The Edmonton Oilers will be kicking off training camp today. Do you believe this will be the start of a successful season or a repeat of last year?
Training camp officially starts today for the Edmonton Oilers. It’s felt like an extended vacation for the team that was out of playoff contention since early last season. But right now, the entire hockey world have their eyes focused on a franchise that must make amends for the failures they succumbed to the previous year.
A lot of fans and experts are on the fence or expect the Oilers to revert to what they were two years ago, but that’s easier said than done. Nobody is quite sure how this team will fair, and it’ll be hard to gauge how good they are in training camp.
The reason why is because there will be a lot of players vying for a handful of roster spots while the rest of the team try to get back in shape to kick off the season. That’s why it’ll be interesting to see how the Edmonton Oilers will fare in pre-season.
They’ll have eight games, and it’ll be against Calgary, Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Arizona. Wins and losses won’t necessarily matter, but it’s the effort and in-game adjustments that will be key in how this team progresses during the regular season.
But one thing needs to be sure, the Edmonton Oilers must have a successful season. It was astonishing to see TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie say that “if the Edmonton Oilers miss the playoffs, it’d be a crime against hockey humanity.” He isn’t wrong in phrasing it that way, but it’s shocking that everybody in the NHL feels the same way.
Having the best player in the world on your roster and missing the playoffs two years in a row isn’t only pathetic, but it could also be classified as a franchise killer. It’d be hard to justify to the fans, the media and even to the talent on the team as well.
That’s why it’s crucial for the Edmonton Oilers to get their act together during training camp and preseason as well. Their future is depending on it.