How many Canadian players on Edmonton Oilers? Answer: There are 21 Canadians players on the Oilers.
The Oilers are one of the highest teams with ice skaters from Canada, following the Vegas Golden Knights. The latter has 24 such active athletes.
In the history of the National Hockey League, 100% of the players were from Canada at the initial phase. Later in 1965, the league allowed international players to perform in the league legally.
The Edmonton-based professional hockey team was founded in 1972 as the Alberta Oilers, which changed to its current name in 1973. In 1979, the franchise joined the NHL along with three other clubs from the World Hockey Association.
The Oilers have royal blue, orange, and snowy-colored jerseys, and Hunter has been the team mascot since September 2016. Regarding the Stanley Cup championship, the club won it five times: in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1990.
Stuart Skinner, goaltender of the Oilers, is nominated of the Calder Memorial Trophy 2023, along with Owen Power and Matty Beniers.
Jack Campbell (36), Port Huron Michigan
Stuart Skinner (74), Edmonton Alberta
Calvin Pickard (30), Moncton
Emergency Goalie
Tight-spot netminder, Matt Berlin was substitutued for the position after lineup goalie Jack Cambell failed to continue in the rink.
Edmonton Oilers Defenseman
Left Defenseman
Darnell Nurse(25), Hamilton Canada
Tyson Barrie(22), Victoria
Cam Dineen (85), Toms River, NJ
Brett Kulak(27), Stony Plain, Canada
Mattias Ekholm(14), Borlange, Sweden
Philip Broberg(86), Orebro, Sweden
Vinent Desharnais (73), Laval, Quebec
Ryan Murray(28), Regina, Saskatchewan
Jason Demers(79), Dorval, Canada
Markus Niemelainen(80), Kuopio, Finland
Right Defenseman
Evan Bouchard(2), Oakville, Ontario
Cody Ceci(5), Ottawa, Ontario
Edmonton Oilers Wing
Left Wing
Zach Hyman(18), Toronto, Ontario
Warren Foegele (37), Markham, Ontario
Dylan Holloway(55), Calgary, Alberta
Evander Kane (91), Vancouver, British Columbia
James Hamblin(57), Edmonton Alberta
Tyler Benson(16), Edmonton, Alberta
Right Wing
Jesse Puljujarvi(13), Alvkarleby, Sweden
Kailer Yamamoto(56), Spokane, Washington
Edmonton Oilers Center
Connor McDavid(97), Richmond Hill, Ontario
Leon Draisaitl (29), Cologne, Germany
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93), Burnaby, British Columbia
Edmonton Oilers Captain and Alternate Captain
Edmonton Oilers captain and alternate are Connor McDavid, Ryan Nugent Hopkins, Darnell Nurse, and Leon Draisaitl.
A captain of an ice hockey team is a representative of the whole team. He is the only person responsible for speaking about the game with the media and officials. While there is only one leader in a team, it has two to three alternates.
The latter is responsible for fulfilling the duty of their leader, in case he is unable to enter the ice. The NHL teams choose their alternates from game to game or appoint them regularly for a season.
According to the National Hockey Rules, any active athlete on the team can be the captain, including the goaltender. However, he may not exercise the leader's rights in the rink.
Connor McDavid
Leader Connor McDavid plays as a center in ice hockey for the Oilers. McDavid joined the team after the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.
Connor belongs to a family of ice hockey players. His father, Brian, used to play in high school, while his mother, Kelly, played recreational ice hockey for a year.
A big fan of the Boston Bruins, Brian mentored his son when he was three. As a result, he won four minor ice hockey league championships in Ontario.
The 6-foot-1-inch athlete then played with the Toronto Marlboros, followed by the junior league team Erie Otters in the Ontario Hockey League. Since 2015, Connor has been with the Oilers for eight seasons.
He has been honored with multiple titles in the NHL, including NHL Second All-Star Team 2022, the Ted Lindsay Award (three years), and the Hart Memorial Trophy (2017, 2021). Also, he is the youngest captain in the history of the NHL (19 years at the time of appointment).
