BLOG: Oilers thankful for family on Thanksgiving as regular season approaches

EDMONTON, AB – The Edmonton Oilers are thankful to be one day closer to the start of the regular season, and for their close-knit dressing room culture that includes the extended families of every player, coach, trainer and member of the management staff.

With the arrival of Thanksgiving, Sunday at Rogers Place was an opportunity for the Blue & Orange to put their focus on spending some quality family time together at the rink following the morning’s optional skate before the start of the long grind of the regular season.

The feel around the room was a lot looser and light-hearted after a long Training Camp that’s taken a lot of the attention and efforts from the Oilers players and coaches over the past two-plus weeks, with their families having the chance to enjoy the team facilities, the dressing room or take in the opportunity to hit the ice.

“I think when families are around, they provide energy to the group and it's the start of this season,” Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said. “Something to celebrate is that we're about to embark on the rigours of an 82-game schedule. I thought today was a little bit lower-key in how we handled things.

“It was a good day to bring everybody out and have people together, and we try and do that over the course of the season just to break up the monotony of an 82-game schedule.”

Without them, there’s a good chance they wouldn’t have the opportunity they have now to compete in the NHL every day and make their livings as professional hockey players.

“It's special, especially after coming off a long, hard training camp,” said Derek Ryan, who’s adopted Canadian Thanksgiving into his yearly holiday routine from professional and collegiate stints in Canada and abroad in Europe.

“You kind of get together as a group, you bring the people in that mean the most to you and have done a lot to get you where you are now, and it's just nice to get to know everyone a little bit more and hang out and be with each other.”

Despite the American being born and raised in Spokane, Wash., Ryan became accustomed to the holiday thanks to his Canadian teammates after spending four seasons with the University of Alberta Golden Bears before heading overseas to play in Hungary, Switzerland and Sweden.

“I was usually with a group of Canadians, so we celebrate around Canadian Thanksgiving time and somebody would get everyone together in their house and roast a turkey for everyone and kind of be together, which is nice,” he said.

“The real Thanksgiving for me is American Thanksgiving, but I'm lucky enough to get two.”

Coach Woodcroft is thankful for his family both on and off the ice, and the opportunity to be behind the bench for an Oilers team with a proud history and fanbase that he enjoys communicating with through the media on a daily basis.

Family is one thing the bench boss doesn’t take for granted, along with the chance to be the leader behind the bench for a storied franchise that’s well on its way toward writing another chapter in its illustrious history.

“I feel very fortunate to be in the position that I'm in,” he said. “I think being part of a proud organization like the Edmonton Oilers gives somebody a lot of reasons to be thankful, and it's a responsibility that it's not one that I take lightly but I take a lot of pride in

“At this time of year, it's important to make sure you're around family and you take a little pause for reflection on what it is you're most thankful for. Certainly, I'm blessed with a lot of things in my life including a great family and certainly, this position.”