“Well,” said Pooh, “what I like best,” and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn’t know what it was called.” A. A. Milne
I get the sense this year’s rookie games (Friday and Sunday) hold more than usual interest for Oilers fans. I’ve been yelling about the poor prospect pool for some time, and know from the comments section many of you share the worry.
The organization started to address the problem with the Matt Savoie trade, and Stan Bowman has made a concerted effort to make things go in amateur and pro procurement since his arrival in 2024.
I have an article coming out today at The Athletic (will post at the top of the comments) that identifies three ‘under the rader’ players for the camp, and for Bakersfield in 2025-26. If even one of those players emerges, it will have been a successful season. The Oilers don’t need 20 prospects to pop, but do need a goalie, at least one defenseman and a forward following Matt Savoie and Ike Howard. That would be a grand start.
I will post lines and pairings when they come available, if you see them, post in the comments and I’ll add them to this piece. I wanted to go back a decade and give you a feel for what the Oilers were thinking in the fall of 2015. Here are a few quotes from TC 15.
Todd McLellan: “I look at Leon Draisiatl, and in my opinion Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid are going to be #1 and #2 centremen in our organization for a long, long time, they’re that talented and that good. Not that Leon isn’t… But career-wise, he might love to be on one of their wings and playing in the top six rather than maybe being that third-line centre. I think it’s really unfair to peg him there, but we have to look at it from that perspective. [The defensive] responsibilities as a winger are somewhat less, his boardwork is quite good, and one of the things that impressed me the most about Leon is his ability to play on his backhand. Joe Thornton has incredible eyes and makes incredible passes on his backhand. For a young man like Leon, he did the exact same thing at our summer development camp, which is something I wasn’t aware of.”
Todd McLellan: “We all focus on his (McDavid) offense, but he’s responsible [defensively]. I felt good about his penalty-killing. I didn’t know I was going to use him, but as the night went on, we used him and he was good positionally. When you have legs like that, you can recover from errors a lot quicker, and he has the ability to do that. But he’s not flying all over the place in the D zone, he stops, he slows down, he understands he can get back to full speed quickly. He was very responsible defensively tonight. We’ll see where it goes from there.”
On the Lowdown today, our feature guests are Steve Lansky and Tyler Yaremchuk, plus we’ll have Declanations (top 5 list) and preview the NFL weekend. Sports 1440 noon to 2pm and we are also on YouTube.
New for The Athletic: ‘Under the radar’ names you should know entering Oilers’ rookie and main camps
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6620198/2025/09/12/under-the-radar-names-oilers-rookie-main-camp/
Positive standouts tonight:
Savoie
Marjala
Carfagna
Hutson
Howard and Samanski looked good as well.
Negative standouts
All the camp invites on D
All of the bottom two lines
All goalies
Nice to see that all the players that should standout did so. Really good performances from Savoie and Carfagna from the parts that I saw, while Marjala also looked smooth and skilled. I’d describe Hutson as more steady & mature from what I saw, but might’ve missed his more skilled plays from the night (apart from his goal).
At 23, Hutson should be just that (in this tournament).
Marjala – fun to watch! His pass to Savoie, lovely.
Oilers all over the flames for 2 minutes (with some whistles) on the 6 on 5 – Carfagna, Hutson, Savoie, Howard, Marjala (not sure who the 6th was right now).
Hutson with a BEAUTY with 2 seconds left – stops a clearing attempt, pulls it off the wall, quick to the inside and rips one shelf.
Oilers lose 6-5.
Samanski was the 6th guy at the net-front. What did you see from him the rest of the night? Also, didn’t catch the first 2 periods; was Jonsson bad or was it a lot of genuinely good looks against him?
To be honest, I’m run off my feet so I had the game on the ipad while I was working so, after the first 10 minutes, was only partially paying attention.
Samanski looked like a giant with good puck skills – very raw.
A couple of the goals were just terrible d-zone plays.
Atleast it looks respectable now.
Savoie and Marjala turn a 2 on 2 in to a 2 on 1 (Savoie pulled ahead as they crossed the line) a BEAUTY backhand touch pass from Marjala to Savoie, he cuts in and buries it.
6-4 (I missed the 6-3 goal).
Clattenburg with the 6-3 goal (after my post, of course) – haven’t seen it yet.
Clattenburg didn’t play hockey tonight – nothing but running around looking for fights and taking penalties.
That was my impression too. And I wasn’t all that impressed. Then he scored a very nice goal.
Some will like his play very much. Me? Meh.
Savoie hooked on a breakaway, gets a penalty shot, buries.
A beauty – patience!
Marjala (who looked great with Pitlick and Hutson) now playing with Savoie/Howard.
Clatternburg does everything he can to arrange a second scrap – gets one with Phillips, guy looks like a monster. It was a Luke Gazdic hugging special.
Storts special?
Actually, ya, I think I messed that up – Stortini, not Gaz – sorry Luke!
