Notable prospects who could play for the Oilers in coming years

General manager Stan Bowman wants to inject some youth into the Edmonton Oilers’ lineup.

While the team doesn’t boast anything close to an elite farm system, there are a handful of notable prospects worth keeping an eye on as they have a chance, even if it’s a small one, of playing games and making an impact on the Oilers next season.

Let’s dig in!

Matthew Savoie

One player who is all but certain to play National Hockey League games next season is Matthew Savoie. Drafted ninth overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 2022, he was traded to the Oilers in the Ryan McLeod deal early last off-season.

Before the trade, he helped the Moose Jaw Warriors make their first Memorial Cup tournament in franchise history. This season with the American Hockey League’s Bakersfield Condors, he scored 19 goals and 54 points, sixth in points and 13th in goals for all rookies in the league.

It’s not a matter of “if”, but “when” Savoie plays NHL games in 2025-26. He made his debut with the Sabres in 2023-24, playing just one game, but played in four games in 2024-25 with the Oilers.

Could he potentially fill a top-six role alongside Leon Draisaitl? That remains to be seen.

Sam O’Reilly

Sam O’Reilly will really need to impress in pre-season if he wishes to make the Oilers’ roster next season. At just 19 years old, the Oilers moved their 2025 first rounder to move up in the 2024 draft to get him; that’s how highly the organization thinks of him.

In the past two seasons, he’s won two J. Ross Robertson Cups with the London Knights, as well as the Memorial Cup in 2024-25. Last season, he scored 28 goals and 71 points in 62 regular-season games, up from the 20 goals and 56 points in 68 games in 2023-24. In the postseason, O’Reilly potted seven goals and 22 points in 17 games.

O’Reilly is an intriguing prospect, as he killed penalties and has the skill to potentially play in the top six at some point in the future. The 19-year-old could also be the Oilers’ third-line centre of the future, but it seems likely he’ll play in the Ontario Hockey League next season.

Maxim Beryozkin

Another player who could make an impact for the Oilers is 2020 fifth-round pick Maxim Beryozkin. The 23-year-old scored 15 goals and 42 points for Yaroslavl Lokomotiv in the Kontinental Hockey League. He helped them win the Gagarin Cup, scoring nine goals and 14 points in 21 postseason games, not too shabby for a 23-year-old.

The Russian is a big-bodied winger who stands at 6’4”, 211. Imagine him causing havoc in the Oilers’ bottom six or excelling alongside Leon Draisaitl. Sadly, Beryozkin signed a one-year extension with Yaroslavl in late May, which may prevent the Oilers from bringing him to North America.  That said, another Oiler prospect signed a deal overseas, only to re-sign with the Oilers later.

Roby Järventie

Roby Järventie was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the second round of the 2020 draft, scoring an impressive 16 goals and 30 points in 40 American Hockey League games in 2022-23.

The Finnish forward even played seven games for the Senators in 2023-24, but that season was derailed due to a knee injury. The Oilers traded Xavier Bourgault and Jake Chiasson to the Senators for Roby Järventie, but he played just two games for the Bakersfield Condors because of that knee.

In March, it was reported that Järventie signed a one-year deal with SM-Liiga’s Tappara, but the Oilers re-signed the Finn to a one-year deal in early June. If he’s fully healthy, he could work himself into a bottom-six role.

Quinn Hutson

After the NCAA National Tournament came to a close, the Oilers signed right winger Quinn Hutson to an entry-level deal, playing two games with the Oilers toward the end of the season.

Hutson is the older brother of reigning Calder Trophy winner Lane, and the 23-year-old played three seasons at the prestigious Boston University. Over the three years, he scored 56 goals and 114 points in 117 games.

The 23-year-old will probably be with the Oilers next season, but he’ll likely be an AHL regular. 

Josh Samanski

Late in the regular season, the Oilers went on a signing spree in Europe. They signed 26-year-old defenceman Atro Leppänen, who scored 21 goals and 63 points in 60 games in the SM-Liiga last season. Edmonton also signed 29-year-old forward David Tomasek, who could compete for a bottom-six role next season after scoring 24 goals and 57 points in the Swedish Hockey League.

