20230911_NUGE_WIDE

EDMONTON, AB – Safe to say, the Oilers are adding more youth to the roster.

In the last few weeks, both Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Darnell Nurse and their significant others both announced a fresh new addition to their families. Nugent-Hopkins welcomed the birth of his first child in late August -- a daughter named Lennon -- while Darnell and his wife Mikayla saw the arrival of their second child just five days ago, a boy named Chase.

For Nugent-Hopkins, it’s been a period of adjustment but a welcome one as he and his wife Bre deal with the trials and tribulations provided by their new bundle of joy.

“I have a baby, so that's a pretty big change,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “Less sleep, never changed a diaper before, but it's been a good change. Right now, she's not moving too much, so a lot of naps, a lot of cuddles. Other than that, I can't feed her, so that's mom's job. But yeah, it's going well.”

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      Darnell chats about his summer & season preparation

      Nurse had missed a few days captain’s skates awaiting the arrival of his son, spending the time with his wife in the lead up to Chase’s birth. It was a vast departure from his first child Aidan, who was born the morning after the Oilers were eliminated from the playoffs by the Winnipeg Jets in 2021 – a game in which he played an impressive 62:07 in the triple overtime affair.

      The playoff heartbreak was immediately followed by an incredibly rewarding and life changing experience as Nurse managed to make it to the hospital in time for the birth. The Oilers defender was grateful that this time around was little less hectic.

      “It was nice to be around for my wife through the whole experience,” Nurse said. “The second time around is kind of cool, because the first time you try to figure out everything to do because to prepare the second time you kind of got an idea. It's been a great few days so far.”

      The Oilers locker room has been no stranger to new arrivals as of late. Over the last year; Nurse, Nugent-Hopkins, Cody Ceci, Evander Kane, Stuart Skinner, Brett Kulak, and Mattias Ekholm have all seen their families grow by one.

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          Ryan talks about fatherhood & preparing for the season

          The family friendly environment that has been created in the Oilers organization follows the growth that the team has seen internally. There is a mature sensibility to the group as they have grown together from top prospects to established veterans. The change is a welcome one for a group of players whose perspective, goals, and standards have developed over the years.

          “Yeah, I think there's been seven babies this year,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “I mean, definitely looks a lot different. When I first came in it was a majority young guys and then some older guys with older kids, and now it's a lot of babies and toddlers running around, so definitely a different look. A lot of guys, late 20’s, kind of in the prime of their career right now, so it's exciting in the hockey sense and I think adds a little fun with the little ones running around, too.”

          “Everyone's old now,” Nurse joked. “No, it's great. I think it's fun too, because a lot of people are either going through their first one, or second, or third, but you kind of just pass stories off each other. Everyone knows what you know. You haven't slept all night and the guy next to you probably hasn't slept all night either, so it's pretty fun. It's brought a great dynamic to our room.”

          The family atmosphere is one that is welcomed by Head Coach Jay Woodcroft. In last year’s training camp, the Oilers hosted a family skate for the players around Thanksgiving. It wasn't uncommon to see Derek Ryan’s kids around the rink, or a stroller or two around the locker room.

          "Sometimes in professional sports the term family gets tossed around a lot. Certainly we think of ourselves as a family here, but you have to live it too," Woodcroft said after last year’s family skate. "I think any time you can bring in the players and staff's families, it's a little thank you to them based on the sacrifice that they make in order for their husbands or dad's to work in this field. You want to make them feel like they are a part of what's going on here."

          “We have these family days now that Jay and the staff have brought in, where guys are bringing their kids to the rink to be able to see a meeting, see a practice, and it's a really fun experience,” Nurse said. “I grew up with a dad that played sports, but I was kind of too young to take it all in, so you want to make sure that your kid gets every opportunity to have these kinds of experiences.”

          As far as the parenting advice that gets bandied about the locker room, it hasn't quite made it's way to Nugent-Hopkins who says he hasn't received any quite yet, but he's sure he will. Nurse was asked in the morning's media scrum about his advice for the new dad, but the Oilers defender was pretty blunt in his response. 

          "No," Nurse said with a smile. "Everyone seems to have advice for you when you're a first time dad, but you can just do whatever you want. It'll work out."