Bragg Creek's Dylan Holloway made a strong case last night to make the Edmonton Oilers' regular lineup.

The 21-year-old scored his first hattrick in an Oilers' jersey and added an assist in last night's 7-2 preseason win against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Place. 

It was his biggest scoring spree of the preseason and he now has four goals and two assists in four appearances.

“I saw that I was playing with Leon (Draisaitl) and Zach (Hyman), so obviously I was pretty excited," said Holloway in a post-game interview.  "And my adrenalin was going there right from the start. So yeah, super excited all day and just felt good.”

Along the way, he picked up the nickname "Hollywood" from teammate Tyson Barrie. 

"I don't mind it, I think it's pretty funny," he laughs. "Honestly, they can call me whatever."

After being picked 14th overall by the Oilers in the 2020 NHL draft, a wrist injury required surgery twice and he played 33 games with their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. He made his NHL debut in game four of the Western Conference Final against the Colorado Avalanche.

"Obviously last year was a long road rehabbing the wrist, but right now the wrist feels really good, it feels good shooting, and I'm not even thinking about it. I'm just out there playing hockey, which I love to do."

He expects the competition to get stiffer with the regular season set to start shortly.

"I just got to play simple, and play hard, kind of play pucks deep and take my chances when I get them."

The Oilers have two games remaining in their preseason before their regular season opener against the Canucks on Oct. 12.

The Oilers are in Abbotsford for a Wednesday night rematch with the Canucks, then host Seattle on Oct. 7.