It’s no secret that the odds of playing hockey as a youth and making the NHL are extremely difficult, with a study showing that the chances of playing minor hockey to one day playing in the NHL are roughly one in 4,000, or just 0.025 percent.

On top of that, the odds of a player making it to the NHL and also playing for their hometown team are even slimmer than 0.025%. Not very good odds at all, yet the Edmonton Oilers have two hometown kids defying them in Colton Dach and Matt Savoie, who have made an impact lately and are gearing up for their first playoff run with the team they grew up cheering for.

Dach and Savoie are both from St. Albert, AB, which is a very quick drive just northwest of Edmonton and is considered part of the Edmonton region, and both have mentioned that they grew up cheering for the Oilers.

For Dach, when he was acquired alongside Jason Dickinson on March 4th from the Chicago Blackhawks, he posted on his Instagram shortly after the trade thanking, the Blackhawks organization, ending his post by saying, “Excited to come home and get to work.” The final picture in the post showed the Oilers fan in him, sporting a retro Oil Drop jersey at centre ice, which, given his age at the time, would have been at the old Rexall Place, as seen below.

Savoie, on the other hand, expressed his Oilers fandom in September 2024 at the Oilers’ rookie camp while reminiscing about the previous season’s deep playoff run, saying, “As a hockey fan, it was so fun to watch, being an Oilers fan growing up.”

Both Dach and Savoie are living the dream of many who grew up in Oil Country, and are set to get a taste of playoff hockey in front of close to 18,000 fans at a rocking Rogers Place as the Oilers prepare for Game 1 against the Anaheim Ducks on April 20. That said, both should be heading into the postseason full of confidence, as we take a closer look at the impact they’ve been making lately.

Dach has four points in eight games with the Oilers after putting up eight in 53 with the Blackhawks, accounting for 33.3% of his season total in far fewer games in Edmonton, meaning that so far, in the small sample size, he’s settling quite nicely in Oilers’ silks.

The 23-year-old ended the regular season on the highest of notes, almost the perfect one you’d want from your 6-foot-4, 218-pound bottom-six forward — scoring a goal, recording an assist, and getting into a fight to register his first-ever Gordie Howe Hat Trick against the Vancouver Canucks.

The Oilers’ first goal of the night against the Canucks started with Dach. For most of his short tenure in Oil Country, we’ve seen him play a typically north-south, “get pucks deep” type of game, but the nice dangle he made at the blue line to gain the zone before Josh Samanski’s goal shows the underlying offensive ability the St. Albert, AB native has.

Dach also dropped the gloves with Elias Nils Pettersson later in the first period and completed the Gordie Howe Hat Trick in the third, using his big frame effectively by being a bully in front of the net, creating space, and whacking the puck in, while also finishing the night with four hits.

The eye-test shows that Dach has looked like an absolute menace on the ice for the Oilers, and the underlying metrics support that too, as he either leads or is near the top of the team in many categories since being acquired.

According to Natural Stat Trick, since March 6 at five-on-five, Dach ranks highly among Oilers players (minimum 50 minutes played) in several key metrics:

-1st in expected goals for percentage (74.96 xGF%)
-1st in scoring chances for percentage (65.87 SCF%)
-1st in high-danger chances for percentage (68.75 HDCF%)
-1st in hits per 60 minutes (22.52 hits/60)
-3rd in shots for percentage (60.32 SF%)
-3rd in goals for percentage (57.14 GF%, 4-3)

Also, impressively, since March 6 at five-on-five, among players who have played a minimum of 50 minutes, Dach ranks first in the entire NHL with a 74.96 xGF%.

Of course, we can’t talk about Dach without mentioning Trent Frederic, with the duo forming a double dose of in-your-face nastiness on a line, bringing physicality, chipping in offensively of late, and, quite honestly, bringing back memories of what Ethan Moreau and Mike Grier brought to a checking line in the late 90s (though both were defensive specialists at their peak), in terms of relentless hits that swing momentum for the team.

In just over 70 minutes of playing together at five-on-five, both Dach and Frederic have outshot the competition 30–23, while posting a 57.14 GF%, 71.98 xGF%, 65.57 SCF%, and a 65.52 HDCF%, and with that, there should be no ifs, ands, or buts that they should be paired together on a line in the playoffs. And if I had my choice, it would be Josh Samanski, who scored last game, playing down the middle between the two “Bash Bros,” whether on the third line or the fourth line.

Having said that, I recently wrote a piece about who could be the Oilers’ next playoff hero, in the mould of former Oiler #34 Fernando Pisani, who was from Edmonton. I’ll admit it was a miss that I didn’t include the Oilers’ current #34, Dach, who, with the way he’s playing right now, has all the makings to be a postseason difference-maker for his hometown team.

The other hometown kid, Savoie, is heading into the postseason on as strong a note as a top-line player could ask for.

Last game against the Canucks, with Connor McDavid sitting at 48 goals and many expecting him to dial into a ‘shoot-first’ mentality, he instead went with a pass-first approach, and Savoie capitalized on the slick feeds, scoring his first career hat trick in the first period in front of a hometown crowd.

Despite scoring three goals against a non-playoff team in the Canucks, those tallies were important for Savoie’s confidence heading into the postseason, and ultimately, it’s been exciting watching Savoie’s progression while playing with McDavid, which has now developed into what looks like 100% bonafide chemistry.

It first started when Draisaitl went down with an injury, and we got a glimpse of the Savoie-McDavid chemistry against the St. Louis Blues on March 17, when Savoie first showed the ability to keep up with the captain and the awareness of how to get the puck into his centreman’s hands in the perfect spot.

Which leads us to now, and scoring a hat trick last game. It shows the progression and level of cohesion Savoie has with this season’s Art Ross Trophy winner, as he now knows where to be to bury the captain’s passes, with Savoie saying after the game, “I think that’s a big part of playing with him. Don’t watch him, [but] read, react, get to open ice.”

Additionally, the numbers highlight how well Savoie complements McDavid, with the captain’s five-on-five goals-for percentage jumping from 50.94 GF% without Savoie to 56.76 GF% when the two play together.

Savoie has great skill, speed, and agility, and from what we’ve seen this season, he has a strong hockey IQ with the ability to learn and adjust quickly, which is reflected in his point production. He finished his rookie season with 37 points, but he turned the dial up after the Olympic break, recording 19 points in the final 24 games, which over a full season would project to a 65-point pace, and based on that pattern, I’d imagine it won’t take him long to learn how to be productive playing playoff hockey.

Nevertheless, it’s quite a world both Savoie and Dach are living in right now. Both local kids have capped off the regular season with some of the biggest games of their careers and are about to play in front of a raucous hometown crowd, with friends and family likely in attendance.

Buckle up, Oilers fans — the Game 1 fun kicks off on April 20 at Rogers Place.

Edmonton, it’s time to dust off your best game fits—playoff season is here. And for every away game, The Sauce is taking over Greta Bar YEG as the official playoff headquarters. There ain’t no party like a Nation playoff party. Expect food and drink specials you can’t beat, t-shirt tosses, giveaways, games, and a few surprises we’ve been saving just for the Nation Citizens. Whether you’re coming for the game, the atmosphere, or just to get a little saucy with the crew, this is where you want to be when the team hits the road. Secure your table by texting Greta’s hotline at 1-587-418-8507.