McDavid And Nuge Return To Training Camp, Edmonton Rejoices

They’re back! Although the wonderous tournament that was the World Cup is over for Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, their NHL seasons are just beginning. They went, they played, they won a couple, lost one, and came back home to tell the tale. Fortunately for these two players, they arrived home injury free, unlike a few NHLers that fell victim to the World Cup’s evil injury bug. Both Leon Draisaitl and Andrej Sekera, however, have somehow made it to the finals with Team Europe, and are currently in the middle of their best-of-three finale series against Canada. 

For the Edmonton Oilers, training camp began on Thursday, September 22nd, despite some notable absences. Even though Team North America got knocked out of the tournament that same day, both McDavid and Nuge were given a few days off to rest and recover. Meanwhile, the rest of the team attended camp, played a few inter-squad games, and played their first split-squad preseason games against Calgary. The Oilers won both games. 

On Tuesday, Connor and Nuge were both back in Oilers silks and skated for the first time with the team at Rogers Place. Connor was lined up between Lucic and Eberle while Nuge skated on the second line between Pouliot and Puljujarvi. After Puljujarvi’s debut two nights ago, it’s a little easier to understand if Chiarelli decides he should begin the year in the AHL. It’ll give him some time to learn the pro game, and feel comfortable with the speed. That being said, he does have time to improve and figure things out. My guess is that we see him skate with the Oilers until the last day of training camp, and a decision will be made from there. 

Yesterday morning, the Oilers cut seven players from their team, sending them back to Junior or the WHL. You can learn more about these players in Jonathan Willis’ article here. After the cuts were made, the Oilers hit the ice in two groups. The first group contained all players that will likely play in the AHL this year, and the players participating on a PTO (aside from Versteeg). 

The second group of players was made up of the likely NHL roster. These players, if not already a lock to make the team, have the best chance of winning a job and playing as an Oiler on October 12th. That’s not saying that a guy like Pitlick or Slepyshev couldn’t make the jump to the opening night roster, but, as of now, these are our main set of guys. 

For Milan Lucic, this ice session seemed like it was a long time coming. Not only have Oilers fans been clamouring for Milan Lucic since he broke into the league, it was the first time he was able to skate with Connor McDavid. Connor was likely one of the biggest reasons that Lucic chose to come to Edmonton, and, after practice, both players were extremely excited to finally be on the ice together. 

The next Oilers preseason game is tonight in Vancouver at 8pm and will be streamed live on the Oilers website. Let me know how you think things have been going so far, and what you think of the lineups as they stand today?