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Who should be the Edmonton Oilers’ 6th defenceman?
Photo credit: © Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images
The Edmonton Oilers will enter the 2026-27 season with five defencemen firmly locked into opening‑night roles: Evan Bouchard, Mattias Ekholm, Connor Murphy, Jake Walman, and Ryan Shea. That leaves one spot on the blue line still up for grabs, assuming the team sticks with the traditional 12F/6D setup.
Three players are expected to battle for that final spot: Ty Emberson, Spencer Stastney, and Shakir Mukhamadullin.
Emberson, acquired from the San Jose Sharks in the summer of 2024, is heading into his third consecutive season with Edmonton after spending most of the past two years on the third pair. Spencer Stastney was traded to the Oilers from the Nashville Predators last December and suited up for 30 games with Edmonton in 2025-26, though he spent long stretches as their seventh defender and didn’t play a single game after March 19. Finally, Mukhamadullin was acquired by the Oilers as part of the Darnell Nurse trade with the Sharks on July 1.
Without further ado, let’s dive into these players, making a case for each of them and breaking down who should ultimately claim that spot.
What is the case for Ty Emberson?
Defensively, I have felt that Ty Emberson has been rather underrated and underappreciated by fans. Here is a look at how EvolvingHockey’s WAR model has rated his defensive impacts over each of the past three seasons:
Put simply, Emberson’s EVD (Even-Strength Defence) WAR per 60 has ranked higher than 99 per cent, 81 per cent and 91 per cent of defencemen over each of these past three seasons respectively. That is outstanding.
Of course, these results were achieved in a rather sheltered environment, which should obviously be considered when making comparisons to defenders with tougher workloads, but this clearly shows that Emberson has excelled defensively in a third-pair role, which is the spot that he is battling to win.
Emberson is a very well-rounded defender. His main strength comes with his in-zone defending, as he is excellent at boxing out opponents in the front of the net, winning battles along the boards, and moving pucks out while limiting turnovers. However, he ranks above-average at defending the neutral zone as well, with AllThreeZones ranking his controlled entry chance allowed percentage in the 65th percentile.
Edmonton’s coaches have also greatly trusted Emberson on the penalty kill. In fact, back in the 2024-25 season, he led all of Edmonton’s defenders in PK TOI. He was consistently matched up against opposition top power-play units, and still, the Oilers managed to see a decrease in short-handed goals allowed per hour with Emberson on-ice.
You’d be hard-pressed to find many third-pairing defencemen with superior defensive impacts to Emberson, who has achieved these results in three consecutive seasons, a strong sample size. It’s difficult to argue that he should not be playing in the lineup on a consistent basis.
What is the case for Shakir Mukhamadullin?
I wrote an in-depth, 2700-word piece on Mukhamadullin about a month ago, and so I won’t dive into him with as much detail here. Still, we will summarize and discuss the player here, detailing the elements of his game that make him an intriguing option.
Mukhamadullin is a 24-year-old six‑foot‑four defender with good mobility, an active stick, and a respectable shot. He’s strong at carrying the puck out of his own end with control and usually makes smart defensive reads, particularly when it comes to shutting down passes into the slot. He also defends the blue line decently well, posting above-average entry denial numbers.
EvolvingHockey’s model is a big fan of Mukhamadullin’s defensive play. Over the past two seasons, it rates his even‑strength defensive impact in the 82nd percentile, and his short‑handed defence ranks in the 94th percentile. Quite encouraging.
However, the biggest issue in Mukhamadullin’s game is retrieving and moving pucks under forecheck pressure. His defensive-zone puck retrieval results in the NHL have, simply, been flat-out abysmal. Playing his off‑side on a poor defensive squad in San Jose has significantly contributed to that, but much of it comes down to rushed decisions and inconsistent reads. His passing has also been below-average at the NHL level in general. These are areas he needs to clean up.
Still, even with those flaws in mind, there is real potential here. Though his ceiling is unclear, I strongly believe Mukhamadullin has the raw, physical tools to develop into a consistently effective and useful defender at the NHL level.
Though his even-strength on-ice impacts are inferior to Emberson’s, I believe he deserves a long look nevertheless. Edmonton already has two seasons of evidence showing what Emberson can provide on the third pair, but Mukhamadullin has yet to have the chance to play with a capable NHL supporting cast. His minutes thus far have come on a very weak Sharks team. I could absolutely see Mukhamadullin excelling in a more stable environment next to a strong puck‑mover and puck-retriever like Jake Walman, a player that struggled in 160 minutes next to Emberson in 2025-26 for what it’s worth.
Furthermore, though public penalty-killing analytics are less reliable, it is worth noting that public models do rate Mukhamadullin’s PK impact superior to Emberson’s. That, combined with his ability to play both sides, makes him a potentially more versatile option.
What is the case for Spencer Stastney?
Though there’s much to like about Emberson and Mukhamadullin’s defensive game, their puck-moving upside is rather limited. That’s the exact area where Stastney provides value.
Furthermore, in his games that have been tracked, AllThreeZones reports his zone exit rate in the 72nd percentile, and his controlled zone exit rate ranking in the 90th. He’s a very efficient puck-mover, and clearly uses his skating to his advantage.
Unfortunately, Stastney’s on-ice results have not been eye-popping. Offensively, EvolvingHockey rates his impact on generating scoring chances to be in the 51st percentile over the past two seasons — essentially exactly league-average. So although he can skate the puck out of his own end with possession, he doesn’t do enough to help generate chances at a high rate.
Defensively, his EVD ranks in the 38th percentile, far below Emberson and Mukhamadullin. Specifically, Stastney is a very poor rush defender, with AllThreeZones rating his controlled entry allowed percentage in the mere 3rd percentile.
Nevertheless, if the Oilers ever need more puck-moving in their lineup, Stastney can provide that in a third-pairing role. Perhaps next to Jake Walman or Ryan Shea, he can form an effective pair that can consistently move the puck up the ice, which could greatly benefit the bottom-six.
Final Thoughts
Out of these three players, Emberson is the most proven, and likely the best player. Simply put, his defensive impacts are far too strong to ignore, and EvolvingHockey’s overall WAR model rates him higher than both Mukhamadullin and Stastney. With Bouchard, Walman, and Shea, the Oilers already have plenty of puck-movers, and so having a defensively-minded player in the lineup will help to round out the backend, especially for a team that mightily struggled to limit dangerous chances for most of last season. I would lean towards starting with Emberson at 3RD on opening night.
Still, as mentioned earlier, Mukhamadullin does deserve a long, extended look at some point this season. His defensive impacts certainly cannot be ignored either, and there is some upside to his game. He absolutely deserves a legitimate opportunity to show what he can do with Edmonton.
As for Stastney, he remains a very respectable depth defenceman who can absolutely play in case of injury. However, I believe he is a considerably inferior option to both Emberson and Mukhamadullin, particularly due to his significantly less appealing defensive results.
All things considered, I expect Edmonton’s coaching staff to try various different combinations with the defensive pairings this season. Time will tell which player will ultimately win the spot by the 2027 Playoffs.
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