EDMONTON, AB - The Edmonton Oilers were back on the ice at the Downtown Community Arena on Thanksgiving Day with only two full practices and a pre-game skate left before the start of the regular season on Wednesday.
Kailer Yamamoto re-joined his Oilers teammates for practice on Monday in what was a positive sign for both the player and the club in advance of Wednesday's season opener at Rogers Place against the Vancouver Canucks at 8:00pm MT. The Spokane, Wash. product missed out on the last two practices and the final pre-season game against Seattle on Friday with an undisclosed injury.
Head Coach Jay Woodcroft couldn't say if Yamamoto's participation in practice on Monday is enough to confirm his place in Wednesday's opening-night lineup, but the bench boss characterized it as a positive development nonetheless with the hopes he'll be able to suit up against Vancouver.
"I thought it was a positive sign that he was on the ice with us today," he said. "He took part in all the drills and appeared to feel good, so I'll revisit that. I haven't gone by the trainer's room to see where everybody's at or got the report yet, but I thought it was a positive sign."
Jesse Puljujarvi took reps at Monday's skate in Yamamoto's place at right wing with Evander Kane and Connor McDavid , showcasing Edmonton's top-six depth while signalling it could be the big Finn who begins the season on the top line after putting in a strong showing in the Oilers 5-3 win over the Kraken on Friday that closed out the preseason.
Despite the looming start to the campaign, spots in the lineup will continue to be contested as the roster continues to take shape in the build-up to Wednesday and in the first handful of regular-season games.
"Any time there's competition, it's really positive because usually, in my experience, competition brigns out the best in people," Woodcroft added. "I thought Jesse Puljujarvi played a heck of a game last game. I thought he was physical, I thought he got in on the forecheck, and he found a way to score a goal, which I'm sure helps his own personal confidence. But I thought he did a lot of good things in that game. Any time you have a lot of people pushing, it makes your team better and makes it competitive for that ice time and specifically, the privileged ice time."
Ahead of the NHL's 3:00pm MT deadline for teams to finalize their rosters in advance of the regular season's start on Tuesday, the Oilers loaned forwards James Hamblin and Devin shore to the Bakersfield Condors and released defenceman Jason Demers from his professional tryout agreement (PTO).
Lines at Monday's morning skate appeared as follows:
Kane - McDavid - Puljujarvi Holloway - Draisaitl - Hyman McLeod - Nugent-Hopkins - Foegele Hamblin - Shore - Ryan
Nurse - Ceci Kulak - Barrie Murray - Bouchard Demers
Forwards Brad Malone and Kailer Yamamoto were the extra forwards rotating in on the fourth line, while defenceman Philip Broberg was not on the ice.
Get all of the day's video and written content below.
RELEASE: Shore and Hamblin loaned to Condors, Demers released from PTO
BLOG: Thanksgiving a family affair for the Oilers
RELEASE: Oilers acquire Klim Kostin from St. Louis
RELEASE: Niemelainen assigned, Malone placed on waivers
AROUND THE RINK | Welcome Back
edmontonoilers.com is the official Web site of the Edmonton Oilers. Edmonton Oilers is a trademark of Edmonton Oilers Hockey Corp. NHL, the NHL Shield, the word mark and image of the Stanley Cup and NHL Conference logos are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League. All NHL logos and marks and NHL team logos and marks as well as all other proprietary materials depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective NHL teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. Copyright © 1999-2020 Edmonton Oilers, LLC and the National Hockey League. All Rights Reserved.