The Edmonton Oilers gets some last minute instructions before finishing the' third day of training camp at Rexall Place on Wednesday. Perry Mah/Edmonton Sun
Never mind the legs, the Edmonton Oilers are young and head coach Ralph Krueger will make sure they get plenty of rest during the upcoming 48-game torture test.
Finding comfort and relief for their heads might be another story.
While much has been made about the physical demands of the long and winding road ahead, Krueger believes the biggest challenge will be finding the mental strength to fight through a schedule that couples the urgency of a sprint with the relentless grind of a marathon.
“We’re going to find out everything about every player, you can’t hide,” said Krueger. “I always say that hockey is such an honest sport, there’s no hiding and no cheating. You don’t get away with it.
“And now everything is magnified. Everything that you speak about gets magnified in a season like this. The pace will be unprecedented, it’s a pace that the NHL has never seen before.”
