BLOG: Expectations are raised and task is tougher

With the Edmonton Oilers breaking through the drought and making the playoffs for the first time since 2006, expectations have been raised.
That's the narrative with the 2017-18 Oilers. The fans know it, the players know it, the rest of the League knows it, and so do the coaches.
Head Coach Todd McLellan spoke to the media at the Mark Spector Golf Classic on Wednesday and discussed the challenge ahead of the Oil this season.
"'Expectations' will be a word we'll be hearing a lot of heading into training camp and throughout training camp," said McLellan. "Expectations make it a little harder on a hockey club mentally and physically. We haven't experienced that as a group yet and that's why I still consider our team a growth team. We've got to go through that now. Teams will be ready for the Oilers. They'll be prepared to play against us night in and night out, and people expect us - our fans in particular - to win on a more regular basis than we have in the past. Our task just gets tougher."
Experience will help McLellan and his staff gauge what adjustments need to be made to their coaching style, given the higher expectations and the pressures of the season.
"In year three we have a much better idea of how our players are going to react to different types of coaching and motivational tools, whether that's a push or a shove or a hug or whatever that might be," said McLellan. "We should have a good idea of what buttons to push with most players. We have a better idea this year of their ceiling and how close they are to it individually, but it's the collective part of it that concerns our staff coming in. We have to come to camp with a very focused and direct approach. We can't get casual, we can't get relaxed and that's where we'll have to step in as a coaching staff. Some of us on that staff have the experience of going through that in the past so we'll have to help them as much as we can."