At No. 5 on the 2025-26 Edmonton Oilers top 10 prospects list is Kamloops Blazers forward and 2025 NHL Draft pick, Tommy Lafreniere. He follows up back-to-back goalies on our top 10 list with Samuel Jonsson and Eemil Vinni at No. 7 and 6 respectively.
Lafreniere was the Oilers first pick this past June at 83rd overall and may be the most underrated in the system at this point. His play at rookie camp, especially in the final game should have been a wake up call for fans showing what he can do.
He is an average sized right-shot centre at 6'0 174lbs but he plays a high energy two-way style that is very translatable to an NHL lineup. He has yet to break out offensively at the Western Hockey League (WHL) level, playing his rookie year last season scoring 56 points (24 goals, 32 assists) in 68 games with the Blazers.
Despite his style of play and intriguing breakout potential on top of being the Oilers first selection in June, Lafreniere has had seemingly very little hype or excitement surrounding him. This causes me to think he is underrated within the team's prospect pool.
Future outlook
It is almost a guarantee that Lafreniere will be sent back to the WHL to play with the Blazers for the upcoming 2025-26 season, even after being named to their training camp roster. Although he profiles well for the future, he still has a lot of raw abilities and will need to spend at least a couple more seasons developing and refining his game.
On top of the high motor and two-way game, Lafreniere appears to have some untapped offensive potential. He showed it in the rookie camp games, potting two goals in Sunday's match against the rival Flames. He is a player that occupies the middle lane very well and if he can add size to his frame, he could be a high end player in that area.
This upcoming year, the Blazers seem to want to be competitive and if they can, it could be a great environment for Lafreniere to develop in. This is especially true if he can take a big role with club and play as their top line centre potentially. Getting the ability to not only perform at a high level with skilled players but to also make a deep run would be great for his progress.
Going forward, hopefully Lafreniere whether he remains with the Blazers or not, he will hopefully be able to be an integral part of a teams centre core. He will hopefully be able to further develop his skillset and grow his play creation and play driving ability as this will help his future NHL potential.
NHL potential
At this stage, Lafreniere has some very good tools as previously mentioned. He has a very translatable game for a third line or bottom-six role in the NHL but also possesses some offensive abilities that could raise his ceiling. If Lafreniere is able to take the necessary steps in his development, he could even find himself as a second line or middle-six centre.
Regardless of where Lafreniere lands in the future, he should be able to be a long term NHL piece but over the next year or two, it will be vital in projecting exactly how far he could shoot. As of right now, he looks to have a lot of potential to breakout and prove to be the most underrated prospect in the Oilers system.