EDMONTON — Suddenly, there are only three pre-season games remaining. If you are Noah Philp, or David Tomasek, or even Josh Samanski — and youâ€re planning on showing the Oilers brass something — time is running out.
On a day where 14 hopefuls were Bakersfield bound, those three all made their mark in a 4-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Friday.
Philp had a nice snipe and played a solid defensive game, Tomasek showed some offensive flair and created a goal off a nifty steal, and Samanski buried a puck right under the bar for a goal and added an assist.
There is a world in which we can see Tomasek and Philp on Edmontonâ€s roster when the season starts. Samanski, however, will be taking his talents to Bakersfield, where heâ€ll do his best to learn the North American game while auditioning for a spot on Germanyâ€s Olympic roster come February.
Could Samanski find himself in Italy on Leon Draisaitlâ€s national team?
“For sure,†he said after the game. “If you donâ€t think that way, youâ€re in the wrong sport.
“I think I presented myself pretty well at the world championships. I just want to make the coach have a hard decision not to pick me.â€
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GM Stan Bowman may have a nice find in Samanski, the six-foot-two, 195-pound, free-agent signing. Heâ€s big, skates well, and comes off as an intelligent young man — a huge part of figuring out what oneâ€s role should be in order to succeed as an NHL player.
But the 23-year-old Samanski is a project. At 27, Philpâ€s time to crack an NHL lineup has arrived.
“Iâ€d love to,†Philp said. “Thatâ€s why Iâ€m here. Thatâ€s the goal.
“They always tell you — and itâ€s true — that itâ€s up to you.â€
Philp has a couple of goals this camp, and is working diligently with new assistant coach Paul McFarland on his faceoffs. The Oilers need a righty to take faceoffs — particularly on the penalty kill — and Philp just might be that guy.
“Last year I struggled offensively,†he said of 2024 training camp. “For me itâ€s usually a defensive focus. But now Iâ€m feeling pretty confident, trying to work on the offensive side as well.â€
Calvin Pickard went the distance, stopping 21 shots for the shutout.
Darnell Nurse and the Oilers’ blue-line are getting some long awaited respect around the National Hockey League, with Jake Walman starting this season on the second pairing.
Itâ€s not often that the pre-season pundits are grading Edmontonâ€s D corps out as one of the better bluelines in the NHL, but they are this season, after two straight trips to the Stanley Cup Final.
“Weâ€re a group that played together in the playoffs last year, so you get a lot of familiarity with each other in tough situations,†said Nurse, the longest-serving Edmonton defenceman, who wired a shot off the post and in for the first goal of the game Friday. “It makes the game easier when youâ€re able to play with guys youâ€ve played with over the past few seasons.â€
Theyâ€re back again, fresh off another disappointment in the Final. The last team to start a season after two straight Final losses was the 1978-79 Boston Bruins, who lost both previous years to the Montreal Canadiens.
The Habs made it back to win the Cup in â€79, but the Bruins did not make the trip.
“To a man, we are a very motivated group,†Nurse promised. “Thereâ€s the disappointment of losing the first time (in the Cup Final). The second time is disappointing as well, and you donâ€t get over it.
“With that being said, there is a motivation in our group, and you could tell from even before camp.â€
The theme here in Edmonton isnâ€t about getting back to the Cup, however. Not yet at least.
Right now theyâ€re focused on finding their game earlier than they have the past two autumns — grabbing hold of the Pacific Division early, instead of chasing it all season long as they have the past two seasons.
“An area where weâ€ve preached but havenâ€t been good enough at, is the start of our season. For us, it started on Day 1 of camp, and weâ€ve got to continue it into the regular season,†said Nurse.
He was asked about the Olympic team, a perk that Nurseâ€s name is seldom associated with.
“Is it a dream of mine to play for Canada? Of course it is,†he said. “Itâ€s everyoneâ€s dream in our room to represent their country, and play in those big moments. But that doesnâ€t come from fantasizing over it every day. It comes from work, and taking it one day at a time.â€
The first cuts of camp came on Friday, with 14 players directed towards AHL Bakersfield:
Placed on waivers for the purpose of assignment to Bakersfield
Released and will report to Bakersfield
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