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September 21, 2023 by Ryan Lotsberg
The Edmonton Oilers reported to training camp at Rogers Place on Wednesday. The day consisted of fitness testing and several media availabilities which yielded a lot of information. There were a lot of updates from day one. There’s a lot to unpack, so let’s get into it.
Mattias Ekholm has a hip pointer issue that will keep him out of the first portion of training camp. He said that he would push through if it was the regular season, but there’s no need to risk further injury in training camp. Ekholm is a solid veteran that won’t suffer greatly by missing the first bit of training camp.
Philip Broberg will be getting reps on the left side due to Ekholm’s absence. The left side is crowded when the team is at full health. Broberg’s greatest opportunity for ice time could be on the right side. Broberg’s deployment will be interesting to watch as the preseason unfolds. Broberg is expected to get four or five preseason games, so there will be a lot of time for evaluation.
Jim Matheson shared two reports on Wednesday. One was that Connor Brown will play in exhibition games, but he won’t play in back to back games. Brown is coming back from a knee injury that caused him to miss all but four games last season. Matheson’s report implies that there could be a current injury, but I believe that limiting Brown’s usage in the preseason will help him build his conditioning up in a controlled manner prior to the regular season.
Matheson also shared that Sam Gagner will practice with the team, but he will not play in any preseason games this fall. It will be awfully tough for Gagner to make the team out of camp without playing in any exhibition games. Matheson said that Gagner will be re-evaluated in a month, after which he might go to Bakersfield.
Consider the path the team took with Jason Demers last season. Demers entered camp on a PTO and ended up starting the season in Bakersfield. The Oilers signed him to a contract on December 18, 2022, and he played one game for the team in April 2023.
A similar situation unfolding with Gagner seems quite likely. Gagner would be a tremendous influence on the prospects in Bakersfield. There has been plenty of talk about Gagner getting a role on the Oilers staff once he retires. My gut tells me that Gagner could start in player development, and this season could be a training run for that role.
GM Ken Holland was asked about the other two PTO invites. He proceeded to talk about all of the size that the team lost this summer when he was asked about what Adam Erne might bring to the table. Holland said that “…he knows that we;ve lost some big people, some big forwards over the summer. So he’s coming in here trying to earn a job.”
Those comments imply that Erne will need to be physical if he is going to earn a job out of camp. Erne had 160 hits in 61 games last season, which is 2.62 hits per game. That extrapolates to 215 hits over 82 games, which would’ve ranked him 22nd in the league in hits. Klim Kostin led the Oilers with 157 hits in 57 games last season. The road map to success for Erne is clear. He needs to replace Kostin’s physicality and chip in with a little bit of offence to win a job in Edmonton.
Holland finished his thoughts on Brandon Sutter by saying that “…if he’s anywhere close to where he was in his prime, he’s exactly what we’re looking for.” The specific traits that Holland was alluding to were that Sutter is a big right-handed centre that can win draws, is defensive minded, and can pitch in with some offence. Holland’s comments put Sutter in the early lead for the final roster spot in my opinion. Sutter’s challenge will be showing that he can keep up at the NHL level after not playing for two years due to long COVID.
Evander Kane spoke about playing beer league hockey on a friend’s team in Edmonton this summer, and about how not being the best player on the ice in those games was a bit of a wake up call for him. He said that he’s feeling healthy, which is great news.
However, the most interesting thing to come out of Kane’s availability was that the Oilers will be employing new neutral zone and defensive zone systems. When describing the keys to getting off to a good start as a group, Kane talked about understanding their systems that they’re going to be implementing, “…specifically in the neutral zone and the defensive zone this year, which might be a little different from the past.”
There was a lot of discussion about the Oilers’ man to man defensive zone system over the summer, with many fans pointing to the goal surrendered to the Vegas Golden Knights where Warren Foegele and Darnell Nurse got tangled up near the blueline, which allowed Zach Whitecloud to walk in and score. Nurse was playing the system correctly by following his man up to the blueline, but it’s odd for a defenceman to be that high in his own zone.
My own observation was that having defencemen follow their marks up to their own blueline was killing them in the first half of last season. They allowed many goals that came as a result of defencemen chasing their men high, leaving open ice near the goal or leaving forwards to do uncomfortable work low in their own zone unsuccessfully. The defencemen got noticeably better at not chasing their men high during the second half of the season, and their defensive results improved drastically. They got away from those habits in the playoffs. It speaks to poor execution, but clearly the coaching staff felt it was necessary to make some adjustments.
Holland provided an update on Steve Staios’s status with the team. He said that he hasn’t talked with Staios in about a month and that Staios has been tending to some family matters. Holland said that “he’s an Oiler”, which is to say that Staios is still a part of the organization. However, Tom Gazzola reported that Staios had left the organization earlier this summer. Gazzola posted a picture of the Oilers Hockey Operations Staff listings page on Wednesday, and Staios’s name was not on that page at all. Holland said that he plans to talk to Staios next week. That’s a situation worth monitoring.
Related: Jackson’s Potential Impact on the Oilers- Part One: Player Development
Finally, CEO Jeff Jackson appeared on the Jason Gregor show on Wednesday. Jackson said that “we will have an announcement soon on analytics. We are excited about that.” Jackson hired Mike Fanelli, formerly of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Analytics department, on September 5, 2023. Fanelli joins longtime Manager of Hockey Analytics Justin Mahé in a small Analytics department. Jackson is clearly making analytics a high priority by making multiple changes to strengthen that department in the early days of his tenure with the Oilers. I’ll be anxiously awaiting the announcement.
Related: Jackson’s Potential Impact on the Oilers: Part Three – Professional Scouting and Analytics
The Oilers will hit the ice for the first time in a formal training camp setting this season on Thursday. The team will also be doing a scrimmage at Rogers Place that will be open to the public for free on Saturday. The players will hit the ice at 10 am, and the scrimmage will start at 11 am. The event will be held in conjunction with the Oilers Locker Room sale, which runs from 10:30 am – 2:30 pm. There will be panels featuring former and current Oilers happening in Ford Hall throughout the day as well.
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EDMONTON, AB - OCTOBER 22 Edmonton Oilers Defenceman Brett Kulak (27) and Edmonton Oilers Defenceman Evan Bouchard (2) kill off a penalty in the second period during the Edmonton Oilers game versus the St Louis Blues on October 22, 2022 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, AB. (Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire)
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