Isaac Howard has a golden opportunity to crack Edmonton Oilers roster
There may not be a better chance for Isaac Howard to break into the NHL.
The 2025 Hobey Baker Award winner is coming into training camp with a chip on his shoulder. Howard failed to crack the Oilers lineup as a regular last season after being traded to the club from the Tampa Bay Lightning last summer. Instead, he spent the majority of the season lighting the lamp in the AHL with the Bakersfield Condors.
Howard ended his first professional season with 24 goals and 50 points through 47 AHL games, finishing fourth in rookie scoring. His NHL stats, however, paled in comparison with just two goals and five points in 29 games.
The goal for the 22-year-old heading into the new season is to translate that AHL success into a full-time NHL gig with the Oilers.
A few weeks ago, it seemed like the cards were stacked against him. The Oilers’ top six looked more or less set, but a key injury has put that into question. Matt Savoie, who was expected to be a lock for Edmonton’s top six, is expected to miss all of training camp and most of October after suffering an injury this offseason.
An injury to Matt Savoie could open the door for Ike Howard. (Perry Nelson/Imagn Images)
Before the injury, Edmonton’s top-six group was likely to include some combination of Savoie, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Vasily Podkolzin, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. All the while, Howard was set to be on the outside-looking-in, but that is no longer the case.
As training camp opens later this month, he might have an inside track for a spot beside either McDavid or Draisaitl.
That doesn’t mean he’s a shoo-in to land a top-six role to start the season. There are still some players he will need to compete with, and he’ll have to catch the eye of new head coach Mike Babcock to earn his way.
Kasperi Kapanen may be his biggest challenger, as the Finnish forward is finally healthy headed into the new season and is coming off a very impressive playoff performance last season. In six playoff games against the Anaheim Ducks, Kapanen led the Oilers in playoff goals with four.
He has also shown to have chemistry playing on a line with Draisaitl and Podkolzin, something that should give him an edge over Howard to start camp. That will ensure that the young Howard isn’t simply gifted a premier spot in the lineup, but he has the tools to potentially sway Babcock.
Howard has proven to have some fantastic offensive instincts early in his pro career that are accentuated by a deadly shot and a knack for getting to the right areas on the ice. Those aspects of his game struggled to adapt to the NHL directly, but a full season in the AHL may help him along this year.
It feels more than likely that he will get at least a few top-six reps in preseason, which could go a long way in determining his fate.
This is a golden opportunity for Howard not only to make the Oilers’ opening night roster, but to prove to the coaching staff that he is ready to be a full-time NHL player.