{"id":542945,"date":"2026-04-06T00:19:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T00:19:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/542945\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T00:19:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T00:19:19","slug":"owen-michaels-had-20-offers-heres-why-he-chose-the-oilers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/542945\/","title":{"rendered":"Owen Michaels had 20 offers \u2014 here\u2019s why he chose the Oilers"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n\t\t\t\t\t \"Chicago <\/p>\n

Photo credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Owen Michaels chose Kris Knoblauch’s Oilers over a field of roughly 20 teams, and that says plenty about where Edmonton stands right now.<\/p>\n

This wasn’t Edmonton lucking into a college free agent after the market dried up. This was a real recruiting win.<\/p>\n

Elliotte Friedman’s report adds the part that matters most: Michaels had options, a lot of them. He still picked the Oilers.<\/p>\n

That changes the read on this signing.<\/p>\n

Edmonton didn’t just add a useful forward out of Western Michigan.<\/p>\n

They beat a long list of clubs for a player who had every reason to shop the field.<\/p>\n

Michaels is 23, he wore the captain’s \u201cC,\u201d and he just came off a season with 13 goals and 13 assists in 39 games.<\/p>\n

That profile gets attention fast when the NCAA season ends.<\/p>\n

It gets even louder when the same player was the Frozen Four’s Most Outstanding Player a year earlier after scoring 4 goals in 2 games for Western Michigan’s title run.<\/p>\n

Frozen Four standout Owen Michaels picks Oilers despite 20-team chase<\/p>\n

The Oilers aren’t selling mystery right now.<\/p>\n

They’re selling a clear path, a playoff chase, and a bench run by Knoblauch that has room for smart, competitive depth forwards.<\/p>\n

Edmonton beat Chicago on Thursday for its fifth straight win and moved into a tie for first in the Pacific.<\/p>\n

For a player choosing his first NHL home, that’s a strong pitch.<\/p>\n

There’s also a style fit here.<\/p>\n

Michaels has built his game around puck pressure, faceoff work, and details away from the puck, and he won 58.9 percent of his draws this season.<\/p>\n

That’s the kind of bottom-six projection contenders trust.<\/p>\n

Just a center who can get to the interior, handle hard minutes, and keep a line moving.<\/p>\n

Over 119 games at Western Michigan, he put up 33 goals and 36 assists while finishing at +43. That’s steady production, and it comes with a captain’s workload.<\/p>\n

For Edmonton, this is also about timing.<\/p>\n

The Oilers have been hunting for cheap support pieces who can push for NHL minutes while the big-money core carries the heavy load.<\/p>\n

Their power play is running at 30.05 percent, their top-end talent is obvious, and the rest of the roster still needs hungry players who can win jobs instead of being handed one.<\/p>\n

That’s why the \u201c20 teams\u201d part lands.<\/p>\n

Owen Michaels didn’t join Edmonton because nobody else called. He joined because the Oilers gave him the best hockey reason to say yes.<\/p>\n

Previously on Edmonton Hockey Daily<\/p>\n

POLL<\/p>\n

7 HOURS AGO|93 ANSWERS<\/p>\n

Owen Michaels had 20 offers \u2014 here\u2019s why he chose the Oilers<\/p>\n

Did Owen Michaels make the right call by choosing Edmonton over roughly 20 other teams ?<\/p>\n

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