In an Edmonton Oilers news and rumors update, the team is back at camp, with all 22 skaters on the ice. Some of the stars of the team spoke with the media and you can tell there’s a different mindset going into the 2023-24 NHL season. Among those who seem especially energized are Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, Connor Brown, and Zach Hyman.
Hyman Says Team Wants to Be Ready To Go on Day 1
When asked about all 22 skaters being early to camp this season, Zach Hyman — widely known as one of the hardest-working Oilers on the team — said it was all about cohesion. He explained, “I think one of the big things is that we’re returning almost our entire team, and I think a reason that we all came back is we’re all buddies. We’re all close.”
He noted that because there are not many new guys on the roster, those who are new can get acclimated to the team pretty quickly and those that have played before can get rolling as soon as possible. “We’re hungry,” Hyman said. Noting that last year left a sour taste, he added, “…we wanted to be back here as soon as possible to kind of get things kicked off.”
Draisaitl Slightly Re-Words “Cup or Bust” Line from Last Season
Last season, Draisaitl said it was “Cup or bust” for the Oilers. What he meant was that the team had their sights solely set on going all the way and to them, anything shy of winning it all would be a disappointment. This year, ahead of the 2023-24 season, he changed his phrasing slightly, knowing that his previous wording could be misconstrued as discontent with being an Oiler if they don’t win.
“Obviously we want to win. I mean, you guys write about it every day. We say it almost every day. We want to win a Stanley Cup here. There’s no doubt about that. I think we have to be careful in putting too much pressure on ourselves in that way. There are 31 other teams that are trying to do the same thing that we’re doing. We’re not the only team here, so there’s going to be some ups and downs, but I think we got the group in here to do it. We got the right mindset. We’ve learned a lot over the last couple of years and get off to a good start, and that’s the most important thing.”
Can Draisaitl Score 60?
When asked if McDavid had given him the green light to go out and score 60 goals next season, Draisaitl responded, “He hasn’t yet.” He then jokingly told the media guy to go ask Connor so he could get the go-ahead.
Related: Oilers’ Connor McDavid Will Surpass 160 Points This Season
The question was posed to Draisaitl because last year the two players had a conversation where Draisaitl told McDavid to be more selfish and shoot more. He predicted that McDavid could easily score 50 goals in a season if he wanted to and the result was a 67-goal season for the Oilers’ captain.
Brown Grateful for Opportunity in Edmonton, Feels Ready
“It was a lot of hard work digging myself out of that hole, so I’m that much more grateful not only to be playing again but to be able to play with this group,” said Connor Brown when he spoke with the media on Thursday. Brown, who is coming back from a serious injury that caused him to miss last season is looking for a rebound year with the Oilers and he’s extremely grateful to get a chance to make an impact on an offensively-loaded roster.
“I feel up to speed and I feel ready to go,” the forward said, speaking to the media at Rogers Place. He added, “There was obviously a lot of adversity this year. I learned a lot. It was a lot of hard work digging myself out of that hole, so I’m that much more grateful not only to be playing again, but to be able to play with this group.”
At 29 years old, he boasts two NHL seasons with 20+ goals, notably 21 goals in 56 games for the Senators in 2020-21. This season, as a dedicated top-six forward for the Oilers, he’s poised to further bolster his impressive goal-scoring record. Draisaitl and McDavid both compared his style of game to Zach Hyman’s, which is heavy praise considering how Hyman has played the last two seasons.
