Oilers’ 3 Most Underrated Players for 2025-26

The NHL season is fast approaching, and excitement is in the air. After their second-straight loss in the Stanley Cup Final, the Edmonton Oilers are looking to finally get over that hump and bring Lord Stanley north of the border. To do so, they’re going to need other players not named Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to step up and be the unsung heroes of this team. With that said, here are the three most underrated Oilers heading into the 2025-26 season.

Vasily Podkolzin

Vasily Podkolzin was acquired by Edmonton in exchange for a fourth-round pick last August, and he immediately endeared himself to the fan base. The fans love hard-working and consistent players who provide energy every shift, and that’s what Podkolzin does. He rarely has a bad game and is always noticeable. The Russian winger is a physical presence, leading the team with 211 hits last season, 50 more than second.

The only downside is his offensive game. He recorded eight goals and 24 points in all 82 games last season, but could’ve had more. He’s always buzzing around the net and creates opportunities with his tenacious forecheck, so his lack of offence was surprising. The 2019 first-round pick scored 14 goals in 79 games during his rookie season in 2021-22, so the offence is there; he just has to find it.

His work ethic and play style have been compared to Zach Hyman’s, and that’s the perfect person to model your game after. If he can just contribute a bit more offensively, he will become a complete player. He’s still only 24 years old and has all the attributes to be an effective NHLer; he just needs to work on his shot and become more consistent offensively to match the rest of the game. He has all the tools and potential to be successful, and if he finds his scoring touch, he will continue being an underrated member of this forward group.

Brett Kulak

Every team needs a player like Brett Kulak. He’s as consistent as it gets, and is a prototypical third-pairing defenceman who kills penalties and can move up to the second pair when necessary. He’s not known for providing offence, but that’s not his role. However, he recorded seven goals and 25 points last season, his career high in both categories. He also recorded a career-high 118 blocked shots, surpassing the 106 he had in 2022-23. The veteran defenceman has become a shot-blocking machine since coming to Edmonton, considering his career-high before the trade was 64 back in 2018-19 when he was a member of the Montreal Canadiens.