Oilers rookie Holloway making impression in pre-season play

EDMONTON — Dylan Holloway played in one NHL game last season. The rookie wore No. 36 for the Oilers in a playoff game against the Colorado Avalanche.

And, even though he was assigned that number coming into training camp, he quickly gave it up to goalie Jack Campbell, who wore that number in Toronto before coming to Edmonton as a free agent.

Holloway, now wearing 55 in training camp, said that his reward was a night out on the new Oilers’ goalie’s tab.

“I didn’t know he was paying,” Holloway said. “He told me he was taking me out for dinner. He took the number 36, that was the number they gave me in camp, and I had no emotional attachment to it, but he insisted on taking me out for dinner.

“When I got there, he had a whole seafood tower out. It was a lot.”

Campbell can have 36, but Holloway’s goal is to burn his No. 55 in the minds of coach Jay Woodcroft and president and general manager Ken Holland. It’s not like Holloway doesn’t have a spotlight on him — he carries the weight of expectation that comes with being a first-round pick of the Oilers. The winger notched 35 points in just 23 games for the University of Wisconsin in 2020-21. But he only played 33 games for the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield last season, because of a wrist injury that required surgery. He then got the chance to make his debut for the team with his one-game playoff cameo.

“I got a little taste of it in the playoffs,” said Holloway. “I stayed hungry over the summer. And, my first camp, I think it’s been a lot of fun. The guys have been great and it’s good to get back into the season.”

Then, in the Oilers pre-season opener against the Winnipeg Jets, Holloway was the best player on the ice. Sure, the likes of Oilers stars Connor McDavid and