EDMONTON, AB -The Oilers split up practice on Tuesday as they look to win their seventh straight game tomorrow when they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The forwards and goaltenders went to work on the main ice at Rogers Place while the defence occupied the Downtown Community Arena. Head Coach Jay Woodcroft has experimented with this type of practice in the past, but with the Oilers lighter schedule this week, it gave the staff the ability to not only focus on the team game, but the individual game as well.
"I think a day like today, which we would call almost 'position-specific', allows you to work at different parts of your individual game relative to your position," Woodcroft said. "We started doing this in the American Hockey League. We would have development weeks. The schedule is a little bit different down there, but the way we would phrase it to some of the young fellas down there was that it was their turn to invest in their own personal corporation, work at their own game.
"It wasn't about team structure or team tactics, it was about feeling good with different areas of their own personal game," he added.
BLOG: Oilers separate forwards and defence for skills day
"It was their turn to invest in their own personal corporation, work at their own game." - Head Coach Jay Woodcroft