The battle for roster spots continued Tuesday as the Edmonton Oilers took on the Winnipeg Jets in their second pre-season contest. While this one was billed as an important game for NHL hopefuls like Isaac Howard and Josh Samanski, it was a couple of long shots who stole the show.

Viljami Marjala delivered a strong performance. He showed off his passing and transition game, and capped the game off by sniping the overtime winner over the shoulder of Domenic DiVincentiis.

On the blue line, the pairing of Atro Leppänen and Damien Carfagna moved the puck with confidence and created chances in the offensive zone throughout the night. While all three are unlikely to crack the Oilers’ opening-night roster, this game’s standouts may have earned some trust with the coaching staff — something they’ll need if they hope to get called up this season.

Marjala may be pencilled into Bakersfield’s lineup to start the season, but he’s having an impressive enough camp to warrant a longer look.

Coming off his impressive 60-point rookie campaign with the Condors, the 23-year-old showed well in Edmonton’s NextGen Showcase against the Calgary Flames rookies last week. In Winnipeg, the Oilers enjoyed an 8-5 shot advantage and a 6-2 edge in high-danger chances in Marjala’s minutes, according to Natural Stat Trick. His line had a decisive territorial advantage.

Two things that stand out to me about Marjala are his playmaking and his ability to transport the puck. In this clip, both are on display.

Marjala starts by providing good support along the boards in his own zone. From there, he kicks the puck up to his stick, skates it up ice, and finds the trailing Connor Murphy to set up a scoring chance.

He had several slick offensive plays off the rush, but none were bigger than the overtime winner.

Marjala jumps off the bench and buries it top shelf. He can shoot the puck.

While he’s probably stuck behind Josh Samanski and Colton Dach in the battle to be Edmonton’s fourth-line centre, Marjala has made a solid first impression with the new coaching staff. At the very least, he’s earned a spot on the shortlist of call-up options this season.

Daily Faceoff Edmonton’s own Michael Menzies tweeted Tuesday night that this was a Leppänen legacy game. Was he being hyperbolic? Sure. But he’s also not wrong.

For a 27-year-old still looking to play his first NHL game, any strong performance in front of the Oilers’ coaching staff is meaningful. The same can be said for Leppänen’s defensive partner, Damien Carfagna. The Oilers signed him out of Ohio State University in March 2025, and he quietly had a solid rookie season with the Condors last year.

In this game, each had an expected goal share above 60 per cent, and the Oilers tripled the Jets in both shots and shot attempts when they were on the ice. Part of that advantage was driven by excellent passing and clean exits out of the defensive zone.

Another part of the advantage came from their instincts in the offensive zone. Leppänen sifted a few sneaky good shots through traffic, one of which found the back of the net.

Overall, it was an impressive display of passing and skating from the two defencemen. They were largely playing against the Manitoba Moose, but both showcased some transferable skills that could eventually earn them an NHL look.