Without a doubt, the two most consistent Oiler prospects this season have been Sam O’Reilly and William Nicholl. The teammates in London have individually strung together strong seasons, which has helped get the 2024 draft class off to a very good start. As the OHL season heads towards playoff time, these two have a chance to make life easier for Oiler scouts by finishing the season the way they are playing now.
What does that look like for O’Reilly and Nicholl? More on the Knight duo and all the news and notes in the Oilers Prospect Report.
Who Caught My Eye?
Sam O’Reilly
One of the most critical, and yet simple, ways to evaluate a prospect’s play is by the number of shots they are taking relative to prior performance. It is not the be all and end all, but if a prospect you follow is putting up consistently higher shot totals than they have been previously, it should lead to better play and better results. Thus is the story of Sam O’Reilly.
O’Reilly averaged 2.42 shots per game in his rookie OHL season and scored at a .82 points per game pace. This season O’Reilly is up to 2.91 points per game and is scoring 1.05 points per game. More impressive was O’Reilly averaging five shots per game this week..
This led to his scoring four goals and adding one assist. Some of what O’Reilly does is what you would expect from a player tagged to be a defence-first two-way centre. Go to the net and finish plays in tight.
However, there is more to O’Reilly than this type of play. He has a shot. It will need to be quicker in the professional levels, but it is better than I had anticipated. He shoots the puck very accurately and can change his blade angle in stride.
There is also some very nice patience in his offensive game. He isn’t completely relaxed on the attack, but he does seem to have more comfort than I would have anticipated given his pedigree.
O’Reilly’s offence is definitely accelerating as the season comes to an end. This is a promising development for a player that was not considered an offensive wizard having played mostly defence as a minor hockey player.
William Nicholl
Nicholl continues to be the surprise of this draft class for the Oilers. Nicholl has fallen slightly off his point per game pace to .89 points per game. However, in his last four games, he has put up two goals and two assists. Nicholl creates so much of his scoring by very persistent 5v5 work. Watch this goal and how often Nicholl is over top of the puck and in good spots to keep the play alive.
Another way he creates is using his speed in a very smart way. Watch this attack. Nicholl can really skate with the puck on his stick. Here he is attacking two defenders. Watch him recognize the blueline is available on his weakside and drive across the blueline. Watch what happens to the defenders when Nicholl makes a pass to his teammate. He has now grouped these defensemen over top of each other leaving them only able to defend one player. Nicholl has actually set-up almost a 3v1 because of how the defenders are stacked. In the end, his linemate is able to walk down deep into the circle before taking his shot which turns into a goal.
Like O’Reilly and any other prospect really, I continue to watch for Nicholl’s shooting totals to increase. No question they are up dramatically this season. He is essentially shooting the puck once more per game than compared to last year at 1.65 shots per game. However, he could shoot so much more. His speed, the fact he is around the puck and his understanding of play development gives him a lot of chances.
This will be the key for Nicholl. Perhaps more so than O’Reilly. Nicholl has great skating ability. If he can match that with higher shooting metrics, he is going to be a very interesting professional player.
News And Notes
Not sure what exactly is happening but the much discussed Oiler second round pick Eemil Vinni has not played a game in 2025. There are no reports of injuries that I can find, but this is not a great development. Vinni had off-season back surgery which is cause for concern.
Along those lines, Roby Jarventie remains out of the Bakersfield Condors line-up. Whatever his status, it is alarming that what was diagnosed as an aggravation of a previous injury has led to him playing two total games this season.
On the good news front, Max Wanner returned to the line-up in Bakersfield last night having missed ten weeks due to a head injury. He played sparingly in the game, but it was nonetheless good to see him return.
Shane Lachance has really fallen into a slump. In his last seven games, Lachance has one goal to show for his efforts. His play is not at the level it was early in the season. No reports of an injury that I can find.
That’s all for this week’s Oilers Prospect Report. Have a great week everyone and see you around the rink.
