Isaac Howard would benefit from some minutes in the AHL

It may not be Ike Howard’s time to contribute to the Edmonton Oilers just yet.

Early in the season, the Oilers are 1-0-1, having lost their season opener 4-3 in a shootout to the Calgary Flames after blowing a 3-0 lead, but then defeated the Vancouver Canucks 3-1. Coming up is a lengthy Eastern Conference road trip, the first of four this season.

Unlike the two prior seasons, the Oilers have started the 2025-26 season well, both in terms of their record and their actual play. Andrew Mangiapane and David Tomášek look like great additions, and Jack Roslovic figures to draw into the Oilers lineup at some point during this road trip.

Zach Hyman is eligible to come off the Long Term Injured Reserve at the start of November, which would make an already deep team even deeper and cause the Oilers to trim their roster. One player who could see their roster spot disappear is Howard.

Acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning for prospect Sam O’Reilly in early July, the phrase to describe Howard is “needs more seasoning”. He had a quiet two NextGen games against the Calgary Flames, had a solid pre-season, but hasn’t found much success during the regular season. 

Howard, 21, is the reigning Hobey Baker Award winner, scoring 26 goals and 52 points in 37 games for Michigan State University. An older prospect, it stands to reason that Howard would dominate the two games against the Flames prospect, but those two games were quiet for Howard. He showed glimpses of what he could be, but it wasn’t encouraging.

In the pre-season, Howard found twine in the Oilers’ third game with a very Leon Draisaitl-esque one-timer on the power play. The forward also picked up three assists, including two in the Oilers’ penultimate pre-season game.

It’s hard to expect much from Howard, given that he’s stapled to the fourth with Adam Henrique and Tomášek, but he’s been unnoticeable in the first two games. On Wednesday, he played just 10 minutes and 43 seconds over 14 shifts, the third-fewest minutes for anyone participating in the game. While he had a quiet game, Flames’ rookie Matvei Gridin was all over the place, finishing with a goal, a +2, and five shots on goal.

Saturday’s game was another quiet one for Horward, playing just 10 minutes and 17 seconds, finishing with a shot on goal and a turnover. Of any skater, Howard played the fourth-fewest minutes, not a great sign.

When Hyman (and Mattias Janmark) return, Howard is the odd man out and should be assigned to the American Hockey League. That’s not such a bad thing either, as the 21-year-old will get a ton more minutes than he will with the Oilers for the foreseeable future. It’s also a testament to just how deep the Oilers’ team is as they look to win their first Stanley Cup since 1990.