Welcome to another edition of the Oilers Sunday Census where we ask the fans for their opinion on all things Edmonton Oilers.
Not only was it an eventful season for the team, as the Oilers had their best regular season since the mid-80s, but plenty of players hit career milestones or set outstanding career highs in the process.
We picked four of our favourites and let the fans choose which of them was the most memorable career milestone hit by an Oilers player in the 2022–23 season.
Want to take part in Sunday Census polls? We send them out every week on our Twitter at @oilrigEDM. Follow along or send in ideas for the next poll!
Nugent-Hopkins’ 100th point is cause for celebration
It really was just a two-horse race for the winner of this poll, but one option was ever so slightly more popular.
The darling of Oil Country, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, set a career high with 37 goals, 67 assists, and 104 points. The career milestone deemed most memorable by 48.6 % of polled Oilers fans this season was the moment he hit that 100th point for the first time in his career.
As the unsung hero of the team, Nugent-Hopkins has been the one stable and consistent presence in the Oilers’ lineup over the past decade. So for us to get to see him have the best season of his career, hit the 100-point plateau, and put himself in elite company is an incredible memorable experience. He became the 10th player in Oilers history to hit that mark in a single season.
McDavid’s 150th point on his way to one of the best regular seasons in history
As if his offensive output could get any better, Connor McDavid proves us wrong year after year after year. Setting another batch of career highs, McDavid finished the season with 64 goals, 89 assists, and 153 points. For this, he won his first Rocket Richard Trophy, his third consecutive (and fifth total) Art Ross Trophy, and his third Hart Trophy.
Of the participants in our poll, 46.8% of fans chose the moment McDavid hit 150 points as the most memorable career milestone of the season.
By the end of the season, McDavid had the 15th most points by a player in a single season in NHL history. He became the sixth different player to reach the 150 point milestone, and only Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Steve Yzerman have recorded more points in one season than McDavid.
His career point trajectory leaves only one question. Will he find a way to eclipse his career high yet again next season?
Skinner’s Calder Trophy nomination
Stuart Skinner may be in the running for the best moustache in the league, but unfortunately he did not stand much of a chance in this week’s Sunday Census.
Although he may have actually gotten his first shutout in 2021–22, Skinner did earn a Calder Trophy nomination for his incredible performance after taking over the crease mid-season.
With a 29–14–5 record, Skinner led rookie goalies in wins. His .914 SV% and 2.75 GAA was second amongst rookies with more than 30 games played.
Skinner stepped up in a big way for the team when they needed him and he provided a stable presence in net as the Oilers went on a tear in the second half of the season.
Maybe he should have won the Calder Trophy for his efforts, but either way the nomination is a significant career milestone in and of itself.
Draisaitl hits 120 points for the first time
Have we committed the cardinal sin and forgot about Drai? With just 0.9% of the fan vote, Leon Draisaitl’s 120th point of the season was deemed the least memorable milestone of the options in our poll.
And, no disrespect, but when McDavid is out there setting historical paces and putting up numbers not seen in almost 30 years,—and the fan favourite Nugent-Hopkins is garnering attention with the best season of his career—it seems to make sense that some others might get overlooked.
But that is not what we want to do. Draisaitl had the best season of his career and absolutely deserves attention for his efforts.
Draisaitl set career highs in assists (76) and points (128) while becoming the league’s top powerplay scorer with 32 power play goals in a single season, tied for the second-highest single-season total. And that’s before even mentioning his insane pace to scoring in the playoffs as he builds his case to be one of the best playoff performers of all-time.
What was your most memorable career milestone from the 2022–23 season? Drop a comment down below or over on Twitter! Stay tuned there for next week’s Sunday Census poll.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
