The Edmonton Oilers open the 2025-26 season with a well-known but surprising look: Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl together again on the same line. Head coach Kris Knoblauch says that the move may sound contraindic, even ironic, but it is actually designed to get more out of the rest of the selection.
“If they play together, you get much more out of the rest of the three lines,” Knoblauch explained. “It may sound ironic, but when Connor and Leon are each recorded for 21 or 22 minutes on separate lines, there is not much more ice age left for the third and fourth lines. They feel excluded. They keep playing everyone involved and lets those lines play towards their identity.”
The Oilers need more than one line to produce the attack, which means after line one, names such as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Matt Savoie, Andrew Mangiapane and the new extensive Vasily Podkolzin.
Trent Frederic gets the first look at the top line
The biggest question mark is who will replace Zach Hyman while recovering from an injury. Knoblauch revealed that Trent Frederic will get the first crack. That may seem surprising, since he is not the first name that you consider a top-line Vooruit, but Knoblauch has trust in him.
“Freddie doesn’t get enough appreciation,” said Knoblauch. “He is strong on the wall, he can break out Pucks and he has good hands around the net. Those are the two most important things when you play with Connor and Leon.”
For Knoblauch, stacking the two superstars of the oilers is not only about overwhelming opponents – it’s about getting more from frederal and unlocked depth in the line -up.
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