Mere hours after it was reported that Leon Draisatil agreed to an eight-year extension, some of his teammates were spotted in Edmonton getting in some on-ice reps ahead of training camp.

Mattias Ekholm, Zach Hyman, Viktor Arvidsson, and who appears to be James Hamblin were captured during a pre-preseason training session as the team prepares for the upcoming season.

While it is unclear if any other players were present at this skate, the fact that two of the key pieces of the Oilers and one of their new additions are already putting in the work well before training camp commences speaks volumes. It is not like these players had stopped skating for the last two months since Game 7, but getting ready early shows how hungry and determined the team is to take another step this season.

And how could they not be? Apart from seeing one of the faces of the franchise commit to staying in the Blue and Orange for nearly a decade, the Oilers are fresh off being a win away from winning the Stanley Cup. Getting that close to immortality, especially when it came after falling behind 3-0 in the Finals is sure to motivate anyone to try and rectify the shortcoming; this year’s squad is certainly no different because of how resilient they were all season-long to get within two goals of hoisting the Cup.

Ekholm and Hyman were two key components of that run and were instrumental in Edmonton’s success all year long. Ekholm brought physicality and two-way play while being a leader and forming a strong partnership with breakout star Evan Bouchard. As for Hyman, he is fresh off the best season of his career with 54 goals on the year to finish third in the league while he led the playoffs in goals with 16.

Arvidsson switches sides after being on the losing end of the Kings-Oilers postseason matchup for three years straight and he will be plenty motivated to be a positive contributor in the top-six. As the old saying goes: if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.

With training camp fast approaching, these four players won’t be the only ones getting in some early on-ice work before the main festivities get underway. Seeing a few members of the Oilers mere hours after Draisatil re-signed shows just how focused the team is going into 2024-25.