The Edmonton Oilers hit the ice on Saturday with their full series of stars, but one remarkable absence overshadowed the practice somewhat: defender Jake Walman.
Only a day beforeHead coach Kris Knoblauch confirmed that Walman was ‘not currently available’, and his absence of the practice suggests that the problem is important enough to keep him off the ice while the rest of the starters falls in line that looks a lot like what the season could open. Knoblauch categorized him as ‘from day to day’, so that Walman’s status for Sunday’s matchup with the Vancouver Canucks was uncertain behind.
Van Walman is expected to play a key role this season on the Blue Line of Edmonton, but he could not skate with his likely partner for the Darnell Nurse season in the matchup of Friday versus the Jets. There is no reason to worry yet, but if he stays off the ice for some time or missing the Sunday action, this can be a relevant development when the team approaches the opening evening.
In his place, the oilers rolled with defensive couples that looked near the regular season form. Mattias Ekholm skated alongside Evan Bouchard, while Darnell Nurse combined with Troy Stecher. Brett Kulak stood in line with Ty Emberon.
Other notes from practice
In the front, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Trent Frederic were reunited on the top rule, while Ryan Ngent-Hopkins Ike Howard and Andrew Mangiapane were central. Adam Henrique shifted to the wing on a unit with David Tomasek and Matt Savoie, with depth lines with Mattias Janmark, Curtis Lazar, Kasperi Kapanen and Noah Philp.
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