EDMONTON, AB – Preseason is over, now it’s time to turn the expectations into a reality.
There is a lot of hype surrounding this year’s iteration of the Edmonton Oilers, and for good reason. The team is coming off their highest point total since the 1980’s dynasty years, they are two perennial Hart Trophy candidates on the roster, and they are coming off a trip to the Western Conference finals.
Talk to the players inside the locker room and there is a quiet optimism about the season, but also an understanding that the work is only beginning to make good their postseason expectations.
“The year before means absolutely nothing, not just our team but every team,” Darnell Nurse said. “Each and every year you see countless teams in the final eight and some of them don’t even make the playoffs. For us, it’s very important to have that dog on a bone mentality and not come in here and feel our game is set in any way.”
Video: RAW | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 10.10.22
“Expectations within our group are always going to be high. I think we have a good, experienced group here that’s been through a lot together,” Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. “The way that we played last year, the push that we made — we’re hungry for more. It was fun, it was good to get a taste of going deeper and deeper, but we obviously aren’t satisfied, and we have to keep pushing.”
The Oilers do have a locker room filled with both experience and continuity. The core of this team has been together for more than the last decade and many of the key pieces added around guys like Connor McDavid, Leon DraisaitlRyan Nugent-Hopkins, and Darnell Nurse come with their own playoff participation to draw upon.
The Oilers now have a group that has grown together as players and professionals. They are hoping to use shared past experiences to help them avoid the young mistakes made several years ago.
“There’s a good group of guys who went through it in ’16-17. Heading into the next season, you take your foot off the gas and it’s not guaranteed that you’re going to make the playoffs,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “A couple of teams that were in the final four two years ago didn’t make the playoffs. We know that we can’t take anything for granted. Those 82 games are just as important to get in there, you do the damage once. you’re in, but you have to work to get there.”
Video: RAW | Nurse 10.10.22
Over the last two seasons, the Oilers have added entrenched NHLers like Evander Kane, Zach Hyman, Jack Campbell, Cody Ceci, Tyson Barryand Brett Kulak to their already established core. This year’s Oilers team is as deep and as talented as any in recent memory, but the results will have to show where they count most – on the ice.
“You’re just looking at paper, for us the real test comes on the ice and it comes each and every night,” Darnell Nurse said. “We have an exciting group for sure, but we have a good hunger to perform again.”
The time for the Oilers to show just how good they can be is swiftly approaching. Now that Training Camp is officially over, the anticipation for Wednesday’s puck drop is starting to reach its peak.
“We’re excited to get it going here for real,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “You need a good start in this league, it’s so important. We know that and are going to come out flying.”