5 Things Oilers Fans Might Not Know About Ryan

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (RNH) has been an Edmonton Oiler for so long that it’s easy to think we know everything about him. He was the first-overall pick in 2011. He came into the NHL as a teenager. He played through some pretty bad Oiler teams, then stuck around long enough to play with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

But there are still a few things about RNH that might surprise you. Here are five.

1. Nugent-Hopkins grew up a Canucks fan.

Yep. The Edmonton Oiler grew up in Burnaby cheering for Vancouver. Nugent-Hopkins played his minor hockey in the area and came through the Vancouver hockey system. Then Edmonton took him first overall in 2011. So the kid who grew up watching the Canucks ended up spending his entire NHL career with the Oilers. Hockey has a funny way of working out sometimes.

2. Nugent-Hopkins was sandwiched between two other No. 1 picks.

The Oilers took Taylor Hall first overall in 2010. Then came Nugent-Hopkins in 2011. Then Nail Yakupov in 2012. Three straight years of picking first overall. That was the Edmonton rebuild in a nutshell. The Oilers kept adding young, highly touted players and hoping they would eventually figure out how to turn all that talent into a winning team. RNH was right in the middle of it.

3. Nugent-Hopkins had to wait 12 years to score 100 points.

This one is a little surprising. Nugent-Hopkins didn't score 100 points until the 2022-23 season, when he finished with 104. It was his 12th NHL season. For a first-overall pick, that's certainly not the usual path. But it also tells you something about RNH. He didn't have to become a superstar who scored 100 points every year to become an important player. He just kept finding ways to help.

4. Nugent-Hopkins has played his entire NHL career in Edmonton.

This is actually pretty remarkable. Nugent-Hopkins has now played more than 1,000 NHL games, and every one of them has been with the Oilers. Think about all the changes he's seen. Different coaches. Different teammates. Different general managers. Terrible teams. Better teams. Connor McDavid arriving. Stanley Cup runs. And RNH has just kept going.

5. Nugent-Hopkins has done some pretty important work away from hockey.

Nugent-Hopkins and his wife, Breanne, have been strong supporters of cystic fibrosis awareness, research and treatment. That work has been important to them for years. In 2025, Nugent-Hopkins received the King Charles III Coronation Medal for his work with the cause. He was also nominated for the NHL's King Clancy Memorial Trophy in 2018.

The bottom line about Nugent-Hopkins.

So when you think about RNH, there's more to the story than what happens between the whistles. And maybe that's the best thing about Nugent-Hopkins. He arrived in Edmonton as a first-overall pick who was supposed to help turn the franchise around. Instead, he became something perhaps just as important. He became the constant.