The Edmonton Oilers are entering the 2026-27 season with a chip on their shoulder for a variety of reasons. They have a new and highly controversial head coach in Mike Babcock along with a number of new faces.
Most importantly, they need to massively improve on last year's results, falling from their back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals appearances in 2024 and 2025 to losing in round one to the Anaheim Ducks this past season.
This improvement could be found from within as the Oilers have many candidates to take a next step from some of the younger players in their pipeline to some already on the squad.
Vasily Podkolzin
25 year old Russian winger Vasily Podkolzin was originally drafted 10th overall at the 2019 NHL Draft by the Vancouver Canucks. He struggled to break into a consistent NHL role while with the Canucks and was subsequently traded to the Oilers in August 2024 for a 2025 fourth round draft pick.
Since joining the Oilers, Podkolzin has consistently taken steps forward, finding chemistry alongside Oilers star Leon Draisaitl. He scored 24 points (eight goals, 16 assists) in 82 games in 2024-25 and then recorded a career best season in 2025-26, scoring 37 points (19 goals, 18 assists) through 82 games.
This upcoming season, it seems possible that he could once again top his career best season and finally eclipse the 40 point mark.
Trent Frederic
There is no hiding the fact that Trent Frederic has not performed well with the Oilers since he was acquired, and re-signed to an eight-year contract worth $3.825 million per season. The 28 year old powerforward has not lived up to the hype he arrived with after finding some success with the Boston Bruins, scoring 40 points in 2023-24.
In an Oilers uniform, across both the regular season and playoffs, Frederic has recorded just 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 101 games. This is not good enough for a player who carries a nearly $4 million cap hit.
This season, Frederic will undoubtedly have a chip on his shoulder and if he can find his way into the good graces under the new bench boss Mike Babcock, he could become a useful top-nine scorer for the Oilers. His style of play should lend itself well to playing alongside the Oilers' stars and gaining him some fans within Rogers Place.
Colton Dach
The newly acquired 23 year old Colton Dach was brought in at the trade deadline along with centre Jason Dickinson from the Chicago Blackhawks. The local product returns to his hometown team with many fans in the stands and in the front office according to some behind the scenes footage.
After his acquisition, he showed a lot of promise before being sidelined with an injury. He finished the regular season with the Oilers having scored four points (two goals, two assists) in eight games in limited usage, averaging just over 10 minutes of time on ice per game.
At just 23, Dach comes with a lot of potential runway and if he can work his way up the lineup, he could be a useful secondary piece for the Oilers going forward. He showed he can produce in a small role at the end of the season and it could be a glimpse of what the future holds.
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