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Guess who simply obtained again as we speak?Them wild-eyed boys that had been awayHaven’t modified, had a lot to say
The boys are again on the town
–Skinny Lizzy, “The Boys Are Again In City”
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It’s September, the leaves are starting to fall and hopes for the native hockey workforce are beginning to rise.
Right here in higher Edmonton, that point has arrived sooner than ever with phrase that this week’s Captain’s Skates are totally subscribed. Each single member of the Oilers was available for Day One Wednesday, totally two weeks earlier than the official begin of coaching camp. And similar to that, a seasonal ear worm invaded my thoughts, the previous Skinny Lizzy hit “The Boys Are Again In City”.
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Sure they’re. Welcome dwelling, boys.
The Captain’s Skates have been rising in significance for some time, as NHL groups search for a option to get the soar on camp. No coaches are concerned, however the captain someway managed to e book Rogers Place for some severe ice time, and I’m guessing he didn’t must pay full freight for it both.
Probably the most encouraging side is the complete buy-in by your entire squad, with all 22 gamers who performed NHL minutes with the workforce final 12 months and stay beneath contract as we speak available. New dads, Europeans, east coasters, west coasters, doesn’t matter, they’re all right here. So too are low season additions Connor Brown and Drake Caggiula, veteran PTO’s Sam Gagner and Brandon Sutter in addition to kids Xavier Bourgault and Raphael Lavoie, the group’s high two prospects.
It’s like a 28(ish) man pre-camp, simply attending to know one another earlier than issues get actually severe within the preseason. After all most of those guys know one another already, and appear to love each other loads. So let’s begin there with our Causes For Optimism tour.
- The Oilers are a dedicated group. No kidding, they’re all chomping on the bit already, and saying many if not most of The Proper Issues™ about their single-minded pursuit of the Stanley Cup. A lot of the workforce that burned up the NHL down the stretch of 2022-23 is again, and so they’re hungry.
Zach Hyman, whose annual charity golf match in Toronto a number of weeks in the past was attended by about eight teammates, spoke Wednesday of the closeness of the squad.
“I feel one of many large issues is that we’re returning nearly our whole workforce, and I feel a purpose that all of us got here again is we’re all buddies. We’re all shut. There’s not many new guys coming into the fold, and people which might be will have the ability to sort of get acclimated to the workforce fairly shortly.” - They’re a mature, skilled crew. All however three gamers on the roster had been born within the Nineteen Nineties, which by definition locations them between 24 and 33 years of age, and inside a comparatively few years of their peak. Solely Derek Ryan (1986), Philip Broberg (2001) and Dylan Holloway (2001) come from different a long time. Every is a task participant, at the same time as the 2 youthful males are hungry for extra motion they must work their well past an excellent veteran or two within the course of.
- The Oil have the perfect offensive participant of this century at his absolute peak.
Ah, sure, the Captain of Captain’s Skate fame. Connor McDavid‘s 64-89-153 was in truth the perfect of the 2000s, a large 25 factors greater than every other participant’s profession 12 months in that whole span. The “human cheat code” additionally turned the primary man since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96 to steer the loop in each targets and assists. That means, successfully, that the Oilers have the perfect participant on the ice in any sport they play. After copping 4 main particular person trophies a 12 months in the past, McDavid presently has the bearing of a person who is prepared, prepared and capable of convey his entire workforce alongside for the experience. - The sidekick isn’t so unhealthy both.
In McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the Oilers boast the one two NHLers this century to report three seasons of 110+ factors. The feat has been achieved simply 23 instances within the 23 years of the 2000s, with the Oilers’ #97 and #29 accounting for six of them. The one different guys to do it even twice are well-known names like Jaromir Jagr, Joe Thornton, Alex Ovechkin and Nikita Kucherov. A terrific playmaker and deadly finisher, Draisaitl has reached the 50-goal milestone within the final three 82-game seasons. Within the 2000’s, Leon’s trio stands alone in second place behind Ovechkin’s astonishing 9 50-goal seasons. - The highest six lastly seems to be full.
