Card games and Tolstoy: How the Oilers pass the time in the air
Article content
When he's not playing cards or honing his racing skills on Mario Kart, defenceman Darnell Nurse also enjoys reading on the plane. Right now, he's in the midst of Leo Tolstoy's epic, War and Peace.
'I've been working at War and Peace by Tolstoy for, like, a month and a half, two months,' said Nurse. 'So, maybe I can find a way to finish that one.'
Poker face
And, when it comes to cards, we had to ask: Who has the best poker face on the team?
'Maybe Mattias Janmark, just because he looks the same at all times,' said Kane.
And the worst? He won't be playing in the series, but Kane decided to add a little insult to Zach Hyman's injury.
'Maybe Hyms,' said Kane. 'He's not going to be happy I said that. I get a bit of a read on him, sometimes.'
While flying between the Miami area and Edmonton is pretty arduous, there are former FC Edmonton players who might be out there reading this article and snickering. When the now-defunct team played in the North American Soccer League, the Eddies would have to make a couple of visits a season to the Caribbean to face the Puerto Rico Islanders. And, unlike the Oilers, FC Edmonton's players and coaches had to fly commercial. The team would often not all fly together. Some players would connect in different airports. But, the best and quickest route would see the team fly to Minneapolis, then to Atlanta, and, finally, to San Juan. There were times that it would take the better part of two days to finish the route, and then the team would have to play in hot, humid, punishing conditions, then get back on a series of flights to return home.
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National Post
5 hours ago
- National Post
Card games and Tolstoy: How the Oilers pass the time in the air
Article content 'Yes, we're very business-like, it's important to be focused, but you can also have fun,' said Knoblauch, 'And, I don't think fun is going to distract anybody from what our goal is.' Article content Article content The coach uses the time on the plane to look at game film, figure out line combinations for the next game and, when it's all done, maybe take a bit of time to unplug from hockey. Knoblauch likes to read on the plane, and is currently working on Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. It's a book about how an idea is sparked, and how it can take hold in business or our social interactions. Over five million copies of the book have been sold, and it spent almost a decade on the New York Times' bestseller list. There are currently nine holds on the book at Edmonton Public Library, so it you read this story and want to borrow it, you're going to have to wait. Article content Article content When he's not playing cards or honing his racing skills on Mario Kart, defenceman Darnell Nurse also enjoys reading on the plane. Right now, he's in the midst of Leo Tolstoy's epic, War and Peace. Article content Article content 'I've been working at War and Peace by Tolstoy for, like, a month and a half, two months,' said Nurse. 'So, maybe I can find a way to finish that one.' Article content Article content While flying between the Miami area and Edmonton is pretty arduous, there are former FC Edmonton players who might be out there reading this article and snickering. When the now-defunct team played in the North American Soccer League, the Eddies would have to make a couple of visits a season to the Caribbean to face the Puerto Rico Islanders. And, unlike the Oilers, FC Edmonton's players and coaches had to fly commercial. The team would often not all fly together. Some players would connect in different airports. But, the best and quickest route would see the team fly to Minneapolis, then to Atlanta, and, finally, to San Juan. There were times that it would take the better part of two days to finish the route, and then the team would have to play in hot, humid, punishing conditions, then get back on a series of flights to return home. Article content
CBC
a day ago
- CBC
From Hamilton to Edmonton: Ice from NHL players' hometowns used to resurface rink for Stanley Cup final
When Darnell Nurse of the Edmonton Oilers takes to the ice in Rogers Arena Wednesday, a little part of his hometown of Hamilton will be underfoot. Rogers picked six Canadians on the team — including captain Connor McDavid and forward Evander Kane — and collected ice from rinks where they grew up. Then they transported the ice to Edmonton and used it to resurface the NHL ice ahead of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final. It's the first time the company has done it — and a neat way to give "home-ice advantage" to the Oilers, says Ryan Kinsella, rep director for the league that plays at the Hamilton arena where Nurse's piece of ice comes from. On Saturday in Hamilton's Flamborough region, Rogers scraped the ice at Harry Howell Twin-Pad Arena to honour Nurse. The 30-year-old defender started playing at Bill Friday Lawfield Arena on the Hamilton Mountain when he was four years old, but that arena is closed for the summer, Rogers Communications spokesperson Victoria Ahearn said in an email. Nurse is the brother of professional women's basketball player Kia Nurse and cousin to professional hockey player Sarah Nurse, who's also from Hamilton. "I think [this] gives a real good feel to the minor hockey players … knowing some of their ice that they play on a regular basis is going to be part of the Stanley Cup," Kinsella told