There are several players looking to make an impact in their first full seasons in the NHL. From standout scoring threats to exceptional defencemen, a number of athletes could take home some hardware during their freshmen campaigns in 2025-26.

Just not from the Edmonton Oilers.

On Tuesday, Daily Faceoff prospect expert Steven Ellis released his top 10 favourites for the Calder Trophy this year. Among the names are Calgary Flames blueliner Zayne Parekh, Montreal Canadiens forward Ivan Demidov, Washington Capitals winger Ryan Leonard, and Minnesota Wild defender Zeev Buium.

Excluded from the list are players that many Oilers fans have high hopes for, forwards Matthew Savoie and Isaac Howard.

Howard brings in a lot of pomp and circumstance. Along with winning the Hobey Baker Award in his junior season at Michigan State University, he refused his latest offer from the Tampa Bay Lightning, electing to rejoin the Spartans for his senior season. That led Tampa to trade the Hudson, Wis. native to the Oilers for fellow prospect Sam O’Reilly, with Howard signing his entry-level contract as a result.

While there’s no question that Howard has talent, it’s hard to judge if it will translate to the professional ranks. Sure, he played a key role in the United States winning gold at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship, and gained valuable experience with the senior national team that won the IIHF Men’s World Championship last spring, but his production at the college level isn’t quite newsworthy.

After a rough freshman season at Minnesota-Duluth, which plays in the rough and tough National Collegiate Hockey Conference, Howard transferred to MSU, which competes in a Big Ten Conference that’s criticized for its inability to play defence (easy to see why Gavin McKenna chose to go to Penn State). His 52-point performance in 2024-25 was good enough for fifth in the NCAA in scoring, but it was the only time he notched over 40 points in his collegiate career.

Size isn’t everything in hockey, but unless the 21-year-old can prove he can withstand a beating in the NHL, his standing at 5-foot-11 won’t give him much of an advantage over more experienced and reliable rearguards. I know fans around Edmonton have high hopes for Howard – it would be wise to temper those expectations, at least in year one.

Then there’s Savoie, who, unlike Howard, already has a full year of pro hockey under his belt. Oilersnation’s No. 1 prospect saw steady production with the American Hockey League’s Bakersfield Condors, scoring 19 goals and 35 assists for 54 points in 66 games. It led to him earning a brief stint with the Oilers in late February, notching an assist in four contests, averaging over 10 minutes of ice time per game.

The St. Albert native appears to be further along in the development line than Howard and seemed to feel pretty comfortable playing against bigger and stronger competition.

Between Howard and Savoie, it seems as if Savoie has the better chance of playing in an elevated role this coming season. That said, given the stars ahead of him, it might not be enough to make him a considerable threat to win the Calder Trophy.