Edmonton Oilers Prospects Roundup: What Owen Michaels brings to the organization

Playoff mode is in full swing across the organization as all three levels prepare for a deep run this postseason. Maxim Beryozkin is the only prospect still playing in their respective playoffs outside of the system, and looks poised to add another championship to his resume before possibly signing with the Edmonton Oilers.

Let’s take a look at everything within the Oilers system from this past week.

Welcome to the TOR Edmonton Oilers prospect update. We have defined a prospect as a skater who has played fewer than 65 NHL games and was born in 2001 or later.

Owen Michaels, Forward, Western Michigan University, NCAA

The Detroit-born product is the most recent addition to the Oilers prospect pool, signing a one-year ELC with the Oilers on April 1. The Western Michigan Mustang’s captain is expected to be a first year player with Bakersfield next season.

The 2002-born forward concluded his three-year NCAA career with Western Michigan this past season as they lost in the quarter-final to the eventual champs, the University of Denver. Across his three-year college career, the American forward appeared in 119 games, tallying 33 goals and 36 assists.

Michaels’ 2025–26 season

Michaels plays a capable two-way forward game, while also being a play-connector in all three zones. His skill is best exemplified by his consistent puck skills, evident physicality, and a basic defensive compete level.

The main areas for growth include Michaels’ limited hockey sense and skating mechanics, which detract from his transitional game. These two barriers are quite major and will limit the transferability of his game to the professional level.

As for this past season, Michaels largely served as a consistent top-six forward for Western Michigan University. For the 2025–26 year, he averaged 18:01 of ice time per game and was a regular on special teams with 2:50 on the power play and 2:40 on the penalty kill.

Michaels’ strengths

On the defensive side of the puck, the American forward routinely involved himself in the backcheck with an active stick, physical mitigation, and responsible positioning.

His defensive commitment and selflessness were evident as he routinely shone as a capable risk mitigator, saving 1.02 scoring chances per game, and had a stellar 0.12 errors leading to a goal.

Michaels’ defensive pressure exertion was clean, employing (obvious but) effective angles of attack, and stick pressure that took away time and options. The forward’s play in tight also stood out as he used his frame well, showed no physical avoidance, and battled hard along the boards and in the net front.

Michaels was also a forward who was not scared to get to the dirty areas of the puck, as he was a relentless, gritty battler all season long.

These physical elements were best articulated by his 0.93 hits, 12 puck battles, and 55% battle win percentage per game. The 6’0” forward rarely takes defensive risks, has capable endurance, and demonstrates basic defensive habits and instincts.

Offensively, the American forward is a consistent play-connector in every situation. His puck skills are his defining characteristic, as he employs good puck control/handling, smooth passing ability, and quick decision-making/confidence with the puck.

This past season, the newest Oilers prospect shone as a play facilitator, with 16 passes per game and a 85% completion rate, which helped generate two scoring chances per game on average.

Areas of improvement

Although Michaels lacks creativity and lane-creation/awareness in his puck management, the simplicity and poise of his passing plays routinely move plays forward and make him a reliable fallback option for his teammates.

His skating is the biggest issue as it lacks significant power due to a short choppy stride, grindy mechanics, and poor agility/edgework. This limited power on the American’s mechanical push-off translates to limited speed, and his ability as an offensive rush asset is severely diminished.

At the professional level, he will have to rely on his give-and-go puck management, as even at the college level, Michaels is already routinely the last one back when not employing extremely conservative positioning.

These skating issues are further compounded by questionable hockey sense as his offensive positioning is static no matter the play, and he often employs a wait-and-see strategy. In quick-paced plays, Michaels displays below-average play processing, reading, and anticipation, leading to delayed reactions.

Additionally, the forward lacks creativity, which relegates him to a play facilitator rather than a dynamic play creator, while also showcasing issues around offensive instincts, vision, and hockey IQ. Limited deception, and play-improvisation also further restrict his hockey sense.

Overall, Michaels shines as a basic play mover with straightforward passing, physicality, and defensive commitment, but will struggle to keep up with more dynamic plays both due to skating and offensive senses.

Where does Michaels fit into the Oilers organization?

With a one-year ELC, Michaels is a low-risk option for the Oilers, and will likely be a reliable defensively orientated option. The NCAA product will likely be a minor league addition for the Bakersfield Condors, but some time with the Fort Wayne Komets would not be the worst thing for his development if he struggles early next season.

With the WMU alum’s current skillset, Michaels likely projects as a top-nine AHL forward next season, but with further growth in his hockey IQ, he could become an AHL top six in the future.

Potential: AHL top-six forward

NHL ETA: 4+ years

Edmonton Oilers prospect updates

AHL

• The Condors had a decent last week of the regular season, going 1–0–2, picking up at least a point in every game. They started the week dropping a 3–2 OTL to the Henderson Silver Knights on the 14th. They then split games with the San Jose Barracuda with a 5–2 win on the 17th, and a 3–2 OTL the next day.
• The Condors have secured the fifth seed for the AHL’s qualifying round, where they will go up against the Coachella Valley Firebirds in a best-of-three series.
• There have been plenty of reassignments to the Condors these past couple of weeks. Look for David Lewandowski, Tommy Lafreniere, or William Nicholl to all make an impression this postseason. Also don’t be surprised if any of the Condors stand-out rookies break out this postseason.
• ECHL goaltender Connor Ungar was called up to the Condors on the 14th, and fellow goalie Calvin Pickard was called up to the Oilers on the 17th in a corresponding move. Forwards David Lewandowski and Isaac Howard were both reassigned to the Condors on the 17th. NCAA free agent Simon Tassey signed an ATO with Bakersfield on the 16th.

