Oilers Lineup & Injury Updates: Draisaitl, McDavid, Frederic

Leon Draisaitl was on the ice with the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday, taking part in some drills, but not all. It was a positive sign for fans, but the injury news is not all good. When it comes to Connor McDavid and Trent Frederic, updates on their health are a bit more of an issue. The Oilers offered up some injury news and lineup notes as they get set to take on the Dallas Stars.

Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch says Draisaitl will be back before McDavid. At the earliest, it’s roughly a week before Draisaitl is game-ready. That means he won’t be in the lineup as the Oilers take on the Dallas Stars on Wednesday, nor is he likely to dress for Thursday’s game against the Seattle Kraken or Saturday’s game against the Calgary Flames.

It was also revealed that Trent Frederic could still be multiple weeks away from skating with the team. Ryan Rishaug of TSN posted, “Said they had a best and worst case scenario on his return when they made the trade and it’s leaning more towards the latter.” That’s not ideal for Edmonton, as the team likely wants to know where Frederic will fit in the lineup and how effective he’ll be based on whether he plays wing or center. This won’t give him much time to build chemistry with linemates before the playoffs.

Evander Kane‘s status hasn’t changed in that the Oilers are hoping he’ll be ready for playoff games.