Last September, I had 10 rookies of interest for the Oilers. Matt Savoie’s reasonable expectations (13-24-37) were a close match for his actual factual season (18-19-37), but I was too strong on predictions for Ike Howard, David Tomasek and Noah Philp. Please read this.
Last year had two substantial offensive prospects, but this year’s group is more leather than wood. Here’s an early look at the Oilers 2026-27 rookie class.
Total rookies: I count 14. Josh Samanski, Viljami Marjala, Connor Clattenburg, Owen Michaels, Quinn Hutson, Eduards Tralmaks, William Nicholl, Damien Carfagna, Tomas Cibulka, Atro Leppanen, Connor Ungar, Samuel Jonsson, Aku Raty and Eemil Vinni.
Total rookies of interest for NHL purposes in 2026-27: Samanski, Marjala, Clattenburg, Michaels, Hutson, Tralmaks, Carfagna, Leppanen, Raty. That’s nine. Not everyone will play of course, and some of these men are real outliers. However, I don’t know why Raty (as an example) was signed but maybe the team has an idea about how he’ll fit in. Tralmaks fits the same description, but we know a little more about him.
How many do you think will play? For this year’s reasonable expectations, I have Samanski (51 games) and Hutson (12). I completely faded the other rookies, giving their games to players like Max Jones, who are not rookies but would seem to have an edge early and that could last all year. The Mike Babcock uncertainty looms large.
2026 draft notes: After an impressive 2025 list, I thought the Oilers drafted players who appear to be offensively challenged. Historically, that’s a bad itdea. Rudolfs Berzkalns looks exactly like a guy who does everything but score. You can find those guys in week two of free agency. We’ll see. Rick Pracey has done fine work with names like Tommy Lafreniere and Asher Barnett, maybe he’s found a secret formula. Math is not a fan of the 2026 Oilers draft, although Malcom Gastrin is intriguing.
Best player as a rookie: It has to be Samanski. I wrote about him yesterday, and there’s much to like. I don’t think he’ll get much of an offensive push, and don’t see him as a player who is going to catch a wave offensively with depth wingers.
Second best player as a rookie: Hutson has an increased chance with Matt Savoie’s injury, but honestly we don’t know how well Hutson will show in camp. If he’s faster than a year ago? There’s a chance. 30 goals as an AHL rookie is impressive, but those 30 goals as a rookie came at age 23. At this point, he is what he is. Still might be good enough to grab a job and he does have a two-way reptutation.
Oldest player: Eduards Tralmaks among a mature group. Tralmaks is 29, one month younger than Connor McDavid. I keep reading about analytics loving him, but the math challenged can love him, too. He’s 6.04, 225 and a first-shot scorer. Can he make the NHL? I’m thinking not, but what the hell do I know? A big player for Bakersfield is more likely.
Most unusual story: Owen Michaels is the only righthanded center coming to camp (as of now) and that’s a massive advantage. Among the outliers, he has the best chance to stick because of it. I would put his chances at less than five percent, but college men (he is 24) are often the ones who surprise.
Longest career: I’ll list Samuel Jonsson, Damien Carfagna and Samanski. I had all rated high in the winter and I think they’ll all play in the NHL. Only Samanski this year, though. Berzkalns is the type of player who could play a long time, plus Lafreniere, Barnett and David Lewandowski from the 2025 draft have a chance.
Anything else? Last September, I wrote “We all know some, or even most, won’t make it, but we’re talking about playing in a single game. Olivier Rodrigue qualified for that list a year ago, and made it. You never know who spent the summer running up that hill (Kate Bush aside). I had four newcomers playing at least a game in my reasonable expectations, it could be more. Hell, Connor Clattenburg could make the NHL for a game. Opportunities can appear for all manner of players.” It happened just that way.
Anything else else? Offense is the Achilles of this crop, but there are some players who should be able to score in the NHL. Equivalencies suggest Raty (41 points in 82 games NHLE), Hutson (37 points in 82 games NHLE, including 18 goals), Marjala (33 points in 82 games NHLE), Leppanen (29 points in 82 games NHLE), Samanski (27 points in 82 games NHLE), Tralmaks (26, including 16 goals), William Nicholl (22 points NHLE), Damien Carfagna (13 points NHLE), Clattenburg (5 points NHLE).
Raty and Leppanen numbers stand out. Yes, and Raty is a righthanded winger on a team that could use more. He has speed and skill, but is also 25 and has moved around often. Leppanen is interesting, high skill for sure but Babcock isn’t going to add chaos and the left side defense is beyond full at the NHL level.
