Jeff Petry weighs in at a solid 200 pounds, putting that newfound mass to use against the Vancouver Canucks in Sunday's win. (Carmine Marinelli, QMI Agency)
Jeff Petry made a commitment this summer to get bigger and stronger.
The Edmonton Oilers defenceman always had the talent to play in the NHL, but in the past, his slight stature made it tough to win one-on-one battles and assert himself physically.
That doesn’t appear to be the case anymore as Petry was perhaps the most noticeable young talent for the Oilers Sunday in a shootout win over the Vancouver Canucks.
Petry, 25, looked strong, confident and assertive in the team-high 22:42 he played against the Canucks. He’s expected to log similar amount of ice time against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.
“Jeff was our No. 1 ice-time defenceman last year and like many other of our young players, used the time off to strengthen himself,” said Oilers head coach Ralph Krueger. “He’s added some pounds and you could see the benefits of that (Sunday) night. After a few adjustments, you could see that there were some situations where we would have liked him to be a little
