6 interesting Edmonton Oilers training camp battles to keep an eye on
The Edmonton Oilers will open training camp with a lot more question marks than in the previous two seasons.
Over the course of the offseason, several NHL veterans departed the team, and GM Stan Bowman made a concerted effort to bring in younger players. Rookies such as Matt Savoie and Ike Howard are expected to enter training camp with a chance to win out spots in the top six, while UFA signing Andrew Mangiapane will also have to find somewhere to play in the top nine.
Edmonton will also have players like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Trent Frederic, and Adam Henrique potentially finding new roles. All that without mentioning that there could be a battle at the bottom of the defensive group as well.
This will make for an interesting training camp, and fans will want to keep an eye on these six battles:
1. First line LW
It appears that Connor McDavid will have at least one new linemate heading into the new season, if all goes to plan.
Zach Hyman is expected to stick on the right wing, but there could be a change on the left wing, which was previously occupied by Nugent-Hopkins. However, a few other players will be vying for that spot in training camp.
Chief among those competitors will be the 21-year-old Howard, who is primed to make his NHL debut after capturing the 2025 Hobey Baker Award. It’s a tall task for a rookie to immediately jump onto McDavid’s wing, but Ike fits the bill as a shot-first winger with a knack for finding open ice.
Expect Mangiapane to get a look in that spot at times as well, with the veteran Henrique being a dark horse as well.
2. Second line RW
The search for Leon Draisaitl’s ideal linemates will continue after last year’s attempt with Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson crashed and burned. However, this time it will feature a few outside-the-box candidates.
Matthew Savoie seems to be the most intriguing on the RW as he enters his second season as a full-time pro. The 21-year-old lit up his AHL rookie season with 54 points in 64 games last season, and he did look good in a brief four-game stint where there appeared to be some chemistry with Draisaitl.
Savoie’s tenacious play also seems to fit well with how Draisaitl likes his wingers to play.
If that doesn’t work out, perhaps overseas signing David Tomasek can pinch-hit in that spot. Frederic is another interesting option who is finally healthy and could potentially jump into the top six if needed.
3. Second line LW
Similarly, there will also be a battle happening on Draisaitl’s left wing.
Andrew Mangiapane is the natural player to fit there, as he was signed to be a middle-six winger who can bring a bit of offence.
The 29-year-old is one year removed from a 40-point season and also has a 35-goal campaign under his belt that came with the Calgary Flames back in 2021-22. Mangiapane also has a bit of snarl in his game.
Howard will certainly get a look in that spot if he doesn’t gel with McDavid in preseason, and you also can’t count out Vasily Podkolzin, who played in that spot for the majority of last season. It does, however, feel like this could be Mangiapane’s job to lose heading into camp.
4. Third line centre
It wouldn’t be an Oilers training camp without some sort of battle for the third-line centre job.
Last year, it was pretty tame with veteran Adam Henrique sticking in that spot for the majority of the season, and he will be in the mix once again. However, if the Oilers opt to run all of Howard, Savoie, Mangiapane, and Hyman in the top six, that will push Nugent-Hopkins down into the bottom six.
Having McDavid, Draisaitl, and RNH down the middle would represent some incredible depth for the Oilers, and the Nuge showed in stretches last season that he can be a pretty good 3C. It will be hard for an aging Henrique to win that spot if the team wants to run RNH on the third line.
You also can’t forget about Frederic, who can also play centre and is expected to be on Edmonton’s third line next season in some capacity.
5. Fourth line centre
The Oilers are primed to have some sort of logjam at the forward position to start the year.
Edmonton is primed to be a Stanley Cup contender once again, and, as such, that means that they currently boast a lot of good players vying for spots at the bottom of the lineup. With that in mind, the battle for who will be the Oilers’ fourth-line centre might be the most fierce of all.
Curtis Lazar was signed in free agency as a potential veteran option in that spot, but he will have to compete with a litany of younger players trying to make their mark. Noah Philp will be his hardest competition as the 26-year-old has a lot of fans within the Oilers organization.
There is also the undersized, but fiesty, James Hamblin angling for a full-time NHL job and a wildcard in German overseas signing Josh Samanski.
6. Third pair RD
Edmonton seems to have a pretty locked-up defensive group, outside of a spot on the third pair.
Evan Bouchard, Mattias Ekholm, Jake Walman, Brett Kulak, and Darnell Nurse are locks to crack the roster out of training camp, but that only accounts for five of the six NHL spots. The battle among the remaining players will be to get as much playing time there as possible.
Troy Stecher appears to be the early favourite, having spent a lot of time there in both the regular season and playoffs last season. Ty Emberson will be his biggest competition as he tries to finally establish himself as a reliable NHL defender.
Josh Brown also had limited NHL time last season, and a fully healthy Alec Regula could surprise in camp as well.