Edmonton Oilers player review and 2023-24 preview: Warren Foegele

Welcome back, Warren Foegele.

Quietly, Warren Foegele had an excellent 2022-23 season for the Edmonton Oilers. He scored 15 goals and 28 points in 67 games with his 2.1 points per hour at 5×5 the highest of his entire career. And as his impact charts show above, he was excellent in both the offensive, and defensive zones for the Oilers contributing at a rate much higher than league average in both zones. On top of that, he was also a strong contributor on the Oilers’ penalty kill.

In fact, his play was so impactful that his contributions on the ice were similar to that of a player on the cusp of being a first-liner.

His underlying play has been a huge addition to the Oilers since he was acquired in the one-for-one trade with the Carolina Hurricanes which sent Ethan Bear the other way.

Foegele, however, has become a bit of a whipping boy of sorts in the past for some visible swing-and-misses on scoring opportunities. The fact of the matter, however, is that his goal scoring rate last year at 5×5 last year was also the highest of his entire career.

Visible swing-and-misses aside, this is a very, very valuable depth contributor for the Oilers who I expect to have a very strong season for the Oilers this year. He played the majority of his time last season on a line with Ryan McLeod and in their 311 5×5 minutes together, the were even in goal share scoring 10 goals and allowing 10 against. Despite that, they had a very low 6.41 on-ice shooting percentage, and controlled 59.24 per cent of the expected goal share, and 59.64 per cent of the scoring chances.

If the Oilers were smart, which they’re certainly starting to be a lot more of lately, they would keep this pair together all season long this year and let them do their thing. I expect the offence to rebound, and the Oilers third line to be a key piece of the puzzle this season.