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Oilers Prospect Update: Top 2025 draft picks Lafrenière and Lewandowski make WHL season debuts
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Photo credit: Saskatoon Blades
Spencer Pomoty
Sep 28, 2025, 19:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 28, 2025, 11:49 EDT
Welcome back to another weekend edition of the Oilers Prospect Update. It was another strong stretch for some of the organization’s young players, as a few survived cuts from the big club (more on that in the mid-week update) while others officially kicked off their 2025-26 regular-season journeys. Without further ado, let’s jump right into the update.

David Lewandowski – Winger – Saskatoon Blades

Edmonton’s fourth-round pick from the 2025 draft played in two games with Saskatoon this weekend, netting a goal and an assist.
We’ll talk about the German import’s season debut in the WHL, where he was named first star and helped the Blades pull off a comeback victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. In my eyes, Lewandowski was the most impressive prospect to watch this week. His playmaking ability, mixed with his puck protection skills, makes him a treat to watch.
The winger’s night didn’t start smoothly, as he turned the puck over early in transition.
But that was the only major miscue, and he quickly redeemed himself by creating a scoring chance and nearly potting one himself.
After generating looks, Lewandowski was rewarded with a fortunate bounce for his first goal of the season. This was the spark that fueled Saskatoon’s comeback.
The power forward didn’t stop there. Later, he showcased his best sequence of the night, first making a slick pass to the slot and then dangling an opponent in tight for another chance.
Lewandowski’s assist came when Calgary prospect Hunter Laing buried a rebound off one of his shots.
Overall, it was a tremendous night. The six-foot-one winger looked like the best player on the ice at times, with advanced wall work and poise in traffic. He didn’t cheat for offence either, staying engaged in all three zones. A picture-perfect start to his WHL campaign.

Tommy Lafrenière – Centre – Kamloops Blazers

Lafrenière, now playing centre after mostly being used on the wing in his draft year, went pointless in his debut but registered five shots on goal as Kamloops beat Seattle 4-3 in overtime. What impressed me most was the third-round pick’s consistent low support for his defenders and wingers, showing real maturity down the middle.
Another standout was his ability to generate speed through the neutral zone and act as a one-man breakout. The only flaw? At times, he lost the puck or looked unsure once he entered the offensive zone.
Like I said in the opener, Lafrenière had five shots on goal, and these two clips under are the best of them. Both of them are on the power play, and in both, the goalie makes a great save to keep the Blazers centre off the scoresheet.
Like Lewandowski, Lafrenière had a solid game overall. He was fast through the neutral zone, responsible without the puck, and showed the kind of effort that suggests he’ll produce once he gets more comfortable in the offensive end.
The Blazers also won their second game of the season on Saturday, hammering the Thunderbirds by a score of 6-0. Lafrenière opened the scoring with what wound up being the game-winner.

Maxim Beryozkin – Winger – Lokomotiv Yaroslavl

Since the last update, Beryozkin has played two games and is now on a three-game pointless slide. That said, there’s been no dip in his play. He continues to generate shots and create for teammates. Through nine games, he has three assists, 2.4 shots per game (third on the team), and averages 15:54 TOI (fifth among forwards). Lokomotiv sits atop the KHL at 9-2, so he’s playing big minutes on a dominant team.
Although we would love to see the big Russian forward with a goal beside his name, he hasn’t been without effort, as you’ll see below from the chances he has been able to create.
His playmaking has stood out, threading passes into tight windows both in transition and on the cycle. Watching his clips, it’s clear he should have more than three points. The work ethic is there in all three zones, and while the box score hasn’t been kind yet, there’s no cause for concern.
All told, the big winger has three points through nine games this season, along with a plus-four rating. He’s all over the puck when he’s on the ice, so this drought will surely end soon enough.

Nikita Yevseyev – Defence – Khabarovsk Amur

What a start to the season for the 21-year-old. After eight games, Yevseyev has one goal, four assists, and leads Amur in ice time at 22:11 per game. His five points rank second on the team and first among defencemen.
In his lone game since the last update, he picked up two assists. One came from a nice feed, the other a fortunate bounce.
Defensively, he’s been excellent, though decision-making remains inconsistent. Still, considering these are the heaviest minutes he’s played in years, some mistakes are expected. The important thing is that all signs are pointing up.

Albin Sundin – Defence – Timra IK

Sundin notched his first goal of the season, sneaking down to the dot and ripping a perfect one-timer blocker-side. Beyond the tally, he again showed poise and confidence with the puck, evading pressure with patience.
Excellent job by the Swedish-born defender to sneak all the way down to the dots and place a perfect shot blocker side. But that wasn’t his only play with the puck that impressed me this game. I’ve talked about his poise and confidence with the puck on his stick below is just another example of that.
Now, it’s different when you have an NHL forward trying to come steal that puck, but these are great tendencies to have, and Sundin shows it often. Even defensively, the right-hander has shown early-season improvements and is pressuring up the ice more consistently.
Like the other prospects I talked about, Albin Sundin is no different in the way I was vastly impressed with his game again. Still playing around 20 minutes every night, and he has shown the ability to learn in-season already.