Five Edmonton Oilers Rookies who impressed during NextGen Showcase

Matt Savoie – Winger

Another former Sabres pick, Matt Savoie, showed out. The St. Albert product was the best player of the weekend for me. His explosiveness was on display, from multiple breakaways (including a penalty-shot goal) to winning foot races. Expectations were high, and he met them. The only critique is that he needs to shoot more and be a threat himself. On Sunday, he took a cross-checking penalty that, while not ideal, showed his natural competitiveness. I hope he gets a long look on Leon Draisaitl’s wing in camp and preseason.

Quinn Hutson – Winger

Quinn Hutson signed after an excellent career at Boston University that ended with 50 points in 38 games. At 23 years old, he’s an older prospect and needed to show well, and he did. Like Marjala and Savoie, Hutson is a skilled, pass-first winger, but he is more willing to shoot. His best trait this weekend was creating his own lanes to thread pucks through. He also used drag shots, fakes, and deception to get pucks on net. I do wonder about his NHL upside, given an average skating base and his age, but it was a strong weekend.

Beau Akey – Defenceman

The 2023 second-rounder had an OK 2024-25 after shoulder surgery, with fewer points but strong defending for Barrie. This weekend, he was the only drafted defenceman on Edmonton’s roster and logged a lot of minutes in all situations, including PP2 and the PK. His skating pops immediately, and he uses it well: tight gaps, beating the first forechecker, and moving along the blue line. If he refines his hands and puck skills, he can be a real transition threat because he consistently beats F1. His first pro season will be interesting; he is still slight and relies on upper-body defending. He will need to leverage his body better along the wall.

David Lewandowski – Winger

The newest pick on this list, David Lewandowski, showed encouraging signs. As noted in his profile, the German-born winger excels at playmaking under pressure. He rarely misses on a pass and creates a lot. He moved up the lineup on Sunday and played on the third line rather than the fourth. I am expecting a strong year from him in Saskatoon.

Honourable mention to Connor Clattenburg, who played his usual pest-like game. He finished with a goal, a couple of fights, plenty of hits, and stirred up multiple scrums.

Unfortunately, it is worth noting that the newly acquired Ike Howard had a disappointing weekend. The former Spartan skated with Savoie, and Savoie stood out far more. Howard fumbled pucks under pressure and often skated himself into dead ends. It looked like he tried to do too much. One rough weekend does not matter in the big picture, but I hoped for more from Howard in a rookie tournament.

Next up… training camp!