DAY 3 CONTENT
All the coverage from Saturday
In finding a resolution for the unknown, McLellan declared he would test out sophomore forward Drake Caggiula on the right side. Caggiula isn't entering the role completely blind, having played right wing in spurts during the Oilers playoff run last season.
"We're going to try him there and see how he handles that job throughout training camp and some exhibition games but those pieces are moving all the time and they still need to be sorted out," McLellan said.
Four days into Oilers Training Camp and No. 91 continues sinking his teeth into the new position. He's done so alongside Milan Lucic and Leon Draisaitl, a pair McLellan doled out together in the past.
"If there's an opening, you want to step in and try to take hold of that spot," Caggiula said Sunday after a camp scrimmage. While the utility player migrates to a new slot on a forward corps he is firmly embedded in, his outlook on camp and the new opportunity remains humbling.
"It's no different than last year; I'm still fighting for a spot in the lineup and for more opportunity," the 23-year-old, who put up seven goals and 11 assists in 60 games last season, said. "Nothing's set in stone. I have to make sure I go in there and prove that I'm capable of playing at this level and then hopefully get more opportunity because of it."
Caggiula even noted the fortuitous situation he's in, playing with incumbent veteran Lucic and last season's eighth-leading scorer Draisaitl - forwards routinely counted on to generate offence.
"Getting the opportunity that I have right now, I want to take it and run with it," he said. "Things could change tomorrow but where I am right now I'm happy and I want to make sure I stay there. I know there's a lot of things I have to do to maintain that spot but I'm looking forward to the challenge."
