Drawing positives from an inconsistent start to the season by the Oilers

You can see it in his goal against the New York Islanders on Oct. 16, when he beat David Rittich high from long range, and again recently versus the Seattle Kraken, when he ripped one off the bar from distance.

The longest-serving Oiler does so much for the team, from playing on the power play to leading forwards in PK minutes, but it’s always great to see him piling on points on top of that.

Vasily Podkolzin Has Had a Solid Start to the Season

Growing up watching the Oilers, there were some players that weren’t necessarily the team’s stars, but you couldn’t help cheering for them no matter what. Players like Georges Laraque, Ryan Jones and Sam Gagner come to mind, and Vasily Podkolzin is starting to become one of those players for me.

We saw last season that he always put in the work before and after practices, and this season, he faced some adversity even before it started. I can’t imagine the shift in emotions he must have gone through — signing the biggest contract of his life on Sept. 23, then losing his father the next day. And, on that note, just the likeable guy he is, he extended his condolences to Brandon Montour, whose brother had recently passed away, before the game against the Kraken on Oct. 25.

Yet, even in the wake of his father’s passing, the 24-year-old still made it back for the first game of the 2025-26 season. Even while grieving the loss of his father, Podkolzin has picked up where he left off last season, and then some, currently leading the team in hits (32), second in blocked shots (seven), and tallying four points in ten games, all while playing all over the lineup.

Podkolzin has been one of the Oilers’ most consistent forwards through their up-and-down first ten games. He’s looked more assertive, looking like his offseason skills training is paying off, and here’s hoping his game-winning goal against the Montreal Canadiens on Oct. 23 can serve as a springboard for him to find the back of the net more consistently.

The Oilers’ Power Play Is Starting to Wake Up

Over the last few seasons, when things weren’t going the Oilers’ way, one thing they could almost always rely on was their power play. Though it struggled to start this season, the sleeping giant is starting to wake up.

Over the last four games, they’ve scored six power-play goals on their last 12 attempts, and it appears they’re finally getting into their PP rhythm.

One of their biggest weapons on the man advantage is, of course, Evan Bouchard, but through ten games, he’s had a nightmarish start to the season. We could almost write a novel listing all of his defensive errors, but hey, our focus here is positives, right? That said, he hasn’t been able to get his “Bouch bomb” off successfully for most of the season so far on the PP, because opposing forwards have done a great job of blocking his lanes. And because he’s struggling, I’d imagine he’s not exactly “feeling it” when it comes to juking and jiving on the blue line.

Having said that, against Seattle, I liked how the Oilers tweaked the setup a bit, putting Leon Draisaitl on the left side to draw attention and create space for Bouchard. By luring defenders over to the left, he opened up a clean lane for the D-man to unleash his shot, which resulted in his first goal of the season . That tally may have helped Bouchard’s confidence overall, as he looked noticeably better the next night against the Canucks, threading a couple of 60-foot passes, including one that landed perfectly on Draisaitl’s tape and then beat Thatcher Demko for a breakaway beauty.

As a whole, there’s just more movement on the power play in general, with Connor McDavid using more of the zone to dance around and keep the opposition guessing — like the goal he set up against the Canadiens by skating behind the net and feeding Draisaitl out front, and the most recent one against the Canucks that sent the game to overtime.

The Oilers don’t have an ideal record after ten games and have struggled to score at 5v5 this season, but when things aren’t going right, they have to find the positives, and their power play is at least giving them something to build on.

Jake Walman Has Made an Impact Since His Season Debut

Jake Walman missed the first six games of the season due to an injury, but his impact was felt immediately in his first game back, blasting a bomb for the OT winner against the Ottawa Senators. Additionally, to show just how much of an offensive weapon the Oilers were missing from the blue line while he was out of the lineup, NHL Edge data shows he’s recorded a 95.05 MPH shot this season, which ranks in the 95th percentile across the entire NHL.

Moreover, in the four games he’s played this season, he’s posted three points, and he’s already climbed among the NHL leaders in blocks per 60 minutes, currently sitting eighth in the league with 8.39 blocks per 60. Also, at 5v5, he has the second-best high-danger scoring chances percentage (HDCF%) on the Oilers, behind only McDavid, with a 62.50% HDCF — all in just four games. Overall, Walman’s return has added a crisp first pass from the blue line and a healthy dose of swagger per 60 minutes, too.

Oilers’ Top-Six Players Are Trending Upward

Before the last game against the Canucks, Jack Roslovic had just one assist in seven games, but considering he missed all of training camp and preseason, it’s fair to assume the early stretch was him getting his legs and timing back. However, against the Kraken on Oct. 25, he was one of the Oilers’ best players — even without recording a point — and dominated the advanced stats at 5v5: 73.33% SF%, 87.50% SCF%, 100% HDCF%, and 87.74% xGF%.

I posted on X that it was likely a sign of things to come for him, and it was. The next night, he picked off a puck and ripped a hard shot past Demko for his first as an Oiler, also adding an assist on the night. Overall, you get the sense that Roslovic is on the verge of a breakout.

McDavid has looked very human-like to start the season — a good reminder that he is, after all, human, with ‘only’ 12 points in 10 games. However, as mentioned, the Oilers’ PP has looked better, much of it thanks to McDavid’s movement. He really started looking like his usual self against the Canucks, with at least three rushes where he deked past a couple of Canucks to set up plays — something he hasn’t done consistently this season, and it looks like he’s getting back to his old form. The only thing blatantly missing? Shoot more, please.

Additionally, Draisaitl is trending upward, too, even if he’s not yet playing to his full potential just yet. Over the last stretch of games, he’s had some uncharacteristic giveaways, but with his two-goal effort against the Canucks, he’s still just one goal shy of the NHL lead. Not bad when you’re near the top of the league in one of the toughest categories and you’re still not at your best.

The Oilers have had their ups and downs in their first ten games, most of which were played on the road, but with their two superstars seemingly starting to find their mojo, the hope is that the team can hit its stride over the next three home games, with another positive being the possible return of Zach Hyman.