BLOG: Holloway turning heads inside Oilers locker room

EDMONTON, AB - There were already plenty of reason to be thrilled about the tantalizing potential of Dylan Holloway.
After he made the turn behind the Vancouver Canucks net and fired his third goal of the game between the legs of Collin Delia - causing hats to rain down to the ice - the fervour has reached a fever pitch.
"I saw that I was playing with Leo and Hyms, so I was pretty excited and my adrenaline was going right from the start," Holloway said about his seized opportunity to play in the Oiler top-six last night.
It's one thing to be given a chance to skate with Oilers top stars, but when opportunity knocked, Holloway opened the door. In addition to the four-point night, the 2020 first-round pick had five shots on goal, three hits, had a plus-four rating, and saw action on both special teams units in his 17:25 of ice time.
The preseason performance by the rookie was head turning in many ways, maybe no more so than inside Holloway's own locker room.
"I'm very, very happy with what we've seen from him," Leon Draisaitl said. "It's just his hockey sense, which comes from his work ethic actually. It allows him to get into good situations and be up on the play. It gives himself an extra second to make a play, which is obviously big if you want to succeed offensively in this league. I'm very, very impressed so far."

With four goals and two assists in four exhibition games, the rookie has arguably been the best Oilers player on the ice in three of those contests, including one where both Conner McDavid and Leon Draisaitl played. Prior to last night's statement game, there was already a lot of talk about the potential on display.
"What I've seen and what I've heard, he's looked really good," Evander Kane said before Monday's win. "I'm excited to see what he can bring as training camp progresses and most likely into the regular season."
While it's still too early to turn that opening day lineup prediction from pencil to pen, Oilers Head Coach Jay Woodcroft has certainly liked the early returns from the 21-year-old.
"The more Dylan plays at this level, the more he feels comfortable and the more he shows his team and coaching staff where he's at," Woodcroft said. "It is the preseason, and he should feel very good about that game today. He put down a good one."
"He's got to feel good about it," Woodcroft added. "He's going to enjoy it and he knows tomorrow is the next battle."

The message from the head coach is clear to Dylan Holloway. In the NHL, there is no resting on your laurels. In order to force his way onto the Oilers opening night roster, he is going to have to take someone else's job.
"I just wanted to play well, I wanted to play my game," Holloway said about his preseason ambitions. "I knew I would have to do something to make the team. I'm just happy with the way things are going, but I have more games coming up."
One aspect of Holloway's game that certainly isn't lacking is confidence. The talented rookie has had to fight through some adversity over the last two years, with the multiple wrist surgeries and a long rehab that kept him out of the Bakersfield Condors lineup for much of last season. Holloway has admitted it took some time to get back to a point where he felt 100 per cent confident in his wrist and being able to show off his deadly shot. He no longer has to tape his wrist to skate, and the confidence in his health is bleeding over into his game.
"Obviously last year was a long road rehabbing the wrist, right now it feels good and it feels good shooting," Holloway said. "I'm not even thinking about it, so I'm just out there playing hockey, which I love to do."
"He's been through a lot the last couple years and he's finally feeling good. You can see the excitement in him to show what he's capable of," Draisaitl said. "He's really impressed everyone around here."

That abundance of confidence that the rookie radiates has earned him the moniker 'Hollywood' from some of his teammates, with name reportedly originating from Tyson Barrie. It's a title that Holloway is taking all in stride.
"I don't mind it, but I think it's pretty funny to be honest," he said. "They can call me whatever."
It's the smart play for Holloway to defer to the locker room veterans. Players such as Evander Kane have already trodden a similar path -- especially Kane who held a reputation as a brash and confident young star when he entered the league. His advice to Holloway was simple.
"I think just continue to have that confidence and belief in himself, which I don't think he need a lot of help with" Kane said with a wry smile.
As for Kane's thoughts on the nickname Hollywood?
"No, no, no. He's got a long way to go to earn that nickname with me." Kane said before the game.
With a hat trick performance on Monday, it might be time for Kane to change his mind.