On the Lowdown today, our feature guest is Bagged Milk, and we’ll talk about the Oilers training camp roster. We’ll chat Elks, big game coming up Labour Day in Calgary, plus NFL and a massive fine for an NBA team. Noon to 2pm, Sports 1440 and You Tube.
Which Oilers wingers could step up during Matt Savoie’s early-season absence?
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7554401/2026/09/02/oilers-matt-savoie-injury-winger-replacement/
I am probably more bullish on Howard than most but I believe he has the skill to play in the top six and power play with his release. Samanski will hopefully show more offensively this year – starting with taking a shot on goal more than once every third game.
i wonder if Hutson will earn a look, and if his defensive skill is good enough for a bottom 6 role, he’s not big, but a lot of players who are scorers as prospects translate into decent third line players. Andrew Cogliano is the obvious example of that. Not sure if his skating is good enough, though.
Hutson may have a roster spot with 3 newly opened spots.
We had 10 locks 5 players vying for 3 spots (carrying 13F due to 3 goalies.
Now there are 9 locks and potentially 6 sports for the 5 due to 14F (Hutson being the 6th – the 1st guy from the next tier).
With that said, Hutson is not as strong a defensive player as many seem to think – he has the skill and smarts but, per his AHL coach, doesn’t work as hard in the defensive zone as he does the offensive zone
OK everybody, I logged back on because there are reports that Hellebuyck would accept a trade to Edmonton.
I have been banging this drum on an occasional basis for years. I’m now going to bang it on a constant basis.
Hockey is mostly goalie and goalies are mostly voodoo. But Hellebuyck is money in the bank. Even after a mediocre 2025-26 season on a dispirited Jets team, he had 104 goals saved above average in the three years before that. That alone is a near-Hall-of-Fame career. Each of those seasons, relative to an average goalie, was worth 10 to 12 points in the standings. Relative to actual Oilers goalies, they were probably worth 15-18 standings points. Adding those points to the mediocre 2025-26 Oilers makes them one of the Top 4 teams in the league. Adding those points to the 2023-24 Oilers win them the President’s Trophy by 5 points.
Remind me again, how many goals were we short of winning the 2024 Stanley Cup?
I don’t care what it costs to acquire him. (And I say this as someone who liked our goalie acquisitions this off-season.) Just do it.
(And for those who cite playoff Hellebuyck…the man made the most Championship win probability added save in hockey history, against Devon Toews in the Gold Medal game. Do you think we could have used that against Sam Reinhart in 2024 G7? Or Brad Marchand in 2025 G1/2/3/5?)
Reputable repots?
To get a reputable repot, you must ensure the plant’s root system is healthy and intact.
Sportsnet’s Sean Reynolds, who covers the Jets, tells the Bleed Oil Blue Podcast that he believes Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck would accept a trade to the Edmonton Oilers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=60MYcIJHchE
Stauff calls Samanski a big wild card again tonight – saying he could see him making the team but also starting in Bakersfield.
I simply don’t get how the opening plan can’t be him playing nightly and on the PK – based on current roster, what he did last year and his progression.
He says Howard isn’t a wildcard and he’s a lock due to the Savoie injury.
Maybe Friedman is going to be moving on – just posted a story with the background song “sailing” and the caption “17 years. Yeah, I don’t know, either”.
Re Bagged Milk’s surprise at Bowman’s McD+Drai logic
Deja vu all over again: this is what coach told us last fall, that starting the season w McDrai on the same line would give more time for others (and especially others he wasn’t familiar with). It’s not a new thing.
The more I hear, the more I expect we’re going to see some familiar things with this team this early season. I fully expect “training camp” to extend into October. Maybe later. The coach will be figuring out who he’s got. Then, how he’s going to then integrate Savoie when he’s healthy.
Maroon-McDavid-Draisaitl was a great great line. The first time we’ve seen a major outscoring line in Edmonton.
Realistically a loaded up top line can work for the team as a whole if:
1)McDavid and Draisaitl have the right linemate. I’m interested to see what Howard and/or Savoie can bring.
2) The 2nd line is a legitimate threat. With Podz, Nuge, and Hyman I think that’s the case.
Last year’s Frederic-97-29 line was an attempt to re-create the Maroon effect. I won’t be surprised if Babcock tries I again if Freddie is back to 100% health.
