The Oilers hit the ice at 10 a.m. this morning, with 59 players split across three groups. Scottie Upshall (knee) and Drake Caggiula (illness) didn’t skate today. Caggiula has the flu and will be on the ice soon, while Upshall could return this weekend.

The line combinations give us a pretty good insight into how the coaches see things on day one. Of course, things can change over the next few weeks. Some players will lose their spot, while others, if they play well, will move up the lineup.

Here is how today’s schedule looks.

10:00 AM. Group A practices on community rink
10:50 AM: Scrimmage between Group A and Group B
11:20 AM: Flood
11:40 AM: Scrimmage between Group A and Group B
12:25 PM: Group B practices on main rink
1:30 PM: Group C practices.

Here is how the Groups were split up:

Nugent-Hopkins-McDavid-Rattie
Khaira-Strome-Puljujarvi
P.Russell-Marody-Yamamoto
Vesel-Currie-Hebig

Gravel-Benning
Lowe-Bear
Garrison-Bouchard
Lagesson

Koskinen
Montoya

Gravel is holding down Darnell Nurse’s spot. It would seem the plan, when Nurse is signed, is to play him with Benning. This isn’t a surprise. I believe the plan is for Kailer Yamamoto to start in the AHL, which will benefit him, but if he has a great preseason he could find himself in the opening night lineup. He will have to really shine for that to happen.

Lucic-Draisaitl-Rieder
Esposito-Brodziak-Kassian
Benson-Malone-Aberg
Gambardella-Mcleod-Chiasson

Klefbom-Larsson
Jerabek-Russell
Jones-Day
Stanton

Talbot
Starrett

Caggiula would have lined up beside Brodziak and Kassian, but he is sick so they kept him off the ice. Right now Pontus Aberg is starting as the 13th forward, but if he can use his speed and produce he too will be in the mix. It is interesting to note Russell is starting on the right side. Jerabek can also play RD, but at least to start it looks like he will play LD while Russell will be on the right side.

Maksimov-Polei-Safin
Gust-Van Stralen-Callahan
Christoffer-Larkin-Vesey
McFarland

Wilson-Crevier-Morin
Kulevich-Samorukov

Skinner
Wells
Rodrigue

I’m interested to see if one of Skinner or Wells will find their way to Bakersfield this season. Right now Montoya and Starrett are likely to start there, but what if Montoya gets claimed on waivers? Then one of Skinner or Wells could be in Bakersfield. Both need to play, so splitting duties in the ECHL makes the most sense.

— Koskinen is huge. Even when he is in the butterfly his shoulders are above the crossbar. The thing to watch will be his hands. The scouting report is he has a tendency to keep them low, making him susceptible to allowing goals up high. He made two really good cross-crease pad stops in the first scrimmage this morning, but never faced any really good scoring chances that weren’t along the ice.

— Puljujarvi looks like his first step has improved. He was never a bad skater at all, but he looks quicker out of the blocks. His stick looks shorter, the blade is different for sure and it looks like he has less whip. I know it was only a scrimmage, but he handled the puck better and made some nice plays. I believe Puljujarvi will be a “long play.” I’m not expecting a major breakout season, but instead just solid, continuous progression. I believe when he is 22 we will really see his full potential, because he’ll have grown into, and filled out, his massive frame. Patience is the key with Puljujarvi.

— It was only a few scrimmages, and the pace is not like a game, but I noticed the D were trying to move the puck up the ice instead of look for the D-to-D pass. Of course you have to use it at times, and it can be a good option, but when the D-men have time, and the forwards are moving up the ice, the plan from Trent Yawney is to move the puck up to the forwards, instead of slowing down the flow by moving cross ice.

— Rieder skates a lot like Linus Omark — hunched over, low to the ice. Rieder is a much better overall player, but seeing him in #22 reminded me of #23 Omark.

— Al Montoya’s puck handling skills have not improved, but he made a great save robbing Brad Malone.

— Ethan Bear looked good — quick moving the puck and very accurate with his passes.

— If you are a young player, you just want to do something every scrimmage to get noticed. Evan Bouchard scored. If he stays this year, it will be because of his defensive zone play. The Oilers know he can help out offensively, but how he handles the defensive zone responsibilities will be a huge factor in if he sticks in Edmonton.

— Ryan McLeod is going back to junior, but he took his strong play from the rookie games and carried it over into today. He will be an interesting prospect to watch develop over the next few seasons. His speed and skating ability looks NHL ready now.

— Draisaitl scored and Lucic got an assist. Lucic spoke yesterday about being positive and confident, and getting points in a scrimmage will help. Glen Gulutzan shared a story with me earlier this week about confidence. “The best lesson I learned was from coaching the Sedins. You assume the great players never lose confidence, but it isn’t true. They too can struggle with it. A conversation with Daniel one year really changed my outlook as a coach when dealing with skilled players,” said Gulutzan. I’m not comparing Lucic to the Sedins, but confidence is huge in sports, and in life.

— Peter Chiarelli spoke after the skate. There is no update on Nurse and there is still a “gap” between both sides. My sources tell me Oilers are around $3 mil/year and Nurse’s camp at $3.5m. So the gap is not massive, but still, on a bridge deal that is fairly substantial. Chiarelli was asked if he had a backup plan in case Nurse wasn’t signed before October 6th and he said he didn’t but wouldn’t elaborate. I still think the deal gets done, it is just a matter of when. The sooner the better for all parties involved.

—Chiarelli said this when asked about Erik Karlsson going to San Jose, “I won’t lie. When he came to our division, there was an expletive coming out of my mouth. He’d be nice to have here, but we weren’t on his list. It was a non-starter.” No doubt the division got more difficult with the arrival of Karlsson.

Saturday’s training camp is the only day open to the public. It is free to the public. Door open at 10AM at Rogers Place.

10:00 AM. Group B practices on community rink (not open to public)
10:50 AM: Scrimmage between Group A and Group B
11:20 AM: Flood
11:40 AM: Scrimmage between Group A and Group B
12:25 PM: Group A practice.
1:30 PM: Group C practice.

The doors are open from 10-12:30 for the scrimmage portions.