As the Edmonton Oilers get ready to see the teenage phenom, prohibitive rookie of the year Matthew Schaefer and his New York Islanders Thursday, here’s a few local observations as the dads leave their Oilers sons after their recent road trip.

(1) Connor Ingram has clearly won over the coaching staff and is higher in the pecking order than Calvin Pickard in the goalie carousel, but would carrying three goalies on the roster alongside the No. 1 Tristan Jarry really be that bad an idea, until we see if Jarry can stay in one piece for a length of time, like for the next 11 games which brings the Oilers up to the Olympic break?

Is having a third goalie on a 23-man roster any different than carrying a 13th forward (Curtis Lazar) or a seventh defenceman (Alec Regula) and rotating them in and out?

If the Oilers want to send Ingram back to Bakersfield without having to clear waivers, they have to do it before the road game against Canucks Saturday, but the Condors already have two farm goalies in Connor Ungar and Matt Tomkins who are bordering on excellent and very good, respectively, so why do it especially when Ingram has had six quality NHL starts in his seven games? He’s an NHL goalie.

And why risk losing Pickard on waivers, now? Somebody would pick him up at his $1-million price point and experience. Like Ottawa, trying to make playoffs with starter Linus Ullmark on personal leave with the young Leevi Merilainen alongside newly signed James Reimer minding the store. Or Anaheim, leaking oil, where neither the injured Petr Mrazek, with an .858 save percentage, or Ville Huuso are solid behind Lukas Dostal.

(2) Playing Andrew Mangiapane in both games of the road trip to Chicago and Nashville and sitting young Ike Howard for one and versatile fourth-liner Curtis Lazar for another certainly looked like showcase time. But there just isn’t much life in Mangiapane’s game to make other teams go “we gotta have him.” He’s definitely trying but his former bite to his shifts has gone missing and he’s playing a safe game. He looks no more noticeable with the puck than a farm call-up would be, trying not to make mistakes.

This trade story has been out there for three weeks but there doesn’t seem to be much market for a guy with 11 points and that extra baggage second-year $3.6 million on his deal. The Oilers need his cap hit off the books if he’s unhappy here and there’s no room for him, and really don’t need a one-for-one swap of somebody else’s flotsam.

(3) Nobody’s yet convinced me that Jack Roslovic is a better third-line centre than a second-line winger, albeit a fall-back so they don’t have move Ryan Nugent-Hopkins off Connor McDavid’s line and onto the third line. Yes, Roslovic gives a third line offensive juice but he seems a more dangerous shooter than a clever playmaker.

That said, Kasperi Kapanen has been terrific with Leon Draisaitl as second-line right wing. He’s got five points in five games, 11 shots and is plus 3 in 15:48 a night since he came back from his two separate knee issues.

Kapanen thinks like an offensive player, which is why he was a first-round draft pick until consistency issues almost cratered his career before the Oilers waiver claim. He has acknowledged his consistency, he’s looked in the mirror and he’s realized he’ll do whatever it takes to play anywhere in this lineup.

(4) The energetic Matt Savoie is still one of the Oilers top six penalty killers with 76:50 short-handed on the season, the most of any forward, but his five-on-five game has fallen off quite a bit. Maybe because he’s hit the wall in his first NHL season. He’s not creating much, passing or shooting. He doesn’t have a goal in a month, back to the Dec. 16 Jarry vs. Stuart Skinner game in Pittsburgh, no goals in 13 games, only two assists and 10 shots over that span.

Coach Kris Knoblauch keeps trotting him out every night — he hasn’t missed a game all season — but in this month-long dry spell he’s minus 5, with only one night where he finished with a plus rating,a gainst Nashville at home. His average ice time has dropped to 12:31 in January after 14:27 in December, so two fewer minutes.

(5) Spencer Stastney broke in with a bang as a trade pickup, and we all applauded GM Stan Bowman for the crafty, small move when they had to move Brett Kulak’s cap hit to make the Skinner-for-Jarry deal work financially. But, while Stastney is a terrific skater and he makes a lot of nice defensive checks with his feet, he’s still lighter than Kulak at 184 pounds, and his play has dropped off, especially this month where he’s minus-4.

They miss the veteran Kulak in the third defensive pair. He was a plug-and-play No. 5, a no-maintenance guy. He kept his head down, his mouth shut. They might have to trade for a veteran at the deadline. UFA Luke Schenn seems too rich at a $2.75 million AAV cap hit unless the Jets eat part of that. The three 25-year-olds, Stastney, Ty Emberson and Regula, while each bringing something to the table, may better suited as No. 6s in a playoff lineup. They’ve played 12 post-season games total.

And they aren’t putting Regula, who missed all of last season rehabbing from knee surgery, on waivers, even if he does look awkward, at times, with his 6-foot-4, 211-pound frame. The Bruins would likely take him back.

(6) Jake Walman did better than fine in 17 minutes in his first game in two months and will likely wind up alongside Darnell Nurse, playing his off side as before. He’s a top-four defenceman every day of the week. But this isn’t about how well Walman plays. It’s how many games Walman plays. It’s his health, a real story. He has played 33 of Oilers 67 league games over the past two seasons since they got him March 7, 2025.

(7) Not sure why the versatile Lazar, who never cheats you on his shifts, seems to be the designated sitter if Knoblauch wants to move his bottom six around. He’s won 56.2 per cent of his 137 draws, he’s a right-shot who is part of the six-forward penalty-kill group, and he has three goals in his 24 games.

Yes, we hear the howls from those who wonder why Mattias Janmark plays every night with his one goal and 21 shots in 31 games, missing a month with an injury.

But here’s the thing: Knoblauch sees him as his best checking forward, somebody he can slide out with top-six guys in the late going to protect a lead. He likes his hockey smarts, also his speed. And on the penalty kill, he averages 1:30 a game. But …

Over his last 184 games in three regular seasons, he has seven goals.

(8) As much as we loved winger Connor Clattenburg’s abrasiveness in his short stay here, and he could work his way into a fourth-line role next season, he has to tame his fighting. He’s out a month or more after breaking either something in his hand in Bakersfield in a scrap, one of his eight in the AHL. He doesn’t have to prove how tough he is in the minors. He has to work on other things to play in the NHL.

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