Podz-McDavid-Draisaitl sounds super duper to me .
Pod can create space on the 3rd line. Babcock is going to roll 4 limes with PK and PP splitting it up. Have 5 different players for PP2 give them 45 seconds with a completely different look then PP1. Have Walman QB it like he did in San Jose where he was cock of the block. If PP 2 is unsuccessful roll Leon-Connor-Jones next 5on5 shift. Give the opposition new looks K.K was good to begin with but he didn’t adapt. Our 3 on 3 in OT was better with Roslovic out there. No way we shouldn’t win 75% of OT games but you can’t allow Connor-Leon 2 minutes shifts how many times were they gassed and coughed up the puck with the other team burning us the other way.
McDavid-Leon-Mad Max. Best line in hockey now make it happen Bowman.
Party pooper.
Maybe. I’m just mystified by the short memories here in Oilerville.
Plus, I don’t think a strong start means much.
Except the last coach didn’t actually play those other players and part of it was chasing games and chasing the season so early.
Babcock has an actual history in the league doing what the plan appears to be.
I’m not sure what you’re saying. You say, “Babcock has an actual history in the league of doing what the plan is.”
My understanding of “the plan” is that, as Bowman acknowledged, as McD and Draisaitl will play more than others, putting them on the same line means more minutes left for others. This was the last coach’s rationale in the fall when he had the task of somehow integrating a number of new faces into the lineup. Others, mostly familiar and trusted faces, did play those non McDrai minutes. The new and untested, less minutes. Who are you saying Knoblauch didn’t play?
To me it looks and sounds like what we’ve heard before. The coach will load up on his star (winning, scoring) line. He’ll use the early season to test drive unfamiliar and less known players and lines. Depending on performance, he’ll lean more heavily on the players he comes to trust, and he’ll fade less trustworthy players.
I may be missing something.
ps. I just read your comments below about Knoblauch not creating roles, players not feeling important. I wonder if that was something that happened over last season when chasing wins/season seemed to foreclose anything but desperation, or his method, generally. Again, I’m curious how this coach deals with this team and this context.
The last coach didn’t play the other players more – when he loaded up, he generally did it chasing the game and played the McDavid/Drai line every 2nd or 3rd shift, faded a 4th line completely and played a 3rd line sparingly.
Babcock has a history of playing his entire lineup and that’s what he says he’s going to do. In Toronto, Matthews often played between 17:30-18:30 average TOI/G – total.
We’ve heard things before but we have a new coach who has done things before.
Thank you. I had a quick look at a very small sample of early games last year. McDrai’s TOI isn’t much more than your Matthews numbers. But those numbers didn’t show game state. So no accounting for chasing and fading.
I am looking forward to seeing what new coach does.
How are we doing for youth? we have the two skilled utes in:
Howard 22 and Savoie 23 upside potential middle of the pack top 6
Dach 23
Hutson 24
Samanski 24 group of potential bottom 6 value players
Clattenburg – 21 might bring more offense than Jones or Dach and fill that bottom 6 energy role.
We need more. Are there any younger players struggling that might be available to scoop? Need to steal one struggling but very good player. Evan at cost, they should try and find another 22 year old player. Who could be a target?
For those who may have missed it, Forbes reporting that the Edmonton Oilers have the highest average ticket prices at $US240 per. Honestly it’s not even close with the Leafs a distant second at $170.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DceK1epxmTT/?igsi=ODNsMXpteTIyd25k
Ticket (and concession) prices in Edmonton are a total travesty imo, especially in light of the arena funding model. But this is what billionaires do. They build with other people’s money and then squeeze til it hurts when demand outstrips supply.
A barely tenable model with the most entertaining player in the league playing for the home team. Will be interesting to see how it shakes out when that’s no longer the case.
The market is willing to pay – you expect the owner to intentionally make less money?
Perhaps there is some knowledge that the most valuable individual asset within his organization is at its peak value and will diminish in value over time and the price the public is willing to pay me diminish in lock-step?
The market is willing to pay for now, but it is corporate driven and most average fans were long ago priced out. I’d be curious to know how many non corporate seats are held and the average age of those seat holders. Corporate seats are driven by the economy, there’s risk there. I suspect most of the non-corporate seats are held by older ticket holders. I could be wrong, but whether or not the owner should make less money is really a question of whether a bit less money now might create a more sustainable model in the future. I went to a lot of games in the 90s, when/if McDavid leaves and the rebuild is on this team will be extremely vulnerable to any economic changes that reduce corporate seats. All that said, I wonder how much the loge seats inflate this ticket price.
