Edmonton Oilers prospects having a terrible time at World Juniors
Edmonton Oilers fans were excited to watch two defence prospects play for Canada and the USA at the World Juniors this year, but things haven’t quite gone according to plan.
Beau Akey and Paul Fischer are the only two Oilers prospects playing in this tournament. The issue is that they are barely seeing any ice for Team Canada and Team USA, respectively.
Akey, who was the Oilers’ second-round pick in 2023, was a surprise addition to the Canadian roster as he beat out first-round picks Zayne Parekh and Carter Yakemchuk. He wasn’t expected to be a premier player on the Canadian blueline, but he also wasn’t expected to get next to nothing for ice time.
Canadian head coach Dave Cameron utilized the 19-year-old Akey for just 2:38 in the team’s opening game against Finland. This was by far the least amount of ice time of all Canadian players. That ice time jumped significantly to 14:34 in their second game against Latvia, mainly due to the team losing star defenceman Matthew Schaefer in the first period.
Once the team was able to adjust to Schaefer’s loss, Akey’s TOI once again plummeted to just 2:48 against the Germans on Sunday night. Predictably, he has not been able to contribute anything on the scoresheet in those limited minutes.
Beau Akey has struggled to get much ice time for Canada at the #2025WJHC:
2:38 vs. Finland
14:34 vs. Latvia
2:48 vs. GermanySpike in ice time vs. Latvia likely due to losing Schaefer early on… once HC Dave Cameron adjusted the TOI tanked once again.
— Preston Hodgkinson (@NHLHodgkinson) December 30, 2024
If you think that is a less-than-ideal situation, it’s even worse for Fischer in the United States. While Fischer isn’t an Oilers draft pick, the team acquired him over the summer in a trade with the St. Louis Blues, likely as added compensation for the offer sheet to Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg. The Blues initially drafted him in the fifth round in 2023.
Like Akey, Fischer was an under-the-radar addition to a strong American team and wasn’t expected to be a leader. Yet, it appears that the USA head coach, David Carle, is not eager to use the 19-year-old Fischer much.
He played just 6:09 in the USA’s opening 10-4 thrashing of Germany, was not dressed for their second game against Latvia, and only got 5:19 of ice time in their OT loss to Germany on Sunday. Fischer did, however, find a way to get an assist on one of the American’s 10 goals in the opener.
Ideally, you’d like to see these prospects get a lot more time to work with in a tournament like this, but it appears the Oilers will have to settle with the two just getting the experience of being on the team.
Let’s hope either one can find a way to make an impact with the little chance they get.