Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers have had an up-and-down season to this point. They had a nightmarish start to the year, leading to the firing of head coach Jay Woodcroft. Now, though, things appear to have stabilized. And with the calendar flipping to 2024, eyes are beginning to turn to the NHL All-Star Game.
The league's best players from the first half of the season will gather for a midseason showcase. This year, that showcase takes place in Toronto on February 3. Each team receives at least one representative at the event, making for some intriguing discussions.
The Oilers are not exempt from that. Edmonton has some interesting players with valid cases to skate among the league's best. With that in mind, here are the top candidates to represent the Edmonton Oilers in Toronto at the 2024 NHL All-Star Game.
Zach Hyman has proven himself
Zach Hyman joined the Edmonton Oilers after spending five seasons with his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs. At the time, many wondered if the veteran winger could live up to the big contract he signed. So far, though, Hyman has lived up to it and even surpassed expectations.
The 31-year-old winger turned in a career-best performance in 2022-23. This year, the Oilers forward is continuing to play extremely well. In fact, he leads Edmonton with 20 goals through 32 games. Hyman is on pace to smash his career-high goal total this year, and could potentially flirt with the 50-goal mark if he keeps it up.
Zach Hyman is proving that he is a legitimately gifted offensive contributor. And he has built an impressive case for him to represent the Edmonton Oilers at the 2024 NHL All-Star Game.
Evan Bouchard is emerging
The Oilers have a lot of faith in young defenseman Evan Bouchard. That much was evident when they made the former London Knights star a top-1o pick in 2018. Now, Edmonton is starting to see the 24-year-old blueliner develop into the player they believed he could be.
Bouchard put up back-to-back 40+ point seasons before the 2023-24 year. However, he is certainly taking that next step this season. In fact, the Oilers star is just five points from matching his point total from 2022-23. And this is only after 33 games.
Now, the former London Knights star is on pace for his first 20-goal season. Furthermore, he has a legitimate chance to score 90 points this year. It's an incredible step up for a player the Oilers wanted to see this type of progress from.
Evan Bouchard has earned the praise of his teammates, and rightly so. Now, all that's left is for the Ontario native to take his place among the game's brightest stars at the 2024 NHL All-Star Game.
Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl are obvious candidates for the NHL All-Star Game
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are two of the absolute best players in the world. Some may argue that the two Oilers stars are the two best players going right now. That discussion can be had another time, though. All that matters for this list is that these two are once again obvious candidates for the NHL All-Star Game.
McDavid started off a bit slow. He played through injury, and it clearly affected him. However, he has since turned it on. And as of now, the former Erie Otters star has 47 points through 31 games. That mark gives him 10 more points than Draisatil, the second-highest point-getter on the team.
Speaking of Draisaitl, he's remained an incredible offensive force. His 16 goals on the year rank second among Oilers skaters behind Zach Hyman. The German star is on pace to fall short of 100+ points in a full season for the first time 2017-18. That said, he remains one of the best players on the Oilers.
Leon Draisatil and Connor McDavid has led Edmonton over the last few years. And that remains the case this season. As a result, they remain top candidates to represent the team at the 2024 NHL All-Star Game.
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