The Oilers got a little bit of good news this morning as defenceman, Andrej Sekera, was back skating with a few of his teammates for the first time this season. 

Even though taking a spin on the ice doesn’t really mean much in terms of when Sekera will return to game action, it has to be considered a positive that he’s back on the ice. The Oilers have desperately missed him over their first five games and the faster he can get back in the lineup the better off everyone will be. That said, I understand that we’re still (probably) months away from having Sekera smooth things over on the second pairing, but it’s nice to know that we’re inching our way there.

It’s become very noticeable how much the Oilers miss Sekera on the blueline this year. While he doesn’t really jump out at you, Sekera does a lot of little things very well and the Oilers desperately miss that stability. He has an excellent first pass, plays well positionally in the defensive zone, and seldom makes terrible pinches that result in odd man rushes. Kris Russell looks lost without Sekera, his most common partner from last season, while Adam Larsson and Oscar Klefbom have had a difficult time adjusting to heavier minutes.

Even though we’re still a ways away from getting Reggie back, and we don’t really have a definite timeline on when that will be, I’m thrilled to know that he’s progressing well enough to get himself skating again. As Tom Petty once said, the waiting is the hardest part.