Also, it sort of sucks that most families can’t attend. My wife and I are firmly upper middle class and with two kids we don’t have the discretionary income to go as a family. Regular season, I would never dream of paying playoff prices.
It may very well be corporate drive and not sustainable and, when/if then comes true, prices will be re-jigged accordingly, right?
Honestly, a family of 4 is better off going to Cali and watching the Oilers play the Sharks, Kings, and Ducks on a western roadtrip. You can get some fun in the sun and take in a trio of games for the same price you’d pay to watch the Oil here in the dead of winter.
Avalanche owner Stan Kroenke is, by far, the richest owner in the league and paid for his own arena without a massive taxpayer subsidy.
He also owns the NBA Denver Nuggets,NFL Los Angeles Rams, MLB Los Angeles Angels for whom he is about to build a new stadium, as well as several other pro sports franchises.
Not only has he paid for his own stadiums but he recently spent $5.5 billion on SoFi stadium for the Rams and Chargers and he also funds his radio and tv networks through Altitude Sports rather than sell the rights to a broadcast conglomerate like Rogers.
The Avalanche have the 27th highest average ticket price at $67 despite having premium “assets” as you call them in MacKinnon, Makar, Necas and Landeskog.
Worth noting that his Denver Nuggets have an average ticket price of $219 while the Lakers charge $700 with the Celtics and Knicks not far behind.
It seems he is much more interested in ALL of his fanbase as opposed to squeezing every last dollar out of them.
As usual, your take is laughable. If you think Kroenke is some benevolent owner just look at his move of the Rams from St. Louis.
Ticket prices are set by what the market will tolerate. Edmonton, with no real sports competition and with hockey’s #1 player will pay a premium for the privilege of watching. Denver is not the same hockey mad city as Edmonton, and has far more premier sports assets that Americans would rather watch, especially the NBA and NFL. Hockey ticket prices simply reflect that reality.
As long as Edmontonians are willing to pay, a business owner has the obligation to the shareholders (even if it’s just one) to charge what the market will bear. As the product’s popularity declines (McDavid leaves, team loses etc.) prices will adjust accordingly. That is the capitalistic way.
That’s not capitalism, it’s monopolist grifting.
Montreal is the most hockey mad city in the NHL and has the highest average attendance and its ticket prices are less than half that being charged by the Oilers,
And Montreal also doesn’t have any significant pro sports competition.
The Bell Centre was also 100% privately financed and did not rely on taxpayers footing a huge amount of construction costs like was done in Edmonton.
Average income in Edmonton is material higher than Montreal – in the 22% range.
This. We’re not talking about just high ticket prices here. We’re talking about the highest prices in the league by a significant margin.
Comparing average earnings between cities is laughable when the major markets are all cheaper than Edmonton.
It’s pure unadulterated greed in a high inflation era when disposable incomes are already squeezed.
Of course the owner can charge what he wants. That doesn’t make obvious greed cool or morally justifiable however. He cries poor when it’s time to build the arena then charges admission like it’s water in the Sahara once it’s built. Solid grift
Compare the Oiles to the Kings where they are, what, the 15th top ticket in town? You right, the comparison is laughable.
Always interesting when a business maximizing profits for a non-essential product is alluded to as greed.
The market sustains the product price. Lots cannot afford, similar to many products and services.
Funny how a sports team is a “non-essential product” when the owner is charging the highest prices in the league, but it’s a “public trust” when they demand arena money.
Not to mention the Owner also taking (under threat of relocating the team) the concert revenues from the city from one of the busiest venues in North America.
Spin for K all you like. Most people in this City are smart enough to understand the realities behind the arena “deal” and the subsequent prices in this market.
It’s the market 1 out 10 people in Denver know who Makar-MacKinnon are. Now do that in Edmonton with McDavid-Leon
What’s most likely and reasonable is that he’s charging what the market will sustain for that product. There is no correlation between the Avs market and the Oilers nor the Nuggets and the Lakers.
Spot on.
Im out.
Couldn’t agree more. They’ve priced the middle class out of attending Oilers games to fill a billionaires already full pockets.
You would not believe how many people scalp half their season tickets and go to the other half for free. If I’m in town and I want to see a game and I don’t have tickets why does it offend you if I want to pay double the cost of the ticket.
That is the price on the ticket. The season ticket price is significantly less.
Not that it matters when you want to buy tickets for a single game.