Oilers D is Akey and Carfagna (who is VERY dynamic out there) and a bunch of camp invites I’ve never heard of.
The Oilers bottom 4D and bottom 2 lines are getting killed.
The top pairing and top two lines look good.
Agreed, although I am mildly encouraged by a couple of shifts I saw from Lewandowski. Otherwise, bottom two ones meh…
Greg Wyshynski
@wyshynski
Based on my conversations with players at NHL Media Tour this week, there’s one unifying belief they share about the Stanley Cup Playoffs format:
They want to go back to 1-through-8 instead of the wild card.
“I feel like all the players want back to 1-to-8,” said Cale Makar.
Stonehouse/Sefan have been AWFUL – Stonehouse with a horrid turnover that Bouchard is yelling at him for and its in the back of the net.
2-1 flames.
Stonehouse/Sefan are full value for this -2 – should be -5.
Both look like wastes of 50 man spots.
Marjala is all over the puck and scoring changes – the Pitlick/Marjala/Hutson line has been dominant in their shifts (followed by the Howard/Samanski/Howard line – with the bottom two lines getting caved).
As I finish typing Akey sets up Marjala for another great chance.
Carfagna has been VERY dynamic from the back-end.
Hutson playing the right point on the PP and he looks good – quick, dynamic, likes to shoot with a quick release.
The Stonehouse/Stefan line getting absolutely caved (after getting scored on).
Copponi is either very nervous or rusty – bobbling multiple pucks with time and space.
Jaxen Adam (I think a camp invite) walked but recovers to force a fumble, James Stefan with a terrible overskate behind the net why Adam follows him in and the puck pops out front for a flame to whack it over Jonsson who didn’t look great….
Wow, on a 3 on 3, Savoie hits the gap, Howard hits him in full stride, Savoie splits the D, goes in all alone – can’t bury though.
Lewandowski lays a big hit on the forecheck on some poor dummy who decided to wear #97.
To noone’s surprise, Clattenburg with a big bang and a fight less than 5 minutes in – Clattenburg slips, takes a couple, regains two feet and gets a little shot in.
Marjala with the longest clear cut breakaway I’ve ever seen and the Oilers lead 1-0.
No update from Bowman on Hyman.
Doesn’t know if he’ll play in exhibition games – questionable on that.
They will provide an official update when they know a bit more.
There is no bad news though – he feels great – just not sure when he’s ready to play games yet.
Tomasek “looks like an NHL player” “looks like he’s going to be a nice player for us” – Bowman
Bowman on Regula:
Traded for Regula in Chicago.
Regula “feels great” (knee).
Very comfortable for the puck and lots of poise at his size – really good at making play, in transition and in-zone.
Missed an entire season but it will take some time to get his game up to speed – they recognize that and will bring him along slowly.
Lots of reason for optimism.
————————-
Sounds like they want to give him time in Bako – I think he should clear (non-established, missed all of last year) but, right shot d-man…….. tough for a team to put that guy right in their NHL lineup without AHL time after a year off.
Bowman says positive conversations are ongoing with both Podz and Walman.
Bowman currently on Oilers Now.
Game start delayed until 7:23.
Flames rookies were bussing up and there was an accident delaying them.
Thanks for the updates OP.
Funny that the Oilers are streaming the game on Oilers+ with subscription but the Flames are free streaming worldwide on their website?
Happens all the time.
So watch on flames website muted, and have CHED playing audio. Gracias.
The feeds were way out of sync.
Link?
flamessuck.com
Unfortunately the years of honey addiction took a toll on Pooh Bear
Those lines and pairings don’t look too bad, if not a big group. Bowman has done pretty well building decent talent from where it was at
Bob was saying he thinks Connor will shoot more and focus on scoring more again. Great news, because when he does it opens things up more. Since his big season, he has tailed off, and it makes things kind of predictable, other than the odd highlighter he pulls off. It will help the PP because it adds another threat which had become less of one
When they know he’s looking pass there is less to worry about. When he wants to score and is looking to jump into or drive holes more there is no defense if his wingers can keep up
McDavid himself said this – wants to prove that 50-60G wasn’t a one-off, knows he can be more aggressive around the net, etc.
Doesn’t matter if he wont sign. Just pushes the price up for the next schmuck.
Not if we have a gun to our head… then it becomes a low-bidders market.
“Help out the new guys, show them first shift how you play this game” – Connor Clattenburg.
Samuel Jonsson in net.
He’s exited to play his first game on the small ice.
hey guys…any radio coverage…and what time ?
880 Ched at 7.
If I’m to wager a guess, I think McDavid signs a 3-year extension at $14M per, and the Oilers have a 4 year window to win a cup before 97 and 2 leave for free agency, and 29 likely gets traded.
It’s a pretty good outcome for Edmonton. Fourteen years of McDavid & Draisaitl. We are a cup contender through 2029 and then sever the connection and move on to the next generation.
With that plan in place, Bowman can work to optimize the roster for that period (eg. give Walman a longer term to reduce AAV) with a bit of scorched earth to start the 2030’s.
