2025 Edmonton Oilers Prospect Rankings: #1 Matthew Savoie

Position	Year Drafted	Highest Ranking	Lowest Ranking	2024 Ranking
Centre/Winger	1st Rd, 9th Overall, 2022 (BUF)	1st (7 Votes)	1st (7 Votes)	1st

Savoie’s development so far

Savoie is well traveled, this early on in his career, appearing for 10 different teams since the 2020–21 season. Savoie was first drafted by the Kootney Ice first overall in the 2019 WHL draft. Savoie would then go on to make his debut with the newly relocated Winnipeg Ice in the 2019–20 season.

In the COVID-19 era, the Canadian forward first appeared for Sherwood Park (AJHL), then made the move south of the border to play for the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL for the 2020–21 season. Where he posted a solid 38 points across 34 games.

For the 2021–22 season, Savoie headed back to the WHL with the Winnipeg Ice where in his draft year he became a force as a high scoring top-six winger, which attracted plenty of NHL attention.

This NHL attention then culminated in the speedy forward being selected ninth overall by Buffalo in the 2022 NHL draft. Savoie then continued developing in the WHL, amid season end pitstops in the AHL with the Rochester Americans and a sole game in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres in the 2023–24 season.

Savoie also appeared for Team Canada’s World Junior squad in 2023–24. All in all the forward posted a 1.44 PPG in the WHL across four seasons before making his full time professional debut this past season with the Bakersfield Condors.

In the 2024–25 season Savoie was the highest potential prospect on the Oilers AHL affiliate, and led all production by all Edmonton-signed players.

Season	Team	League	Games Played	Goals	Assists	Points
2022-23	Winnipeg Ice	WHL	62	38	57	95
2023-24	Wenatchee Wild	WHL	11	11	13	24
2023-24	Moose Jaw Warriors	WHL	23	19	28	47
2023-24	Rochester Americans	AHL	6	2	3	5
2023-24	Buffalo Sabres	NHL	1	0	0	0
2023-24	Canada	WJC	4	0	1	1
2024-25	Bakersfield Condors	AHL	66	19	35	54
2024-25	Edmonton Oilers	NHL	4	0	1	1

Savoie even earned call-ups to the Oilers this past season and posted his first NHL assist on February 22 against the Philadelphia Flyers. His development timeline shows that the St. Albert product is NHL ready for the 2025–26 season.

With that being said, look for the 5’9” forward to carve out an NHL role this upcoming season, and if everything goes right even be a possible Calder Trophy nominee.

Savoie’s strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

Savoie continues to play that speed based playmaker’s game that he’s known for. Recently the 5’9” forward has rounded out his game more, which proves he can be a threat in all three zones. Savoie’s game is highlighted by blistering speed, high end senses, puck skills, and notable compete.

Skating

Savoie is a dynamic skater. This is an asset that the Oilers prospect continues to show in Bakersfield as one of the fastest skaters on the ice. His skating continues to shine due to solid posture/fundamentals, mixed in with a clean stride, and top of the top end speed.

A good indication of quality skating posture is halfway between standing up and hunched over, while maintaining good ankle flection. This Savoie has, and he mixes it with notable upper body muscle mass which is telltale that the player has good skating power.

As per usual Savoie has a solid smooth stride, rapid stride recovery ability, which all combine to provide quick acceleration. In offensive transition the first rounder shows high end top speed and lateral acceleration combined with integrated crossovers. Even his gliding is faster than some pro-skaters.

This speed blends well with the forwards creativity in lanes/routes creation, overall agility, and top notch edge work. Displays good rush instincts and skating which generally means he finds his way to the net.

In short, Savoie can win any puck race as he continues to be a absolute burner. Displays solid space creation, gap identification, and does everything in his power to establish good inside body leverage on zone entries and offensive zone plays.

High pace, high speed, high quality mechanics summarizes Savoies skating to a tee.

Senses

Savoie shows good instincts, awareness, and hockey IQ throughout his entire play. He plays the thinkers game, which should translate quite well to the NHL.

In defensive transition and zone play, Savoie displays quality play anticipation, an active stick, and good lane awareness. All of this combine to hint at above average spacial awareness and scanning ability which makes him a consistent threat to neutralize any high risk plays from an opponent.

One area that has shown pro-level adjustment and growth is his play reading, and risk awareness in his own zone. The Oilers draftee also shows decent defensive awareness, and instincts and this is articulated through good timing, safe decision making, and defensively responsible positioning.

All of this growth in his own zone explains why the 21-year-old prospect averages 1:25 of penalty kill time, especially on a veteran heavy Condors roster.

In offensive transition this scanning and play processing strengths take centre stage once again, with his positioning, which always makes him an option for his teammates. When this positioning is combined with his speed, he seems to jump ahead of plays leading to high quality rush based chance generation.

