Dylan Holloway is the talk of the town in Edmonton, and rightfully so.
He’s burst onto the scene ahead of training camp here looking to grab a spot on the Oilers roster. The team, after all, could really use his entry-level contract when it comes to making the salary cap work.
But it’s time we all take a deep breath and temper expectations.
Holloway has played in two preseason games so far this year. He drew in for the first game against Winnipeg where he scored a goal, then last night again against a stacked Calgary Flames club. He drew tough matchups against the Flames’ top-six and, well… struggled.
At 5×5 with Holloway on the ice last night, the Oilers controlled 17.86 percent of the shot attempts, controlled 9.30 percent of the expected goals, were outscored 2-0, and out-chanced 1-10. Not great!
Now, there are a few things to note. It’s preseason, and it was as much of a scheduled loss as can be. It was a tough game for anyone on the ice.
Oilers Group 1 today:
Kane-McDavid-Yamamoto
Hyman-Draisaitl-Puljujarvi
RNH-McLeod-Foegele
Janmark-Shore-Ryan
Holloway-Malone-VirtanenNurse-Ceci
Kulak-Bouchard
Broberg-Barrie
Niemelainen-Demers
Murray-SamorukovCampbell
Skinner— Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) September 29, 2022
When Oilers practice kicked up on Thursday, Holloway was taking reps on a defacto fifth-line alongside Brad Malone and Jake Virtanen. Twitter, well… Twitter wasn’t enthused. It makes sense.
In one sense, it makes sense. Everyone wants to see Holloway playing with other skilled players and get a legitimate shot in camp. I think he’s getting that, even where he’s listed on for practice today.
We all have to remember this: nothing is going to be handed over to Dylan Holloway. He has to seize the moment. He has to show Jay Woodcroft and the coaching staff why he belongs in Edmonton. At the end of the day, even if Holloway were to be assigned to the Bakersfield Condors, he’s going to get NHL minutes at some point this season.
Maybe the best move is to take things a little bit slow.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have come to terms with their final restricted free agent signing Rasmus Sandin to a two-year deal paying him an AAV of $1.4-million.
According to DailyFaceoff’s Frank Seravalli, the Leafs made it clear to Sandin’s camp that they would not be going above the $1.4-million AAV paid to Timothy Liljegren in negotiations.
In the last days, #Leafs made it clear to Rasmus Sandin’s camp that they were not going above the AAV paid to Timothy Liljegren at $1.4m.
After Durzi contract, Sandin ask was $1.6m. They compromise in the end, with a 2-year deal: $1.4m AAV and second year at $1.6m for QO purposes.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) September 29, 2022
Sandin, 22, appeared in 51 games last year with the Leafs scoring five goals and 16 points.
Anaheim Ducks forward Trevor Zegras was injured Wednesday night in a preseason game against the Arizona Coyotes.
During the second period, Zegras skated after a loose puck in the neutral zone only to be hit hard by Yotes prospect Jan Jenik.
Jenik absolutely rocks Zegra’s in the neutral zone! #hit #fight #hockey #nhl #zegras #coyotes #ducks pic.twitter.com/Rv4D8Y4wWh
— Coyotes.Central 🐺🌵 (@coyotescentral) September 29, 2022
Zegras hit the ice and a melee ensued as Ducks forward Adam Henrique dropped the mitts with Jenik.
It was later announced that Zegras wouldn’t return to the game with an upper-body injury. No update has been made available as of the time of writing.
Dylan Strome has been off to a hot start with the Washington Capitals. The former 3rd overall pick in the 2015 draft inked a one-year, $3.5-million deal with the Caps this offseason.
Wednesday night against the Philadelphia Flyers, Strome scored two goals and earned the praise of head coach Peter Laviolette.
Laviolette on Strome, who had 2 goals last night, batting for the 2C job: “I’m not saying it’s locked in, but that’s what training camp is for. He wants to play center, and if you want to play center, you should make some noise with your game—and he did.” #Caps
— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) September 29, 2022
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaingor reached by email at [email protected]
- When: On Thursday, January 12th, we’re jumping on a flight at the Edmonton International Airport and making our way to Vegas. On Sunday evening, we’ll fly back from Vegas to Edmonton. So the dates that you need to block off for this trip are January 12th to 15th.
- Where we’re staying: After landing in LV, we’ll jump on the free shuttle and make our way to the Park MGM before settling in for a good night’s sleep. 😉
- What you get: Your roundtrip flight, hotel, shuttle, viewing party (Friday night), game entry — we got seats this time (Saturday night), and exclusive entry into our pre-trip ‘get to know everyone’ event.
- How Much: The total cost for the trip, flight, hotel, and entry to the game is $1499 per person (based on double occupancy)
- Tickets: Ready to dive in? Click this link.
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