Just when you thought the trade deadline had past and there would be no more moves until the offseason, Stan Bowman turned a burner back on on the stove. Just the warming burner, though.
Friday afternoon, the Edmonton Oilers announced a minor league prospect swap, the acquisition of forward Josh Bloom from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Jayden Grubbe.
This is a minor league deal with a low chance of making an impact, but could make a difference at the minor league levels where these players were playing.
Grubbe, who was acquired by the Oilers in 2023 for a third-round pick, had spent the entire season thus far with the ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets, where he had 19 points in 28 games.
Bloom has split the 2025–26 season between the ECHL and AHL. In the ECHL he has 28 points in 19 games. But in the AHL, just one point in 19 games.
What to know about Josh Bloom
Grubbe had seemed to reach a plateau in his development. He spent two full seasons in the AHL with no progression in scoring before spending all of this season in the ECHL.
Bloom, on the other hand, is showing some signs of growth at the minor league level with a significant rise in his scoring in the ECHL this season.
He has been described as a strong skating and responsible forward with promise defensively, though his offence still needs work.
Bloom fits the prototype of the type of player that the Oilers have been acquiring for the prospect pool lately. His ceiling likely makes out as an AHL depth forward, given he is already 22 and still struggling to stick around in the AHL on a long-term basis.
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