It also allows the season ticket holders to sell at the face value, for a profit, without it being scalping
There will be surprises always is with a new coach. Who know what becomes of Hyman and few other long shots under Babcock in Toronto. Someone brought up Raty you never know with hardworking Finns. My pick to pop this year is Mad Max. I would love to see Howard get 25 plus yet Hutson may be more appealing for Babcock. My main man Clattenburg is also going to some action as well this year. I would also love to see Collage Man not Collage Boy Owen Michaels play meaningful games as well. Bowman is not shy calling up players from the AHL. This is why he leaves room on the cap you also must consider waiver eligibility when doing the Lido Shuffle.
i had no idea that owen michaels was so artistic and was known for his collages!
It’s an under-appreciated art form.
”Someone brought up Raty”
That was me. I also brought up a certain Latvian, but I won’t be bring either of them up, until we’ve seen their work this month.
I am very optimistic that they both show up very well this month.
Yes Raty and the Latvian may just fit in with puck pressure possession new look Oil team.
I listened to that podcast today – thank you.
Awesome dude – he REALLY wants to play in the NHL – will be looking forward to getting eyes on him.
There is now room for a second tier forward prospect on the team if they go with 14F (Hutson, Tralmaks, Marjala, Michaels, Raty)
Amazon has just revealed its TV schedule for Wednesday night Hockey on Prime.
All televised games involve at least 1 Canadian team.
MON -7
TOR – 6
EDM – 5
WPG – 4
OTT – 4
CGY – 4
VCR – 2
The schedule seems geared toward capturing the highest possible ratings as it should be.
Oct 21 – Flames @ Oilers
Dec 16 – Oilers @ Bruins
Mar 3 – Oilers @ Flames
Mar 24 – Sharks @ Oilers
Mar 31 – Oilers @ Jets
https://x.com/SportsOnPrimeCA/status/2095543597932155167?s=20
Is something like this appealing?
Nuge-McDavid-Hyman
Podz-Leon-Kapanen
Bunting-Dickinson-Savoie
Dach-Samanski-Frederic
All the pieces fit together. But is Bunting any better than Max Jones? And can Nuge still perform at a high enough level to be a top line winger? And is Howard going to fit somewhere? Still lots of questions?? Still a month away LOL.
LT started it, but for years now in September I like to look at the roster and ask the question; “Is it enough??
Add in the defence:
Ekholm – Bouchard
Walman – Murphy
Shea – Emberson
Anderson / Levi / Jarry
Is it enough? Enough to win the division or more?
I like it more than any roster to date. I liked it going into playoffs pre-injuries.
And always “it depends” On improvement, regression, injury, goalie…ect
I see a lot resting on Walman, Levi, Dickinson this year.
Someone will underperform or be injured. BUT, this year the dollars and cap space will be available to fill in the gaps with a very good player.
I’m looking forward to seeing how it all fits together . We won’t know if it’s enough until the final game of the season. So far I like what ì see. But I still worry about the goaltenders however as long as the team infront of them protects the house they should be fun to watch.
The Oilers are starting to get a reputation for bucking the math and drafting/acquiring “toolsy” offensively shy players who then develop some offensive chops.
Long story short, the Oilers seem to be developing an eye for the player who is about to “pop” offensively
They haven’t had the opportunity to pick in the first round recently. It’s probably a good idea to pick players that know their way around defensively, from where they’ve been picking anyway, and hope they develop some offensively.
Watch what they do…not what they say.
The Oilers have a grand total of 4 players on the roster who were drafted by the team.
Rather than draft and develop players they have opted instead to acquire players who were cast off from other teams.
The last player drafted by the Oilers who remains on the roster is Evan Bouchard in 2018.
In a recent post, Dennis King opined that their draft strategy should be to draft players who can fill support roles in the bottom 6 and bottom pair D to avoid their tendency to acquire more expensive players through trade or free agent signings.
It’s not working.
Another weak attempt by you to smear the Oilers.
Guess who else has 4: Panthers.
Guess who has 3: Avs
Hurricanes, 6.
Vegas, 2.
Guess what those teams have accomplished that the Oilers have not?
Which was my point that it is not working.
The 4 other teams you mentioned have won because they have more depth.
This was your point
Except you forgot to think about it and do some research. The Stanley Cup winning teams used the exact same strategy.
McDavid, Draisaitl, Bouchard & Nuge, not bad drafting when they draft in the top ten.
