Breadcrumb Trail Links
Published Jan 05, 2024 • Last updated 3 minutes ago • 4 minute read
The Edmonton Oilers’ Ryan McLeod (71) celebrates the Oilers first goal against the Los Angeles Kings during first period NHL playoff action at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Tuesday April 25, 2023. Photo by David Bloom /Postmedia file
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If you think it’s hard being a good NHL player, try being a bad one.
It’s brutal.
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Especially in a market like Edmonton, where everyone is an expert and people are lining up on social media, and in real media, to tell you how much you suck.
“It’s one of those things that you’re going to have to deal with as your career goes on,” said Oilers forward Ryan McLeod, who can tell you all about what it’s like to feel the heat after starting the season with zero goals and four assists in the first 21 games.
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“It’s obviously not the way I wanted to start the year, beginning with an injury in camp. It’s tough when you’re not producing, when you’re not having the best start, or the best stretch in the middle of the season, but it’s how you come out of it.”
Pulling out of a tailspin isn’t easy. It’s as much mental as it is physical, and not every player is able to shake off the criticism and doubt and return to his game. While Stuart Skinner fought back hard and is now a strength of the team, Jack Campbell went the other way, his confidence shot and his NHL future in doubt.
Evan Bouchard is fine example of fighting back. He had a brutal start to the season, to the point where people were wondering why he wasn’t sitting in the press box or at least busted down to the third pairing.
He took the worst of it during the Oilers woeful start to the season (except for maybe Skinner and Campbell) and saw firsthand that this is not an easy market to be struggling in.
“No, but at this level it requires you to be good consistently,” said Bouchard, adding it was just a matter of working hard and pushing through the problems.
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“You know what you’re capable of. So whether it’s staying a little bit extra after practice or coming in a little early and getting yourself focused and dialled in, you do it. You just have to find a way to do it.”
Staying off the toilet that is social media is also a big part of the recovery process. Lonely, anonymous people can be quite vicious, and they feed off any sort of human interaction, so ignoring them is a player’s most valuable defence. Besides, players don’t need to be told when they’re in a rut, they’re the first to know it.
“I was never a big social media guy so it doesn’t affect me too much,” said McLeod. “It doesn’t really matter what other people are saying, it’s more how I’m feeling. I want to contribute and be the best player I can.”
Coaches can try and coach a player out of a funk through film sessions, pep talks and the occasional scolding, but it’s largely up to the struggling forward to find the way out on his own.
“You tell them just to keep it simple,” said Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch. “Winning puck battles, stopping in position in the defensive zone. If you’re in the right spot you’re able to make plays.
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“There is also an element of luck. I’ve seen players get hat-tricks who had awful games, but things just went their way. They got the bounces. I don’t think any bounces went McLeod’s way or some of the other guys. But when a player isn’t playing well usually it’s because they’re not doing the little things well.”
For guys who’ve spent their whole life succeeding at hockey, feeling lost out there can be a shock to the system. Warren Foegele struggled to find a niche in Edmonton when he first came here, and was considered a bad contract. Now he’s looking like a bargain as a second line winger.
“Confidence is one of the hardest things to get and once you get it it’s hard to keep it,” he said. “That’s the challenge with anything in life, being willing to not let go of that.”
“You have to have a good support system. I’m fortunate to have that at home, and you need a good locker-room and we have that, too. Guys keep it light but are also willing to have those tough conversations. At the end of the day, the people in this room are what matters most, not the outside noise.”
As the Oilers turned things around, the rising tide lifted all the boats. Skinner is back in form, Bouchard is probably making the All-Star team and McLeod has five goals and eight points in his last six games.
“It’s almost like a weight is off your shoulders,” said McLeod. “You play a lot more free. You’re not gripping your stick as tight, you’re making more plays. But in reality not a whole lot has actually changed.”
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