Oilers' Star Defenseman Feels Oilers Need to Change Style

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Ryan Hall
September 16, 2023 (1:27)

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It has certainly been an exciting past six months for Oilers' defenseman Mattias Ekholm. The changes in his life have been quite significant, as he was traded from the Nashville Predators in March to the Oilers to propel them beyond the regular season and into the playoffs.

Following a disappointing loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round, Ekholm received some fantastic news when he and his wife Ida announced the arrival of their new son, Leon.

Now that some time has passed, and the dust has settled from that second-round loss, Ekholm interviewed with the "Got Yer Back Podcast," where he shared his views on what the Oilers need to do to advance further.

"It was two evenly matched teams. I thought it was a close series up until a certain point. Then, that came into play a little bit. We thought we were going to win 5-1, not just sit down and wait, maybe grind out a 1-1 game until the second overtime. That aspect needs to be incorporated into our game at times. We need to be more patient with it."

He elaborated further on how hockey should be played in the playoffs,
emphasizing a patient and somewhat boring style.

"There's no other team I'd prefer if you're looking for a team that's going to score a lot of goals. I believe this is the team. We just need to learn the lesson that sometimes it's about defending, sometimes it's about keeping pucks deep�those clichés of the game where you just kill the clock, kill the time. Just non-exciting hockey. Boring hockey, if you will."

It's worth noting that all the Oilers players have already returned for training camp and have commenced their gym routines, beginning the process anew for another season.

There is a sense of unfinished business within this group, as 20 of the 23 players from last year have returned, and the feeling is that this team is determined to go the distance this year.