EDMONTON — The hockey season is nigh.
The Edmonton Oilers have officially hit the ice for captain skates. Yesterday marked the first time fans were treated to the site of Connor McDavid on the ice with many of his teammates.
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Darnell Nurse, Stuart Skinner, Jeff Skinner, Zach Hyman, Mattias Ekholm, Evan Bouchard and Corey Perry were just a few others who participated. Leon Draisaitl and Viktor Arvidsson were also on hand.
Many hockey pundits have done Kris Knoblauch’s job for him by putting them together on a line. When Draisaitl spoke to the media after the skate, he was asked about his thoughts on Arvidsson.
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He started off talking about how much he was looking forward to playing with him, “I’m really, really excited to get to know him a bit and create some chemistry with him. I think we could be a really good pair.”
The two have played against each other quite a bit, both in the regular season and the playoffs. Draisaitl revealed what it is like playing against him, and what traits he’s noticed on the ice, “Obviously, we’ve played against him lots in the past couple of years. (He has) really good hockey sense, really hard working guy that knows how to play the game.”
“Always thought he was super dangerous. I was always a little extra cautious when he was on the ice, it felt like.”
While Arvidsson hasn’t been a world-beater offensively, he’s a dangerous player. Over the last four seasons he has averaged over three shots on goal per game, scored 20 goals in a season twice, all while skating between 16-17 minutes a night.
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In the playoffs, Arvidsson has seen his role increased. He has played 20:07 and 18:15 per game in the playoffs the last two runs respectively. He has 10 points and 33 shots in 11 games in that span.
It’s safe to say that the Oilers are looking forward to having Arvidsson on their side for a change.
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