The message is loud and clear. There are no days off under new Edmonton Oilers head coach Mike Babcock, who was blunt in his displeasure over some of the efforts he saw in Monday’s on-ice session.

Whether it was pulling the top line of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl just 15 seconds into a shift, or singling out beleaguered forward Trent Frederic with a sharp and succinct, ‘Get it together,’ Babcock is proving he isn’t afraid to speak his mind and call out the mumbo-jumbo the moment it appears.

And maybe that’s exactly what the Oilers brain trust wanted when they pulled the once-successful head coach back from NHL obscurity to replace Kris Knoblauch in the off-season.

The last regime would never offer any sort of direct criticism, let alone level it at an individual player (never mind the two top prize superstars on the roster) with anything that could be remotely construed as disrespect.

But let’s remember, it’s the leadership core of the roster that signed off Babcock after meeting with him and knowing full well what they’re getting into this season.

And it appears that accountability goes from the lowest man on the roster, all the way to the top.

“I didn’t think this one was very pretty,” Babcock said after wrapping up the two-a-day training camp sessions Monday. “Saying they’re having speed bumps, they’re not. I just didn’t think this one was very good.

“I like the puck to be on tape, I like us to go fast, I like us to listen and understand what we’re doing, and then I like us to compete. And I didn’t think we were competitive enough there.”

E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com

On X: @StarkRavinMod

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