Edmonton Oilers pushing to sign college free agent who is a Hobey Baker finalist
The Edmonton Oilers are doing what they can to add some intriguing prospects to the organization.
On Thursday, the Oilers announced that they had signed forward Owen Michaels to a one-year, entry-level deal. The 23-year-old scored 13 goals and 26 points in 39 games this season with Western Michigan University. It’s an exciting add for the Oilers, and they may not be done just yet.
The Oilers are also one of several teams said to be pushing to sign T.J. Hughes. The 24-year-old had a massive 2025-26 season for the University of Michigan, scoring 21 goals and 56 points in just 39 games. The outstanding season was enough for him to be named a Hobey Baker finalist alongside Max Plante and Eric Pohlkamp.
Sources indicate NCAA UFA and @umichhockey captain T.J. Hughes will be in high demand once his season ends next week.
After turning down NHL offers last spring, he is primed to sign an ELC soon.
A couple of Canadian teams expected to be in the mix.https://t.co/UUO5zq5GZy
— Marco D'Amico (@mndamico) April 2, 2026
As reported by Marco D’Amico of RG, the Oilers are just one of several Canadian teams pushing to sign Hughes, as the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens have also expressed interest.
Hughes, who was never drafted, stands at 6-foot, 183 pounds. Prior to starring with Michigan the past four seasons, he spent three years playing in the AJHL with the Brooks Bandits. The final season with the Bandits in 2021-22 saw him score an absurd 66 goals and 127 points in only 60 games.
"Turnover leads to TJ Hughes!"
Michigan is up 1-0.
šŗ ESPNU#B1GHockey x @umichhockey pic.twitter.com/wuFpxWPaWN
— Big Ten Hockey (@B1GHockey) March 27, 2026
While it remains to be seen where Hughes will end up, it’s clear that Oilers GM Stan Bowman is looking to beef up his prospect pipeline with college free agents. We’ve also seen Bowman do the same with European free agents, with the Josh Samanski signing from last offseason serving as a prime example.
Though these types of players don’t always wind up making impacts at the NHL level, they are very reasonable gambles for all organizations. That is even more so the case for the Oilers, who have a relatively weak prospect pool given how many picks they’ve traded away in recent years.
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