Carolina:
Sebastian Aho – 2nd round pick 35
Andrei Svechnikov – Top 10 pick
Seth Jarvis – 13th overall
Jackson Blake – 4th round pick 109
Alexander Nikishkin – 2rd round pick 69
Pyotr Kochetkov – 2nd round pick 36
It seems Carolina has been able to build a cup winner without relying on top 10 picks exclusively.
Luck of the draw.
Like the short exhibition season. Besides the extra game for the rookies against the Flames, it will be a quicker decision on the coaching staff to who makes it and who moves on.
As for the rookies unless the Oilers make a trade or sign someone before camp, I think you are correct ( especially with the injuries) in that Samanski will be in ( we are obviously not including Howard as a rookie anymore as he played lots of games). Depending on the coach who knows. Thinking with his talk of playing Drai and McD it could look like this.
Howard/McD/Drai. ( I think Howard needs to play with high end playmakers)
Pods/Nuge/Hyman ( I think Nuge needs 2 guys like this to help him drive that line)
Freddy/Dickenson/ Kappy ( I think we see a way better Freddy under Babcock)
Dach/Samanski/Joseph
Jones or Hutson as the spare till Savoie returns.
Sure Howard needs to play with high-end playmakers, that may be to his detriment.
Do you really think Babcock will force him with Connor & Leon?
However I could see Howard (possibly) with Nuge & Hyman and possibly Podz & McDavid & Leon. MAYBE.
Why would that be to his detriment?
What if he isn’t good enough to play with the high-end talent and can only play in the bottom six with Dickinson as his center?
It could be to his detriment if he’s not a capable two-way player.
What if he is good enough? He’s played with the top offensive players on his team (likely against the opposition’s best) since he was a teenager (except when Knob deployed him, the one time he struggled).
If he isn’t good there they pivot.
Wouldn’t he need to be more of a 2-way player to play with Dickinson than to play with McDavid and Drai?
Dickinson would not be the center I put Howard with. Dickinson is likely tasked with tough minutes and sawing off of outscoring by not giving up goals (as opposed to outscoring)
No one’s forcing anybody, just like to see him with those 2/
Howard played more regular season NHL games (28) than Samanski (24) who played 5 more in the playoffs.
Those are the lines Stauff has put out.
Presume Jones for 13F over Hutson.
If all 4 injured go on IR, they do have room for a 14th forward (but they may keep Stastney as 8D instead).
I don’t buy the short preseason advantage you’re promoting. On the upside, compared to last year, few new faces. Coaches familiar with the lineup should, indeed, be able to make solid decisions, quickly. On the downside, they’re all new faces to these new coaches. As I’ve said elsewhere, I expect “training camp” to extend into October.
We’ve already been told by Bowman that playing McDrai together gives others more ice time. That was the coach’s argument last fall, as he tried to figure out how his many new faces fit into a winning lineup.
If losses mount during this season’s “getting-to-know-you” phase, I expect McDrai to be tasked, again, with carrying extra duties.
Last coach didn’t use the other player, didn’t provide them roles nor make them “feel important”. The opposite has been talked about by the GM and head coach all offseason long.
Anyone heading to the rookie game next week against the Flames?
Probably.
Of the rookies of interest, I think the following play games this year:
Locks:
Samanski – lock for the opening roster with the injuries (should have been anyways)
Hutson
———–
Likely:
Michaels – I’m not sold on him at all but I think, given position and age, he could see a late season game
Clattenburg – could be similar to last year, however, if he actually plays hockey October-Dec, well, he could play more
————
I think Carfgana has a chance but he’s got a bunch to jump and I”m interested to see what Tralmaks and even Raty look like.
Beau Akey does not count as a rookie? I know would not be a rookie of interest, but he is a rookie.
I don’t believe the Oilers believe in him.
If he stays healthy this season, they might in a year.
He actually had a very strong 40 (apx) games (in a sheltered role) prior to that puck that shattered his face while he was sitting in the box – cratered the rest of his season.
When has he been healthy for an entire season?
He had zero shoulder issues last season and his injury was a freak accident while on the bench. No doubt injuries have been a thing but that doesn’t mean they will continue to be going forward. He’s only in his 2nd year pro this year.
He is still a rookie, even if the Oilers do not believe in him, and so would not be a rookie of interest.
Yes
NHL Prospect Tiers 2026-27: Scouts rank and project league’s top 145 young players:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7519279/2026/09/03/nhl-prospect-tiers-rankings-2026/