The Edmonton Oilers’ season is now 22 games down with 60 to go. Once again, the team is off to a disappointingly slow start and sit out of a playoff spot with an 11–9–2 record. Not ideal over American Thanksgiving to be out of a playoff spot.
After an excruciatingly long week that saw no Oilers games until today (with some time for deep reflective thinking and pondering, of course), the team is back in action tonight against the Colorado Avalanche. They are hoping to pick up where they left off on a standout performance with a 6–2 win over the New York Rangers last Saturday.
To get ready for the return to action, let’s take a look at the roster to dish out some player grades. Excluded from this list are Drake Caggiula, Noah Philp, Kasperi Kapanen, and Josh Brown due to small sample size.
Forwards
Leon Draisaitl: A+
Leon Draisaitl has definitively been the best player on the Edmonton Oilers this season. Despite the team’s slow start, he continued producing, currently sits near the top of the league in goals and points and leads the team in scoring. He also stepped up in Connor McDavid‘s injury absence to help smooth over the depth for those few games.
Connor McDavid: A
Slow starts seem to be a new trend for McDavid. He is undoubtedly the best player around, but was outpaced in points early on in the season. He has caught up now after an eight-game stretch in which he has had 18 points.
Connor Brown: B+
Especially compared to how the first quarter (well, three quarters) of 2023–24 went for Connor Brown, his start to this season has been a success. Three goals and seven points in 22 games is reasonable production, if not a bit on the low side. But overall, his play has been up to and exceeding most expectations given the role on the team he entered the season with.
Vasily Podkolzin: B+
Vasily Podkolzin was maybe a bit of a reclamation project after finding himself out of favour with the Vancouver Canucks. But early on in his tenure with the Oilers, he has impressed. Despite only just getting his first goal in the final game before their break, Podkolzin has been noticeable and creating chances game in, game out. He leads the team in hits by a wide margin, puts in a ton of effort in practice, and seems to have gained the favour of the team with plenty of ice time and opportunity.
Mattias Janmark: B
Despite a rough first few games to the season, Mattias Janmark has been a pleasant surprise as we hit the quarter way mark of the season. He has fit into his role extremely well. And he is putting up points at one of the highest rates of his career. Janmark has 10 points in 22 games, though just one goal. He is on pace to approach, if not break, his career high of 34 points set back in 2017–18.
Corey Perry: B
During the nearly disastrous first few games of the season, Corey Perry was possibly the only player on the team who was making an impact. His physicality and willingness to drop the gloves turned the tide in a couple of games and some timely goals early on helped keep the team in games. Despite his footspeed and ability to make an impact diminishing, he has exceeded expectations thus far.
Zach Hyman: B-
It’s hard to dispute that Zach Hyman is struggling to start the season, but it’s definitely not due to lack of trying. He sits near the top of the league in expected goals by an individual player according to Moneypuck and passes the eye test with chance generation and aggressive forecheck, the same traits that helped him score 54 goals last season. But he has yet to find the finishing touch he has before leading to a disappointing start to this season.
Viktor Arvidsson: C+
Viktor Arvidsson hasn’t been bad. In fact, there have been games where his effort and aggressiveness are the only positive thing to note. But he has been struggling to produce with just two goals and five points in 16 games. Not what we would want or expect from a forward playing mostly in the top six. Additionally, he has been sidelined due to injury for the last six games (and will miss more time). Something that most people would have guessed would happen given his health in recent years.
Adam Henrique: C
Adam Henrique has been a hockey player. There is not much to say about him thus far. He has been good enough in his role on the third line, but hasn’t made much of a noticeable impact in either direction. Two goals and six points in 22 games is less than ideal, but it barely stands out as bad on a team whose offence was struggling as a whole.
Ryan Nugent Hopkins: C-
Possibly the most disappointing start to the season is that of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. With just two goals and nine points in 22 games, his production has dropped significantly. But it is not only the scoresheet that has been concerning. Nugent-Hopkins had some of the worst underlying numbers on the team for weeks to start the season and has been largely invisible on the ice, not making a noticeable impact in any way. Although he has rebounded recently, the production and on-ice impact has not turned of yet.
Derek Ryan: C –
For a veteran depth centre on one of his final seasons, Derek Ryan has been a serviceable option. He may not have a huge role on the ice anymore, and doesn’t contribute much with just two assists in 20 games, but his presence is valuable nonetheless. His performance is not standing out, however, aside from faceoff percentage. The Oilers will need more from someone in this role moving forward.
