The Edmonton Oilers’ season concluded less than a month ago, ending with a crushing Game 7 defeat in the Stanley Cup Final.

Nearly a week later, Oil Country’s mood received a lift when the Oilers signed Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner and re-signed an entire line that included standouts from the playoffs, such as Mattias Janmark, Connor Brown, and Adam Henrique.

That whole stretch from the Game 7 loss to the opening day of Free Agency was a whirlwind of emotions to process, but now that the dust has settled a bit, it’s worthwhile to reflect on the positives that emerged from the postseason. With that in mind, we look below at four young Oilers who excelled during the deep playoff run.

Oilers’ Evan Bouchard had an incredible playoff run. He set an NHL record for most assists by a blue liner and became only the fourth D-man in history to record over 30 points in a postseason.

Moreover, he led all D-men with 32 points and all players in plus/minus at +14. He also scored six goals, three of which were game-winners. That said, if the hockey world wasn’t aware of the ‘Bouch Bomb‘ before, they certainly are now. To highlight his dominance from the blue line, the next closest scoring D-man was the Dallas Stars’ Miro Heiskanen, with 16 points.

Additionally, heading into the playoffs, I wrote a piece saying Bouchard could elevate his game by stepping out of his comfort zone and playing more physically and the 24-year-old didn’t disappoint.

Bouchard didn’t shy away from physical play throughout the postseason. He threw 28 hits, was tough in front of the net and he stood his ground against big players like Pierre-Luc Dubois and Carson Soucy in board battles and during scrums. Whether he maintains this level of physicality during the regular season is uncertain, but it’s reassuring to know he can tune into that mentality when the playoffs begin.

Bouchard’s current contract is up after the 2024-25 season, and it was noted by Cam Lewis recently that a new deal is unlikely to be discussed this summer. Yet, looking ahead, he’s an integral part of the Oilers’ future. At 24 years old, with his prime still ahead of him, there’s room for him to grow and become even more dominant than he has already shown he can be.

Dylan Holloway left Oilers fans grinning from ear to ear with the way he elevated his game in the playoffs, matching his infectious ‘Hollywood’ smile.

The 22-year-old looked very confident with the puck and tallied five goals and two assists in 25 games, which included two two-goal games—one in the opening round against the Los Angeles Kings and another in an elimination game against the Florida Panthers. On top of that, he also scored a highlight reel goal against the Vancouver Canucks in Game 6, blazing past three Canucks and tucking the puck five-hole past Arturs Silovs.

Additionally, Holloway was exceptional away from the puck, leading the team in hits (86) and one most impressive area was his willingness to sacrifice his body and get in front of pucks, as he led all forwards in blocked shots (21).

Throughout the playoffs, he showed confidence while playing on Leon Draisaitl’s wing (131:46 minutes) and it was evident that the big centerman enjoyed playing with Holloway, often looking to set him up for one-timer chances off the rush. He’s currently a restricted free agent and hasn’t signed a new deal at the time of this writing, but a deal is expected to be done. That said, with the offseason additions of Jeff Skinner and Arvidsson, it remains uncertain if Holloway will retain his top-six spot beside Draisaitl in 2024-25.

Nonetheless, having gained valuable playoff experience, he may very well evolve into a consistent scoring threat on the second line in the upcoming season. Also, now that Ryan McLeod has departed for the Buffalo Sabres, there could be an opening on the penalty kill. Given Holloway’s willingness to block shots last playoffs, I wonder if he finds a role on the PK next season?

The emergence of Philip Broberg was a massive silver lining for the Oilers from the postseason.

Broberg was recalled from the AHL to play in the Oilers’ last two games of the regular season to get some NHL action, and sat in the press box until his name was called to be inserted into the lineup for Game 4 of the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars—just imagine the pressure he must’ve felt.

Yet, it’s as if his veins were filled with ice from Sweden because he was cool and collected and proved himself fairly quickly. He scored his first career NHL playoff goal in Game 6 against the Stars and added another in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.

The smooth-skating Swede didn’t look out of place in the ten playoff games he played, averaging 15:47 of ice time. He spent most of his minutes (77:30) on the second pair with Darnell Nurse and finished with a plus/minus of +8. On top of that, he played most of his minutes in a top-four role mostly playing on his off-side and thrived.

Also, his stellar play may have caught some off guard, like his AHL head coach, Colin Chaulk of the Bakersfield Condors, who recently admitted on the ‘Oilers Now‘ show that he was surprised by the D-man’s playoff performance:

At the time of this writing, Broberg has not yet been re-signed as he’s a restricted free agent. As Zach Laing recently noted, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli addressed the elephant in the room—there’s a possibility that another team could throw an offer sheet at him, in the ballpark of $4.5 million annually. If that were to happen, it would certainly make things uncomfortable for the Oilers, who are $354,000 over the salary cap, with the young Swede and fellow RFA Holloway still needing to be re-signed.

Still, the fact that Broberg’s name is circulating in potential offer sheet territory shows that his playoff poise has garnered recognition outside of Edmonton. That being said, assuming there are no offer sheets, his days of riding the bus in the AHL appear to be over and he’s expected to be a huge part of the Oilers’ blue line next season and beyond.

Oilers’ goaltender Stuart Skinner posted a 2.45 GAA and .901 SV% in 23 playoff games. It wasn’t a flawless run, as he sat for two games against the Vancouver Canucks in the second round and let in some questionable goals. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, the Edmonton native led his team to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in only his second full season in the NHL—which is deserving of a tip of the hat.

That said, the jury is out on whether he should have stopped Florida Panthers’ Sam Reinhart’s shot in Game 7, which turned out to be the winning goal. Despite that, he allowed only two goals in what was arguably the most high-pressure game of his career.

To sum up his postseason, he excelled in Games 4-7 of the playoffs, going 10-1 in that span, showing his ability to perform under pressure. However, looking ahead, improving his play in Games 1-3 (4-8 record) is essential. If he sharpens his play in the series’ initial games, the Oilers Cup odds will be even stronger.

Skinner isn’t without flaws, but looking at the bigger picture, his sophomore season was rather impressive. In addition to his playoff performance, he notched 36 regular-season wins, which included 12 consecutive victories, breaking Grant Fuhr’s Oilers record. Overall, the netminder underwent a learning curve during his 23 playoff appearances, and ultimately his team was just a couple of goals away from hoisting a Cup. In spite of that, he’s only just 25 years old and his best years are likely still ahead of him.

With that in mind, which young Oiler impressed you the most during the playoff run?