The Edmonton Oilers prospect pool has seen major changes over the past year or so with many new additions and subtractions. Although so far this season, no addition or subtraction comes close to the ramifications of the Isaac Howard trade last summer which at the time saw plenty of grand proclamations about the Oilers stealing the former Hobey Baker winner, there have been some adds.
In arguably bigger news, there have been some losses as well. The Howard acquisition itself saw the Oilers lose Sam O'Reilly, a fact that has given some people a case of buyer's remorse. There have also been some key graduations along with others aging out of 'prospect' status by most definitions.
Graduates and players that aged out
Matt Savoie, a player that we ranked first on our 2025 Oilers prospect rankings and deservedly so. At just 22 years old, he played a full NHL season and scored just shy of 40 points. He also saw major leaps in his performance down the stretch and had he played a full season the way his ended, he would have recorded 60 or more points.
Oilers centre Josh Samanski is another player who seems to have graduated from the Oilers prospect pool, or who is at the very least on that track. He played 24 games to end the season and featured in all six playoff games. It will depend on the Oilers newly hired head coach Mike Babcock but Samanski has shown he is NHL ready and could become a key part of the Oilers forward core going forward.
Depth defenceman Alec Regula has aged out of being an Oilers prospect and will be 26 by the time training camp rolls around. He also played the most games in a single season of his career in 2025-26 and has shown capable of filling in when needed. He is likely high up on the recall list, assuming the Oilers make no more moves to their defensive core.
Outside of the players who aged out or graduated, there are a number of players where the writing seems to be on the wall that they are not NHL bound.
Players whose ship has sailed
Highly anticipated Oilers prospect Maxim Beryozkin gave fans some heartbreaking news when he re-signed with his KHL club, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl a few months back and now the likelihood that he comes overseas seems bleak. At 24 years old, he has been a crucial part of a club that has now captured two Gargarin Cups back-to-back. This news alone severely hurt his stock and arguably takes him out of the pool in general.
Similar to Beryozkin, the soon-to-be 24 year old Roby Jarventie has signed with the Swiss National League's HC Ambri-Piotta but the Oilers will retain his restricted free agent rights. He has struggled with injuries and despite a few cups of coffee in the NHL, has struggled to have real staying power, playing just three games in an Oilers uniform last season.
Another Russian prospect, Maxim Denezhkin is 25 years old and like the other two, is locked up in Europe next season with his contract ending in 2028. He was always a bit of a longshot despite his abilities and breakout potential, at this point he seems unlikely to ever come over and will remain in Russia for the forseeable future.
A player who showed a lot of potential following his selection at the 2021 NHL Draft, Matvey Petrov was left unqualified by the Oilers and has signed with Spartak Moscow of the KHL for next season. Especially for a player whose offensive skillset was his calling card, he struggled to adapt to the professional game, never surpassing the 20 point mark in a single season at the American Hockey League level.
These players not panning out and leaving or graduating as Oilers prospects is sure to hurt the quality of the pool but after their recent draft and with some key acquisitions and signings, they have been able to inject talent into their pool. Like always, it is a waiting game and we will see if the Oilers prospect pool is truly better now than it was last season.
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