Amidst another sleepy October for the Edmonton Oilers, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is providing the team with the consistency and the offensive spark at the top of the lineup that they desperately need.

On Saturday night, he will pass Ryan Smyth for second all-time in games played for the Oilers with 972. As the last holdout from the decade of darkness, Nugent-Hopkins represents a bridge between eras — from the lowest points of the franchise to its current championship aspirations. Remarkably, he’s playing some of the best hockey of his career in year 15.

At a time when new faces are still getting acclimated and the line combinations are in constant flux, a well-rounded veteran stepping up while they work out the early-season kinks is just what the team needs. Let’s take a deeper look at RNH’s impact so far.

Nugent-Hopkins has five goals and 12 points in 12 games—a solid start offensively despite Edmonton’s underwhelming goal totals. The underlying numbers suggest there could be even more in store for Nuge at 5-on-5, where the Oilers are shooting just 3.9% in his minutes. A run of cold shooting like that isn’t sustainable in the long term and should result in more even-strength production.

During this frustrating first month for the team, RNH has been one of the few forwards to drive play at 5-on-5 away from McDavid. He currently has a 54% share of expected goals and a 58% share of high-danger chances in his minutes without 97.

He’s been a solid contributor on Edmonton’s red-hot power play, too, which ranks in the top three in the league in both expected goals and actual goals scored. While McDavid and Draisaitl are the Oilers’ two biggest weapons with the man-advantage, RNH’s role is key.

Everyone knows that the Draisaitl one-timer is the primary play the Oilers want to set up, but it’s essential that they have numerous other ways of scoring, and they’re constantly varying their attack. At times last year, Edmonton’s power play looked a little too predictable, especially when Nugent-Hopkins wasn’t as involved or getting to the right spots.

This season, he’s looked confident on the man advantage and is tied for first on the team in PP points and second in goals. Watch him sneak in on the weak side to wide-open space for their first goal of the season:

On the game-tying goal against Montreal, he had the presence of mind to take what the defence gave him and attack the middle on the entry:

Defensively, it’s been more of the same that we’ve seen over the years from RNH. He’s been the second-best Oiler forward at suppressing expected goals and high danger chances so far, behind only McDavid.

Nugent-Hopkins’ versatility and poise have made him an essential connector on a team still finding its rhythm — the kind of steady, intelligent play that quietly drives winning hockey. As a veteran leader who has been through it all, he has confidence in this group’s ability to bounce back from adversity early in the season.

As Nugent-Hopkins climbs the franchise record books and cements his legacy as one of the longest-serving Oilers ever, his impact on this team goes far beyond the scoresheet.