CBC Hamilton. Flamborough Hockey plays games at Harry Howell. Kinsella, who was born in nearby Waterdown, played for the Flamborough Sabres and now has three boys who play hockey in the community. Harry Howell is one of the city's busiest rinks, he said, hosting hockey teams, coaches and a skating club. The ice rink initiative will hopefully help inspire kids to reach for their goals, Kinsella added. "Little initiatives like this help to keep those dreams alive." Ice transported by thermos Rogers worked with the rinks to scrape ice into sealed thermoses. Those were transported to Edmonton where, on Monday, they were poured into the ice making tank of the Rogers Place Zamboni, Ahearn said. Other rinks Rogers took ice from are: The Magna Centre in Newmarket, Ont., where McDavid played for the York-Simcoe Express AAA organization from about age 10 to 15. The Rink in Winnipeg, where Calvin Pickard practices during the off-season. North Shore Winter Club in Vancouver, where Kane started playing minor hockey at 14. Burnaby Winter Club in Burnaby, B.C., where Ryan Nugent-Hopkins played minor hockey from 2006 to 2008. Confederation Leisure Centre in Edmonton, which is affiliated with the hockey program Stuart Skinner played with while in high school. "Hockey's biggest stage should reflect where the game truly begins — in hometown hockey rinks across Canada," Terrie Tweddle, chief brand and communications officer for Rogers said in a statement. He said the initiative, called This Is Our Ice, is about celebrating "collective pride in Canada's game as the Oilers play to bring home the Stanley Cup." Other Hamilton-area players are competing for the cup, too The Oilers are having a rematch with the Florida Panthers, the defending Stanley Cup champions who beat them 2-1 in Game 7 of the final last year. Then, there were four players in the final with connections to the Hamilton-area: Nurse and Adam Henrique of the Oilers and Carter Verhaeghe and Brandon Montour with the Panthers. Verhaege brought the Stanley Cup home to Hamilton's Waterdown area in August. In July, Montour — who now plays for the Seattle Kraken — brought it home to Six Nations. Henrique is from Brantford, Ont. WATCH | How the Oilers playoff run helps newcomers find community: How the Oilers playoff run helps newcomers find community 5 days ago Duration 1:55 Within a week of landing in Edmonton, a group of young newcomers is getting introduced to the Oilers and Rogers Place. As CBC's Travis McEwan reports, some advocates say the playoff run creates a great opportunity to find community. When asked if he'd rather see Nurse or Verhaeghe bring the cup to Hamilton this year, Kinsella laughed. "It's a bit of a torn situation," he said. Kinsella has met Nurse's dad, and worked with some of the same coaches as him, but said he also appreciates Verhaege. Ultimately, Kinsella said, his middle child is a huge McDavid and Oilers fan, so Kinsella will be rooting for them. "Hopefully we can see a Canadian team bring it home."
Ottawa Citizen
2 days ago
- Ottawa Citizen
Haunted and inspired Edmonton Oilers facing their best shot at a Cup
Article content Listening to the Florida Panthers celebrate a Stanley Cup championship that came at the expense of the Edmonton Oilers was like an earache that lasted 11 months. Article content 'It's something you don't forget,' the Oilers defencemen said on the eve of their Stanley Cup Final rematch with the Florida Panthers. 'It's something you thought about all summer and something you think about all year to get back to this point to give ourselves another chance. Article content Article content 'We still have that feeling from last year and don't want it to happen again.' Article content Article content Another shot at the Panthers is all they could ask for and now it's here. What they do with it is going to play out over the next couple of weeks, but one thing the Oilers know for certain is that they are a very different team than the one that came up short in Game 7 a year ago. Article content 'There is definitely a different feel within the group,' said defenceman Darnell Nurse. 'Our group is in a different mindset going into this one.' Article content They have more experience than last year. They have the added motivation of losing last year. They are healthier than they were last year. And they're 12-2 in their last 14 games. Article content This might be as ready as they are ever going to be. Article content 'All of our energy is going into beating the Florida Panthers, there should be nothing else on anyone's mind,' said Oilers captain Connor McDavid, well aware that the Panthers are a legitimate super power. Article content Article content 'They're the champs, this is their third final in three years. They're a great team. You can't say enough good things. It's going to be a great challenge.' Article content Article content For Edmonton, the road to this point has also been much smoother than last year when they needed seven games to get past Vancouver and were badly outplayed in the conference final clinching game against Dallas. Article content This time they're well-rested and coming in hot after winning the last four games against Los Angeles and taking Vegas and Dallas out in five games each. That's going to count for something. Article content 'The mental stress of battling blow-for-blow in a series, we didn't have much of that,' said Evander Kane. 'That helps a team when you don't go seven games at all through the first three rounds.
