Oilers coach Knoblauch issues a challenge to his roster this year
Photo credit: Edmonton Oilers RAW
Oilers' head coach Kris Knoblauch recently commented that he didn't see enough growth from his team last year, and has now challenged his troops to make the necessary internal improvements.
Given the Oilers are facing salary cap restrictions, many of those improvements must come from some of the newer members of the organization. You may recall this comment after last season's Finals' loss from the Captain:
«Everyone's got to find a new level,» McDavid said of the coming season. «It's not like we have a ton of cap room and we got a long list of highly touted prospects knocking on the door.»
Well, for that scenario to become a reality, young players on entry-level contracts must step-up and fill important roster-roles. Prospects like Ike Howard, Matt Savoie, and Samuel Jonsson, and players like Vasily Podkolzin, on whom the Oilers are looking to have a productive year, are key to the team's growth.
And it's not only fans that are excited about the new-look Oilers, but also GM Stan Bowman.
«I am pretty excited to see how a lot of these new players come in and give our team a little bit of a different look. We're going to have to work with them and be patient but also help them come along so that they can add something to the mix. I think that's probably something we didn't have last year. We didn't see a lot of growth from within, so the players who were good in November were good again in April.»
Yet, that lack of internal growth last year was a criticized by head coach Kris Knoblauch, and Stan Bowman agrees.
In a recent article, the General Manager said the following:
«You can certainly supplement by adding new players down the stretch and that's something we're going to be focused on as well. But you don't want that to be your only way of getting better. You'd like to see some growth from within your team."
And therein lies Kris Knoblauch's challenge to his team. It's an imperative the coach will certainly make a theme of the coming training camp, one which will help solve some of the team's inconsistencies, like a declining power play, depth scoring, and of course, goaltending.
However, if there is one thing on which the coach can rely heading into training camp, is enthusiasm and a willingness to get better. With camp starting in a few days, the process will begin in earnest.
