EDMONTON, Alberta — When the Edmonton Oilers won the Western Conference championship in Dallas, star center Leon Draisaitl took out his phone to FaceTime a friend: teammate Zach Hyman, who had suffered a season-ending wrist injury earlier in the series.

“It caught me off guard. I was crying. It was really emotional. It meant the world to me,” Hyman said Wednesday, hours before the Oilers were scheduled to open their Stanley Cup Final rematch against the Florida Panthers.

Hyman said he’ll travel with the Oilers throughout the series, offering whatever advice and encouragement he can while being unable to play.

“He’s a very strong emotional leader to our team. He holds things together,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “So yeah, to say that we’re going to miss him is an understatement.”

Hyman was injured in Game 4 against Dallas after an awkward collision with Stars forward Mason Marchment. The 32-year-old winger was diagnosed with a dislocated wrist and had surgery. He said he anticipates that he’ll be ready for the start of the 2025-26 season.

“I knew it wasn’t good when I got hit. Right away I felt my wrist go on me,” Hyman said. “When you’re a player, you think there’s a chance you can play through it. Not to go into the details, but I quickly realized that this was something that needed surgery, that I couldn’t fight through.”

Hyman said it was difficult emotionally after realizing his season was over. Oilers captain Connor McDavid was the first player to see him after his injury.

“He called me over and gave me a hug. That’s when I broke down,” Hyman said.

From a tactical standpoint, the Oilers will miss Hyman against the Panthers. He had five goals and six assists in 15 games playing on Edmonton’s top line with McDavid. He’s a disturbing presence in front of an opponent’s net and a physical one all over the ice, leading the playoffs with 111 hits. That would have been key against the bruising Panthers.

The Oilers have used veteran winger Corey Perry on the top line with McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Knoblauch said the team could also turn to options such as Connor Brown and Viktor Arvidsson.

“We’ve got a lot of guys,” Knoblauch said. “Those guys collectively are going to try and erase our memories of Zach Hyman.”

Off the ice, Hyman was an inspiring presence. After the Oilers lost in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to the Panthers last season, Hyman declared in the depressed dressing room that “I know we’re going to be back.” That became a rallying cry for his teammates, who eventually made his words prophetic.

“I truly felt like, as a group, having gone through what we went through last year, I knew we had a hunger and a fire to get back to this point. Not just get back here but to win,” he said.

Now, the Oilers are also trying to win for Hyman.

“A big reason for us to win is for him. He’s certainly a guy we’ll be fighting for on the ice,” center Adam Henrique said.