It is no secret at this point that the Edmonton Oilers’ prospect pool is lacking and has fallen to the bottom of the league in recent years. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few promising players and hopeful hidden gems in the organization. Possibly even within this season’s draft class with players like Dalyn Wakely and William Nicholl being late round picks on the upswing with their respective junior teams.
At the high end of the prospect pool, there are a few players with a fairly high ceiling that the fanbase is quite excited about. These are players that might be on the verge of making the NHL roster this upcoming season.
We wanted to give the fans the chance to name the best prospect in the organization so we took to X for this week’s Sunday Census where we asked who the Edmonton Oilers’ best prospect is heading into 2024–25.
Want to take part in Sunday Census polls? We send them out every week on our Twitter at @oilrigEDM. Follow along or send in ideas for the next poll!
Who is the new guy?
Matthew Savoie has absolutely run away with the vote in this week’s poll. He was named the best prospect in the Oilers organization with 82.3% of fans voting for him. And he’s only been an Oiler for a week. Which is either a testament to how promising Savoie is or how weak Edmonton’s prospect pool was otherwise.
Nevertheless, Savoie joins the Oilers with an extremely high ceiling as an offensive (likely) winger with the capability to play alongside Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl.
The ninth overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft was acquired in a trade for Ryan McLeod and Tyler Tullio, much to the pleasure of the Oilers fanbase.
Savoie is at a level where he very well could make the team out of training camp, if not for his skill but for cap reasons. An entry level contract in the middle-six forwards would be a huge relief for the cap strapped Oilers roster.
Nevertheless, the highly talented forward prospect has immediately cemented his place high up in the Oilers prospect pool and clearly the fans are excited for what Savoie will bring to the team.
The next goalie in waiting?
Finishing second in this week’s poll with 8.5% of the vote is goaltender Olivier Rodrigue. Although his development has been slow, Rodrigue has worked his way up through the organization consistently over the past six years and is finally beginning to get close to seeing NHL time.
Rodrigue, drafted 62nd overall in 2018, played out his junior career in the QMJHL before joining the Bakersfield Condors in 2020. That is where he has mostly been since, other than a stint in the ECHL in 2021–22.
Over the past few seasons, Rodrigue has improved each year and taken on a bigger role in the Condors’ crease. 2023–24 was his best season yet, with a professional career high of 37 games, splitting the crease with Jack Campbell. His save percentage of .916 and goals against average of 2.73 are both career bests since turning pro.
Rodrigue is very likely to see some NHL games within the next season or two, and the hope is that he will be good enough to split time with Stuart Skinner in the Oilers’ crease.
The best new defence prospect
Beau Akey was a highly praised pick of the Oilers in the second round (56th overall) in the 2023 NHL draft. Coming off of a season in which he got 47 points in 66 games with the Barrie Colts and becoming one of just a few second round picks from that draft to receive an NHL contract, there was a lot to like about the defender.
Unfortunately, Akey suffered a season ending injury early in the 2023–24 campaign and only played 14 games, during which he had nine points.
Akey is a highly touted defender who seems to have a very well-rounded skillset. A strong skater, solid defensive instincts, offensive capabilities, and an overall high hockey IQ have him looking like he will be an impactful player at the NHL level. Maybe not as flashy, however, as some others which led him to finish third in this week’s poll with 6.7% of the vote.
O’Reilly rounding out the top four
The Oilers organization is extremely high on Sam O’Reilly, enough to prompt them to trade up into the first round to select him. And although he may not have garnered much attention from the fanbase yet, finishing fourth in the poll with 2.4% of fans thinking he is the best prospect in the Oilers organization.
O’Reilly may not be a superstar offensive talent, but there is a lot to like in his game. He seems to be the type of player that has a high floor and likely to be a solid two-way roster player in a few years time, but he may not have the potential to be a highly talented offensive contributor.
His versatility, compete, and development curve to be gaining a bigger role each season with the London Knights are impressive and he seems to be projecting towards a third line spot, given the Oilers current depth chart, once he works his way up the Oilers organization over the next few years.
