Draisaitl raves about impact Woodcroft has had on Oilers' season
Jay Woodcroft has been passing all the tests so far in his first year as head coach of the Edmonton Oilers.
Woodcroft replaced Dave Tippett in February, getting the callup from the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors. Coming into his first NHL head coaching gig, Woodcroft was a relative unknown among most casual fans.
But including the playoffs, Woodcroft has amassed a 34-14-3 record and has the Oilers and their fans believing this could finally be the year things all come together for the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in 32 years.
It seems that his players believe he’s pushing all the right buttons — just ask Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl.
Asked about the “winning culture” Woodcroft has brought into the Oilers’ organization, Draisaitl had plenty of praise for his coach.
“I think that winning culture and the attention to details… I think he reads the game really well from back there,” Draisaitl said at a media availability on Monday in Denver. “He seems to find the right moves to adjust our lineup or whether that’s mid-game or for a different game. He’s very smart, very good at adjusting on the fly… he’s obviously been big.”
Draisaitl has been having an otherworldly playoff run, putting up seven goals and 19 assists for 26 points in just 12 games so far, all while dealing with an ankle injury.
Oilers general manager Ken Holland echoed his star forward’s statements.
“I don’t know if we’d be here if it wasn’t for the impact he’s had on our team,” Holland said about hiring Woodcroft. “I wanted to kind of bring somebody from the outside but not from way outside and I made a decision to bring in ‘Woody.'”
Holland added that “some little tweaks” by his coach have helped the Oilers make it to their first conference final since 2006, where they ended up qualifying for the Stanley Cup Final.
“Our team has really responded to what he brought in,” Holland added about Woodcroft. “I think we’ve tightened it up and it’s been a great communication with our team and he’s been a big factor in us being here today.”
Game 1 goes tomorrow night in Denver, with puck drop set for 6 pm MT.