Edmonton 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.
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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 [email protected]

#NATIONVACATION TO LAS VEGAS

  • When: On Thursday, January 12th, we’re jumping on a flight at the Edmonton International Airport and making our way to Vegas. On Sunday evening, we’ll fly back from Vegas to Edmonton. So the dates that you need to block off for this trip are January 12th to 15th.
  • Where we’re staying: After landing in LV, we’ll jump on the free shuttle and make our way to the Park MGM before settling in for a good night’s sleep. 😉
  • What you get: Your roundtrip flight, hotel, shuttle, viewing party (Friday night), game entry — we got seats this time (Saturday night), and exclusive entry into our pre-trip ‘get to know everyone’ event.
  • How Much: The total cost for the trip, flight, hotel, and entry to the game is $1499 per person (based on double occupancy)
  • Tickets: Ready to dive in? Click this link.