Ex-oiler Caggiula gets settled in Chicago

CHICAGO Drake Caggiula liked his time with the Edmonton Oilers and wanted to make more of an impact there, but the fresh start in Chicago seems to be agreeing with him.

Now that the shock of being dealt for Brandon Manning last year has worn off, he is feeling much more at home on and off the United Center ice.

“It was kind of nice coming in this year after being traded in mid-season,” he said before taking on his former team Monday night.

“You come into camp and you are familiar with the guys and how the team operates. It makes things a lot easier. And they’re giving me an opportunity to showcase what I can do. I’m feeling confident in myself and my teammates and coaching staff show a lot of confidence in me as well.”

Playing on a line with Jonathan Toews and Alex Debrincat is a nice way to get a season started. Caggiula spent a lot of his time in Edmonton in the bottom six, so this is a refreshing change.

“I’m trying to find a home and something I can be consistent with,” he said. “They’re kind of jumbling the lines a little bit, but I’ve been able to play my game and not have to overthink things. I’m enjoying the game again in being able to do what I do best and not worrying about trying to be a player that I’m not.

“I’m doing the things that got me to this level and it’s starting to show. I’m able to play with a lot more confidence and make more plays and be trusted in a lot more situations. Hopefully, it’s going to be a pretty big season for me.”

Caggiula, who came to the Oilers as an undrafted free agent out of college, still follows his former team and is impressed with how they’ve turned their fortunes around through the first two weeks of the season.

“You keep an eye on your buddies and on the team to see what’s going on, I still have a lot of friends there,” he said. “They seem a lot more committed to the two-way game. They’re doing the little things right.

“It’s been a long time coming there. They’re dying for a team to do well there. They have some good pieces. If they can really buy into the system and play an honest game it’s going to go a long way.”