The Edmonton Oilers made a lot of big trades this summer, shaking up their roster and shedding salary by moving established NHL pieces in Evander Kane and Viktor Arvidsson and letting multiple others walk as unrestricted free agents (UFA).
This has opened the door for multiple prospects within the club's system to take a step and prove their worthy of a job in the National Hockey League (NHL). There are already multiple pieces in the system pencilled into the opening night roster with new top prospect Ike Howard expected to have a big impact.
As well with prospect Matthew Savoie possibly putting himself into the Calder Trophy conversation as the NHL's top rookie. There are also a couple dark horse candidates to make the cut -- other than David Tomasek and even Atro Leppanen -- which is who we will be focusing on today.
Quinn Hutson
Quinn Hutson was signed as an NCAA free agent in the spring and was immediately given a two game cup of coffee with the Oilers at the end of the regular season. This not only showed that the team clearly sees something within the player but also helped to show the Oilers brass where he is at in terms of his development.
It was recently announced that he was picked as the Oilers representative to join the National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) rookie showcase in September. As of right now, it is uncertain of where he will play next season but the most likely landing spot for the college hockey standout is in the American Hockey League with the Bakersfield Condors. There, he will get a chance to fully adapt to the professional game and could be a call-up option throughout the year.
However, there is an alternate world where the team values his offensive skillset and he has a good training camp, impressing the Oilers brass and they keep him as a depth forward. He is most likely to break into the NHL as a top nine forward and this season with all of the turnover is as good a time as any to make an impression.
Noah Philp
Although stretching the definition of a prospect a bit as Noah Philp is 26, he has become a bit of a favourite amongst Oilers fans and has been a nice story, being in the organization since he was 23, after playing for the University of Alberta USports team. He seemed to be trending well in 2022-23 before announcing his retirement from the NHL and then returning to the organization in 2024.
Since coming back, he took some steps offensively with the Bakersfield Condors and even received a 15-game stint with the Oilers. Given some of the additions up front and with multiple other rookies to fill roles with the club, it seems unlikely that there is room for Philp as more than a 13th forward or call-up. This may not be true though.
The team has shown faith in the Canmore, Alberta product, he also shows some offensive upside as a secondary or tertiary offensive piece, likely filling a bottom-six role at the NHL level. There is definitely a world where Philp is able to grab and hold onto the fourth line centre role, or even as a player who is able to filter in and out of the lineup as a depth piece. His faceoff taking ability gives him a big edge in this case and could make him a valuable member of the depth.