Talk about an exciting time to make your NHL debut.
According to Frank Seravalli, Dylan Holloway, the first-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers from the 2020 draft, will make his NHL debut on Monday night in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final.
The Oilers selected Holloway with the No. 14 overall pick after a 17-point freshman season with the University of Wisconsin Badgers. Holloway broke out the following season as a sophomore, scoring 35 points across 23 games.
Holloway’s pro debut was delayed as he underwent offseason wrist surgery and didn’t start his 2021-22 season until January. Over the course of 33 games, Holloway scored eight goals and 22 points for the Bakersfield Condors, Edmonton’s AHL affiliate.
With Evander Kane suspended for boarding Nazem Kadri and Kailer Yamamoto out with an upper-body injury, the Oilers are running thin in a must-win Game 4. There’s no word yet on where Holloway will be playing in Edmonton’s lineup.
On the other side of the ice, Colorado’s Cale Makar had a similar situation to Holloway, as he made his NHL debut with the Avalanche during the 2019 playoffs right after he finished his season with UMass-Amherst. Cole Caufield, one of Holloway’s NCAA teammates, also only had two games of NHL experience before suiting up for 20 games in the Montreal Canadiens’ playoff run last spring.
Up 3-0 in the series, the Avalanche need just one more win to complete the sweep of the Oilers and punch their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2001.
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