from Jonas Siegel of the CP at CTV,

On a conference call with scouts Thursday morning, Edmonton Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli broke down the team's progress from last season and found improvement in just about every area.

There has been remarkable growth for the Pacific division-leading Oilers, who had reeled off three straight wins heading into Friday's game against the Coyotes, including a hearty third period comeback effort in Colorado on Wednesday night. It was the first time all season that the club has won when trailing after two periods.

"I'm sure I can count on my hand the number of times we did it last year," Chiarelli said in a phone interview from Arizona.

The Oilers GM sees considerable change from a group that finished dead last in the Western Conference last season. The roster, for one, is quite different. Chiarelli brought in Milan Lucic and Kris Russell through free agency, traded Taylor Hall for defenceman Adam Larsson and drafted Finnish winger Jesse Puljajarvi with the fourth overall pick at the 2016 draft.

Then there's the presence of Connor McDavid, the NHL's leading scorer who missed almost half of last season with injury.

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