EDMONTON, AB – Training Camp Stage Two: Activate.
Head Coach Jay Woodcroft, his coaching staff and management began their evaluations of the 52 players (five goaltenders, 17 defensemen and 30 forwards) in attendance at Oilers Training Camp during the first seven days that featured medicals, meetings, practices and three pre-season games.
But on Thursday, the bench boss came prepared to turn the page on what he would describe as the preliminary stage of Training Camp and begin writing the second chapter that will see plenty of the main storylines play out when it comes to solidifying the roster that will feature in the Blue & Orange’s season opener at Rogers Place on October 12 against the Vancouver Canucks.
“You almost look at Training Camp in three stages,” Woodcroft said. “We had the first three days of practice, then the first three games, and then there was an off day. Then, you go through the next phase which will probably take us until Sunday. Then, that last week is when you’re starting to really narrow (your roster).”
There are only so many opportunities left for those competing for spots to make an impact, and time is slowly but surely diminishing before the final decisions have to be made.
“We’re a week in, we’re three pre-season games in, and the runway is getting shorter by the day. So every day counts and the competition is really heating up here.”
Video: RAW | Jay Woodcroft 09.29.22
The Oilers camp roster was trimmed to 42 players on Thursday, with notable names like 2021 sixth-round selection Matvey Petrov being re-assigned to the OHL’s North Bay Battalion to continue adjusting to the North American and build off his 40-goal, 90- point season in 2021-22. Both forward Ty Tullio and goaltender Ryan Fanti were loaned to the Bakersfield Condors, where the two first-year professionals can begin growing into the pro ranks during the upcoming AHL season.
Earlier in the week, 2022 first-round pick Reid Schaefer and prospects Jake Chiasson and Max Wanner were returned to their respective WHL clubs to continue their development by playing starring roles at the junior level.
But nearly two NHL rosters worth of players remain at Training Camp, and Coach Woodcroft expects that number to take a big hit at the end of this weekend’s pre-season back-to-back against the Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets before the Oilers put the focus more on their main group.
“There might be some people here or there that get announced over the next couple of days, but that’s how we look at it,” he said. “We look at it in three different phases — the first kind of five or six (games), then you get to Sunday, and then you have that last week with three games.”
Video: PRACTICE | Meaningful Reps
Woodcroft split the Camp roster into two groups on Thursday, with one practicing on the Rogers Place ice featuring most of the regular contributors and a handful of players in direct competition for a full-time role in the NHL with the Oilers.
The reality of still having 42 players at Camp necessitates splitting the roster down the middle, but Woodcroft didn’t want the second group having any thoughts about where they stand in the evaluations for a job on opening night. With five total pre-season games still left on the docket, the Oilers Coach pointed to the remaining exhibition schedule as the place where their biggest mark on coaching and management can be made.
“It’s a balance because I think we’ve got some really good performances out of individuals who are what [the media] might consider depth pieces, but they’re staking a claim here and trying to earn a full-time spot,” Woodcroft said. “In the end, you can’t practice with 35 or 40 people on the ice at the same time and get something meaningful accomplished, so we decided to get down to five lines with one group, 10 D with one group, two goalies with one group, and that means that there is another group.
Woodcroft continued: “But we’ve let those players know that it doesn’t mean anything and that’s just a starting point for practice. What’s most important is how people show during games, and we’ve had some people rise to the occasion. We’ve had some others that need to rise to the occasion, especially as Camp narrows here.”
Training Camp is nearing its midway mark and the likes of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Darnell Nurse and Jack Campbell have yet to make their pre-season debuts despite extended practice time over the last eight days.
Teams around the League tend to ice more-veteran lineups at home in the preseason much like the Flames did against the Oilers in Wednesday’s loss at the Scotiabank Saddledome, so there’s a very good chance that a strong assortment of the above will make their exhibition debut. on Friday night.
For how Woodcroft lands on a number with his star players for how many exhibition games they need before the start of the regular season, the bench boss sees it as a balance between how the player feels and the requirement from the Oilers to fill a 20- man lineup sheet.
“They know better than anyone,” Woodcroft said. “They know what their bodies and what they need to get ready, so I think it starts with me asking questions and creating a dialogue with the players. Some people want a little bit more, some might only need a few, so it’s about talking through that and also balancing their wants with the needs of the team as well. I think that just comes from experience in just talking to your players.
“I know we have a lot of players who haven’t played yet in the preseason. They’ve put a lot of work in during practice and I think they’re probably sick of practicing and are ready to get going, and that’s a good thing too — when you really have the desire to play in preseason. I think that stuff will play itself out over the last five games here.”