Leon Draisaitl is about to get the keys and go for a test drive.
The rubber has yet to hit the road for the Edmonton Oilers second-line centre, who will be flanked by new linemates this season.
Sure, he has been working with veteran free-agent acquisitions Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner throughout training camp, but the trio has yet to make an appearance over the first half of the pre-season NHL schedule.
But that is all about to change with their much anticipated debut Saturday against the visiting Seattle Kraken (7 p.m.).
“This weekend, the three of them will be together,” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch, who has prioritized what he needs to see from the newly assembled linemates before finalizing their place in the opening-day lineup. “Just making plays with the puck and not giving it away. Obviously, you have players where expectations are high.”
“They’re excellent hockey players and they want to have a successful season and they’re playing with players that maybe they haven’t got to play with at that calibre.”
Building a rapport
Last year, Draisaitl was saddled with a constantly spinning carousel of wingers the likes of Evander Kane, Warren Foegele and Ryan McLeod, as well as taking some shifts with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Mattias Janmark, at times. While there is no knock against any of those players, there is something to be said about consistency and building a rapport over time.
While that’s exactly what the Oilers hope to see happen after bringing in Arvidsson and Skinner, Knoblauch cautions against simply putting the pedal to the metal right off the starting line.
“Now the three of them are together, sometimes there’s a little bit more forcing of plays, trying to do too much, trying to build that chemistry rather than just playing to their games and not forcing plays,” the second-year head coach said. “And just making the play that’s available to them.
“They haven’t got a game together yet, they’ve only been playing practices.”
And Draisaitl, for one, can’t wait to move it into a game setting.
“Sometimes it’s hard to really make a lot out of practice, so I think we’re going to have to get into some games, get playing and get into some game-like situations,” he said. “But they’re obviously two really skilled players, I think the makeup of it makes a lot of sense and it could be a good line.
“But obviously sometimes you’ve just got to work it out in games and I’m looking forward to getting some games with them.”
Despite the constant migration taking place on his wings, Draisaitl still finished second on the team with 106 points (41 goals, 65 assists) last season.
Skinner had 46 points (24 goals, 22 assists) with the Buffalo Sabres a year ago, while Arvidsson is looking for a rebound season after earning 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 18 games with the L.A. Kings before undergoing back surgery.
“His first instinct is to go and get the puck, and once he has it he’s really skilled and really smart at finding open lanes,” Draisaitl said. “I think one of his more underrated assets is probably his hockey sense with the puck.
“I can see it already and I’m just really excited to have him and really excited to create some chemistry with him.”
Upgrades on paper
The two new additions look like an instant upgrade on paper, at least. Especially if they end up locking themselves into place.
But Draisaitl was quick to point out he still finished seventh in league scoring with those he played alongside last season.
“I had great success with a lot of the linemates I played with last year, and I’m looking to do that again this season,” said Draisaitl, who signed a league-record contract extension with the Oilers in the summer for $14 million a year over the next eight years. “Different player types, a little bit more experience, of course, but really excited to have them with me and just create some chemistry.”
The flip side to bringing in new players, of course, is the Oilers now find themselves facing a drop in the overall speedometer after losing a trio of their fastest forwards in Foegele, McLeod and Dylan Holloway.
But Draisaitl says adjustments can be made.
“One way of doing that is puck movement,” he said. “The puck moves faster than anyone out there. I think we’ve got a good passing team and a lot of really smart hockey players that at times are smart enough to let the puck do the work.
“I’m not worried about it.”
E-mail: [email protected]
On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge
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