Ken Holland invested severe coin and time period in attracting high-end help gamers Zach Hyman and Evander Kane whereas retaining Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. This 12 months Connor Brown joins the group on a loophole contract however with confirmed top-six chops. Kane is 32, Hyman 31, Nuge 30, Brown 29; all are prepared for prime time. - The underside six lastly figured it out in ’22-23.
After years of being a flat-out drag on aim share, the Oilers truly outscored their opponents final 12 months at 5v5 when each McDavid and Draisaitl had been on the bench. The fallout was that three completely different bottom-six guys earned raises from beneath $1 million to $2 million plus, however solely certainly one of them, Ryan McLeod, may very well be retained. The departures of Klim Kostin and Nick Bjugstad open up alternatives for children like Holloway and Lavoie, although each have a reasonably excessive bar to clear. - Mattias Ekholm will probably be right here all season.
Inform me that doesn’t put a smile in your face, Oilers followers. It took the higher a part of three years, however the Oil lastly discovered a severe substitute for Oscar Klefbom of their high 4. Whereas a bit lengthy within the tooth at 33, Ekholm immediately settled down Evan Bouchard at even power, Vincent Desharnais on the PK, and just about your entire workforce and its mercurial fanbase each time he was on the ice. Impossibly, a person who joined an excellent workforce three-quarters of the best way by way of the season went on to steer that workforce in plus, with an astonishing +28 in 21 video games. The Oilers posted an 18-2-1 mark over that span. - Oilers lastly have an actual high 4.
Ekholm’s arrival and Bouchard’s ascension as his associate was a large growth. Amongst many different advantages it took a number of the warmth off of Darnell Nurse, who noticed his ice time scaled again by 84 seconds per sport the remainder of the best way. Within the three years since Klefbom’s departure Nurse has posted large numbers with boxcars of 209 GP, 37-77-114, +71, rating within the high 16 NHL d-men over that span in such disparate classes as ice time, even power targets and factors, pictures on aim, penalty minutes, giveaways, hits, blocked pictures, and plus. His 32 even power targets trails simply the 35 recorded by a few blueliners you’ll have heard inform of, co-leaders Cale Makar and Erik Karlsson. The arrival of Ekholm means the Oil can have a excessive finish d-man on the left facet for about 45 minutes a sport. - Did I point out the powerplay?
Edmonton’s conversion fee of 32.4% led the league by a large margin over second-place Toronto (26.0%) and in reality took high spot as essentially the most environment friendly PP since stats had been first recorded in 1977-78. It’s a veteran unit that has completed 1st, 1st, third, and 1st the final 4 years with a mixed 29.1%, a greater fee over 4 years than all however 5 different squads in historical past have sustained for even a single marketing campaign. Led by the center three of McDavid, Draisaitl and RNH who completed 1-2-3 within the league in powerplay factors, the deadly unit is Edmonton’s first and greatest technique of creating opponents pay for his or her transgressions.
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I might go on: possibly rave a few teaching workers that has the second greatest report within the common season and three playoff collection wins since being put in a 12 months and a half in the past; or about how the goaltending is probably going in higher form than it appeared at instances final 12 months (Stu Skinner and Jack Campbell have profession save percentages of .912 and .910 respectively), or about how the underside three on the blueline fashioned an unconventional however efficient partnership, about how few Oilers are being requested to play above their pay grade. Hey, it’s September, optimism abounds.
I might additionally, after all, maintain forth about a number of points that stack up on the unfavourable facet of the ledger together with the squad’s downfall within the playoffs vs. Vegas, however there was and will probably be loads of time for that form of factor with out blowing a gap in as we speak’s September optimism.
For now it’s time for the boys to get again to work, on teamwork and togetherness and to tighten up on the defensive facet of the puck. All of the whereas remaining essentially the most harmful, and thrilling, workforce within the Nationwide Hockey League. Ought to be a enjoyable experience.
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