Adjusting to playing hockey in a big market like Edmonton isn’t always easy.

It’s a passionate market full of smart fans, and the noise is often loud. Sometimes it can cause a player to not play their game early on in their tenure in town.

Take Ty Emberson, acquired by the team this offseason, who had all of 30 NHL games under his belt. He made a name for himself in San Jose, a smaller market team amid a vicious tear-down rebuild, so much so that the Oilers traded veteran defenceman Cody Ceci for him to not just help clear cap space, but get younger, too.

While the early days may not have seen Emberson playing his game, he’s more than settled in on the Oilers’ blue line and is hoping to stick around with the team looking to sign him to an extension.

“My agent mentioned something to me about that a couple days ago,” Emberson told Sportsnet’s Mark Spector. “If it happens to work out, I’d be excited. I love it here … and hopefully can spend more time here.”

Emberson’s contract status currently sees him as a pending Group 6 unrestricted free agent, but can remain a restricted free agent by playing in 15 more games. Barring something unforeseen, that number should be reached with ease.

Meanwhile, the player is starting to feel his game settling down.

A quiet game isn’t necessarily a bad one, especially for a defensive defenceman like Emberson, whose game is still more than just that, thanks to his strong skating ability, smart play on the ice, and ability to make strong passes up the ice.

And his teammates are noticing, too.

“The first 20-25, games, he was kind of finding his way. Looking,” Mattias Ekholm told Spector. “‘Where do I slot (in)? Where do I fit? How am I supposed to play to help this team?’ Now, you see where he excels within his game.

“Your first 100 games have got to be the hardest ones. Sometimes you’re just out there not to make a mistake. You’re just trying to stay in the lineup, get some traction, maybe get five games in a row. Six games in a row. Then your skill and your risk-taking can take over.”

An extension for Emberson likely won’t be a costly one. Oilersnation’s Tyler Yaremchuk speculated earlier this week that a three-year, $1.6-million per year extension could be a reasonable one for both sides.

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, and senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.

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