There is no shortage of excitement surrounding the Edmonton Oilers as they are preparing for the 2023-24 season.
Despite a disappointing playoff exit at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights, this team took big strides last season and is considered a Stanley Cup favourite entering the 2023-24 campaign.
Not only do they have two of the world’s greatest talents in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but an excellent supporting cast in players like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman, and Evan Bouchard.
Despite how strong of a team they are, however, there are players on this roster that either struggled last season or have yet to carve out a role for themselves. With that said, here are four Oilers players with something to prove this season.
Jack Campbell
After signing a five-year, $25 million deal with the Oilers, Jack Campbell’s first season with the organization went about as poorly as it could have. While he was able to win games as shown by his 21-9-4 record, he had an ugly 3.41 goals against average (GAA) along with a .888 save percentage (SV%). Those numbers cost him his starting job to rookie Stuart Skinner.
While Skinner is being viewed as the Oilers’ starting netminder heading into the season, Campbell needs to be much better in 2023-24. Not only would a better year make his contract easier to swallow, but it could prove to be huge if Skinner struggles in the playoffs as he did earlier this year.
Evander Kane
Many fans were skeptical when the Oilers first signed Evander Kane to a one-year deal midway through the 2021-22 season. Whatever doubts they had were quickly put at ease, however, as the 31-year-old fit in seamlessly on a line with Connor McDavid, scoring 22 goals in 43 regular season games. He improved even further in the playoffs with 13 goals in 15 outings.
The outstanding showing earned Kane a four-year, $20.5 million deal. Unfortunately, injuries limited him to just 41 games last season, and he wasn’t the same player when in the lineup. He will be looking to show everyone what he is capable of now that he is healthy and ready to go.
Dylan Holloway
At this time last year, the Oilers were hoping that Dylan Holloway could prove he was ready to hold down a top-nine role and provide some secondary offence. While he made the team out of training camp, he was demoted to the AHL after recording just three goals and nine points in 51 games.
Once again, the Oilers are hoping for the same thing they were from Holloway one year ago. The 21-year-old has all the tools, and having an additional year to further grow and mature could prove to be exactly what he needed in order to take his game to the next level.
Philip Broberg
In a recent interview, Jay Woodcroft firmly said that the Oilers coaching staff and management expect both Holloway and Philip Broberg to take big steps this season. It is clear that after giving Broberg plenty of time to hone his craft both in the AHL as well as with sheltered minutes in the NHL, the time is now for him to show why he was the eighth overall pick in 2019.
Broberg appeared in a career-high 46 games with the Oilers last season but averaged less than 13 minutes per game in ice time while registering just a single goal and eight points. He is currently being viewed as a sixth or seventh defenceman heading into this season by the fan base but will be looking to prove that he is capable of far more.
- You might also like:
- Oilers sign versatile winger Adam Erne to PTO