The Oilers begin the pre-season with split-squad matches against the Flames at Rogers Place & Scotiabank Saddledome on Sunday, with the home game streamed live on Oilers+ at 6:00 PM MT
The Edmonton Oilers will begin their eight-game pre-season on Sunday with split-squad matches against the Calgary Flames at both Rogers Place and Scotiabank Saddledome.
You can watch the home match live on Oilers+ at 6:00 PM MT.
Fans can use promo code PRESEASON25 to access all pre-season games plus a full year of premium access for only $17.99. Click here to start your subscription.
Kris talks following Oilers Fan Day & Saturday’s scrimmage
EDMONTON, AB – It’s starting to feel a lot more real.
Getting warm with a little pre-season action.
The Oilers will divide and conquer for exhibition tune-ups against the Flames on Sunday night by splitting their Training Camp roster in half, sending one group on the road to Scotiabank Saddledome and keeping the other at home at Rogers Place to host their rivals.
After getting the competitive juices flowing on Saturday with a team scrimmage as part of Oilers Fan Day, including the unveiling of the club’s new alternate jersey, players and coaches of the Blue & Orange are looking to raise their bar at Training Camp against the Flames in pre-season before they meet on opening night at Rogers Place on Oct. 8.
The Oilers will blend both experience and youth on both rosters with 55 players (6 goaltenders, 16 defencemen and 33 forwards) currently at Main Camp, so there’s an expectation that a large crop of newcomers and young players will be in both lineups.
Diving into the North American game for the first time will be forward David Tomasek and Atro Leppanen – both European players who’ve made their moves to join the Oilers’ organization after successful years overseas – as both work to earn roster spots and adjust further to playing on the smaller ice.
Head Coach Kris Knoblauch mentioned that evaluations at Camp will start to shift more towards the tactical side and how each player could fit into their lineup after the roster was split into two groups and some initial forward and defence pairings were drawn up for them to begin developing chemistry.
No matter if they’re young or old, new or returning, Knoblauch is ready to see how things begin to shape out in the pre-season.
“We want to implement our system so there’s an opportunity to do some coaching and get the guys comfortable,” he said. “It’s not just ‘this is what we’re doing and let’s roll with it’. It’s ongoing and will be right through April, May, and even June, but definitely this time of the year, it’s very important that we’re telling the guys what we want them to do. It’s very important that there’s a lot of evaluation, no matter if it’s a guy who’s just coming within the organization, or someone new.
“For me, it’s about where guys fit into our lineup or if they do, so it’ll be nice to see the guys have that game tomorrow.”
Sunday will also be an opportunity for young prospects Matt Savoie and Isaac Howard to take further steps at the pro level against stiffer competition, which will only intensify as pre-season continues and we draw closer to opening night.
Knoblauch wants to see those younger players contribute and complement their teammates – whether that’s in a top-six or bottom-six role – while putting them in positions to succeed and showcase their talents. At this point, the bench boss said too much has already been made about what line they could potentially play on for the Oilers, and the focus is firmly on figuring out how they could fit into the lineup moving forward.
“Ultimately, we just want them playing good hockey, getting the puck out, good defensive hockey and being able to make a play under pressure,” he said. “Both of them will have opportunities to play on the power play… they need to contribute playing their game, and do they complement the other guys that they’re playing with? I’ve seen a lot of third lines that outscore the second lines and so it’s not necessarily. Yeah, I don’t know. I just think too much is looked into what line you’re on.
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