Oilers sign Patrik Stefan's son and it's bringing back memories
The Edmonton Oilers announced that they have signed the son of former NHLer Patrik Stefan to a three-year entry-level contract.
James Stefan has been tearing up the WHL with the Portland Winterhawks. The 20-year-old right-winger has 48 goals and 99 points in 64 games this season. The Oilers apparently beat out several other NHL teams who also had an interest in Stefan.
☑️ SIGNED ☑️
The #Oilers have inked @pdxwinterhawks forward James Stefan to a three-year entry-level contract. The right-winger has scored 48 goals & 51 assists in 64 @TheWHL games this season.
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) March 21, 2024
Oilers fans should recognize his dad’s name, as Patrik was the player who famously missed a wide-open net on a breakaway that allowed Ales Hemsky to score in the dying seconds to tie a game back in 2007.
Patrik picked up 188 points throughout his 455-game NHL career, but this one moment lives on as his most memorable.
The signing has been bringing back some of the memories of this iconic moment in Oilers history.
Patrik watching his son miss an empty net & having PTSD pic.twitter.com/JH6ZpTSyfi
— THE PAINFULLY- Optimistic Leaf Fan (@fvc022) March 21, 2024
Let’s hope he’s better when it comes to empty nets😂😂
— Go Oilers Go! (@oilersrule9729) March 21, 2024
Sounds like a can’t miss
— RowDogg (@5wolfminimum) March 21, 2024
Next practice give him some empty net drills lol congrats tho
— Reeeee (@Droak97) March 21, 2024
Though Patrik hails from Czechia, Stefan was born in Laguna Beach, California, in the summer of 2003. At the time, Patrik was playing for the Atlanta Thrashers.
Stefan entered the WHL in 2019-20 and had much of his draft-eligible season ruined after the COVID-19 pandemic severely limited his ability to show scouts what he was made of.
He went undrafted in 2021 after a disappointing season with the Lincoln Stars of the USHL. Since returning to the WHL in 2o21-22, he has been lights out, scoring 242 points throughout the last three seasons with the Winterhawks.
Stay hot, James Stefan!
The @winterhawks 20-year-old has four goals in about 24 hours. pic.twitter.com/jWX3rpoBlJ
— The WHL (@TheWHL) February 4, 2024
This is the second contract this week that the Oilers have signed with a prospect. The first was for goaltender Connor Ungar, who had been playing for Brock University.
Stefan will most likely be staying with the Winterhawks to help them in the playoffs. The team finished third overall in the league and have already clinched their division.
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