FEATURE: Nuge Knows

EDMONTON, AB – The Nuge is – and will continue to be – huge.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has held many roles during his time in Oil Country for different coaches, and it’s that versatility as a multi-positional, multi-talented asset that’s going to make him an important player for the Oilers when it comes to anchoring their team’s second line to begin the season under Head Coach Mike Babcock.

“Nuge is a worker,” Babcock said after Monday’s practice at Rogers Place. “The problem is that if you play with Connor, and you're being careful all the time and you're watching, then you don't look like the player you are. I don't want him to play like that. I want him to play full out and get after it.”

“He’s going to be a massive part of things here,” Babcock continued. “He's beyond smart, maybe the best man in the middle on the power play in the National Hockey League, and knows how to play with and without the puck. He’s a good leader and an important piece for us.”

Nugent-Hopkins will begin his 16^th career NHL season – all wearing Blue & Orange – under his 10^th different coach when the puck drops on the regular season on Tuesday, September 29.

Entering another Training Camp run by a different bench boss & coaching staff, the longest-tenured Oiler confirmed this is the most detail-oriented and rigid one he's experienced during his tenure, thanks to Babcock’s expectations that his teams work efficiently and play with intensity.

"He does things at a slightly faster pace with more intensity than a lot of coaches, but at the same time, you want to be sharp no matter who's back there," Nugent-Hopkins said. "Obviously, Training Camp especially, things are going to be going fast, and you got to be quick on your toes. If you have a question, you've got to ask, because he's just gonna send you, so. We have no problem asking him a question either, so we're making sure that everybody's on the same page."

For the veteran NHL forward, who’s poised to surpass Kevin Lowe’s club record for all-time Oilers appearances (1,037) in the first few weeks of the campaign, it’s what he and the rest of the leadership group asked for when changes to the club’s coaching staff were made earlier in the summer.

“I've had a few different ones now, so I'm used to getting to know different coaches throughout my years. But this is definitely a faster pace,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “Even the meetings and stuff, everything's just quick.  It's to the point, but we love that, especially at an older age in this league.  You want things to be quick, and you want things to be clear.  You don't want the gray area, and that's what he's great at.”

What isn’t a mystery, too, is how many parts of the game that No. 93 impacts for the Oilers – and how many he’ll continue to impact as a key player under Babcock as a power-play producer and penalty-killer who can drive his own line at even strength.

With Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl poised to begin the season together on the top line, Nugent-Hopkins is the one who’s slated to play up the middle on the other top-six unit – potentially being the centrepiece of the second line with players like Zach Hyman, Isaac Howard or a healthy Matt Savoie, who’s missed all of Training Camp due to injury.

"I think there's onus on every single line no matter what, but we definitely want to be able to be relied upon in big situations," Nugent-Hopkins said. "We need to be able to produce and play well with the puck and control it, not having to worry about the defensive side of things too much. 

"Depending on who I'm with, if it's Howie and Hyman to start, both those guys can skate so well. Even in the scrimmages so far we've been together, they create a lot of loose pucks and can play off that, so there definitely is some emphasis on us to be able to produce. We just have to make sure that we're a really good solid second line."

Nugent-Hopkins has mostly played on the wing on a line with Hyman & McDavid in recent seasons, making up one of the League’s most-effective lines during that time, but still feels centre is his most comfortable position.

That being said, he’s ready to make the switch back whenever it’s needed.

“I feel like at this point, I'm used to playing both, so I think there are going to be times, no matter what, that things are going to be switched up,” he said. “So I have to be ready to jump back on wing. Obviously, the past couple of years, I'd say mostly I played wing, so it's not a huge transition, but I'm always more comfortable. It's easier for me to jump back into that centre spot.”

Babcock added that matchups could dictate a lot of what the Oilers' lines look like on any particular night and that it's important for him to keep an open eye out for early chemistry at Camp, but he's going to let things settle themselves out during Camp – even if it's only two-out-of-three players on a line he's learned about.

Ultimately, there's still plenty of time for things to shake out, and what works best for the group will be the deciding factor.

"I'm watching them, so I'm going to try to set up the team by talking to them and seeing what works best for our group," Babcock said. "So on the road, it might be one way, and at home when we have last change, it might be a different way. 

"The first five games it might be one way, and if we don't like the way it looks, it might be a little different. What we want to do is get to a point where we have a little consistency, and that might mean two of the guys are consistent while the winger is always changing.  I don't know the answer yet, but I'm going to work it out."