Edmonton Oilers practice at U of A with uncertain schedule ahead

The Edmonton Oilers were back at work Sunday afternoon at Clare Drake Arena. It was their first time on the ice as a team since their 5-3 win in Seattle on Dec. 18.

The Oilers had their final three games before Christmas postponed as the NHL dealt with COVID-19 cases around the league. Their game on Monday in Calgary had also been postponed. At the moment, the Oilers’ next game is Wednesday in St. Louis.

“It’s difficult. We’re trying to stay ready, get ourselves ready again,” said captain Connor McDavid of the uncertainty.

“It’s day-to-day,” said head coach Dave Tippett. “We’ll get through the next day or two here, get through the tests and see where we are with everything. Not just with us, but around the league. That’ll probably determine when we’re up and going. The guys here today had great energy and excited to get back and going.”

“It’s a little strange right now not really having any idea,” said Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. “We’ll just keep practicing and keep working on our game here.”

Tippett, Nugent-Hopkins, Devin Shore, and Ryan McLeod all returned from COVID protocol.

“For a few days, I was a little bit sick, probably nothing worse than a head cold,” said Nugent-Hopkins.

Tippett said he was asymptomatic and that none of the players in protocol have been very sick. Duncan Keith will be eligible to return on Wednesday. Darnell Nurse, William Lagesson, and Jesse Puljujarvi will remain in protocol until Dec. 31. Zack Kassian won’t be available until early January.

As for injured players, winger Zach Hyman and goalie Mike Smith were full participants in practice and are close to returning.

It was the first time McDavid has spoken publicly since it was announced that NHL players won’t be going to Beijing for the Olympics in February.

“The whole thing is so disappointing. It’s hard to really put into words what I think a lot of guys are feeling, especially the guys that have never got to go before. Now we’re missing it for the second time in a row,” said McDavid. “We do need to get a best-on-best tournament done at some point here. We can’t go six, seven, eight years without playing best-on-best.”

The Oilers will practice at Clare Drake again Monday morning.