EDMONTON, AB - After a long Training Camp, family comes first on Thanksgiving weekend.
After a short practice on Saturday, Oilers players' kids and significant others were able to join them on the ice and in the locker room for an afternoon of fun ahead of tomorrow's day off.
It wasn't the first time the sounds of joy from kids echoed in the Oilers facilities, and under Head Coach Jay Woodcroft, it won't be the last.
"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.
"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."
BLOG: Thanksgiving a family affair for the Oilers
Players were able to invite their families to Rogers Place on Saturday for a skate after practice