Edmonton Oilers forward Jordan Eberle has ‘never felt better’

The Edmonton Oilers approach training camp after another disappointing season spent at the bottom of the Western Conference standings. While the team probably isn’t ready to compete for the playoffs this upcoming season, forward Jordan Eberle is still excited as he’s in rare form these days.

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“I’ve never felt better,” Eberle told reporters per the Edmonton Journal. “Any time you get into August, you start getting a little antsy to get back to training camp. That’s how I feel right now, especially with the additions. We have guys who know how to win and I think they all want to play here, too. I’m looking forward to this year.”

The Oilers have bulked up seemingly everywhere this season. They added Benoit Pouliot, Mark Fayne, and Keith Aulie while also trading Sam Gagner in a three-team trade that landed Edmonton Teddy Purcell. They even added to the coaching staff behind Dallas Eakins, then supplemented that with stats guru Tyler Dellow to help move the team forward. From the top to the bottom, the Oilers appear to be a different team in 2014.

“More than anything this year, it’s going to be nice to have some familiarity with the head coach,” Eberle said. “This is my fifth year coming up and I’ve had three head coaches. We finally have a guy where we can pick up where we left off. I’m definitely looking forward to that.”

Count Eberle among the many Oilers faithful who believe this may finally be a season in which the team shows marked improvement and starts to work toward putting a dent in that eight year playoff drought.