Throughout the summer and into the fall, we’ll be counting down the days until the Edmonton Oilers begin their 2023-24 season with a daily trip down memory lane. Today at No. 43, we have a friend of the network, Jason Strudwick.

Strudwick won the Memorial Cup with the Kamloops Blazers in 1994 and was selected by the New York Islanders in the third round of that summer’s draft. A few years later, Strudwick was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Gino Odjick, one of the most feared enforcers in the league at that time.

He broke through as a regular NHL defender while with the Canucks and became known as a physical presence who would drop the gloves. Strudwick spent four more seasons in Vancouver before signing with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2002 and the New York Rangers in 2004.

Ahead of the 2008-09 season, Strudwick inked a one-year deal with his hometown Oilers. He came back for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons on two more one-year deals before retiring in 2012. In his post-playing days, Strudwick has worked in sports broadcasting and as a host on Dinner Television.