Oilers make first cuts as top 2025 NHL Draft picks assigned to WHL teams

These were expected cuts, as Lafrenière was a third-round pick and Lewandowski was a fourth-round pick, both in the most recent draft. That said, both rose their stock in the pre-season games they played in, as Lafrenière scored twice in the Oilers’ second NextGen game. As for Lewandowski, he showed he isn’t afraid to do dirty work along the boards, something that the Oilers will need moving forward.

Lafrenière returns to the Kamloops Blazers, where he scored 24 goals and 56 points in 68 games last season. He finished fourth in both goals and points for the Blazers. Lewandowski returns to the Saskatoon Blades, where he scored 15 goals and 39 points in 52 games last season. Before joining the Blades, Lewandowski played for Düsseldorfer EG in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, playing seven games where he was held pointless.

Last season, the Blazers finished with a 24-39-5 record for 53 points, 13 points out of the final postseason spot in the WHL’s Western Conference. They’re expected to potentially fight for a playoff spot, but the Blazers are nowhere near being a top team.

The Blades found a little more success last season, finishing 37-23-8 with 82 points for sixth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. If they reached 85 points, they would have finished second in the conference, as the best team from the two divisions finished first and second.

There will surely be more cuts on the way, as the Oilers now have 33 forwards on their training camp roster. With the two cuts, the Oilers have 53 players remaining on the training camp roster, which will dwindle down to 23 players over the coming week.