Oilers takeaways: Frederic to get first shot with McDavid, Draisaitl

EDMONTON — They came to see an old icon in Jonathan Toews, who was playing his first game in a Winnipeg Jets uniform on Tuesday. But the Oilers’ kids stole the show in a 3-2 road win for Edmonton, a game where all the right guys gave the impression that they may just be ready to make an impact this season.

Noah Philp had two assists. Isaac Howard scored on the power play. Ty Emberson ripped a wrist shot home for the insurance marker 12 minutes into the third period. And Matt Savoie, who didn’t have a point, might have been the best of the bunch on a night where he played a professional, NHL-style game, winning his battles and creating plays all night long.

Here’s all you need to know on a busy day at Edmonton Oilers training camp.

Nuclear option

With an injured Zach Hyman expected to miss the month of October, or more, head coach Kris Knoblauch revealed on Tuesday that he’ll start the season with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the top line. For now, Trent Frederic gets the first shot on right wing.

“This is what our plan is right now,” said Knoblauch. “We want so see how guys mesh, and without Hyman, we’re a little slim on having top-six winger talent. (With McDavid and Draisaitl apart), then you have two lines that you don’t really like. With Connor and Leon together, you definitely have a line that you like — no matter who’s (playing with them).

“We’re going to start with Freddie, and it might be somebody else. But you know it’ll work, no matter who they’re with,” Knoblauch said, adding that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will centre the second line.

Knoblauch also said he’d take a look at David Tomasek as a centreman for the next few games after this one, while Noah Philp — a much-needed righty — could have the inside track at fourth-line centre.

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Oilers coaches gave gone back and forth over the years on whether to play the two superstars together, or have them drive their own lines. The risk of having them together is that you give up the “nuclear option” of putting them together later in a game where the team needs some juice.

But Knoblauch has decided that having players play with McDavid and Draisaitl isn’t always a fair ask. They’ll be better off on their own units with their own identities.

“By playing Connor and Leon together, the other guys play to their identity I find that maybe you get more out of them,” Knoblauch said. “We saw it last year with Nugent-Hopkins when he was playing with [Viktor] Arvidsson and [Vasily] Podkolzin, they were putting up as much offence individually, just that they were able to play their game a little bit more.”

Podkolzin signs

The Oilers signed winger Vasily Podkolzin to a three-year deal on Tuesday, with an average annual value of $2.95 million. This season is the final year on a contract that pays him $1 million per season.

“They gave me a good contract, and a good opportunity to be on this team for the next few years — to finally win a Cup,” the 24-year-old Muscovite said.

Podkolzin, a No. 10-overall draft choice of the Vancouver Canucks, came over a year ago for a fourth-round draft pick. He had eight goals and 24 points in the regular season, but contributed 10 points in 22 playoff games.

Along the way, he has become Draisaitl’s preferred left winger. Why does one of the best centremen in the National Hockey League always say how much he wants Podkolzin on his line?

“Better ask him,” Podkolzin smiled. “I just love hockey, love my work — I love what I do. When I have the opportunity to play with the best players in the world, I want to just enjoy it, and be useful for them.”

“I think I still have lots of potential, especially (on) offence. This is the perfect time to show it, and for the next few years be more useful offensively.”

The Oilers need younger players, they could use some size, and were light on footspeed last season. Podkolzin checks all three boxes, with an aggressive game that separates man from puck and creates chances.

“He’s a hard worker who complements any player he’s playing with, whether it’s a skilled player or a more simple, forechecking, defensive-minded line,” Knoblauch said. “Maybe the offensive numbers were pedestrian (last season), wasn’t outstanding, but we feel like there’s more offence in him, and we’re fortunate to have him with us.”

The Canucks were disappointed with a player they had forecasted to be a top-line player and premier scorer in the NHL. In Edmonton, Podkolzin has settled in as a middle-six winger, though they still have hopes that his offence could emerge.

“He’s pretty good defensively. He’s hard on the forecheck. He makes it uncomfortable for the other team — he’s a strong guy who’s not afraid to finish his checks,” Knoblauch said. “We’d like to see more (offence) out of him, because he does have a good shot. But he drives a lot of play and spends a lot of time in the offensive zone. Those players, they’re pushing play.

“Pods is one of those guys — a smart, hard-working guy that I can move up and down my lineup. Can play left wing, right, and can play with anybody.”

Game notes

Ike Howard wired home a shot from Draisaitl’s office on the power play, converting a feed from Nugent-Hopkins with authority for his first goal of the pre-season. He looked much better on Tuesday in a game full of pros, than he had in the two rookie games against Calgary last week.

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Quinn Hutson shovelled home a feed from Philp to open the scoring, while Atro Leppanen quarterbacked the top power-play unit and had a nice game, with an assist and a plus-2 rating. Philp had two primary assists, went 8-of-14 in the faceoff circle, and had an excellent game.

Calvin Pickard put in a perfect 33:48 in goal, stopping all eight shots he faced in front of friends and family, in the town where he grew up. Matt Tomkins played the second half of the game and had a far tougher assignment, stopping 13 of 15 Winnipeg shots.

Toews was quiet in his Jets opener, with no shots or points on a minus-1 night.

Here’s how the Oilers lined up in Winnipeg:

Howard-Nugent-Hopkins-Kapanen

Jones-Philp-Hutson

Henrique-Marjala-Savoie

Pitlick-Coppone-Griffith

Leppanen-Emberson

Stecher-Brown

Dineen-Prokop

Pickard-Tomkins

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