BLOG: Oilers ready to start their campaign at full stride

EDMONTON, AB – With their regular-season schedule set to commence on Wednesday night with the first of a home-and-away series against the Vancouver Canucks, the real work for the Edmonton Oilers can begin.

The effort and the sacrifice from the Blue & Orange on and off the ice over more than a month of Captain’s Skates and Training Camp has now been put in, with the focus of the players and coaches since day one having been firmly set on operating with a day-to-day mindset of improving every day and setting themselves up for a bright start to their 2023-24 NHL campaign.

After arriving in Edmonton more than two weeks early before the official start of Training Camp, Oilers players and coaches believe their star-studded and championship-driven group has the right talent, the right mindset and the right approach necessary to make good on what they’ve set out to do from the beginning – improve day-by-day and build momentum over the course of the campaign from a fast and effective start to their ’23-24 regular-season schedule.

“I thought we had a really good month here,” Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said. “Over the month of September and into October, our players came back early. They demonstrated a want to make sure they were ready to start Training Camp, took care of a lot of business on their own in that way, and when Training Camp started, we got a lot of good work, good practices and good reps.”

“I like the look in the eye of our group,” the coach added. “I like the fact that they came back early and demonstrated to each other how important it was to be ready for Training Camp. I like the fact that they've put in a ton of work."

“Now, it's on us to go out and execute starting tomorrow night."

Outside the locker room, the Oilers are expected to be among the League’s best when it comes to having a realistic shot at hoisting hockey’s holy grail this coming June.

With the game’s two best players in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, one of the deepest forward groups that added Connor Brown to its top six this offseason, a formidable blueline boasting Mattias Ekholm, Darnell Nurse and Evan Bouchard, and a goaltending tandem of Stuart Skinner and Jack Campbell that provides them with a deadly one-two combination between the pipes, it’s easy to understand those claims.

Probably no one knows that more than the actual players themselves, who are returning to an Oilers group that’s kept the same core players and a lot of the same veterans; with some younger names like Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg looking to take bigger steps to help contribute to the club’s championship bid.

“I certainly feel that way. It feels the most mature,” said captain Connor McDavid when asked if this is the best Oilers team he’s been a part of.

“I think I've said this a couple of times – everybody's kind of in their prime. There's no wondering what the game is going to feel like out there. We know everyone in this group has played lots of years in this league, and our young guys I think have gotten off to a great start in Holloway and Broberg.”

But all of that hype, hope and expectation rings hollow if they’re unable to hold themselves accountable to the high standards and the processes they’ve established in the locker room.

The Oilers understand they’ll be competing in a challenging Pacific Division – one of the League’s toughest with the 2023 Cup winners the Vegas Golden Knights and two other 100-point teams from last season in the Los Angeles Kings and Seattle Kraken who’ll be contesting the top of the division with Edmonton.

Every one of the 32 NHL teams will start their schedule with an equal 0-0-0 record, but the Oilers are only concerned with looking out for number one in order to win the race for the Stanley Cup.

“We understand the outside noise, we understand outside expectations, but for us, we're prepared to begin this journey or this marathon with 31 other teams,” Woodcroft said.

“Everybody has an optimistic bent to the beginning of their seasons. I'm not worried about any of that stuff. I'm worried about our team executing at the rate it needs to execute, our team having the proper mindset, our team having the mental capacity, and the physical capacity to get better every single day.”

For the bench boss, who arrived in Edmonton last February and immediately implemented the approach of ‘taking care of the day’s business’, reinforcing that idea from Day 1 was one of his highest priorities to keep the focus of his players centred around improving every day rather than results

Those will come naturally if their process is correct.

“I want to make sure our team is thinking properly. I want to make sure that we're prepared to execute properly and I want to make sure that we get the most out of our day and I believe that if we do those things wins take care of themselves.

"We had a really good day today and we're looking forward to getting on a plane, going to Vancouver and taking care of tomorrow's day as well.”

The trio of Mattias Ekholm, Brett Kulak and Ryan McLeod will all face late fitness checks for their availability for Edmonton's season opener on Wednesday after all three participated in Tuesday's practice before the team took off to Vancouver later in the afternoon.

"All of them had another good day today," Woodcroft said. "I have not spoken to the medical department, but they're all trending in the right direction. We're optimistic about their availability."