Kailer Yamamoto, Evan Bouchard hoping to impress in Edmonton Oilers rookie camp

Kailer Yamamoto isn’t messing around.

“My expectation is always to make the team,” the Edmonton Oilers’ first-round draft pick (22nd overall) in 2017 said on Thursday.

The five-foot-eight right winger is hoping to make another positive impression at the Oilers rookie camp. He’s coming off a big year in the WHL with Spokane, racking up 64 points in 40 games.

“I thought he was the best player in the league from January until the end of the regular season,” said Scott Howson, the Oilers’ vice-president of player development.

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Watch below: On Oct. 4, 2017, Quinn Phillips filed this report about Kailer Yamamoto making the Edmonton Oilers roster to start the season.

3:24 19-year-old Kailer Yamamoto’s first Oilers game

Yamamoto has been through this before. Last season, he stuck with the Oilers through the first nine games of the regular season, notching three assists.

“Take it day by day. Try not to look too far into it,” he said. “If you look too far into it, you might get a little nervous. Just take it day by day and try to do the little things right.”

That’s Yamamoto’s advice for fellow first rounder Evan Bouchard, who the Oilers snatched tenth overall in 2018. It’s Bouchard’s first NHL camp. With the Oilers thin on defence and in need of someone with Bouchard’s offensive potential, he could be able to work his way onto the opening day roster.

“I look at it as if you’re ready or not,” Bouchard said. “I’ve been training to make that jump all summer.

“The goal is to stay here. But if I do go back to junior hockey, the London Knights, they’re a great organization.”

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While Bouchard gets his first taste of Oilers rookie camp, it’s the fourth time around for 2015 draft pick Ethan Bear. The right-shot defenceman played 18 NHL games late last season.

“It affected a lot. It showed me what I had to improve on, strength-wise and conditioning-wise,” Bear said. “It helps me get a little more comfortable here.”

The Oilers rookies had their physicals Thursday and will hit the ice for practice Friday. Forward Ostap Safin, drafted 115th overall in 2017, isn’t expected to take part in rookie camp after suffering an injury in the summer.

The Oilers rookies will visit the Flames rookies Sunday afternoon. You can catch the game at 2 p.m. on 630 CHED.