This in from Bob Stauffer of Oilers Now, his take that a plethora of first year NHLers might make the OIlers roster out of training camp: “Can foresee a scenario where the Edmonton Oilers carry Matt Savoie, Isaac Howard, David Tomasek, Noah Philp and Alec Regula on their opening day roster. EDM needs internal growth and development from those players and for that matter Vasily Podkolzin and Ty Emberson as well.”
And Oilers prospect guru Bruce Curlock noted, “In my mind there are more prospects in the mix for spots with the Oilers than in many years. This is new and good.”
My take
There’s been no shortage of excitement about the Edmonton Oilers rookie class of 2025, which makes sense.
The hope is based on the team’s obvious need for prospects to make an impact during the McDavid/Draisaitl window for winning the Stanley Cup in Edmonton, as well as the fine skill demonstrated by some of the top rookies at the 2025 Edmonton training camp.
With our hopes high — with my own hopes high as well — that Edmonton will conjure up an impact player or two or three out of its Class of ’25, I decided to dig into just how common it’s been for the Edmonton Oilers to do just that, to bring in group of young prospects and find for the team players who will make a difference.
The answer? It’s not at all common.
When we look at players who have become Core 12 regulars in the NHL (the Core 12 on any NHL team are the forwards on the top two lines, the top two d-main pairings, the third line centre and the number one goalie), we see that in ten of the seasons between 2007 and 2024, the Oilers developed either none or just one Core 12 players in their prospect graduating class.
Only in four seasons, 2007. 2010, 2021 and 2022, have we seen bumper crops in terms of a significant number of graduates becoming Core 12 players: 2007 when Sam Gagner, Andrew Cogliano, Kyle Brodziak, Tom Gilbert and Denis Grebeshkov all became Oilers; 2010 with Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Jeff Petry and Devan Dubnyk; 2021 with Evan Bouchard, Ryan McLeod and Stuart Skinner; and 2022 with Philip Broberg, Dylan Holloway and Michael Kesselring, who are all unfortunately now with other NHL teams.
chart
Can the Oilers get three Core 12 players out of the class of 2025? Or even two?
There are a number of promising candidates in this new rookie class.
The candidates
Noah Philp. Both Philp and Tomasek are not real rookies, as they’re both over the age of 26, but I’ll count them as rookies in a figurative sense. Big, fast, smart Philp is a candidate for third line centre down the road and has impressed in camp with his strong two-way play. The new Brodziak?
David Tomasek. Big and skilled, Tomasek looks like a strong candidate this year to play on the third line or higher. He’s got a month before Zach Hyman returns to the line-up to show his quality, but he’s evidently caught the coach’s eye as he’s already on the third line and has practiced with the top power play unit.
Matt Savoie: Has played well in camp, a smart, fast, offensively talented winger with some defensive skill, as seen by his work on the penalty kill. His style of play is aggressive, making him something of a mini-Hyman stylistically.
Ike Howard: He’s been coming on as training camp has progressed, as was most recently seen as a second line winger. He’s not fast but he can shoot and pass, which means he plays fast. His style if reminiscent of former Oilers Mike York, also a top-scoring Michican State grad.
Alec Regula: Big, right-shot, long-limbed d-man who can move the puck and has served his time in the AHL learning the trade.
Josh Samanski. Another big guy, Samanski has impressed in training camp. He’s got the size, aggression and maybe the skills and smarts to be a 3C.
Quinn Hutson. He’s still a long-shot to make it as a Core 12 winger, but he’s demonstrated amazing puck skills this September and he’s got all kinds of offensive acumen.
Samuel Jonsson and Nathaniel Day: Two big young goalies who have looked solid this pre-season.
Atro Leppanen: The top scorer last season in the Finnish league has won all kinds of praise in camp for his fast skating and excellent passing. His style is like John Klingberg.
Viljami Marjala: He’s already been sent down to Bakersfield, but not before he displayed unusually high hockey skills and IQ both with the puck and without it.
By my count that’s 11 players with some percentage chance of making it onto the Core 12 of an NHL team. Now that chance may be just one in ten for some of them, such as Marjala and Hutson, or as high as one in two for top prospects like Savoie and Howard.
But it seems that Oilers GM Stan Bowman has done an outstanding of bringing in a horde of new prospects with Core 12 potential. Marjala, Leppanen, Tomasek and Samanski, for example, were all signed as free agents out of Europe. If one of those four strikes it big as a Core 12er that will be huge for the Oilers.
If three or four of these 11 total prospects listed here make it as Core 12ers that will be a hockey bonanza for Edmonton.
Of course, if we are hard-boiled and clear-eyed, there’s likely just a one in three chance that Edmonton will get three or four Core 12ers out of this group. But given their obvious quality and high quantity, I’ll bet you there will be at least two.
P.S. Tony Brar of Oilers TV reports: “Jake Walman is still day-to-day. Knoblauch would like to get him in for the last preseason game vs. VAN. At worst, he will be ready for opening night on Oct. 8. Podkolzin will resume skating with the team on Wednesday.”
Also from the Edmonton Oilers: “The Oilers have placed goaltender Matt Tomkins on waivers for the purpose of assignment to the Condors”
P.P.S.
CONDORS 2025 OPENING CAMP ROSTER (listed numerically)
GOALTENDERS
32 – Connor Ungar
34 – Samuel Jonsson
40 – Nathanial Day
FORWARDS
15 – Roby Jarventie
16 – Rem Pitlick
19 – Daniel D’Amato
36 – Brodi Stuart*
39 – Seth Griffith
41 – Brady Stonehouse
43 – Matvey Petrov
45 – Matt Copponi
47 – Jayden Grubbe
52 – James Hamblin
57 – Viljami Marjala
63 – Ethan Keppen
64 – Connor Clattenburg
68 – Rhett Pitlick
70 – James Stefan
72 – Matt Brown
76 – Trevor Janicke
83 – Josh Groll*
86 – Dillon Hamaliuk*
88 – Austin Magera*
DEFENSEMEN
5 – Tyler Inamoto*
44 – Josh Brown
77 – Luke Prokop
78 – Mason Millman
82 – Beau Akey
87 – Dru Krebs*
*-denotes try-out agreement
At the Cult of Hockey
LEAVINS: What Kris Knoblauch’s line combos may say to Connor McDavid
LEAVINS: Oilers turn in a complete effort in 4-0 win over the Jets.
LEAVINS: Oilers lose to Seattle in lackluster pre-season game.
Bruce McCurdy, 1955-2025.
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