HELP ON THE WAY
Oilers buoyed by McDavid’s presence at skills event
It was only a skills competition, but the sight of Connor McDavid on the ice, in a uniform, in front of a soldout crowd at Rexall Place provided a big shot in the arm Sunday for some fans who desperately need one. Same goes for the kid. The next time he steps on the ice with the Edmonton Oilers it will be for real, and it will feel like boarding a rescue ship after 11 weeks on a deserted island.
“I couldn’t be more excited to come back, today was a little bit of a tease,” said the 19-year-old centre, who will make his return from a broken collarbone after the All-Star break, on Feb 2 against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
“You’re dressed up like it’s a game, the fans are there, everyone is acting like it’s a game, it’s almost like a tease, but it’s exciting to be back on the ice with the fans and the guys.”
It’s been a long 11 weeks, a grinding stretch that saw the Oilers win 15 of 38 games without him, falling to last again in the Western Conference standings. And it’s not over. While his Oilers teammates will rest and relax during their eight-day break, McDavid will report to the American Hockey League’s Bakersfield Condors so he can stay sharp and work on his timing.
He won’t play in any games, but he will practise every day.
“Management and I came together and agreed that I should go to Bakersfield and skate and keep practising,” said McDavid.
“It will be good to skate with those guys, have some high-intensity practices and some good battles and come back feeling good and ready to go.
“With this long a break, it’s not ideal to sit around for eight days. It’s a good opportunity for me to be ready to go when I come back.”
When McDavid does return to the Oilers lineup, it will likely be to a team more than 10 points out of the playoffs with 32 games to go.
“It’s not an ideal situation, but there are a lot of games left, a lot of time,” said McDavid. “We’ve seen teams like Ottawa do it last year. We’re focusing on the overall process and it’s been good so far. I’m just excited to come back and be part of the guys again.”
One look at the standings suggests the feeling is more than mutual.
“He’s a kid who can change the game, it will be great to have him back,” said winger Jordan Eberle.
“Anytime a key player goes down with an injury it’s tough,” added Ted Purcell, who won Sunday’s shooting accuracy competition.
“It’s nice to see him back and happy and around the guys.”
He’s definitely that. Knowing there are only eight more sleeps until he’s an NHL player again has McDavid checking off his calendar like an inmate counting down the days until he’s released.
“It sucks being out, these last couple of weeks have probably been the longest,” he said. “You feel so good, you want to play. But we’ve been patient with it, so hopefully the patience will be rewarded in the end.”
Taylor Hall won the fastest skater event in the skills competition, turning a lap in 14.1 seconds. In a jaw-dropping exhibition, though, Darnell Nurse did it in 15.9 seconds — skating backwards.
“That just tells you about the skill some of our guys have,” said Hall. “To go that fast backwards is pretty impressive.”
In the hardest shot competition, Iiro Pakarinen surprised everyone, bombing one 103.4 mph. Rob Klinkhammer (102.6) was second, followed by Benoit Pouliot (102.1) and Luke Gazdic (102.0)
“I’m happy I won, I didn’t think I would,” Pakarinen said with a laugh.
“(McDavid is) a kid who can change the game, it will be great to have him back.” — Teammate Jordan Eberle