After a strong rookie season in the American Hockey League, Edmonton Oilers prospect Noah Philp has decided to retire from professional hockey.
Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic spoke with Ken Holland earlier this week and asked whether all six of the team’s restricted free agents (Evan Bouchard, Klim Kostin, Ryan McLeod, Olivier Rodrigue, Raphael Lavoie, and Philp) would be issued qualifying offers. To that, Holland answered yes, and he then delivered the news that Philp planned to retire.
“Philp is not playing hockey next year. He’s made a decision to call it a career. It was a very, very difficult year for him. He told us he wants to be around Calgary and close to his family and friends. For personal reasons, he’s not playing hockey.
He made great progress. We liked him. We wanted to re-sign him. We offered him a two-year contract. We were anxious to see what he could do in training camp. But he’s not interested.”
A native of Canmore, Alberta, Philp played four seasons in the Western Hockey League between the Kootenay Ice and Seattle Thunderbirds. He joined the University of Alberta Golden Bears in 2019-20 and scored 27 points across 28 games in his first season with the team.
Last April, the Oilers inked the 6-foot-3 pivot to a one-year, entry-level contract and he joined the Bakersfield Condors for the remainder of the 2021-22 season on a professional tryout contract. Philp had a strong showing during his first full season in the AHL in 2022-23, as he scored 19 goals and 37 points across 70 games.
Best of luck to Philp in his future endeavours. Good on him for making a difficult decision that he believes is best for himself and his family.
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