Chiasson not taking playing opportunity with McDavid, Oilers for granted

EDMONTON -- Complacency is never going to be an issue with Alex Chiasson.

The 28-year-old forward is playing on the Edmonton Oilers' top line with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, months after helping the Washington Capitals win their first Stanley Cup championship.
Though that is all heady stuff, Chiasson remains grounded by the fact that he went each of the past two summers without a contract, entering training camps with the Capitals and Oilers in successive years on Professional Tryouts before signing one-year contracts.
"It's not ideal," said Chiasson. "You leave home with a suitcase and a backpack and hope things work out."
It worked out last season when Chiasson scored 18 points (nine goals, nine assists) in 61 games before winning his first Stanley Cup. And things are going his way again this season where has scored a career-high 14 goals in 27 games, trailing only McDavid (19) and Draisaitl (16) for the Oilers' goal-scoring lead.
"I think I've learned in my career that it doesn't help to look too far," said Chiasson.
After a steady training camp, with two assists and plus-three in four preseason games, Chiasson has turned heads with his regular-season scoring. Chiasson has 11 points (eight goals, three assists) in the past 15 games heading into Edmonton's game against the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday (10 p.m. ET; SNP, SNW).

"The coaches have had confidence in me and being a power-play guy and getting the chance to go back on the ice for more minutes and more offensive minutes, obviously I've grabbed my opportunity and made the best out of it," said Chiasson, who is on his fifth team in seven NHL seasons.
Even after signing with the Oilers, Chiasson was a healthy scratch for the first five games of the regular season. He didn't get frustrated, underscoring the mature, patient professional he has become.
"I think not playing the first games kind of helped me out a little bit," said Chiasson, who has 142 points (73 goals, 69 assists) in 408 NHL games with the Dallas Stars, Ottawa Senators, Calgary Flames, Capitals and Oilers. "I was just getting used to the new guys and the new system a little bit. I know for myself I used to go up in the press box and watch a period or two and really try to pay attention.
"I think that has translated really well into my play on the ice, just being
more comfortable with the guys I've played with."
Chiasson scored two goals against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 23 in his second game with the Oilers. He began that game on the fourth line but was promoted to a line with Draisaitl following his first goal. After scoring ten goals in his first 17 games, Chiasson joined the top line with McDavid and Draisaitl on a more consistent basis Nov. 27.
"I probably wasn't looking to be in that position at the start of the year," Chiasson said. "But I've said this many times, I think the last couple of years I've put a lot of work into my game away from the puck and I keep working on my offensive skills."

New Oilers coach Ken Hitchcock said there's a lot to like about Chiasson's game, including a willingness to get into, and stay in, scoring areas around the net.
"If you look at the goals he's scored, he's not panicking when most people do panic," Hitchcock said. "But he's also on a line that can control the puck. He's a perfect example of goals coming from possession time. We've been in the zone a long time, space becomes available, he ends up open at the net because people are tired defending.
"He's a guy that's willing to go to the front of the net and stay there, take a hit, take a beating and still hang in there to try to get his stick on the puck. You've got to really appreciate that."
Paul MacLean, who coached Chiasson with the Senators in 2014-15, said Chiasson has a strong combination of strength and skill.
"He had tons of courage to take the puck to the net and he had a light touch around the net," MacLean said. "It didn't always go in, but the big thing was that this was a big-bodied guy (6-foot-4, 208 pounds) who was not afraid to go to the net.
"Sometimes I know he struggled with footspeed up and down the ice, but he would make up for that by being able to get pucks out along the wall in the defensive zone, be very responsible. So those two things were important parts for me and he was a positive guy in our group."
MacLean said that Chiasson's move to a line with McDavid, though it may appear a mismatch of speed, can work.
"Getting to (the right place) at the right time is always the hardest thing," he said. "Playing with McDavid, he can hang onto the puck and that will give Alex the time to be in the right place. Who he plays with is very important, so with those type of players (McDavid and Draisaitl), he doesn't have to hang onto the puck, he just has to get to the right places to be successful."
The unexpectedness of his success this season is something that fuels Chiasson, whose previous career-high of 13 goals came with the Stars in 79 games in 2013-14.
"I'm just going a day at a time here," he said. "I know I have a bigger role this year that maybe a lot of people didn't anticipate at the start of the year, but I like that as a player."