The Edmonton Oilers preseason got underway, and in doing so gave everyone a chance to see new evidence. We all fancy ourselves as able to see talent and project it into the future, and the truth is Oilers fans who post on this blog are a smart bunch. What did you notice? Here’s my take.

THOUGHTS ON GAME ONE, PRESEASON

I always like to divide prospects into two categories. First, those we expect to do well in these games, due to age and or draft pedigree. The more important group are those who are teenagers and playing against older, more experienced men.

So it is predictable for me to lead with my thoughts on young center Sam O’Reilly. Chosen in the first round of the 2024 draft (No. 32, there’s no guarantee he’ll play 100 NHL games from that spot, let alone 500 or 1,000), O’Reilly showed great skill on his goal. Speed, taking a pass, ligtning quick hands to go back-to-forehand and then a fine shot to cash. He is doing the things without the puck that smart players do out of the box, and I’m encouraged by his on-ice intelligence. He played on a line with Drake Caggiula and Raphael Lavoie, the trio posting a 5-1 HDSC edge in 11 minutes of work. The line was 1-0 goals.

William Nicholl keeps showing up in good ways. I noticed him in Penticton and he did it again last night. Effective on a line with Jayden Grubbe and Cameron Wright, Nicholl’s individual totals included 14:55 playing time at five-on-five, third-most among forwards. He has good speed, can make plays and is aware of the situation in real time. Don’t look past Nicholl no matter how sparse his playing time this week. He’s a player.

Matthew Savoie had a nice chance, created a rebound and showed well in just 12 minutes at even strength. He also had a fine look on the power play and won some faceoffs. He’s quick and in the play often. His line (James Hamblin, Vasily Podkolzin) dominated at five-on-five (13-2 Corsi events five-on-five) and were unlucky to be 0-1 goals.

Among established players, I thought the defense showed well. Ty Emberson and Travis Dermott couldn’t stop a nice sequence that resulted in the first GA (no fault to my eye on the goal for Olivier Rodrigue, it was a late tip) but other than that it was clear sailing. Emberson had one HDSC, two shot blocks and a couple of hits at five-on-five, this pairing had a clean slate in 1:07 on the PK. Dermott looked good, too, played a steady game. I think he has a chance here.

Cam Dineen was the offensive star of the game, the pass to O’Reilly was pure shiv to the defense and thrilled the fan base. I’m sure the men in suits responsible for the procurement of both men were well pleased, too. Dineen has been doing fine work for this organization in helping Max Wanner along, perhaps he gets rewarded with some games during the regular season this year.

Vasily Podkolzin was fast and physical, made a huge play on the winner. I don’t know that he’s going to score a bunch (most of the forwards over 21 are not gifted with a scoere’s touch) but you can see a role for him.

Noah Philp was 9-3 in the dot, drew a penalty, had a HDSC and is absolutely going to push for work in this training camp. I thought he might be a recall this winter, now I’m sure of it.

Raphael Lavoie scored a goal from the high high part of the offensive zone, outside the circle on the left side. He can beat good goalies clean. I thought he was physical but the defensive sense that someone like O’Reilly already shows doesn’t come naturally to this player. I’m cheering for him.

Jayden Grubbe is tough and gritty and smart and does things you know the coach notices. If there’s a young forward on this roster who does more good things away from the puck than Grubbe I can’t see it. I’d like to see him penalty kill in one of these games before he heads to Bakersfield. I like him plenty.

One final note: I think Logan Stanley is at a career crossroads with the Jets. I’d love to see him in the Oilers organization. I suspect he’s going to have a career despite the wobble in Manitoba.

We hit the ground running today at noon, Sports 1440. We’ll discuss last night’s game, preview both tilts tonight, talk NFL and CFL weekend and rave over Shohei Ohtani’s running wild. I’m at Lowetide on twitter, in the comments section here and on the Sports 1440 text line at 1.833.401.1440 directly.