Even today, there are still some people who are surprised that the Edmonton Oilers were able to snag Matt Savoie from the Buffalo Sabres, in exchange for Ryan McLeod and Tyler Tullio. And understandably so.
Even allowing for Savoie being largely unproven at this stage -- making just one NHL appearance last season to date -- the intriguing upside is clearly there for all to see. Among other things he has blazing speed, while his offensive skill set means he's just as good setting up others as he is scoring goals himself.
Selected ninth overall in the 2022 entry draft by the Sabres, there had been some suggestion beforehand that Savoie could be picked first. In this respect, you can ask why Buffalo's NHL team let him leave, but at this point it's not worth trying to figure out what this franchise does, seemingly lurching from one disaster to the next.
A top rated prospect in Edmonton
In any event, the Oilers are grateful to have the 20-year-old, who is currently ranked as the number one prospect in their organisation. To give some more idea of how special he is, consider an offseason top 100 rankings list by The Hockey Writers, which had him as the only Oilers prospect included. (Heck, they didn't even have a second prospect mentioned among any of the additional eight honourable mentions.)
Now this doesn't mean the Oilers don't have any other enticing prospects, with the likes of Beau Akey, Sam O'Reilly and Max Wanner all jumping to mind in no particular order. Still, Savoie remains number one, which brings to the mind the question of when he can expect to get his chance with the Oilers?
Well, based on recent performances, the St. Albert, Alberta native is doing his best to push for an opportunity sometime during the second half of the current NHL campaign. Pure and simple, he's been on a tear of late.
Warming up after an underwhelming start
Savoie started his first full AHL season well enough, with a point in each of his opening three games for the Bakersfield Condors. However, he then went on a stretch of just seven points in 15 subsequent games, to give him 10 points overall in 18 appearances.
It was after this that the switch seemed to flip on for Savoie, with everything suddenly falling into place, resulting in a run of 11 points in his nine most recent games. He's been particularly hot of late, with nine points (and a +6 rating) in his five past outings, including a season and career-high three assists in his last appearance on the road in San Diego at the weekend.
Of course, nine of this is any guarantee that the forward will be lacing up to play in Edmonton in the coming few months, especially when you consider all of the other options at the disposal of Kris Knoblauch. However, if he can continue to perform at his recent rate of productivity, he will at least force the Oilers coach to pay attention and give him some consideration.