Ex-Oilers star Eberle had hilarious thought on iconic first goal
The decade of darkness didn’t hold a lot of moments for Edmonton Oilers fans to look back on fondly, but former star Jordan Eberle provided one of them.
The ex-Oilers sniper now finds himself captain of the Seattle Kraken and has been in vintage form this season with five goals in the first six games of the season. He notched the OT winner against the Calgary Flames on Saturday night, which parlayed perfectly into his appearance on After Hours following the game.
In that interview with Sportsnet’s Scott Oake, Eberle was asked about his tenure in Edmonton. Specifically, he was asked to reminisce on his first-ever NHL goal (also against the Flames), which remains an iconic moment for many Oilers fans.
His initial thoughts were hilarious.
“Watching that, there are a couple things that come to mind, first it’s shorthanded, I don’t PK anymore so I don’t know what I’m doing out there,” Eberle said with a laugh. “Second, it’s a two-on-one and I’m taking the d-man on one-on-one, I’d probably be shooting far-pad now.
“Had a little more confidence back then and I’d probably play it a little less riskier than I did.”
It was as beautiful a first goal as you could ask for if you’re Eberle, but one that you probably won’t be catching him scoring again anytime soon. In that same interview, Eberle was also asked to look back on another iconic goal from early in his career.
Before that first goal with the Oilers, Eberle was a household name in Canada for his clutch tying goal against Russia while playing with Canada in the semifinals of the 2009 World Juniors.
“Some of the kids we’re playing with now, they probably weren’t even around when that goal was about or they don’t remember it. Just means I’m getting old,” Eberle once again said with a smile.
Eberle spent seven seasons with the Oilers from 2010 until he was traded to the New York Islanders in the summer of 2017. During that span, he scored 165 goals and 382 points in 507 games in Edmonton, that is just under half of the 1024 NHL games he has under his belt.
He then went on to play four seasons with the Islanders before joining the Kraken through the expansion draft in 2021. While he may not be a member of the Oilers anymore, many fans look back on his time with the team fondly and are glad to see him having success in the league.