While the Edmonton Oilers organization and General Nanager Stan Bowman have some things to figure out, this isn’t the case for players within their system. Most junior-aged players have breaks within their season around the holidays, so it was a race to the midseason finish line for a lot of prospects this past week.
Another week in hockey is always exciting.
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 to go along with a feature one one standout prospect in Edmonton’s system. We have defined a prospect as a skater who has played fewer than 65 NHL games, and is born 2001 or earlier.
Lewandowksi and Barnett for World Junior Championships
Both David Lewandowski and Asher Barnett share the distinction of being named to their respective nations’ preliminary World Junior Championship squads. This is a testament to both players’ ability, projections, and coachability.
Why is this important?
Anytime a player, staff member, or trainer learns from the best of the best, it can positively influence their long-term development. Learning from either Team USA or Team Germany will expose the prospects to new opinions, evaluations, and add different ways of thinking or tackling problems.
Even if it’s only for a day or a week, experiences like these are valuable for young athletes and can elevate their game drastically.
With mid and late round picks being named to national teams, it will help their exposure while also increasing their NHL trade value stock.
Edmonton Oilers prospect updates
AHL
- The Bakersfield Condors had an offensive explosion this past week 11 goals across three games. Bakersfield secured a 5–1 win against Tucson on the December 3, but then split a pair of games against Henderson, losing 5–2 on the fifth, but rebounding the next night with a 4–0 shutout.
- Bakersfield now has a 10–7–4 record, and sits sixth in the AHL’s Pacific Division.
- Quinn Hutson continues to be a point-getting machine, and leads the Oilers affiliated prospects with 13 goals and 11 assists across 21 games. The second highest is Marjala with only 19 points.
- Isaac Howard certainly has no issues scoring in the AHL, and enters this week on a two game point streak.
- Tomkins is the starter between him and Ingram. Across two games this past week, Tomkins only allowed one goal on 58 shots.
ECHL
- The Fort Wayne Komets had a slower week with only two games. They split those two games with a 5–4 OT loss to Toledo on the 6th, and a 4–1 win against Cincinnati on the 7th.
- The Fort Wayne Komets now stand at 14–4–2 on the season and still sit 1st in the ECHL’s central division, and are tied for first in the entire western conference with the Idaho Steelheads.
- There is still seven Oilers-affiliated prospects in the ECHL. James Stefan leads all affiliated skaters in points with 18 across 20 games.
- Nathaniel Day and Samuel Jonsson continue to split games in a 1A-1B situation for the Komets. Day had a stellar game against the Cinccinati stopping 24 of 25 shots on the 7th.
Europe
- 2024 sixth-round draftee, Albin Sundin, played a game against Rögle BK on the 4th, where he posted his second-highest TOI of the SHL season with 20:14. He also played against Djurgårdens IF on the 6th. Sundin and Timrå IK now enter the week on a two game losing streak.
NCAA
- Defensive prospect Paul Fischer appeared in a pair of games against the University of Wisconsin Badgers on the 5th and 6th, and just like Notre Dame’s football playoff hopes, they lost both. Fischer continues to show growth in his breakout and play facilitation ability and posted a goal and assist in the first game.
- Asher Barnett was named to the Team USA preliminary roster and appeared in two games against Michigan State on the 5th and 6th. Expect this national team nod to boost his confidence a bit. Teammate Aiden Park netted a goal in the first game against Michigan State.
Russia
- 2020 fifth-rounder, Maxim Beryozkin played three games this past week. The power forward picked up an assist in his first game of the week on the 2nd against SKA St. Petersburg. Went +1 in his second game against Amur Khabarovsk on the 4th. In his third game, where he only had 11:59 of TOI, he produced a three-point outing against Admiral Vladivostok on the 6th.
Forwards
| Player | Position | GP | G | A | P | P/GP | PIM | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maxim Beryozkin | RW | 36 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 0.42 | 8 | Yaroslavl Lokomitiv | KHL |
| Jayden Grubbe | C/RW | 19 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 0.68 | 17 | Fort Wayne Komets | ECHL |
| Isaac Howard | LW/RW | 8 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 1.13 | 2 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL |
| Petr Hauser | RW | 27 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0.23 | 14 | HC Vitkovice | Czechia |
| Quinn Hutson | RW/LW | 21 | 13 | 11 | 24 | 1.14 | 18 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL |
| Roby Järventie | LW/RW | 17 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 0.82 | 16 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL |
| Tommy Lafreniere | RW/C | 28 | 19 | 16 | 35 | 1.25 | 8 | Kamloops Blazers | WHL |
| David Lewandowski | LW | 27 | 8 | 20 | 28 | 1.04 | 20 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL |
| Viljami Marjala | LW/C | 21 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 0.90 | 4 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL |
| William Nicholl | C/LW | – | – | – | – | – | – | London Knights | OHL |
| Aidan Park | C | 20 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 0.50 | 18 | University of Michigan | NCAA |
| Matvei Petrov | LW/RW | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.22 | 0 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL |
| Josh Samanski | C/LW | 21 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 0.76 | 24 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL |
| James Stefan | RW/LW | 20 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 0.90 | 8 | Fort Wayne Komets | ECHL |
| Brady Stonehouse | RW/LW | 20 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 0.45 | 14 | Fort Wayne Komets | ECHL |
| Dalyn Wakely | C | 16 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 0.75 | 14 | UMass-Lowell | NCAA |
Defence
| Player | Position | GP | G | A | P | P/GP | PIM | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beau Akey | RD | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.25 | 2 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL |
| Asher Barnett | LD | 20 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 0.40 | 8 | University of Michigan | NCAA |
| Bauer Berry | LD | 16 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0.25 | 10 | University of St. Thomas | NCAA |
| Damien Carfagna | LD | 17 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0.29 | 4 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL |
| Paul Fischer | LD | 16 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 0.94 | 20 | University of Notre Dame | NCAA |
| Albin Sundin | RD | 25 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0.24 | 10 | Timra IK | SHL |
| Nikita Yevseyev | LD | 33 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 0.27 | 22 | Amur Khabarovsk | KHL |
Goaltenders
| Player | GP | GAA | SV% | Record | SO | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nathaniel Day | 11 | 2.37 | .903 | 7-3-1 | 1 | Fort Wayne Komets | ECHL |
| Samuel Jonsson | 7 | 2.08 | .911 | 5–1-1 | 3 | Fort Wayne Komets | ECHL |
| Connor Ungar | – | – | – | – | – | Orlando Solar Bears | ECHL |
| Daniel Salonen | 14 | 2.81 | .867 | 6-5–2 | 2 | Lukko | Liiga |
| Eemil Vinni | 13 | 3.07 | .882 | 7-3-3 | 1 | JoKP | Mestis |
