do.

The bottom line is that building a winning culture starts with winning games. Muddle into a postseason series or two, and then as you continue to do the work that got you going in the first place, pay attention to detail and get approval from everyone on the lineup you have one chance for a further step.

That’s where I see the Oilers now as they prepare for their 2022 training camp after a season in which they went 49-22-7 for 104 points — their highest scoring since 1986-87 when they had 106 points. Points aside, they reached the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2006 before being swept by Colorado.

The Oilers haven’t won anything they need an engraver on, but this team looks better to me to start this season — from Jay Woodcroft, who calls the shots behind the bench, to Evander Kane and Jack Campbell in the Lineup – as the group that started 2021-22, a season that was everywhere. Connor McDavid spoke in one about what’s next Availability with the media yesterday.

WHAT HE SAID

“There’s a lot of expectation this year, both outside and in the dressing room,” he said. “Of course last year was a step forward, but we have to come in here and start over, building on what we achieved last year. Nothing comes for free in this league, of course we know that, so I’m just looking forward to getting things started.

“It’s great to see everyone and just have a little bit of time before the season just to be out there with the lads. Camp is fast this year, so it’s important that everyone gets up straight away. Starts are always important, we talk about it every year, so we put a lot of emphasis on the start of the season. You only see that commitment when guys show up.

There’s obviously still work to be done, but this team has made progress since Ken Holland took over as general manager. Holland spoke to Jason Gregor about culture back in May 2019. The full interview is herebut one snippet sticks out for me.

“At the end of the day, what is culture? It’s work ethic, it competes every day,” Holland said. “The league is so hard to win that you have to compete, your scouts have to compete, your managers have to compete, your coaches have to compete. You compete with 30 other organizations that are the best in the world and you have to work hard.”

Holland has been milling since day one here, even when he had next to no budget. He made the decision to fire Dave Tippett and promote Woodcroft from the AHL. Holland brought Zach Hyman, which was a feat. He shot Kane, who was better than everyone expected, and then managed to re-sign him. Now comes Campbell. Here we are.

THE RESULT

“We really just won one more game than we did in 2017,” said McDavid, who was on the course at Edmonton Golf and Country Club for the team’s media tournament today. “Of course it feels like we were closer last year than last year, but it’s just a win. We still have a long way to go, we know that.

“It takes everyone and it lasts all season long. I think it’s becoming more of a culture. It’s the same core types every year that set the pace, set the pace, and sort of lead the way. I think that’s probably the biggest difference.”

• When: On Thursday, January 12th, we’ll board a plane at Edmonton International Airport and make our way to Vegas. We fly back to Edmonton from Vegas on Sunday evening. So the dates you need to keep free for this trip are January 12-15.
• Where we stay: Upon landing in LV, we board the complimentary shuttle and make our way to Park MGM before settling down for a good night’s sleep. 😉
• What you get: Your return airfare, hotel, shuttle, viewing party (Friday night), game entry – this time we have seats (Saturday night) and exclusive entry to our pre-trip “get to know each other” event.
• How much: The total cost of travel, flight, hotel and entry to the game is $1499 per person (based on double occupancy)
• Tickets: Ready to dive in? Click this link.

Previously by Robin Brownlee