That’s just my guess and I would be satisfied with that outcome.
29 ain’t leaving.
I believe when the dust settles Leon will be the highest scoring Oiler of all-time.Leon will also win multiply Cups and I’ll throw in a Bronze Medel for good measure. He’ll go down as one of the greatest German Athletes in history.
I would not be and I still find it incredibly risky for McDavid to sign anything less than max term. Injuries happen and his agent is giving him bad advice if he suggests anything shorter. He can always demand a trade in four years.
It is amazing how different people are when it comes to these sorts of decisions and perceived risk.
I’d counter that agents not advising one year deals at this stage of a player’s career are doing them a disservice.
Couldn’t he get insurance?
There is this thing called insurance.
Hedge reduced duration with insurance to maintain the upside in future salary on the next contract.
So someone will insured him for years when he’s not under contract? Are you kidding? “So Connor, you want to purchase insurance for any injury you incur for salary you are not receiving?” Good luck with that.
Ummmm, yes, that product is out there.
For example, unsigned players have purchased insurance to attend training camp in the past.
But it only covered that camp.
Of course but the product can likely be structured to cover potential future loss.
It would cost hundreds of thousands but peanuts at the numbers involved
If he does get insured won’t it only cover that contract?
Via Bob Stauffer
Howard-Samanski-Savoie
Pitlick-Marjala-Hutson
Clattenburg-Copponi-Lafrenière
Stonehouse-Lewandowski-Stefan
O’Neill
Carfagna-Akey
Krebs-Von Richter
Woodall-Adam
Davidson
Jonsson
Day
Banini
I love those too 3 lines and top pairing. So much to watch.
Overly excited for this game.
Looking forward to getting eyes on Copponi, Marjala, Carfagna and Samanki.
Of course the newly drafted guys as well but they are young and miles away.
Howard as well – I haven’t seen him play a game since the World Juniors and he was nothing to me when he played in that tournament.
Hutson should dominate this tournament based on being 23 – its only two games but, if he’s a “real propsect”, he should stand-out.
Savoie and Howard should dominate based on being, well “NHL players”, at least presumably NHL players.
Too bad Parekh and Reschny aren’t playing – why isn’t Parekh playing? Reschny is NCAA.
I would hope Clattenburg is on a line with Howard tonight. This line should dominate tonight as well as seeing a early glimpse of Howard’s one-timer on the P.P
He’s not, Samanski is between the two “NHL players”.
Clattenburg is a rookie graduating from CHL to AHL – Samanski is also AHL bound but has played pro hockey and is, I believe, 22.
It would be nice if they had instant chemistry a 6’ 5”Centre with 2 skilled Wingers. All 3 are manufactured by the Bowman team costing us McLeod-O’Reilly at the cap hit for the next 2 years that’s less than what McLeod makes this year 5 million.
The notion to play Connor & Leon together was there right from the start. Of course, now it’s the mighty Nuge that is being slotted in at 3c or 2c depending on the looks they want to present. That’s the way it is.
I’ll be very interested to see how our pair of NHL hopefuls + Hutson brother + Akey do out there.
The Flames have some high quality defencemen on their rookie roster and a pretty decent team overall but it would be nice to see an Oiler young gun assert himself.
Savoie and Howard should absolutely look like the best players on the ice in both games – I mean if they are legit NHL players with short term top 6 upside.
If Hutson is indeed a “real prospect” he should also dominate given his age (23).
Yes. That moment, just before the honey…
Thank you for that, LT.
Now I’m wondering, how will Pooh find his way into your on-air ruminations with the youngsters?
Anticipation? That moment, just before the honey…
Such a great quote. That’s part of what keeps us coming back… even through the decade which shall not be named
I presume Savoie will be PK1 in these two games as I think they’ll work him in to the PK right away in Edmonton.
Of note, he mainly killed with Philp in Bako – some familiarity that could possibly translate to the NHL…..?
So to recap, you’re saying McDavid should PK, Draisaitl is a center, and life is like a box of honey LT? I guess I’ll have to sign up for another free trial at Oilers Plus today…
Can you cancel Oilers+ after the three days and not be charged?
Yes… pretty sure that’s what I did last year. Although someone posted a promo code that I used, not sure if there’s another one out there…
PRESEASON25 gives you Oilers+ for the year for $17.99 – it is a three day trial attached too if you want to cancel before that. I reluctantly signed up, I don’t really consume much of the content on there but it’s really not that expensive.
I signed up just before the playoffs last season. Going through “The Drop” episodes starting with Episode 1 in 2022 has saved my sanity this summer.
hey thanks for the info!…I was going to sign up today and you saved me around 60.00…the year for under 20. certainly is worth it!…cheers!
No free promos this year 🙁
Sorry bud.
I would suggest that Oilers + is VERY good value.
I know people hate it because they think all content should be free but the content and production is top notch – tons of behind the scenes stuff from inside the dressing room, etc.