It’s been an eventful season so far for the Edmonton Oilers. With the team seemingly getting closer to waking up from their traditional early season nap, it’s been a lot of the same old characters shouldering the load.

Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, Zach Hyman, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins have all been their usual selves, and they’ve gotten some good production from inseason signing Jack Roslovic along with the continued emergence of rookie Matt Savoie.

However, the bottom-six forwards have left something to be desired. Andrew Mangiapane has been up and down, Mattias Janmark plays fine defence but is an offensive black hole, and the less said about Trent Frederic the better.

Luckily for Edmonton, it appears that some help may be on the horizon. The Oilers have some players tearing up the AHL right now, and if all goes well, it could be challenging for roster spots in the new year.

Let’s take a look at a few of the candidates and see how they’ve been playing.

Quinn Hutson is on a tear

The biggest story out of Bakersfield this season has been Quinn Hutson. Signed by the Oilers last season after playing NCAA hockey at Boston College, the oldest Hutson brother has had a scorching start to the season. 12 goals and 10 assists in 20 games, good for second in rookie scoring and 6th in the whole AHL.

Hutson seems to have really become comfortable at the AHL level. In fact, he’s got 10 goals and 18 points in his last nine games. Averaging two points a game? Pretty solid.

Hutson has also been a big part of the Condors’ power play, and his shoot-first play-style has begun to pay dividends. Considering the Oilers eternal search for shoot-first wingers, Hutson might play himself into the NHL sooner rather than later, especially if he keeps up the scoring pace.

Josh Samanski’s two-way game is coming along

Although Samanski’s point totals aren’t quite at Hutson’s level (only three goals and 12 assists in 15 games), his style of play is different. Samanski has been playing first line centre minutes for the Condors, and his defensive game has continued to evolve.

One of the breakout young players during Edmonton’s preseason, Samanski’s instincts playing alongside Hutson have shown a lot of potential. You can always use smart two-way hockey players, and Samanski is being profiled as a very dependable option potentially down the line if needed.

One thing Stan Bowman has shown proficiency at is finding potential roster options from overseas, and Samanski, signed from Germany’s DEL is no different. If he’s able to crack the NHL for an audition sometime this season, it’ll be another win in that column for the Oilers.

The game is slowing down for Isaac Howard

Although he didn’t look outmatched during his brief stint with the Oilers to start the year, it was clear the NHL game was a little fast for Ike Howard. Bakersfield has had him on the 2024 Matt Savoie playing style (big minutes playing all situations) and it sounds like he’s begun to adjust well to AHL game speed.

Sure, it’s still not NHL fast, but it’s a step-up from the NCAA where he won the Hobey Baker last season, so a gradual increase is a better plan than dropping him into lightspeed. Three goals and five assists in seven games is encouraging production as well, and he’s filled out the other wing with Samanski and Huston on the top line.

Howard’s probably going to stick in the AHL until closer to the trade deadline, as the biggest thing for him right now is just getting game-time. The more he plays, the more comfortable he gets with the speed of the game. Once he’s dominating, then give him another shot with the big club.

Roby Jarventie is finally healthy

The result of the Oilers trading Xavier Bourgault (wonder who they could’ve taken instead?), Jarventie has struggled with injuries to begin his career. His 2022–23 and 2023–24 seasons were both cut short by knee injuries that kept him out for long stretches.

When the Oilers traded for him, they were essentially taking a flyer on him in the hopes he might turn things around health-wise. Well, it seems like Jarventie might finally be turning a corner. He’s got nine goals and five assists in 16 games, playing primarily on the Condors’ second line.

Jarventie is another offensively minded shoot-first winger, and his shot has apparently really been a bright spot so far. It’s always nice to hear about a guy who finally stays healthy and starts performing, and I hope Jarventie is able to keep up his good play. If he does, he might find himself back in the NHL.

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Actual results, not just hope

The best part about all these players having great years in the AHL is that it’s not just built on the hope that one day they’ll be good. Too often the Oilers place unrealistic expectations on players who succeed at the AHL level, pulling them up too early and ruining their confidence or believing the players to be much better than they actually are. Hutson, Howard, Samanski, and Jarventie are all having legitimately good seasons so far, and are all showing genuine signs of talent that could work at the NHL level.

The other nice thing is that with an influx of younger talent, Edmonton could save some money in the bottom-six by promoting these players rather than keeping of the bottom-six veterans. Even a player like Connor Clattenburg, who was ostensibly recalled just to cover a roster spot for a couple of games seems to have played his way into an NHL job. If some of the other players in Bakersfield keep it up, they could do exactly the same thing.

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