Although both Leppänen and Tomasek have a chance to make the Oilers roster, they aren’t prospects. German centre Josh Samanski, on the other hand, can be considered a prospect. In early April, Samanski signed a two-year entry-level deal with the Oilers.

The 23-year-old German stands at 6’5” and played centre. Last season with the Straubing Tigers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, Samanski scored 14 goals and 40 points in 52 games, career highs across the board. In seven postseason games, Samanski scored two goals and four points.

He’ll likely start his season in the AHL, but if he impresses, perhaps he’ll get a look.

Beau Akey

The 2025-26 season with be Beau Akey’s first season as a professional. After scoring 11 goals and 47 points in 66 games with the Barrie Colts in 2022-23, the Oilers selected the right-shot defenceman 56th overall in the 2023 draft.

Unfortunately, he played just 14 games in 2023-24, scoring four goals and nine points before shoulder surgery derailed his season. Akey regressed in 2024-25, scoring just six goals and 32 points in 52 games with the Colts, along with five assists in 16 postseason games as the Colts went to the Ontario Hockey League’s Eastern Conference Finals.

Will Akey earn a roster spot out of camp? Almost certainly not. If he adjusts to the professional level and excels, there’s a chance he will get a look at the end of the 2025-26 season. Another potential opportunity is if a few Oilers defencemen go down with an injury.

Phil Kemp

If those injuries occur, Akey wouldn’t be the first right-shot defenceman called up, as Phil Kemp has much more professional experience. Drafted in the seventh round of the 2017 draft, the 26-year-old has spent the past five seasons with the Bakersfield Condors, scoring a career-high six goals and 21 points in 71 games in 2022-23.

His point totals have dropped the last two seasons, but he briefly played with the Oilers in 2023-24, being held pointless. Kemp isn’t really a prospect anymore, but the 6’3”, 212 lb defenceman could be a depth option for the Oilers in 2025-26.

Nikita Yevseyev

In 2022, the Oilers drafted Russian defenceman Nikita Yevseyev with their sixth-round pick. In his first season after the draft, the left-shot defenceman scored five goals and seven points in 48 games, along with one goal and four points in 22 postseason games as an 18-year-old.

Unfortunately, the 21-year-old hasn’t found the same success in the Kontinental Hockey League since then, playing just 19 games in 2023-24 where he scored one goal and three points in 19 games. Last season in his age-20 season, Yevseyev scored a goal and two points in 38 games. 

A big reason for that is because the left-shot defenceman sued the Kazan Ak-Bars due to his lack of ice-time, which makes sense given his fantastic age-18 season and his development afterwards. His deal in Russia is up, so maybe there’s a chance the Oilers bring him over and properly develop him in the American Hockey League, because the promise is there.

Olivier Rodrigue

Shifting gears to netminders, Olivier Rodrigue is a netminder who may see some NHL games next season. Selected in the second round of the 2018 draft, the 24-year-old posted a .916 save percentage and 2.73 goals against average in 37 games with the Bakersfield Condors in 2023-24.

However, he regressed in 2024-25, posting an .897 save percentage and 3.12 goals against average in 41 games with the Condors. Toward the end of the season, Rodrigue was called up to the Oilers as Stuart Skinner suffered an injury. Rodrigue played two games, where he had an .862 save percentage and 3.10 goals against average in two games.

The 24-year-old is a restricted free agent, but the Oilers will almost certainly bring him back.

Samuel Jonsson

One goalie I’m starting to get excited about is Samuel Jonsson. The Oilers drafted the 6’3” netminder in the fifth round of the 2022 draft. Last season with BIK Karlskoga, Jonsson posted a .922 save percentage and 1.88 goals against average in 24 games. In Karlskoga’s qualification bid to make the Swedish Hockey League in 2025-26, Jonsson had a .913 save percentage and 2.15 goals against average in five games.

Remember that European signing spree I mentioned earlier? Well, Jonsson was another European the Oilers signed, as they signed him to a three-year entry-level deal, meaning he’ll play in the AHL (or ECHL) next season.

Will Jonsson play in the NHL in 2025-26? It’s improbable, but I wanted to mention him because he could be the netminder of the future.