The time has come, summer is over, and now it’s hockey season.

In Edmonton, where the Oilers have aspirations of hoisting Lord Stanley’s Mug next July, players hit the ice at the Downtown Community Rink for their first skate.

Among those seen there on the Oilers social media channels were Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Beau Akey, Spencer Stastney, Mattias Ekholm, Mathieu Joseph, Kasperi Kapanen, Connor Murphy, Jake Walman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Trent Frederic, Colton Dach, Isaac Howard, Ryan Shea, Ty Emberson, Tristan Jarry, and Vasily Podkolzin, amongst others.

Things will get going quickly in Edmonton this week. According to The Athletic’s Janson Duench, the team is set to open media availabilities Wednesday and Thursday, ahead of rookie camp kicking off on Friday. Next Tuesday, Sept. 15, players will report for the start of training camp, and the following Saturday, Sept. 19, the team will play their first pre-season game against the Winnipeg Jets.

There will be no lack of storylines surrounding the team this year, from Mike Babcock taking over behind the bench, to questions about whether he can help push the Oilers over the top in their Stanley Cup hunt, to the goaltending trio of Tristan Jarry, Devon Levi, and Frederik Andersen, and plenty more.

Another will surround whether or not the new coaching staff will have McDavid and Draisaitl playing together at five-on-five. In the clip shared by the Oilers, it appeared they were doing so, with McDavid scoring on a shot from the slot. Who knows whether that was a five-on-five drill or a power play drill, but it will be no surprise for them to spend a good amount of time together this year.

On Monday, the Oilers shared on social media channels that the ice was installed at Rogers Place — set to be the namesake of Edmonton’s arena for the next decade — and lines were being drawn on the ice.

Get ready, hockey fans. The season is upon us.

Zach Laing is Daily Faceoff Edmonton’s managing editor and The Nation Network’s news director. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.