4 Edmonton Oilers Invited to Hockey Canada Olympic Training Camp

4 Edmonton Oilers Invited to Hockey Canada Olympic Training Camp

Hockey Canada released a roster for a a camp that they’re hosting in August for the Olympics. Do you have the full roster out there? I got this and then I’ll grab the roster. Okay. So, basically this is a camp to bring people together for an Olympics that’s obviously coming up this year. But I believe there’s no on ice events, which is interesting. So, the others actually had four players going. Obviously, we know um Conor McDavid is on the roster already for for team Canada along with I don’t remember the all the players to be honest off the top of my head, but 92 players invited to the camp. Brian Nent Hopkins, Evan Bousard, and Zack Heyman all invited to the team. Obviously, none of those three were on team Canada’s roster for the four nations faceoff, which Canada ended up winning. Conor McDavid, of course, getting the game-winning goal, the gold medal winning goal, I guess we could even call it. Um, so I would say they’re all at a bit of a they’re behind the eightball, I guess we can say it politely, can’t we? But Aaron, I guess the ultimate question is our show for giant question. Out of those three players, Evan Bousard, Ryan Hopkins, and Zack Heyman, do you foresee any of them potentially making the 2026 Olympic roster in Italy? So, the way that I look at this, I love the NooG. He’s not making this team. There’s just simply no way. I think guys like Mark Shley didn’t make last year’s roster. Mark Shley is a guy I’d rather have on team Canada than Ryan Njanopkins. Zack Heyman’s tough because I don’t know where he will be at physically. The last time we saw him, his arm was still in that cast at his golf tournament. We’ll see. We also saw last year he had a down year. So he wasn’t able to score that many goals, not the 54 goal pace of years previous, but there was a lot of discussion during the four nations about why is Zach Heyman not on this team when you need to find goal scoring in a pinch. He’s a man who plays well off 97. So I still believe in Zack Heyman, but his will be very dependent on how he looks when he first comes back. And if he’s going 10 games without a goal, I don’t think it’s going to happen. And if he goes on a hot streak, yes, I think uh team Canada brass will be thinking about it. But Evan Bousard, brother, I know it’s crazy. And if we clip this, whatever happens happens. What I saw from Evan Bousard through the first six weeks of the NHL playoffs without Matias Eckholm was a number one defenseman, not just a power play specialist. He was a PK stud. He was playing 25 minutes a night. He was playing well on defense. I will say he even had some physicality to his game. So I’ve seen it now two years in a row in the playoffs that Bouch can kind of kick it into overdrive and play some of that physical style have less of those laxidasical plays we’ve seen before. So I think Evan Bousard would be my answer to this question of who is most likely out of those three remaining goes Heyman probably n all the way down here. Don’t hold your breath. I I think N is there out of uh respect of going to world championships like obviously been on world juniors teams and all that stuff. Also a quality player but not up to the standard of what you need on a Hockey Canada roster to go and again try and win another gold medal for the country of the Olympics. Um one thing that is an interesting wrinkle in this and I’m going to try and twist it in the Oilers’s favor to be honest. So here are the coaches for the team and it’s the same I believe from what the four nations were. Uh John Cooper, Bruce Cassidy, John Cooper’s a head coach. Bruce Cassidy is an assistant along with Peter Dbor, Rick Tocket. Those are the NHL assistant coaches that they have. Obviously, Cassidy, Dbor, and Tiff have all played against the Oilers in the past couple of seasons and they’ve gone up against what Evan Bushard has done. And you obviously you think back to many moments in those series of like moments Evan Bousard has just dominated their teams and I wonder if that kind of helps him a lot now after going through it again of especially with like Bruce Cassidy the first time they faced him in a few years in in Vegas and Peter Dbor literally lost his job because of how much has dominated him and ironically as we say like Ryan Hopkins probably won’t make this team he absolutely dominated the Dallas Stars Brook obviously not with Vancouver anymore, but we remember Bousard’s obviously big goal a couple years back as well when they won 3-2 in what was it game four I think it was. I wonder if that actually works in Buchard’s favor. I know a lot of the time people are looking at it be like oh well and this happened Pete Debor takes Thomas Harley over Bousard but that that was very much like in a pinch and we need a guy right now and he was willing to come. Yeah, and he was willing to come and Harley did really well. But then also too, the bore saw Harley in the playoffs and saw Bushard in the playoffs and it wasn’t particularly close and then the casual fan might not have even realized Thomas Holly was playing in that series against. So I wonder if that can help them. I I do believe that Heyman and Nudge probably won’t make this team purely based off the fact Heyman, when will he play? When’s he going to start the series? Uh the season, sorry. a noo again like he’s just not at that quality. I honestly from like trying to be neutral from it, I’d rather the the Canada tuck even like a Mlin Celibbrini. I think he’s just like an exciting player who’s like the future of hockey Canada in a way and probably a guy you would run up there and like you said, let him hang out with Sid. Yeah. See what it’s all about. Like Mark Shley as well. Like do they take a guy like Honor Bad? Like I’d probably be more than willing to take Biffield. And like if I go through this forward list and I was to power rank them all of like players I would want on the team, players I would not want on the team. Like I think believe is 31 forwards or something like that. Something around there 30 plus. N would be in the bottom 10 of that list unfortunately. But we all love him