Excitement, optimism and heightened expectations marked the first day of Oilers’ training camp. For only the second time in 30 years, there are reasonable expectations that the Oilers can be a contender. Prior to the 2017-2018 season, after Edmonton made the playoffs for the first time in a decade, the only time I can remember was when fans and pundits thought the Oilers could pose a real threat. The 2017/2018 season was not going well, the Oilers struggled mightily and finished 11th in the Western Conference.
Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Darnell Nurse and Jesse Puljujarvi are the only remaining players who were regulars on this team. Kailer Yamamoto played nine games before returning to junior and Brad Malone came in seven.
Nurse has vivid memories of that season.
“We only learn if we continue to follow and implement the lessons that were taught to us after 2017,” Nurse said. “I personally remember that summer and everyone was talking about how we were a good team, we were going back to the playoffs and we were a contender. That’s not how the league or sport works. You have to earn it, and we didn’t deserve it at all. We must have a chip on our shoulder this year. It was great to reach the Western Conference Finals, but last year there was only one winner and we were in the big group of losers. Achieving the ultimate goal will require far more work than we have ever put in over the past year.”
It was four seasons before the Oilers won another round of playoffs, and the three years of disappointment are great memories for the Oilers’ leadership group. Don’t expect a repeat of 2018. This team is more focused and the pace of training and demands from Jay Woodcroft hammered this home.
Woodcroft didn’t like how Kailer Yamamoto had pre-checked in a drill and let him know. He didn’t shout, but made it clear that they need to get faster and more assertive. Woodcroft was an assistant coach in 2018 and is determined not to suffer a similar setback this season.
Woodcroft’s top lines yesterday:
- Kane-McDavid-Yamamoto
- Hyman-Draisaitl-Puljujarvi
- RNH-McLeod-Foegele
- Holloway-Malone-Virtanen
- Janmark-Shore-Ryan
Ryan and Janmark compete for a proper roster spot now because of the salary cap. When put on the same line, they can essentially have “real-time” competition.
Foegele played RW in Carolina, so he’s played there before, but will he start the season at RW? We will see.
The defending pairs were Nurse-Wanner (Ceci’s replacement), Kulak-Bouchard, and Broberg-Barrie. I think there’s a very good chance these are the pairings that start the season, but I think the first three rows are still a work in progress. Woodcroft will likely try a few different combinations over the course of training camp. And we’ll see if Dylan Holloway can squeeze his way into the top 9 conversation.
Quotes that will make you go Hmmm…
“We want to make sure we compete against each other so we compete for each other in the season,” woodcroft
Woodcroft has a gift with words.
“Defending is the one area where we haven’t improved as a group to the same extent as we did on offense and that’s what we need to focus on.” Nurse.
That’s very accurate. However, Edmonton made great strides last year following the arrival of Woodcroft. The Oilers had the sixth best goals conceded per game in the NHL at 2.78. Colorado finished 5th with a 2.76. The Oilers eventually got their 5×5 goals vs/game under two, allowing for a 1.92 in their last 38 games. If they want to be a real contender, their 5×5 GA needs to be in that range this season.
“I’m going to try to be really good at the pre-check and maybe holding the puck is the other thing I can be better at too. And go to the blue color, be strong… mean.” Puljujarvi when asked what areas of his game he would like to improve.
I loved that answer, especially the last three words. Puljujarvi may be the Oilers’ happiest player. He’s always smiling and laughing, but he’s also the greatest forward they have. He’s a huge human and probably doesn’t realize how strong he is. Hearing him say “be mean” doesn’t fit his personality, but he’s got the hang of it. He has the size and power to intimidate and push around people of the blue color. He’s still young, only 24, and if he adds that element to his game this season, he’ll be a handful for D-men.
“I don’t think it was worth holding on for a little more money. I didn’t want to waste any time and now I can show myself from my best side. I understand the flat cap and I had no rights this year (arbitration). Ryan McLeod.
McLeod’s signing for $798,000 was all salary cap related. They literally had about $165 more left to give him. McLeod has the right attitude. It would not have been wise to miss camp and while there is no guarantee I am sure the organization will remember his willingness to accept the lower salary and reward him in the future. McLeod has an opportunity to have a breakout year and make some real money next season. His speed is his greatest asset and he started to use it more to his advantage as he got more comfortable towards the end of the season. He has the potential to become an excellent third-line center.
“It’s definitely the role I want to play this year and Cece (Cody Ceci) has the same spirit. Playing as a defender against the toughest competition is a lot of fun. It is not easy. It’s a tough job and your mistakes are obvious and the things you do well usually go unnoticed. Such thankless jobs are what I enjoy as a competitor and look forward to taking on that role again.” nurse more than 50% of his TOI of Elite to have under Woodcroft and Manson.
Expect a similar distribution at the start of the season. Nurse and Ceci will play hard minutes and 5×5, and Nurse won’t see much PP time as Barrie and Bouchard log those minutes.
- 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.
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