FEATURE: Desharnais lacking no drive in bid to crack Oilers roster

EDMONTON, AB - It's hard to look past the towering presence of Vincent Desharnais when sharing the ice with the 6-foot-7, 229-pound right-shot defenceman.
If you're a forward given the unfortunate assignment of occupying the net-front role against the looming blueliner, it's more than likely you'll be looking up but you'll be also looking out for yourself.
It's an on-ice influence that Desharnais is hoping to bring to the Edmonton Oilers this coming season after working to establish himself over four seasons in the NCAA and three years in the ECHL and AHL as a hard-nosed shutdown defenceman emulating the likes of Zdeno Chara, Erik Cernak and Colton Parayko with a strong net-front presence, penalty-killing, and making it hard on opposing players.
"I want my presence to be known," Desharnais said. "I want them to be pissed off at me, take stupid penalties, and I want them to know that I'm on the ice."
The 26-year-old is in Edmonton skating and settling in early in preparation for Oilers Main Camp, which is slated to begin in later in September and offers the opportunity for an up-and-coming defenceman like him to crack the Oilers roster with a spot on the back end up for grabs.
After patrolling the blueline for the Bakersfield Condors on a two-year AHL contract, Desharnais signed his first NHL deal back in March to give him an extra incentive to work even harder than before.
"It was a good summer," he said. "Obviously when you sign a contract like that, I feel like the motivation just steps up a couple of notches because I'm finally there and knocking on the big door. It was a great summer. Obviously, it went by really quick but that's a good thing. It means I worked hard. I'm ready to go, excited to be here, and can't wait to get things started."
Similar to his size, Desharnais has taken advantage of every opening in his career as a chance to expand and exploit the advantages on the ice that he's been given.
"I feel like that's just how I am," he said. "I just need the door to be open for me to put a step in. Everywhere I've been, it's been a step at a time but I know what I can do."

To go along with his large frame and reach, used extensively to box out attackers in front of the net and break up possession, is a dedication to becoming even better and an even bigger nuisance to play against.
"I work hard," he added. "I would say that's my biggest asset -- that I'm a hard worker and no matter what happens I know I'll work by bag off."
Desharnais has taken advantage of every opportunity in front of him to arrive as a top contender to earn a spot on the Oilers next season, beginning in Providence as a freshman in 2016 on the outside of a team coming off a National Championship before ending the year as a regular in the team. In his fourth and final season with the Friars, Desharnais led the team with a +22 plus-minus rating.
After playing two games for the Condors during his rookie professional season in 2019-20, Desharnais was sent down to the ECHL's Wichita Thunder for further adjustment to the professional game before finding his way back to the AHL in January.
"It's all about details in what separates the good players from the best players, and the biggest difference is the small details," he said. "The stick and the PK details were big things for me. I was able to play in the AHL when I got in, but I was not a good solid defenceman and that's what we worked for -- to be a hard-nosed defenceman where at the net front it's hard to go against me."
The next year, Desharnais would play six more games in the ECHL before growing into a consistent player for the Condors and having a major breakout this past season in 2021-22 by recording career highs in goals (5), assists (22) points (27), and an impressive +36 plus/minus that led the AHL.

"I think it starts with the team that we had last year," he said. "We had a very good team, older guys and lots of maturity within the locker room, which helped me a lot in growing as a player and a human being. Right there, I feel like that was very important for me. Also, the coaching staff. They're in Edmonton right now, but they played a big role in my three years in Bakersfield for me to get to where I am right now."
Despite those career highs in 2021-22, Desharnais spent minimal time on the powerplay and accrued the majority of his ice time at even strength and on the penalty kill, where his true influence as a defenceman is felt.
"I'm taking as much space away as possible from other players," Desharnais said. "Especially last year in the AHL, it was my mission every game to be matched against the top players from every team. For me, it was my mission to make sure they weren't getting any points and that they were frustrated. I think I did a good job building that last season, and even in playoffs I felt it where I was more comfortable and I was kind of building room around myself. I bought myself a little bit of time on the ice because of my physicality."
Throughout his professional career, Desharnais is thankful to have had the influence of a 1,000-plus game NHL veteran defenceman and former Bakersfield Assistant Coach Dave Manson as a guiding voice who could be relied upon for advice -- both on the ice and off it.
When Desharnais was sent down to the ECHL, Manson would regularly reach out to the young defenceman with a text or a quick phone call to calm the nerves of the first-year professional.
"It just makes you feel comfortable," Desharnais said. "It's good to feel uncomfortable, but in that situation you're in the ECHL and everything is new, but you know you have someone that's there for you. You have someone that if anything happens, you feel comfortable.
Even when it came time to re-sign with the organization back in March -- this time on a two-year NHL contract -- Manson was able to put aside the on-ice discussions and provide valuable advice to the up-and-coming defenceman.
"When I had to re-sign, there were some things that I wasn't sure of," he said. "But I went to him in his office and we talked about it. We didn't talk about my game, we didn't talk about my contract, it was more friendly advice that I was asking from him. So that's what is awesome about our relationship; it's not only hockey. We'll talk about fishing or anything.
"It just feels like it's normal, so when you have a guy like that, you know you'll feel more comfortable."

Over the next three seasons, Manson was always behind Desharnais to keep him from getting discouraged and to make sure that he wasn't quitting while building trust that can benefit both of them if the opportunity arises in Edmonton.
"I've worked so hard with Manson to get to the next step, and now that he's here it's awesome for me to get to work even harder to get to work with him again. That's another motivation for me."
Even if his opportunity in Edmonton doesn't come this Fall, Desharnais is willing to work even harder for the next one his own in the same way he has over the entirety of his professional career. He has all the ingredients he needs to become an NHL regular with the Oilers.
"It doesn't matter if I don't make it right away," he said. "If I make it right away, my work ethic won't change. At every level, that's what I've done and it's not because it's the NHL that I'll change a winning recipe."