FEATURE: Archie's World

EDMONTON, AB - In less than one season, 'Archie' turned from new guy to glue guy.
Not Archie, the fictional comic book character hailing from Riverdale, but Edmonton's Archie, as in Josh Archibald, who wears No. 15 for the Oilers.
The speedy winger, who signed with the organization as an unrestricted free agent on July 16, 2019, helped turn the club's second-worst penalty kill into the second-best unit in the National Hockey League, bringing a low 74.8 percentage from the 2018-19 season to a much-improved 84.4 percent in '19-20; and later turned his staunch, two-way play into a two-year contract extension.
Just 62 games into his tenure with the Oilers, Archie's turned out to be an invaluable member of the Orange & Blue, and receives no shortage of fanfare for his contributions to the collective.
"Archie's been a hell of a player for us all year," teammate Zack Kassian said during the season. "He's the first one over the boards when we have a big penalty to kill. He plays with speed, is physical and blocks a lot of shots.
"He's a guy that every team needs."

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Glue guys are critical to a team's foundation but don't grow overnight. They often take responsibility for the thankless parts of the game like killing penalties, blocking shots, finishing checks and assuming defensive assignments. Archie's no stranger to all of the above and although his transformation to glue guy within the Oilers Dressing Room was stunted by an early ankle injury, the winger's gained comfort in his new uniform.
Archibald collected just 11 points in his first 40 games with the club but found his scoring touch in the back-half of the season, notching six goals and five assists in 22 outings after the All-Star Break.
At the time of the NHL pause, the 5-foot-10, 176-pounder had already matched his career-high in tallies with 12 and was a single goal or assist shy of tying his career-high in points, which is 22.
But Archie's addition to Edmonton's penalty kill is what often grants him the most acknowledgment from his peers. Oilers Associate Coach Jim Playfair, who manages the club's PK, articulated the role-player's effectiveness.

"He's a real smart killer," Playfair said. "I think he sets the pace and the tone for our penalty kill. He does a really good job of that.
"Goaltending is such a big part of it but I think it's the structure and the commitment to compete that the players have bought into. We block a lot of shots, we get into a lot of scrums and stay in the scrums until the job is done. We do a lot of detailed things but collectively, they have confidence in what they're doing out there together. I think that's a big part of your penalty kill."
Alongside Archibald's penalty-killing prowess was his chemistry with centreman Riley Sheahan. The pair formed a strong two-way tandem during the campaign, helping keep the puck out of the net at one end of the ice while having the ability to fill it at the other.
"He competes so hard, finishes his checks, and wins his battles," Sheahan said of his fellow penalty killer. "I think he does that really well, but at the same time he has some skill and can get in on the forecheck and make some plays. We both work hard. We both play similarly. We can read off each other and we play simple games.
"It's been good so far this year."
It was all good in Archie's world during the season, as he manufactured a career-year and was welcomed to Oil Country with open arms by way of his gritty, blue-collar game.
"They wanted to bring me in as a penalty killer," Archibald, after inking the two-year extension, said. "Shea and I have created a lot of chemistry, have done a good job of that so far this year and have been able to pitch in offensively, too."
But Archibald understands that while he's achieved some success with his new team, lots is still left to accomplish like a playoff berth and postseason run. To get there, a glue guy will do whatever it takes.
"The one-year contract was just an opportunity to prove to myself and to prove to everybody else that they're giving me a chance," Archibald said. "I got to go out and show them they made the right decision. This extension here is a by-product of hard work; them believing in me and me believing in them.
"At the end of the day, I'll do exactly whatever the coach wants me to do and tells me to do."