Oilers’ Prospect Sam O’Reilly Impressed at 2025 Memorial Cup

The Edmonton Oilers are in the Stanley Cup Final, so understandably, nobody is talking about their prospects. However, they have a good one in Sam O’Reilly. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound centre is a Memorial Cup Champion with the London Knights after a 4-1 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers on Sunday, June 1, and he was impressive in doing so.

The Oilers took a gamble and traded their 2025 first-round pick (top-12 protected) to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a 2024 first-round pick (32nd overall), in which they drafted O’Reilly. There was an excellent chance the Oilers would be selecting higher than that in 2025, but since they made the Cup Final, that pick will be 31st or 32nd overall, so that gamble was well worth it. The 2025 Draft class is also significantly weaker, which made this a great move. They identified their guy and made it happen.

O’Reilly had a great season with the Knights, recording 28 goals and 71 points in 62 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) games. He added another seven goals and 22 points in 17 playoff games, helping London advance to the 2025 Memorial Cup. He was solid in the tournament, finishing with five points in five games with a plus-2 rating.

O’Reilly Was Noticeable

O’Reilly had a few clutch moments in the Memorial Cup. The youngster scored London’s first goal of the tournament and had the overtime winner in the same game, defeating the Moncton Wildcats. He registered one assist in the Memorial Cup Final and could’ve had another, but the goal was called back due to goaltender interference. He drove hard to the net and found Easton Cowan in the slot, but in doing so, he ran into the goaltender, negating the goal. The coveted right-shot centre made an immediate impact and was extremely noticeable throughout the event.

O’Reilly’s a jack of all trades and plays in all situations. The Toronto native is on London’s top power-play unit as the net-front presence, and he’s an effective penalty killer. He can do many things to help you win, and that’s a very valuable asset, especially in the NHL. The 19-year-old is a versatile player and goes to the dirty areas. He makes plays and gets to the front of the net. His first goal was courtesy of a redirected point shot because he’s constantly in the goaltender’s kitchen, and has great hands in tight. He also had a perfect screen during the final on London’s fourth goal. While he didn’t get a point on the play, he prevented the netminder from seeing the shot. He does the little things right that often go unnoticed.

Oilers’ Future Third-Line Centre?

O’Reilly is the prototypical third-line centre, and it should be a seamless transition when Edmonton moves on from Adam Henrique. He possesses all the qualities a third-line centre should have. He’s a two-way, defensive, shutdown centre with a high hockey IQ, and has a level of physicality to his game. The Oilers’ prospect is great in the corners and along the boards, winning puck battles for his teammates. He’s very positionally sound at both ends of the ice. Plus, the Oilers are in desperate need of penalty-killers, so he can fill that role, especially with Henrique eventually gone.