Things I Think I Know About the Edmonton Oilers: Training Camp Edition

NHL training camps officially open this morning. There will be team meetings, concussion-protocol video, physical testing, and photo and video shoots. The head coach will address the team, talk about the upcoming season, and then tomorrow, the teams will hit the ice. Pre-season games begin on Saturday with Dallas hosting St. Louis, and then there are 15 games on Sunday, including Oilers and Flames split squads playing with one game in Calgary and one in Edmonton.

Here are some things I think I know heading into training camp.

— Oilersnation will be waiting impatiently for Connor McDavid to sign his contract. Nothing has changed since he spoke on September 5. He is taking his time. He has had conversations with Stan Bowman, mostly about the team rather than his contract. Bowman and the Oilers have spoken to his agent, Judd Moldaver, but mainly just to keep in touch. Nothing will be rushed or forced.

— Any time McDavid does speak, like in an interview yesterday with Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas, you will see many dissect what he says and draw conclusions about what they think he means. McDavid mentioned the 2025-26 season multiple times, which led to many believing that means he is leaving. I get it. McDavid’s future is a big deal, not only in Edmonton but across the NHL. I think McDavid is using the one thing he has a lot of: time. He could sign next week, in October, maybe January, or maybe not until after the season. I sense he will be patient, not because he is upset or concerned, but because he has the opportunity to use time to see things, ask Bowman and others in the organization questions, and make the decision he feels is best for him.

— I think Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will spend more time as a centre than a winger this season. He will be the third-line centre mainly, except for when head coach Kris Knoblauch plays McDavid with Leon Draisaitl, which I think will be less than last season if players remain healthy.

— Adam Henrique will spend more time on the wing, but he will take faceoffs on the penalty kill and some at 5×5.

— Knoblauch will experiment with different duos and line combinations in training camp and likely through the season as well. He has many players who can play multiple positions, and he will want to see who fits best and where.

— David Tomášek will get a look as the fourth-line centre but also as a right winger, likely in the top six. He can really fire the puck, and he is a right-shot who can play centre. The latter is very intriguing for Knoblauch, as the Oilers’ top three centres shoot left.

— Jake Walman will start the season with Darnell Nurse. They will get a long look together. In a small sample size last season, they played well.

— Troy Stecher and Ty Emberson will have a good, healthy battle for the third-pair right-defence spot. Alec Regula is in the mix, but he did not play a game last year, and I think it is more likely he starts in the AHL if he clears waivers.

— Trent Frederic prefers to play RW or C. We mainly saw him on LW last year in Edmonton, but I think you will see him on the right wing this year. With Zach Hyman banged up, I think Frederic will get some looks with McDavid and/or Draisaitl to start.

— I think the second power play unit will see an uptick in minutes. It will not be a 50/50 split, nor should it, but I could see it being 1:20 for the first unit and around 40 seconds for the second. We will see the second unit start some power plays, and not just ones late in a blowout game.

— I think the Oilers could sign other players who are entering the final years of their deals, such as Mattias Ekholm, Jake Walman, Vasily Podkolzin, Brett Kulak, and Stuart Skinner, before McDavid. They have not engaged in any serious discussions yet, just gauging interest, but Bowman does not have a plan that says McDavid has to sign first.