Edmonton Oil Kings Head Coach Jason Smith (1/13/26)

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Oilers NOW with Bob Stauffer 18 min 3 speakers 6 chapters transcribed 1 month ago

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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

Jason Smith 0:00

Hey, it's Bob Stauffer. I just wanted to let you know that you can listen to Oilers Now ad-free on Amazon Music, included with Prime.

Bryn Griffiths 0:09

Good afternoon, everybody. It's Bryn Griffiths sitting in for Bob Stauffer. Bob's in Nashville. He'll be ready. He'll be coming your way. It'll be Mooner and Bob coming up with the play-by-play action at six o'clock. Brendan Nascot will obviously have the pregame show to get you rolling a little bit. It seems weird to me that we're into the last part of our show, and it's only 434, but it is a beautiful afternoon. It's now four degrees, so what more can you say about that? Still hockey weather, still January. You know who's playing really well right now? The Edmonton Oil Kings. And our headliner is Jason Smith, who's brought to you by Sherwood Power Sports and Marine, your home for boats, ATVs, motorbikes, and all the gear you need.

Bryn Griffiths 0:50

Hello, Jason Smith. How are you? Very good, Brent. How about you? Fine, thank you. Your team is just playing so well. You've got to be thrilled with the way things are going here.

Jason Smith 1:00

Yeah, it's exciting. I think, you know, you go away for Christmas break and you come back and, you know, our guys have played well and competed at a high level. And, you know, we've had some tough periods here and there, but generally our play has been really good. And, you know, the guys are buying into what us as coaches are sending as a message and, you know, a real good group of young guys to coach.

Bryn Griffiths 1:27

Got to ask you about the Christmas break because, you know, having played in the National Hockey League, it may only be two or three days and you still come out maybe a little wonky. But you guys had over like a week. So how hungry were they when they stepped back on the ice in your eyes?

Jason Smith 1:41

Well, they were excited, I think. You know, young guys, they get back around each other and get to spend some time with each other. And they, you know, they tell their stories about being home with their buddies and getting a chance to hang out with some friends. And, you know, it's nice to, I think, you know, in junior year, you know, it's nice for them to get home and spend time with family and be able to kind of turn hockey off for a few days and have some time to kind of just, take a break, and now they're back ready to go. No break for you, though, right? Oh, no, I had a little time away. Didn't open the computer and watch any hockey for a few days, which was nice, and just kind of relax with the wife and the dogs and just have a little downtime for sure.

Bryn Griffiths 2:33

Well, it's going to be a crazy back half to the season because you take a look at the top three spots in the Eastern Conference. You've got Madison Hat, Prince Albert, and the Oil Kings, and you're all right there. Like 29 wins for the Tigers, 28 for PA. They've played a couple of games less. Your team is at 29, and then there's the rest of the pack. This is going to be a great fight to the finish, I've got to figure.

Jason Smith 2:55

Yeah, no, I mean, it's exciting. I think it's great that we get to play some real competitive games leading up to the ending stretch of the season and preparing for playoffs. We're going to be playing meaningful games that are important for our group, and obviously we want to set ourselves up in a situation where we can be in the best spot going into the playoffs with home ice advantage.

Bryn Griffiths 3:22

Before we talk a little bit about the trade deadline and some of the moves that have been made here, what a week you've got coming up because you've got the Medicine Hat Tigers here tomorrow night, 7 o'clock at Rogers Place, and then you get to go back to the Smarty Box and take on the Tigers and Medicine Hat on, I think that's on Friday. So these are two sizable matchups for you guys.

Jason Smith 3:41

Yeah, it's two big games. I think the guys are excited about, obviously, the challenge ahead. You know, anytime you're playing a team that's, right there in the standings with you. And, you know, they've been playing really good hockey and had, you know, a real good kind of month and a half. They've been rolling and scoring lots of goals and are a good team.