A frustrated exit from training camp drills leaves the Oilers monitoring Jason Dickinson's health. Mike Babcock clarified the timeline for a crucial penalty-killing mainstay.
It's been a rough start for one Edmonton Oiler in camp already. Veteran forward Jason Dickinson left the ice during the first session on Friday morning, frustrated by an incident during training camp.
He banged his stick against the boards, then skated off the ice.
Dickinson returned, standing beside the bench and watching. Eventually, he tried to work his way into drills, but when the full roster held a scrimmage on the main ice, he wasn't there.
Babcock was asked if there was any status update after it looked like Dickinson was labouring, and he said, "You saw that too, did you?"
The coach was asked a follow-up, wondering if he had any indication if Dickinson is expected to miss any time:
“I don't think so. We knew he wasn't scrimaging today. We just knew that before. … We're just monitoring that.”
Obviously, the hope is that he's not dealing with anything serious. Dickinson is an important piece of the Oilers top nine, particularly on that third line. He's also pegged to be among the most important penalty killing forwards on the team.
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