Merry Christmas, our dear readers. It’s the most wonderful time of the year and this is no different for the Edmonton Oilers’ players and brass. Just like everyone else around the league, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the rest of the Oilers’ co. left cookies and milk out for Santa with hopes of opening the Christmas morning presents to find what they had asked for. So what did they ask from Santa? Let’s find out below.
Connor McDavid
As the best hockey player in the world right now, Connor McDavid may seem like he has it all. That is almost the case as he is terribly missing someone that he hopes to become better acquainted with: the Stanley Cup. McDavid came oh-so-close last season to lifting the Cup which included winning the Conn Smythe trophy along the way with an unbelievable playoff performance.
For his gift this Christmas tree, Santa Claus has decided to protect Connor McDavid from any injuries on the way to another deep playoff run.
Zach Hyman
Coming off a hot stretch of games where he scored 10 goals in the last nine games, Zach Hyman was pleasantly surprised when he opened his Christmas present and saw a spot on the top line of Team Canada roster, alongside Connor McDavid.
After a slow start to the season, Hyman was unfairly dismissed from the final considerations for Team Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off. With less than two months until the tournament, Hyman is playing on fire and he is making a solid case to be added to the roster in case of a roster injury.
Noah Philp
Despite making a strong push out of the training camp, Noah Philp has only played three games for the Oilers so far. What a surprise (and relief) it then was, when Philp saw an Oilers’ jersey in his Christmas stocking which meant a full-time promotion to the big club.
While his sample size is a small one this season, Philp has shown that he can play at the top level. Philp is fast, has a big frame and strong hockey IQ and he certainly deserves another shot at cracking the Oilers’ line-up soon.
Leon Draisaitl
For Leon Draisaitl, Santa Claus was able to get inside the mind of Gary Bettman and make him add a fifth team to the 4 Nations Face-Off: Team World. From Marco Sturm to Olaf Kolzig, Germany has produced good-quality NHL talent and more recently, this has been no different. German players have been among the best in the league and this includes guys like Draisaitl, Tim Stutzle and Moritz Seider.
Combined with superstars like Anze Kopitar, Artemi Panarin and Igor Shesterkin, Team World would have a heck of a roster on their hands with Leon Draisaitl surely being among their leaders. Oh and given his well-rounded play this season, Santa also threw in the Hart Memorial, Selke Trophy, “Rocket” Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award as part of the stocking stuffers. So well-rounded that I think the Norris and Vezina trophies are in there as well.
Corey Perry
What do the Dallas Stars, Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning and Edmonton Oilers have in common? All of these teams have had the unfortunate privilege of being recent Stanley Cup runner-ups and poor Corey Perry served as a member of each of these squads.
Perry must have left a lot of milk and extra cookies under the tree as his Christmas present this year was the end of this dark magic as he finally breaks the streak of Stanley Cup losses. Time will tell how the season ends for the Oilers but what a finish to a career it would be if Perry wins his second Stanley Cup before hanging them up for good.
Stuart Skinner
With his goals against average and save percentage continuing to head in the right direction, there is only one wish on Stuart Skinner’s mind: keep this trend going. While his own recent play has a lot to do with how well he has been performing statistically, Santa has brought Skinner an early Christmas present in the form of consistent defensive performance in front of him.
During their recent run, the Oilers’ defence has been finding ways to tighten up their play and leave fewer clean looks and breakaways for the opposition to pounce on. Time will tell if the Oilers can continue to build on this and become a rock-solid wall in front of their starting goalie.
Evan Bouchard
Similar to Zach Hyman, Bouchard woke up this morning to find a surprise which was an addition to Team Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster. As we discussed here on The Oil Rig, Bouchard’s omission from the roster is perplexing and certainly raises some questions about Don Sweeney’s selection process as the GM of Team Canada.
Critics of Bouchard love to make the same repetitive argument that sounds like a parrot on a loop: he is not good defensively. Well, for the critics in the audience, this argument continues to age about as good as expired milk. His recent performances on the ice continue to demonstrate quite the opposite while the advanced analytics only bolster the case as X (formerly Twitter) user @NHL_Sid pointed out that Bouchard has been on the ice for “fewer 5v5 goals against per 60 in the past two seasons (with *and* without Ekholm on-ice) than Toews, Parayko, Sanheim and Pietrangelo.”
Stan Bowman
After getting a warm welcome back to the league in the form of losing Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg via offer sheets, Stan Bowman was happy to open up his one and only gift: no one placing offer sheets on his players ever again.
The Oilers fanbase
Last, but certainly not least, the Oilers fanbase only wants one present when they wake up this morning: the Oilers’ first Stanley Cup since 1990 and a start to a Connor McDavid Dynasty for years to come.
