How next man up mentality can grow the Edmonton Oilers

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The Edmonton Oilers have twelve games left in the regular season, and their two best players… are they injured?

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Swallow!

While both injuries are considered serious, neither of these men are expected to be longer than a week, as the absence of Connor McDavid and Len Draisaitl will bring harsh tests to the remaining healthy bodies to make up for slack.

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Can they pass this test? Will they?

More in this version…

9 Things

9. Trent Frederic’s injury did not heal as quickly as the club hoped. If, like many people, believe this is a high ankle sprain, these things can be a bit tricky. In particular, it may take longer to go back to the conditional phase.

8. Bob Stauffer has always attracted Class A guests from the hockey world. But what about another Canadian broadcaster in the past few weeks that Canada owns plans for Alberta Conservative Prime Minister Danielle Smith and Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney?

7. I won’t spend too much time looking at the Oilers’ schedule until the playoffs get closer and closer, and Edmonton’s fate is affected. The Oilers circled three games on my own calendar. One with Las Vegas Golden Knights, two against the Los Angeles Kings. The Oiler will enter the playoffs. But the results of these three games may determine who they face.

6. Many things are not suitable for them. But instead of folding, I saw a club digging and fighting. The single point they get is a positive little bit. However, in the long run, the team’s response may be more important. There will be errors in the playoffs. Those who can tolerate… survive.

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5. We’ll talk about the harms of Connor McDavid and Len Draisaitl in a minute. First, there will be a franchise record soon after returning. Glenn Anderson scored the most goals in the Oilers history (72). McDavid also has a lot, and Draisaitl is both their backs. Surprisingly, when you consider how many clutch players are wearing that iconic jersey.

4. I like a lot of things about Ty Emberson. The young D-Man moved his feet better than the average defender in this league. And he is very willing to be hit. But there are signs that admirable traits may make his performance a little uncomfortable. Veterans Troy Stecher and John Klingberg provide depth for the oilers on the right.

3. I think the Oilers are slower than last season. This will happen when Ryan McLeod, Dylan Holloway and Warren Foegele all leave during the same off-season. But this is not the NHL standard slow club. In fact, they are above the league average in this regard. But speed and how fast you actually play the game aren’t necessarily the same thing. Which one to say…

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2. I’ve been seeing Kasperi Kapanen’s flashes keep making me think the player has more abilities than I’ve seen in Edmonton so far. My game was “good”, but his tools were fascinating. When you head to the NHL Edge, we see that his top speed is well above the NHL average and his speed bursts far out. Then there was his shot, which was above average compared to his position. It boils down to opportunity and then puts all together more consistently. There is a good, more useful player there.

Full disclosure: I was on Saturday night against Seattle’s Oilers before the list. Sometimes family activities have precedents than anything else, even (gasp!) hockey.

1. The club not only faces two best players, but also arguably two best players on the planet. Excellent Oilers game-by-game Jack Michaels noted that this would be their first since entering the league, with neither Connor McDavid nor Leon Draisaitl being able to play. This is an important difference because I haven’t played twice at both times, but it’s an optional decision when Edmonton chooses to take a break. Therefore, this is rare. Whether you’re a member of Deep Cloud Brigade or a member of the Ultimate Oiler Booster, you’ll admit that it’s never “good” when two of your best players get injured to bring them out of the roster. But this does not mean that certain situations cannot come from these situations.

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I’ve spent my whole life in hockey and some of them are nice on the ice with me. Some of them are journalists surrounding professional players on high bets. As a result, I want to think I have some understanding of what they think and the attacks that make them athletes. At the NHL level, almost all of these guys have been the best players on their team. Probably junior, college or AHL. But they are the people their teammates think of as differentiated in the event of winning or losing. They will now be likely to serve as support. But they remember they would love it when they were straws that stir the drinks. Most athletes deserve their desire to be the “guy” of “the time”. Rising in their competitive DNA. This is the essence of movement.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Adam Henrique knew they were not McDavid or Draisaitl. But they are confident in their abilities. The truth is that most excellent NHL players can be the best player on the ice on any given night. The one who separates “kindness” and “greatness” is that guy Every night. However, their quality skaters have extra gear in relatively short time. They can be the best players on the ice. I just picked these two guys out of the crowd. There are others.

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Another thing to consider is that the entire oiler will fully understand the tasks they face. They will realize that the beliefs around them (or lack of beliefs) (fans, media, etc.) get the job done without superstars. A person who is suitable for competing athletes, nothing can motivate like doubt. This is the mentality of the next person.

No one expected this version of the oiler to run the table with the advantage of 29 and 97. But if they can have more, it will be exciting and empowering to inject the rest of the roster into the rest of their roster. Relatively weaker links may strengthen. You may end up with an unbreakable chain.

That’s why I tend to prefer hockey than every other sports on Earth. Because in the absence of other sports, the collective advantage of no other sports is more important than on ice with two blue lines.

Challenges issued. Throw gloves. Opportunity rings.

“Tell me” time.

Newly bluesky @kurtleavins.bsky.social. On Twitter @kurtleavins, threads @kleavins, leavinsonhockey’s Instagram, even on kurtleavins@mstdn.social, even on mastodon. This article is not generated by AI.

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