Welcome to another edition of the Edmonton Oilers’ Prospect Roundup. Each week, we breakdown everything that you need to know about the best and brightest stars in the team’s system.
This week, the Bakersfield Condors strong performance earns the spotlight. Let’s dive right into it!
Welcome to the TOR Edmonton Oilers prospect update. Each week, we’ll take a dive into how the Oilers’ prospects have done in their respective leagues. We have defined a prospect as a skater who has played fewer than 65 NHL games, and is younger than 25 years of age. All data is from EliteProspects. We also use an NHLe calculator built by Christian Roatis (@Croatis) which is used to estimate a player’s equivalent point total in the NHL based on how they are performing in their respective league. The calculator uses the difficulty of the given league combined with the ease at which a player puts up points to determine the NHLe.
The theme for this week’s prospect roundup is the 3–0–0 record that the Bakersfield Condors authored. With a number of standout performances the group was able to improve its record to 5–3–1 on the season.
With a number of key players recently returning from injury, notably Raphael Lavoie and Carter Savoie, a stronger performance is encouraging, if not expected. The Condors boast a strong and deep AHL lineup; a fertile environment for the growth of the young players.
Several Oilers’ prospects earned weekly honours in their respective leagues, an incredibly encouraging flurry of recognition. Naturally, there are a number of key prospects throughout the Oilers system that are not on the AHL affiliate, but given the number of players that might become a part of the Oilers future fostering a strong environment is crucial to the future health of the Oilers’ lineup.
It won’t be every week that sees such strong results for the Condors, but with a glut of AHL rookies playing key roles and having a strong enough record to warrant meaningful hockey late in the season, it would be a well earned extra bit of runway on the season.
This and That
AHL
Olivier Rodrigue started one of the Condors’ three wins, stopping 30 of 31 shots. Though his work last season left something to be desired, especially against the sterling work of then-Condor Stuart Skinner, his work this season is headed in the right direction. His numbers have held up quite nicely against veteran tandem mate Calvin Pickard. Although Pickard is not a fixed barometer, in maintaining a similar performance Rodrigue will position himself well to keep rising up the ranks. We will hope for more performances such as this one, perhaps paving the way for Rodrigue to earn more starts.
In these clips we see some nice cross crease movement as well as strong rebound control from Rodrigue.
Carter Savoie returned from injury, adding two goals, both in Sunday’s game. If he’s able to maintain this production, it might be as early as next season that the forward is pushing for an NHL spot.
Here we see Savoie take a pass from the prolific AHL scorer Seth Griffith. Savoie has good speed, does well in attacking the net, and having the quality to finish.
Raphael Lavoie returned from injury as well, adding a goal for one point in his first three games this season. Lavoie has been mercurial, scoring in bunches and disappearing over his time in the AHL. It’s still early, but needless to say Lavoie is in danger of being passed by several other forwards in the Oilers’ system.
It’s great to see Lavoie driving towards the net, where he does his best work. Hopefully he can keep doing so after working his way back from injury, as his chances at promotion are likely tied to his ability to produce more consistently.
Klim Kostin scored his second goal and fourth point of the season, showing off his strength, speed, and soft hands below.
Xavier Bourgault added an assist to his season totals, though his scoring streak ended, Bourgault has had a fantastic start to his AHL rookie season. If he’s able to keep adding to his offensive totals while playing a key penalty killing role, Bourgault’s stock will continue to rise. Simply put Bourgault is on track for a season strong enough to convert many of his doubters wrong, as his game is translating to the professional ranks quite seamlessly.
Michael Kesselring added another goal, bringing the defenceman’s total to five on the season. A goal scorer is far from the first thing one would expect from the right shot, but it could be a sign that he is nearing a level worthy of an NHL call up.
Defenceman Phil Kemp added two goals and two assists, as well as a +7 rating, a consistent performance in a key role for the club. This earned Kemp the honour of Condors player of the week.
In this clip we see Kemp’s great shot, beating the goalie clean from the point off a draw.
Though this is Noah Philp’s goal, Kemp does a great job holding the blueline and making a play.
OHL
Matvey Petrov earned OHL player of the week honours, no small feat, with four goals and six points in his three games. Though his totals from last season might be hard to top, it is encouraging to see Petrov lead the North Bay Battalion nonetheless.
In these clips we see some of his work as both a shooter, a long strong suit, and a passer, a growing skill. At this rate, Petrov is well positioned to break into a key role as a rookie in the AHL next season.
WHL
Reid Schaefer had another big week, including a hat trick, bringing his goal totals to 13, tied for second in the WHL. Schaefer’s first season in the Seattle Thunderbirds top-six has been a fruitful one, results becoming of the first round pick the Oilers used to select him in the 2022 entry draft.
Schaefer is known for his power forward frame, a big man with good skating skills. In these clips we can see his shot is fantastic. With just three assists on the season, Schaefer could still use some rounding out in his game, something he should have this season and next to hone in the WHL.
