Edmonton Oilers announce six-man taxi squad

The Edmonton Oilers have named the members of their taxi squad for the 2020-21 season.

Joakim Nygard, Tyler Benson, Ryan McLeod, Patrick Russell, Alan Quine and Stuart Skinner have all made the cut. Defenceman Theodor Lennstrom, meanwhile, was assigned to the Bakersfield Condors.

This means that the Oilers will be carrying Evan Bouchard on their roster at the start of the season, along with William Lagesson. When the AHL season starts, one of the two will likely be heading back to Bakersfield to play out the season with the Condors. Only Lagesson would require waivers

On the taxi squad, however, there are a few interesting names to keep an eye on. Mainly that of Tyler Benson and Ryan McLeod — two young players with minimal NHL experience.

Despite their inexperience, they had strong showings at camp. McLeod is still in the running for the Oilers fourth-line center spot, while Benson is likely on the outside looking in due to the depth on the Oilers front end. Both could be heading to Bakersfield, too.

Russell and Nygard will be able to rotate in as energy players in the Oilers bottom-six, while Quine is still a bit of an unknown after signing a one-year deal this past offseason.

The biggest news may be that of the Oilers third goaltending spot, which is now held as of Tuesday night, by Stuart Skinner. The Carolina Hurricanes claimed Anton Forsberg, who the Oilers signed this past offseason as the club’s number three goaltender. Despite that, I could see Edmonton taking a long, hard look at Alex Nedeljkovic on the waiver wire.

On Twitter: @zjlaing