and I love NG but he’s just not up to that uh quality yet I would say in the in the chat let’s I like that the point here from McD that says if Crosby can get Kunit David can take Heyman. That is true. I mean, at the end of the day, if Conor McDavid walks in there and goes, I want Zack Heyman on my line, I feel like those that hockey can of brass would have to oblige, but that doesn’t feel like a Conor McDavid. Yeah. Uh, few comments in here. Matias Yamark love to see Nooj there. Naimm, I would take only Bard and I love NG. Uh, fighting Amish. Boug is a sexy pick. Uh, like you said, McDow that is coming there. Dy is in. Controversial one from DY, believe it or not. If Bucha doesn’t make the team, the Oilers overpaid him. Okay. Um, Westside Shane, the boys nothing to focus on but the Olympics. He better be working his ass off. Hey, amen, brother. Amen. He’s kind of interesting that he’s still able to be on this team, but he is a he is a good coach. They’re just going to keep him 100 feet away from all goalenders at all times. He cannot throw anyone under the bus. The other part of this too, only three goalenders taken by Hockey Canada. a three that went to the Four Nations. Uh Jordan Bennett, Aiden Hill, and Sam Montbo. So, there’s just we’re just sad with those three goalies then. I don’t know because it’s interesting because initially I thought this was there was going to be some skates and stuff, but if there’s just no skates and I understand why they only took three, I suppose, but I just think like guys like Logan Thompson, Mackenzie Blackwood, uh Darcy Kemper, heck, honestly, I don’t think he should, but like I would at least want some competition in there. Like Stew in the mix is like the seventh rate goalie I could think of, you know, off the top of my head. Um I would like some competition. I don’t think Montbo’s anything special. And if you really are like looking at him for like a future, he’s the same age as like Aiden Hill. He’s actually older than Aiden Hill. Oh, no. He’s a little bit younger uh by five months. But either way, like it’s not like he’s like 22 year old goalie who’s like this is the future. No, he’s I’m curious. I’m curious how the chat feels. Are we still all Jordan Bennington number one starter for team Canada? Because post foreign nations that discussion was Well, close cape. It’s going to be Bennington without a doubt for sure because he played unbelievable, but I do know it tailed off a little bit more in the regular season and whatnot. But how does the chat feel? You still good with Bennington? Uh, it’s the best there. It’s the It’s the same argument as Bousard. Like he came to for Nations and showed up when Canada needed him and I thought he did really well. He didn’t lose the job. I I think that by any means and I think it’s just a case of like well there’s not many other players to pick from. McKenzie Blackwood didn’t do great in the playoffs. He did fine. I’m not saying he had a bad postseason, but I think people expected more. I don’t know. It it kind of just is what it is to me until proven otherwise. I don’t think Canada would be afraid either to to not take him if to not take another goalie, I should say. Not not him. I think he’s honestly a lock on the team and I think his performance of the four nations pos that way. But we did get a super chat which we haven’t said that in a while. I said mistaken Mexican said $20 to the Ben Stelta Foundation. Hey, if you want to throw in five bucks, 20 bucks, whatever it was, you can just do it in our super chat and I’ll read your comment on the show. Uh Mexican says, “Feels like a hot minute for some super chats. Congrats Tyler and Liam for taking over and he don’t need Tyler. He don’t need no Tyler. Thank you. Mistaken Mexican. Believe he just went on vacation as well. So hopefully that was uh that was good. So yeah, Tyler will be back right before the hole in one stream on August 18. That’s his first day back. It’s quite the it’s quite the way back from vacation. Yeah. D said just to wrap up the conversation. Um whomever is hot at the time should get the net. I’m sure honestly it’ll probably go back there. Nahim said, “Thank God Sue isn’t there. We have enough of watching him let down the others. It’s nice to get a break. Hey, maybe a new goalie coach change things. Veronica says Conor McDavid will win at the Olympics just like you won for team Canada. Conor McDavid is such a good player. I just love him. I also love Miss you, Veronica. Jimmy Deng said, “Surprise these guys aren’t saying Skinner.” Hey, I love Stu. I believe in Stu. If we’re not getting That’s not the best foot forward for team Canada. I I am fully aware of that, but I’d like some competition. That’s the only thing I’m kind of wanting as well. It’s not necessarily saying that those three goalies wouldn’t be in the mix because obviously all three of them would be. They were all there last time around, but it’s like, okay, let’s uh let’s involve some other people around here. Let’s not just like neglect other good goalies around the league. And let me have a quick look here. Like the goalies last season, 31 goalies in the NHL last season who were Canadian. Best save percentage. Let’s go by based off that. I don’t think any of them are there. Uh, I’ll skip the ones that like didn’t really play like Dolls. Jack Greavves, he’s only played 11 games. Uh, Darcy Kemper 50 games, 922. Mackenzie Blackwood 56 games 912. Logan Thompson 910 to 43. Jake Allen, Scott Wedgwood, like 10th goalie B. There’s a couple in here like I said, who were just like played a few games like Aiden Hill 9006 save percentage. It’s it’s a very interesting group. It doesn’t breathe too much confidence for me. But also, they did really well at the Four Nations, or at least you just got to get hot at the right time. And I tell you, I’ve seen Jordan Bennington get hot at the right time a couple times before. Let’s ride. Uh, great big man. What’s up, Nation citizens? If you like that video, then you need to be subscribed to the Oilers Nation YouTube podcast, live shows, exclusive interviews, and analysis. everything you need from your favorite voices at Oilers Nation. And you don’t want to miss any of it. So, hammer that subscribe button.