Jeff Skinner: D
Jeff Skinner‘s tenure as an Oiler has been disappointing to say the least. Although he started off well, showcasing some offensive drive and hands in close to the net in the first few games, that has largely trailed off and he has just four goals in 22 games so far. His ice time and role on the team have dwindled down to bottom six with minimal special teams time, and he hasn’t done much to show he should be in a bigger role. Although his skillset may be best suited to a top six spot, the best he had looked was on the third line with Adam Henrique and Connor Brown. As a result, he has already found himself on the trade bait board, if he were to waive his NMC.
Defenders
Brett Kulak: A
Brett Kulak had found himself a niche on the third pairing where he had quietly been one of the best defenders around over the last few seasons. Quiet, steady, and reliable are words to describe his play. So far this season, Kulak has stepped up and found a new level of play as he shifts up to the second pairing and is taking on a much bigger role on the defence. He is also well on his way to setting a new career high in all offensive categories.
Mattias Ekholm: A-
Perhaps the only thing saving Ekholm from more criticism is the goodwill he has earned with his high level of play in the past. Not to say he has been bad, but it is definitely the worst we have seen him play in an Oilers uniform. Leaky defence and exposed vulnerabilities have him ‘leading’ the team in goals against with 34, nine more than second place Darnell Nurse. Even factoring in his ice time, his goals against per 60 is also the highest among lineup regulars. However, his underlying numbers are still leading the team despite it all and he remains the best defender the Oilers have.
Ty Emberson: B-
Although the expectation was for Ty Emberson to slot in on the second pair to replace Cody Ceci, that has not panned out. However, he has turned into a great addition to the third pairing and been a quiet but solid defender. Unfortunately, he has not found any offence yet with just one assist in 20 games. Time will tell if he continues to grow his game as he gains more NHL experience.
Evan Bouchard: C+
This was supposed to be a huge season for Evan Bouchard. One in which he contended for both the defensive point scoring title and maybe even the Norris Trophy. Instead, his entire game seems to have regressed. The once lethal shot that could find it’s way through any traffic is now in contention for the most shots blocked of all-time. And his defensive game has spiraled recently. He started strong but an awful couple of weeks filled with coverage gaps and mental gaffes have soured what was otherwise a solid start. Not the step forward that was expected of him.
Troy Stecher: C+
Troy Stecher‘s level of play was a relative unknown even after re-signing with the Oilers in the offseason. A very small sample size before being shut down due to injury left us unsure exactly what we were to expect from him. But, with more regular lineup time in 2024–25, Stecher has shown us he can be a serviceable depth defender who can occasionally make extremely smart plays. As has been the case with depth defenders so far, Stecher has not contributed offensively with just one assist in 18 games. He has been a solid option otherwise.
Darnell Nurse: C
Another year, another disappointing lack of growth in Nurse’s play. Although his importance to the lineup is undisputed (given how discombobulated everything looked when he was injured) and the rotating cast of defensive partners he has dealt with would leave anyone dazed and confused, for a defender being paid as a number one, we might want a bit more noticeably good performance or making the player with him on his pairing better. Instead, Nurse still seems to struggle and still has some of the worst underlying numbers on the team amongst defenders. There is new hope, however, with how he looks alongside Kulak.
Travis Dermott: C-
Travis Dermott played well during the pre-season on a PTO, got himself a contract, and has since struggled. He joined a rotating cast of defenders on the right side for the Oilers and has struggled to stay in the lineup, most often finding himself as the seventh defender and/or healthy scratch. He has zero points in 10 games.
Goaltenders
Calvin Pickard: B-
Calvin Pickard hasn’t been an elite goalie. However, he has been solid enough to meet expectations and be exactly what the team needed him to be. With a 4–3 record, an .893 SV%, and 2.44 GAA, Pickard has the better statline of Oilers goalies so far.
Stuart Skinner: C-
It has been a regular trend with Staurt Skinner to have periods of high highs and low lows. Consistency has never been a focal point of his game. And so far this season, he has been in a low. Statistically he is one of the worst goalies in the league, second second last ahead only Connor Ingram with -9.8 goals saved above expected. After an incredible performance at times last season and again in the latter half of the playoffs, expectations were high for him as he entered his first season as the starting goalie from day one. So far, he has not lived up to that.
Photo by Derek Cain/Icon Sportswire