Ryan Nugent Hopkins
Ryan Ngent Hopkins debuted in the NHL after the Oilers drafted him in 2011. Hopkins is the center player on the team.
He previously played in the WHL's 2008–2009 season with the Rebels. Overall, he scored 26 goals and 45 assists in 72 games over two seasons. The league awarded him the WHIL Rookie of the Year.
The All-Rookkie Team 2012 debut game in the NHL against the Pittsburgh Penguins accounted for a victory on October 9 of the 2011–2012 season. Even though the team didn't win, Nuge scored his first hat trick in his third NHL game against the Vancouver Canucks.
Darnell Nurse
Ice hockey defenseman Darnell Nurse is the son of football player Richard and basketball player Cathy Nurse. He used to play football, basketball, lacrosse, and ice hockey as a child.
Once he entered high school, he only focused on ice hockey. Starting with the minors, the 6-foot-4-inch athlete played five seasons of the junior league in the OHL.
Before joining the NHL team, he played with the Bakersfield Condors in the American Hockey League. The Oilers selected him in the 2013 Draft.
Leon Draisaitl
The 2020 Ted Lindsay Award winner, Leon Draisaitl, joined the NHL after his team picked him in the 2014 Entry Draft. Leon is the first German player to win the Art Ross Trophy 2020.
The Cologne native played junior league in his native country in 2012. Later, he participated in the WHL in 2013 and again in 2015. Leon has played in multiple international leagues, representing the German national team.
With the Oilers, he has scored 306 goals and had 438 assists to date. He was honored with the Ted Lindsay Award and the Hart Memorial Trophy in 2020. Moreover, he made the NHL First All-Star Team the same year.
Edmonton Oilers Coach and General Manager
Edmonton Oilers coach and general manager are Jay Woodcroft and Ken Holland. Woodcroft was hired in 2022.
Before him, former professional ice hockey player David G. Tippett took on the responsibility from 2019 to 2022. Likewise, formal goalie Ken Holland got the position on May 7, 2019.
Previously, former athlete Keith Edward Gretzky served as the interim manager from January 23 to May 7, 2019. Keith is the sibling of legendary athlete Wayne Gretzky.
Head Coach
Edmonton Oilers Head Coach Jay Woodcroft is a former ice hockey player. Woodcroft has previously played for the Flint Generals, Jackson Bandits, Missouri River Otters, Anchorage Aces, and Corpus Christi IceRays.
The 46-year-old ice hockey mentor belongs to Toronto, Ontario. He was born on August 11, 1976. At a young age, he worked on television series and movies like The Littlest Hobo and Separate Vacations.
He enrolled at the University of Alabama, where he began playing college ice hockey. Besides, he played four seasons of minor league in the States and the German Oberliga.
Regarding his coaching career, the San Jose Sharks first recruited him as an assistant mentor in July 2008. The two fellow assistant mentors, Jay and Jim Johnson, departed from the Sharks together in April 2015.
Both of them joined the Oilers together in June of the same year. In April 2018, Woodcroft became the head mentor of the Bakersfield Condors. Later, on June 21, 2022, the Oilers signed a three-year deal with him to remain as head coach.
General Manager
Edmonton Oilers General Manager Kenneth Mark Holland is a former ice hockey goaltender. Holland played for the Hartford Whalers and the Red Wings between 1980 and 1984.
Holland joined the National Hockey League in the 1975 NHL Entry Draft. The Toronto Maple Leafs picked him in the 12th round, 188th overall. He announced his retirement in 1985.
After ending his athletic career, the 67-year-old joined the Detroit Red Wings as a scout. In 1997, he was promoted to operation manager. With the team, he won four Stanley Cups, 2008 victory was the final for him.
At the time he left the Wings, he had been promoted to senior vice president. He began working in Edmonton on May 7, 2019, one month after his appointment with the Wings. He also became the president of hockey operations.
On the personal front, Ken belongs to Vernon, British Columbia. He shares four children with his wife, Cindi. Holland, along with his better half and two kids, became United States citizens in July 2011.
