Canada Prime Minister Carney takes ice at morning skate with Oilers

EDMONTON -- The Edmonton Oilers had a new face at their morning skate on Thursday, but he won't he won't be joining the lineup down the stretch of the regular season.

Mark Carney, the new prime minister of Canada, took a quick lap at the beginning of the optional skate and spent the remainder of it observing drills along the boards talking to Oilers goaltending coach Dustin Schwartz. Canada's 24th prime minster wore an Oilers jersey with the No. 24.

"It looks like he was a goalie with those goalie skates," Edmonton captain Connor McDavid said. "It's nice to have him here. He's a lifelong Oilers fan and Oilers fans are welcome here for sure. It's definitely a unique thing."

Carney was born in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, and raised in Edmonton. The 60-year-old was voted leader of the ruling Liberal Party on March 9, and five days later succeeded Justin Trudeau, who resigned.

Carney was a goalie growing up in Edmonton and played for Harvard University. He was teammates with former Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli and former defenseman Mark Benning.

McDavid was asked whether the Oilers tried to convince Carney to play goalie at the morning skate prior to their game against the Winnipeg Jets (9 p.m. ET; SNW, TSN3).

"I'm not sure his security detail would like that very much," McDavid said. "Obviously it's a unique thing to have him here and cool to meet him."

Coach Kris Knoblauch also appreciated having such a distinguished guest on hand.

"It was a special moment for the organization to have the prime minister out here with the team," Knoblauch said. "I assume not too many prime ministers are Oilers fans, so it's nice to have one that cheers for the good team."