Today we look at another of the newest of the Edmonton Oilers, Ty Emberson. Emberson was acquired by the Oilers in a trade with the San Jose Sharks on August 18 which sent Cody Ceci and a 2025 third-round draft pick to the Sharks.
Emberson, a right shot defenceman, was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin in 2000. He had his first taste of the NHL last year in 30 games with the Sharks. He signed a one-year extension with the Sharks before he was traded that carries a $950K cap hit for the 2024–25 season.
Playing career
After playing minor hockey in Wisconsin, Emberson played with the prestigious US National Team Development Program for two years. He was drafted in the third round, 73rd overall, by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2018 NHL Draft. Emberson did not join the Coyotes program immediately though, instead playing for the University of Wisconsin for three years.
After signing his entry level contract, Emberson played with the Coyotes AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners. He was traded to the New York Rangers, played a year with the Hartford Wolf Pack, then was claimed off waivers by the Sharks, before eventually breaking into the NHL last year.
International play
Emberson has worn the red, white, and blue of Team USA on three occasions. The first being in the U17 World Hockey Challenge where he scored three assists in five games, his team finishing fifth.
Next, at the U18 IIHF World Championship, Emberson recorded four assists in seven games and Team USA brought home silver.
Lastly, in the 2020 World Junior Championship where he was unable to record a point in five games and Team USA came in 6th overall.
Career statistics
Emberson has never been described as an offensive defenceman, but this is a solid rookie season for a defenceman: a 27-point pace with essentially no power play time and only one power play point. Also encouraging is a -4 plus-minus on a very bad Sharks team last year. Admittedly, Emberson only played 30 games, but as a rate of games played this is one of the best on the team.
| Season | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | S% | ATOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | SJS | 30 | 1 | 9 | 10 | -4 | 6 | 3.2 | 18:33 |
| Career | 1 yr | 30 | 1 | 9 | 10 | -4 | 6 | 3.2 | 18:33 |
Player profile
Emberson is a 6’2″, 193 lb right shot defenceman who has been a stay at home, defence-first style player his entire life. Since good defence is hard to quantify, and flashy, offensive defenceman are increasingly in demand, garnering enough attention to make the NHL as a stay at home defenceman is impressive.
Emberson is big enough to hold his own in the corner and box out in front of the net. He is known to lay the body with authority when the opportunity presents itself.
Strengths
As stated, the best point of Emberson’s game is his reliability. True stay-at-home defenceman are undervalued in the NHL. Even though Emberson is young and untested, this is the right player profile for the Oilers who are known to give up too many two-on-ones. Hitting and shot blocking are bright points of his game and he was a very capable penalty killer in Junior and college hockey.
Emberson is also a solid skater and breakout passer with a decent shot and though he is not known for his scoring he did have a solid offensive rookie year with the Sharks.
Weaknesses
For a defenceman who has never been offensive, asking them to carry the puck instead of send a breakout pass, or to jump onto the rush is a lot to expect, but that is somewhere that Emberson can improve. A defensive defenceman should never be on the wrong side of the puck. They should be the insurance, not the risk, but there are always situations where the objectively best play is to make a low risk, high reward offensive play eg like sliding into the unguarded space when defenders get lost during extended offensive zone time. These situations are few and far between. The real trick is to recognize them when they come around and act decisively so you aren’t caught flat footed, stuck between defence and offence.
Chris Tanev is a good player for Emberson to model himself after. A warrior who will stand in the way of any shot and is essentially always on the defensive side of the puck but recognizing the situations where it’s better to move forward.
Where does Emberson fit into the Oilers lineup/organization
| Mattias Ekholm | Evan Bouchard |
| Darnell Nurse | Ty Emberson |
| Brett Kulak | Troy Stecher |
This is a possibility for the Oilers defenceman this coming season. The first pairing is essentially a guarantee, but Emberson and Troy Stecher could easily switch places. As Emberson is young and had a solid season last year, it may be beneficial to give him a vote of confidence by giving him second pair minutes with Darnell Nurse to see if he can rise to the occasion. Nurse is known as a more offensive player so Emberson may fit in well with him.
It is extremely unlikely that Emberson will see any power play time, but he is an option on the penalty kill having played there in Junior and college hockey.
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