Although he is continuing to grow his offensive game, headlined by a booming shot, Maximus Wanner is known most for his physicality. From big hits to fights Wanner is imposing his will in the WHL, quickly becoming the Oilers top defensive prospect on the right side.
KHL
Maxim Beryozkin has continued to earn playing time in the KHL, no doubt a promising sign.
In this clip we can see how Beryozkin uses his size and skating to be effective along the wall during in zone offensive play, as well as his vision and playmaking skills. The work along the boards is exactly what Oilers fans should like to see, as Beryozkin is already a daring player who has success attacking the middle of the ice, especially off the rush.
Nikita Yevseyev earned rookie of the week honours in the KHL, continuing his meteoric rise this season. It is, perhaps, quite surprising to see that he is a KHL regular already, even more so that his success has been so notable.
Adding another goal to the season brings his total to four. We can see how he is willing to creep down into the offensive zone, showing great instinct as an offensive defenceman.
ECHL
Although Ryan Fanti sports a .858 save percentage and a 4.55 goals against average he leads the Fort Wayne Komets in both categories. It can be tricky to put too much stock into ECHL numbers, certainly we would like to see better results, but Fanti is still earning the majority of his team’s starts.
NHLe Leaderboard
NHLe is a metric used to estimate a player’s offensive output at the NHL level from their point totals in their respective league. Here are the Oilers’ current top five (bracketed numbers denote movement from the previous week).
- Matvey Petrov 37.9 (3)
- Reid Schaefer 32.9 (2)
- Maxim Beryozkin 28.5 (N/A)
- Xavier Bourgault 26.7 (4)
- James Hamblin 26.7 (1)
Overall regular season totals for Oilers’ prospects
Forwards
| PLAYER | POSITION | GP | G | A | P | P/GP | PIM | NHLE | TEAM | LEAGUE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maxim Beryozkin | LW/RW | 9 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0.66 | 4 | 20.9 | Molot Perm | VHL |
| 14 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0.43 | 4 | 28.5 | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | KHL | ||
| Xavier Bourgault | C | 9 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0.67 | 4 | 26.7 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL |
| Skyler Brind’Amour | C | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0.50 | 0 | 11.5 | Quinnipiac University | NCAA |
| Jake Chiasson | C/RW | 16 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 0.75 | 4 | 18.6 | Brandon Wheat Kings | WHL |
| Maxim Denezhkin | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg | KHL |
| C | 13 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0.39 | 39 | 12.2 | Gornyak-UGMK | VHL | |
| James Hamblin | C/LW | 9 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0.67 | 2 | 26.7 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL |
| Klim Kostin | LW/RW | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0.5 | 15 | 19.9 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL |
| Shane Lachance | LW | 10 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 0.7 | 6 | 15.5 | Youngstown Phantom | USHL |
| Raphael Lavoie | C/RW | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.33 | 4 | 13.4 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL |
| Jeremias Lindewall | RW/LW | 15 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0.2 | 6 | N/A | Osrersunds IK | HockeyEttan |
| Tomas Mazura | C | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.29 | 2 | 7.9 | St. Lawrence University | NCAA |
| Joel Maatta | C | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0.43 | 12 | 9.0 | University of Vermont | NCAA |
| Matvei Petrov | RW/LW | 14 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 1.43 | 8 | 37.9 | North Bay Battalion | OHL |
| Noah Philp | C | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0.33 | 5 | 13.4 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL |
| Aapeli Rasanen | C | 14 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 0.93 | 8 | 34.5 | KalPa | Liiga |
| Carter Savoie | LW | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.5 | 4 | 19.9 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL |
| Reid Schaefer | LW | 12 | 13 | 3 | 16 | 1.33 | 30 | 32.9 | Seattle Thunderbirds | WHL |
| Tyler Tullio | C/RW | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0.38 | 2 | 15.1 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL |
Defencemen
| PLAYER | GP | G | A | P | P/GP | PIM | NHLE | TEAM | LEAGUE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philip Broberg | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL |
| Philip Kemp | 9 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0.56 | 8 | 22.3 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL |
| Michael Kesselring | 9 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 0.67 | 7 | 26.7 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL |
| Luca Munzenberger | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0.57 | 4 | 15.6 | University of Vermont | NCAA |
| Markus Niemelainen | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 19.9 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL |
| Maximus Wanner | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0.5 | 14 | 12.4 | Moose Jaw Warriors | WHL |
| Nikita Yevseyev | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bars Kazan | VHL |
| 21 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0.19 | 7 | 12.5 | Ak Bars Kazan | KHL |
Goalies
| PLAYER | GP | GAA | SV% | TEAM | LEAGUE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samuel Jonsson | 14 | 2.16 | 0.908 | Rogle BK J20 | J20 Nationell |
| Olivier Rodrigue | 3 | 2.36 | 0.915 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL |
| Ryan Fanti | 4 | 4.55 | 0.858 | Fort Wayne Komets | ECHL |
Which prospects are you most excited about? Let us know below in the comments or on social media.