This ability to generate chances shows that Savoie’s offensive instincts and play anticipation are another element that are adjusting nicely to the professional ranks. On average, the forward generates 1.9 chances for per game.

Savoie’s play driving continues to flash his higher end on-puck creativity, timing, and opportunity awareness are all elements that genuinely can not be taught. These are also core elements that make Savoie such an offensive threat and explains his 3:11 of power play time per game.

If this growth continues look for him and Howard’s play style to compliment each other very nicely.

He also has a high end motor, and intensity that blend seamlessly to make these senses in both ends even more acute.

Compete level

As previously stated Savoie’s compete level shines for its high motor, intensity, hustle, and pressure exertion.

Savoie is constantly in movement every time he takes one of his 24 shifts in a game. This motor makes him largely unpredictable, and demonstrates a high energy level that he brings to his line, and team. This motor helps aid with his lane manipulation, play instincts, and positioning.

Through this higher end compete level Savoie implements consistent defensive pressure exertion, largely by taking away time and space of opponents, and engaging in board battles, all sorts of plays and even showing good efforts to block shots on the regular. He blocks around 0.54 per game.

On the offensive side of the puck, Savoie shows good offensive pressure exertion through speed based attacks, high quality passing plays, and deceptive manipulation of both defenders and lanes. He’s also not scared to challenge bigger and more mature players in puck battles and out deke them.

With Savoie’s play anticipation, he also shows effective flashes of play cheating that can jump start Condor breakouts and rush plays. This allows for consistent and sometimes unexpected offensive pressure generation, which frequently keeps opponents on the heels.

Savoie is also always hustling whenever he is on the ice, be it for second efforts in offensive zone plays or for a line change. This hidden effort bodes well for his effort levels at the pro-ranks.

Puck skills

The first rounder’s puck skills combined with his senses make him a playmaker.

These puck skills are defined by quality handling, poise and deception. On-puck Savoie shows stable handling mechanics that have a wide base, good protection, and pace. This allows the Oilers prospect to generate consistent and quality offensive zone entries.

Savoie shows quality vision and poise through confident and stable pass selection. The ninth overall pick is a capable play facilitator. This decision making and facilitation is also complimented by his arsenal of pass options with behind the back, seam passes, stretch pass, bank passes, short passes.

This allows Savoie to be a breakout asset for the Condors in offensive transition too. His scanning frequency, play processing, and play anticipation trickle over to his puck skills too. This overall awareness allows for better option ID, more deception through fakes, and higher end one-timers.

Savoie knows what to do with the puck on his stick, and generates high quality chances, facilitation, and puck movement.

Complimentary to his puck skills is Savoie’s shooting, which displays a good release point, weight transfer, and power behind his shot. He averages 3.3 shots per game.

Weaknesses

In Savoie’s first pro season a couple elements became weaknesses in the pro-ranks, particularly his physicality, and his finishing ability.

Physicality

Savoie has an undersized frame, which translates to less muscle mass, and poorer physical pressure exertion. These shortcomings are most evident in board battle play, resulting in the Oilers prospect having to be more strategic about his angling, and body positioning, which can decrease effectiveness.

This compounds with the fact that Savoie is now playing against fully grown men, which means that elements like hitting will be that much more powerful. In such instances, the St. Albert product has below average hit absorption, balance (gets knocked off his feet), and more prone to boxouts and tie-ups.

These limitations also materialize in offensive play as well through the ability of defenders to separate Savoie from the puck both on the rush, and down low in the offensive zone. This means that defenders have a higher success rate mitigating possible chances, and stop offensive momentum and pressure.

For what it’s worth, despite these obvious limitations Savoie shows no physicality avoidance, which hints at above average grit, toughness, and battling.

Finishing

There are elements in Savoie’s game where he can just be more efficient.

This particularly manifests in his shooting, where the 21-year-old takes 3.3 shots per game, only about 58% of them hit the net. Some these shots come from low risk areas, which hints at some minor issues around accuracy and shot selection.

Additionally Savoie has a 13% shooting percentage, but only a 9% conversion rate on scoring chances. Part of this could be puck luck, but another portion demonstrates issues around finishing and shooting poise in the pro-ranks.

Savoie’s next steps

Expect Savoie to be playing with the Edmonton Oilers full time this upcoming season. Worst case scenario he might have a handful of AHL games at the start of the season, and be called up a quarter way through.

Savoie has proven doubters wrong at every level due to his speed, puck skills, and high hockey IQ. This season Savoie will prove he belongs at the highest level, and at only 21 years of age, Oilers fans should get use to the name, as it’s likely they’ll hear it for a while.

NHL ETA: NHL ready

Potential: top-six two-way forward

What do you think about Matthew Savoie? Do you think he’ll earn his spot with the Oilers this upcoming training camp?