ECHL

• Fort Wayne ended their regular season on a high note, going 2–1–0. The Komets collected an OTW 4–3 against the Indy Fuel on the 15th. Fort Wayne then dropped their rematch to the Toledo Walleye 4–1 the next day, but rebounded with a 4–3 win to Kalamazoo to finish off their regular season on the 19th.
• The #1-seeded Fort Wayne Komets are now poised to face the #4-seeded Indy Fuel in the first round of the ECHL playoffs, starting April 23rd. Unlike the AHL qualifying round, the ECHL has all best-of-seven series.
• Defender Zach Bookman joined the Komets from Western Michigan University on the 15th. Forward Nick Deakins-Poot departed the team on the 16th.

WHL

• David Lewandowki was the last remaining WHLer in the Oilers system still playing, but was swept by the Prince Albert Raiders on the 15th. Lewandowski signed an ATO with the Bakersfield Condors on the 17th. The German even got his first professional point with an assist in the Condors 4–3 OTL to San Jose on the 18th.

Russia

• Maxim Beryozkin and Yaroslavl Lokomitiv are now playing Avangard Omsk in the KHL semi-finals, which are primed to start April 24th.

*Denotes Playoff Stats

Forwards

Player	Position	GP	G	A	P	P/GP	PIM	Team	League
Maxim Beryozkin*	RW	9	1	3	4	0.44	2	Yaroslavl Lokomitiv	KHL
Samuel Poulin	W/C	71	21	28	49	0.69	55	Bakersfield Condors	AHL
Connor Clattenburg	LW	32	2	2	4	0.13	131	Bakersfield Condors	AHL
Josh Bloom	LW/RW	30	18	19	37	1.23	14	Fort Wayne Komets	ECHL
Isaac Howard	LW/RW	47	24	26	50	1.06	12	Bakersfield Condors	AHL
Petr Hauser	RW	41	3	7	10	0.24	16	HC Vitkovice	Czechia
Quinn Hutson	RW/LW	67	30	33	63	0.94	84	Bakersfield Condors	AHL
Roby Järventie	LW/RW	61	23	24	47	0.77	30	Bakersfield Condors	AHL
Tommy Lafreniere	RW/C	5	0	2	2	0.40	0	Bakersfield Condors	AHL
David Lewandowski	LW	1	0	1	1	1.00	0	Bakersfield Condors	AHL
Viljami Marjala	LW/C	72	17	43	60	0.83	22	Bakersfield Condors	AHL
William Nicholl	C/LW	5	1	0	1	0.20	8	Bakersfield Condors	AHL
Aidan Park	C	40	8	8	16	0.40	28	University of Michigan	NCAA
Matvei Petrov	LW/RW	38	5	7	12	0.32	4	Bakersfield Condors	AHL
Josh Samanski	C/LW	45	8	23	31	0.69	40	Bakersfield Condors	AHL
James Stefan	RW/LW	38	17	17	34	0.89	10	Fort Wayne Komets	ECHL
Brady Stonehouse	RW/LW	52	7	11	18	0.35	43	Fort Wayne Komets	ECHL
Dalyn Wakely	C	35	7	12	19	0.54	34	UMass-Lowell	NCAA
Owen Michaels	W/C	39	13	13	26	0.67	6	Western Michigan University	NCAA

Defence

Player	Position	GP	G	A	P	P/GP	PIM	Team	League
Beau Akey	RD	42	2	8	10	0.24	22	Bakersfield Condors	AHL
Asher Barnett	LD	40	5	13	18	0.45	14	University of Michigan	NCAA
Bauer Berry	LD	37	3	11	14	0.38	18	University of St. Thomas	NCAA
Damien Carfagna	LD	66	7	15	22	0.33	24	Bakersfield Condors	AHL
Paul Fischer	LD	33	6	17	23	0.70	39	University of Notre Dame	NCAA
Albin Sundin	RD	51	4	5	9	0.18	20	Timra IK	SHL
Nikita Yevseyev	LD	61	4	12	16	0.26	43	Amur Khabarovsk	KHL
Tomas Cibulka	LD	47	7	15	22	0.47	35	HC Motor Ceske Budejovice	Czechia

Goaltenders

Player	GP	GAA	SV%	Record	SO	Team	League
Nathaniel Day	39	2.76	.893	22-9-8	3	Fort Wayne Komets	ECHL
Samuel Jonsson	33	2.38	.910	21-8-2	5	Fort Wayne Komets	ECHL
Connor Ungar	13	2.51	.923	9-2-2	1	Bakersfield Condors	AHL
Daniel Salonen*	2	2.11	.902	0-2-0	0	Lukko	Liiga
Eemil Vinni*	6	1.52	.943	4-2-0	0	Ketterä	Mestis