As we enter the 2025-26 National Hockey League (NHL) season, there are plenty of prospects set to compete for the Calder Memorial trophy as the league's rookie of the year.
This includes a number of recent high draft picks such as; Ivan Demidov, Matthew Schaefer, Michael Misa, Zayne Parekh, Artyom Levshunov, Ryan Leonard, and more. On the Oilers, there are two players that should find themselves amongst this group being Matt Savoie and Ike Howard.
NHL.com recently put out a 'rookies to watch in NHL this season' listing 14 rookies. Rightfully they listed Matt Savoie, who was recently ranked No. 1 on our Oilers top 10 prospects ahead of this year. He was selected ninth overall at the 2022 NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres and was acquired last summer by the Oilers.
The list however did not include the 2025 Hobey Baker winner, Ike Howard who the Oilers acquired back in July from the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Howard is a top prospect
Howard was drafted in the first round, 31st overall at the 2022 NHL Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning. He spent the past three years in the NCAA before he was traded to the Oilers in a one-for-one prospect swap for Oilers 2024 first round pick, Sam O'Reilly.
The scouting report on him at the time was that he was a raw player who possessed quick feet and some legitimate talent and vision. He spent his Freshman 2022-23 season at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, scoring six goals and 11 assists for 17 points in 35 games. This was a disappointing year and caused him to transfer to Michigan State University.
There, Howard took off more than doubling his point totals as a Sophomore scoring 36 points (eight goals, 28 assists) in 36 games and then this past season smashing those totals with 26 goals and 26 assists for 52 points in 37 games.
He won the Hobey Baker award as the NCAA's Most Valuable Player at 21 years old. He has put in work to build and refine his game, adding a lethal scoring element to make him a true dual-threat player. This has pushed him into being named a top prospect, recently ranking 19th league wide by NHL.com.
Howard looks to be impactful for the Oilers
The Oilers have went through plenty of turnover this past summer and being able to bring in fresh faces in Howard and Savoie should have a great impact on the team. Howard especially has shown he is capable of producing offence in a variety of ways.
Howard spoke extensively about the opportunity that being traded to the Oilers affords him, especially the possibility of playing alongside Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl saying "I think that's an unreal opportunity. I don't think you can get any better than that," adding "Those are two of the best players in the world; they could be the two best. It's pretty incredible. I can't wait to share the ice with those guys and pick their brain."
If he can pick their brain right, he could find himself as a Calder Trophy candidate by season's end, or even better, a Stanley Cup champion.