02-06-2025
Card games and Tolstoy: How the Oilers pass the time in the air
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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.
