The new NHL season is almost upon us, and Edmonton Oilers players are finally back and skating in the Alberta capital.
With training camp set to open up in about 16 days at Rogers Place, a handful of Oilers players are already gearing up with some informal skates in downtown Edmonton. In previous years, these have been dubbed the “captain skates” and are usually organized by Connor McDavid.
McDavid was among the players who were skating on Monday at the Downtown Community Rink in Rogers Place. There will be plenty of attention on the Oilers captain as many wait for him to sign an extension with the club.
He was far from being alone as the Oilers shared a handful of photos on social media that showed all of Leon Draisaitl, Darnell Nurse, Mattias Ekholm, Andrew Mangiapane, Trent Frederic, Calvin Pickard, Matthew Savoie, Alec Regula, Noah Philp, David Tomasek, and Max Jones participating.
While fans should be accustomed to seeing most of those players skating in Oilers threads, this was the first look at players like Mangiapane, Regula, and Tomasek. Mangiapane is basically a lock to crack the Oilers roster out of training camp, while Regula and Tomasek will have to show their worth.
Players not pictured in this first skate that fans are still eager to get a look at include Ike Howard, Curtis Lazar, Josh Samanski, and Atro Leppanen. Though it shouldn’t be too long until those players make their way to Edmonton, if they haven’t already.
Another thing to keep an eye on for interested fans is whether or not both Pickard and Stuart Skinner make any adjustments to their goalie equipment for the new season.
It may not be the big contract news that Oilers fans have been waiting for, but the fact that players are skating in Edmonton again can only mean one thing: hockey is back.