Connor McDavid didn’t flinch when Mike Babcock took aim at the Edmonton Oilers’ practice Monday. If anything, he backed the message.
“Obviously, the standard’s high around here,” McDavid said after Babcock described the session as lacking. “It’s something that I love and I support.
I want the standard to be at the very highest and if he didn’t like practice, he didn’t like practice. We’ll be better tomorrow.”
Babcock, speaking to the media, made it clear he wanted more from the group. He said, “I didn’t think this one was very pretty,” then laid out the details of what he expects on the ice.
“I like the puck to be on tape, I like us to go fast, I like us to listen, understand what we’re doing, and I like us to compete, and I didn’t think we were competitive enough there.”
The coach didn’t single out anyone by name. His issue was with the team’s overall response, and he said it simply wasn’t “pretty.” For a club that has had only three real on-ice practices so far, that kind of blunt assessment lands early - but it also fits the tone the leadership group wanted.
McDavid said before, in an interview with the 32 Thoughts podcast, that he wants Babcock to coach exactly the way he coaches. He also said the players are prepared to buy in, with teammates stepping in only if a line is crossed.
“Babs is there to be Babs and to coach the way that he sees fit,” McDavid said. “We’re also a team and teammates who care about each other.
If there’s an area or a place where we have to step in, of course we’re going to do that. But we would do that with any coach.
It doesn’t matter who it is.”
Now the Oilers get one more skate before their second preseason game, a rematch in Winnipeg against the Jets. After Monday’s practice, McDavid made the response clear: better is expected, and better has to come Tuesday.
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