Sunday will be the first time Edmonton’s extended Camp roster gets a crack at opposition in another NHL jersey, but those opportunities will be more frequent than few over the coming weeks with five exhibition matches over the next seven days for the Oilers.
For those who feel they have extra to prove over this coming stretch, the time to make an impression begins now, while from a team perspective, there will be plenty of opportunities for the Oilers to implement and fine-tune some new strategies and philosophies that will only bolster their bid for a Stanley Cup in the long run.
“It's an opportunity for players to work on their individual game,” Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said. “I think that's important, especially for the people that are in bubble battles or battles for ice time.”
“Then, the other thing it serves is an opportunity for the team to work on the team game; the collective. We saw some good things in a scrimmage today, but I'm excited to see them put into practice tomorrow against the Winnipeg Jets.”
For the players tasked with executing those tactical changes, it centres on taking care of the miniscule details all over the ice that can add up over the course of a game, and a season, if you're not able to manage them.
"It's just playing the game the right way," Kulak said. "You always talk about it, but it's a details thing. I think that's all I can kind of say to summarize it. We talk about a number of different things in all different areas of the ice, but I think it's a details game and if we play the game the right way, not cheating the game anywhere, I think we'll do well.
SCRIMMAGE SCRIBBLES
Team Blue took the 2-1 victory in Saturday’s scrimmage down at Rogers Place, with Evander Kane and Derek Ryan scoring their team’s goals and Cody Ceci securing Team White’s lone tally over two periods of action.
“I thought the two teams competed hard,” Woodcroft said. “We saw some things out of certain players. It was more of a live-action, five-on-five, full ice with referees and line changes and I thought it was a good day. We got what we needed.”
The result was inconsequential, but the first real competitive action of Camp provided both the players and coaches with valuable feedback on the work they’ve been putting in here in Edmonton as early as September 6 with the commencement of Captain’s Skates.