Four Edmonton Oilers have been invited to Hockey Canada’s Olympic orientation camp. Connor McDavid headlines the group as a lock for Team Canada, while Zach Hyman, Evan Bouchard, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins have also been invited to the camp for the oppritunity to wear red and white in 2026.

Liam and Aaron break down what this means for the Oilers, who’s most likely to make the final cut, and whether Canada could realistically ice a line made entirely of Oilers. With NHLers heading back to the Olympics, the race for roster spots is officially on.

Who would you like to see representing Canada from the Edmonton Oilers?

Website: https://oilersnation.com/

https://twitter.com/OilersNation/
https://www.youtube.com/@Oilersnationdotcom/
https://www.facebook.com/OilersNation/
https://www.instagram.com/oilersnationdotcom

@oilersnation

SHOUTOUT TO OUR SPONSORS!!

👍🏼 Powered by @bet365. Whatever the moment, it’s Never Ordinary at bet365. Download the App today and use promo code: NATION. http://www.bet365.ca/
👍🏼 GRETA BAR https://www.gretabar.com/locations/edmonton
👍🏼 Odd Company Brewing: https://www.oddcompany.ca/
👍🏼 Alberta Teachers’ Association: https://www.stoptheexcuses.ca/
👍🏼 Charm Diamond Centres: https://charmdiamondcentres.com/
👍🏼 Sherwood Ford: https://www.sherwoodford.ca/nation-valet-service
👍🏼 Sports Closet: https://sportscloset.ca/
👍🏼 Litco Law: https://litcolaw.com
👍🏼 Budweiser: https://www.budweiser.ca/ca_en
👍🏼 Star Mechanical: https://starmechanical.ca/

Reach out to sales@thenationnetwork.com to connect with our Sales Team and discuss opportunities to partner with us!

Visit www.nationgear.ca for merch and more.

#Oilers #EdmontonOilers #NHL #OilersNation #Hockey #ConnorMcDavid #LeonDraisaitl #StuartSkinner #EvanderKane #StanleyCup