Trade regrets? Ex-Oilers top prospect is coming off historic junior season
Could the Edmonton Oilers already be having some regrets over trading away top prospect Sam O’Reilly?
GM Stan Bowman decided to trade the former 2024 first-round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning last summer in exchange for reigning Hobey Baker winner Isaac Howard.
At the time, it was seen as a good move for the Oilers, who were getting a more offensively tuned prospect coming off a huge season in the NCAA. O’Reilly was a bit of a steep price to pay, but Howard was poised to turn pro a year quicker, and that fit better with Edmonton’s Stanley Cup window.
Yet, nearly a year after the trade, it’s looking a lot closer in value. Howard struggled to become an NHL regular while O’Reilly was a beast in his junior season.
Are the Oilers in a position where they are already regretting moving on from O’Reilly? Or is it far too early to tell? Let’s take a closer look…
O’Reilly caps off junior career in major way
There is an argument to be had that O’Reilly’s final junior year went about as perfectly as he could have asked.
O’Reilly was seen as a promising prospect for Edmonton and even had a few decent preseason showings with the Oilers. Yet, nothing he did in the juniors ever indicated he was going to be a high-impact player at the NHL level, but that changed this past season.
The 20-year-old started the season with the OHL’s London Knights before being traded midway through the year to the contending Kitchener Rangers. O’Reilly capped off his final OHL regular season with an impressive 29 goals and 71 points through 56 games, but that wasn’t where he made the most noise.
What made O’Reilly’s final junior season so impressive was his playoff performance. He was far and away the best player in the OHL playoffs, scoring an incredible 17 goals and 28 points in 18 postseason games to help lead the Rangers to the championship.
His play earned him both the OHL regular season MVP and playoff MVP trophies, but he still wasn’t done.
With Kitchener headed to the Memorial Cup, O’Reilly continued his heroics, notching an additional three goals and eight points in four games to help the Rangers secure their spot as Canada’s top junior team.
O’Reilly was named MVP of the Memorial Cup tournament as well, making him just the fourth player ever to win all three MVP honours in a single season. Only Brad Richards, Corey Perry, and Mitch Marner have done the same.
If the Toronto native can live up to even half of the reputation of any of those other three players, the Oilers could be kicking themselves for shipping him off.
Don’t sleep on Howard
Howard didn’t have nearly as loud a season as O’Reilly did, but fans shouldn’t be sleeping on the American.
It would have been nice to have Howard become a full-time NHL player with the Oilers, instead of jumping between Edmonton and the AHL, but he quietly put forth a decent pro debut.
The NHL production wasn’t great, with just two goals and five points in 29 games, but he really hit his stride with the Bakersfield Condors. The 22-year-old was among the best players for the Oilers’ AHL club, posting an impressive 24 goals and 50 points in 47 games.
Howard ranked fourth in AHL rookie scoring, but was second in points-per-game. That earned him a spot on the AHL all-rookie team. It may not have been a breakout year in the NHL, but it was a very encouraging first step.
He proved that his goal-scoring ability from his NCAA days can translate over to the pro game.
If Howard can follow in the footsteps of fellow Oilers young-gun Matt Savoie and translate that success into the NHL next season, Edmonton may not even have O’Reilly on its radar a year from now.
O’Reilly is making a lot of noise, but the book is far from closed with Howard.