EDMONTON, AB – Defenceman Travis Dermott will make his official Oilers debut on Wednesday night at Rogers Place when the Blue & Orange open their 2024-25 NHL season against the Winnipeg Jets.
Head Coach Kris Knoblauch confirmed that Edmonton's newly-signed blueliner will get the assignment on the club's third pair next to Brett Kulak over Troy Stecher to begin the regular season after earning a contract with the Oilers following a successful PTO during Training Camp.
Knoblauch mentioned that with both Stecher and Dermott, he expects both defencemen to compete for starts during the regular season and come in and out of the lineup depending on performance and Edmonton's opponent.
"Well, that'll be dictated on how well he's playing," Knoblauch said. "He's performed very well and we'll see how he fits in with the team and most likely his partner – whether that's Dermott playing with Kulak – but I think he'll be playing regularly. Probably, the guideline will be 50 percent of the games, and if he's playing really well or poorly or Stetcher's playing really well, that'll dictate how many games he'll play."
After flipping wingers Jeff Skinner and Mattias Janmark on the second and third lines during practice the past few days, the club's off-season signing is slated to begin the regular season on Wednesday next to Leon Draisaitl and Viktor Arvidsson, but the bench boss expects both skaters to spend time in the top six as the Oilers make adjustments early in the campaign.
"Probably a little bit of both," Knoblauch said. "We're not going to be set in stone or anything, but tonight, Skinner will be playing with Leon."
