Noah Philp accidentally ghosted Oilers call-up
Edmonton Oilers rookie Noah Philp almost ghosted the Edmonton Oilers on one of the most important phone calls of his life.
Philp was called up alongside Drake Caggiula on Tuesday to help fill the void left by Connor McDavid’s injury. The 26-year-old has been playing with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors to start the year and was not expecting to get the call.
When Oilers AGM Keith Gretzky tried to contact Philp about the call-up, he accidentally ghosted them for a while.
“I had my phone turned off; my wife and I were making dinner,” Philp said. “I put it aside for a couple of hours, and eventually [my wife] got a call, and it was from Keith Gretzky with Bakersfield, and he said, ‘Tell Noah to answer his phone.'”
"You think about this your whole life & I'm just more than excited."#Oilers forward Noah Philp on getting called up from Bakersfield yesterday & potentially playing his first @NHL game tomorrow.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/chwPABMTow
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 30, 2024
It’s no surprise to the Oilers fanbase that Philp was first on the list of call-ups after McDavid went down with an injury in Columbus. Despite not playing last year for personal reasons, Philp was shot out of a cannon during training camp and preseason. He looked great in Oilers threads and showed that he could play at the NHL level if given a chance.
He was one of the team’s last cuts heading into the season, and he is off to a decent start in the AHL with two goals and three points through six games with the Condors. It’s been a wild journey for the Canmore, Alberta native to get here, but one he is grateful for.
“An unorthodox one, I’d say, but one that I felt like I wouldn’t change, and I’m here now, and I’m pretty excited for this opportunity,” Philp said. “I’m just thrilled… You think about this your whole life, and I’m just more than excited.”
Philp was centring the Oilers’ fourth line at practice in Nashville yesterday morning. His linemates are yet to be determined, as Corey Perry is likely the guy on the right wing, while Derek Ryan and Caggiula were rotating on the left side.
Gametime for Philp’s prospective NHL debut against the Nashville Predators is set for 6 pm MT.