Ken Holland speaks ahead of Edmonton Oilers training camp
By Zach Laing
1 year agoEdmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland met with the media Wednesday ahead of training camp opening up.
Holland had a few housekeeping items to catch up on, mainly:
- Cody Ceci is expected to miss the first few days of training camp with a hamstring strain. This was part of the reason the Oilers brought in Jason Demers on a pro tryout.
- Slater Koekkoek will remain away from the team indefinitely as he continues to work on his mental health.
- Mike Smith failed his physical and will be placed on the long-term injured reserve.
- The Oilers are “hopeful” Ryan McLeod will have his new contract signed by tomorrow and will be on the ice. It’s likely to be a one-year deal.
- Carter Savoie was injured in the rookie tournament in Penticton and won’t be on the ice to start camp.
Let’s start from the top. Losing Ceci at the start of camp shouldn’t be too much of an issue. He’s slated to be on the top pair alongside Darnell Nurse once again this year and they have lots of familiarity from playing together down the stretch.
Koekkoek was a player I wasn’t expecting to be at camp. All the best to him as he continues to put himself first. Smith, too, isn’t a surprise as we heard about the LTIR being a strong possibility last offseason.
For McLeod, it’s disappointing this won’t be a two or three-year deal. It sounds like Holland wanted that to be the case, but the Oilers didn’t do themselves much favours in creating a cap bind this year.
Lastly, Savoie will be playing in Bakersfield this year so this isn’t a big knock on any NHL opportunity for him. Truth be told, however, this time at camp can be super valuable for young players like him. Let’s hope he heals up quickly and can get some camp and pre-season action in.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.
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