Tyler Pitlick spent seven years in the Edmonton Oilers organization after he was drafted 31st overall in 2010.
Pitlick made his NHL debut during the 2013-14 season with the Oilers, and if not for injuries he likely would still be a member of the franchise today.
Instead he’s making his first trip back to Edmonton as a visitor when the Dallas Stars play the Oilers on Thursday.
I asked Pitlick about the trip earlier this week.
“You like to say it’s just another game, but it’s not,” Pitlick said. “It’s kind of a weird feeling, it’s not like I’m trying to prove them wrong, because they gave me my first chance. But you also want to have a good team against your former team, and I guess the way you have to do that is by treating it like any other game.”
Pitlick added that it will be nice to catch up with a couple former teammates and visit a city he’s rather familiar with. However, after some initial greetings he’s not going to spend much time thinking about his past with the organization.
“I think that’s how you have to do it,” he said. “This is the first time I’ve played against an old NHL team, so I don’t know for sure. But it makes sense.”
Housekeeping Notes
— The mailbag comes out tomorrow. Still time to get in your questions on Twitter and Reddit.
— Ryan and I recorded the podcast last night. It should already be in iTunes. I will be posting the link on the site here around 10:30 a.m.
Catch-up links
Stephen Johns is out tonight, Greg Pateryn could be in
Speaking of Pateryn, he’s done a nice job handling a difficult situation this season
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