The Edmonton Oilers will have to get creative to improve the team’s organizational depth.
They’ve traded out a plethora of draft capital in recent years in their pursuit of a Stanley Cup title, and that’s left an already barren prospect pool even more so.
One way they’re looking to supplement it, according to Oilers radio man Bob Stauffer, is by adding free agents from Europe.
“They don’t have a lot of draft capital in this upcoming year’s draft. They’ve traded some picks to try to improve the team, including (for) Jake Walman with a 2026 No. 1,” Stauffer said during the second intermission of Thursday’s loss to the Seattle Kraken. “(They have) just three picks in the upcoming draft. So you’re going to have to do things differently. Little things that Stan Bowman has always done well is find players out of Europe and the Oilers are infinitely miles ahead of where they were.
“They’ve got some commitments out of a couple of players, one that’s going to be a good prospect for the American Hockey League to start, and another one that’s coming that’s probably going to be on the Oilers NHL team next — both forwards. It would not surprise me if the Oilers added three or four forwards out of Europe, maybe a player and two out of the NCAA, but the order is going to be much more proactive in this field to improve the overall 50-man roster for Edmonton.”
One such player is believed to be forward Josh Samanski, a German centre/left-winger who spent last season with the DEL’s Straubing Tigers, where he racked up 14 goals and 40 points, taking 112 shots in 52 games last year. He had just signed a four-year deal with that league’s Eisbären Berlin, but it had an exit clause that would allow him to join an NHL club.
One college free agent the team is looking at is 24-year-old Cornell University forward Dalton Bancroft, who scored 15 goals and 26 points in 35 games this year.
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.
